The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)—who could have expected that such an innocuous-sounding group could elicit such a divisive reaction? And yet, we the student body, are embroiled in yet another series of scandals involving SSMU. SSMU is a body that supplies many services to students that are rarely noticed—it lobbies for an easier exam deferral system, advocates for sexual assault resources, provides on-call medical services nightly in residences, as well as numerous other services that the student body often takes for granted. The week leading up to the winter break, however, have called into question the judgement and credibility of the society’s leadership. That’s why, before reading week, I tendered my resignation from my position on the SSMU Board of Directors. I personally felt disdain for SSMU in my first year at McGill. I saw it as an annoying body that only led to undue tension and stress on campus, exemplified by Farnan-gate, the mis-election of Tariq Khan, and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) General Assembly motions that caused emotional strife on both sides of the debate. In light of all of this anger and frustration that I and my friends felt toward SSMU, I decided that whining wasn’t going to help anyone. Instead, I involved myself in SSMU to try to find ways to get past the surface scandals and focus on the important services and support networks that lay beneath. I was elected to the position of Science Representative to SSMU in 2015-2016, and Science Senator this year. I was also nominated to a seat on the Board of Directors of SSMU, which I have been a member of since Fall 2015. During these past two years, I have sat through hours upon hours of council, senate, senate caucus, committee, and board meetings, and have gained an understanding of governance documents, compromise, respectful discourse, and the beloved and bemoaned Robert’s Rules that dictate how meetings should be run. There have been ups and downs, but overall, it has felt like the governance bodies were working towards the betterment of the student society. Unfortunately, as of recently, that feeling has changed drastically for myself and other students.

The selfishness and misconduct demonstrated by Directors Aird and Sadikov, along with those that would further their personal and political agendas over the interests of the society, has led me to lose faith in the Board of Directors as a whole.