fit-runner-blog-deactivated2016 asked: hi i am a muslim and an asian (from outside canada) student. Mcgill was originally my #1 school to get into for university but after seeing your blog i got scared. Is it really that bad? I really do not want to face racism in college. Or anything that has to do against my religion because i get offended and sad, and i really need a supportive environment for college instead of a negative environment which could bring me down. Thank you

Hey, sorry for not responding earlier. Life has been a little overwhelming, TBH.

I’ll paraphrase from another response we gave to a previous question.

I would say that regardless of whether someone goes to college or not, people will experience racism. Often our experiences within university are merely microcosms of the greater society. Talking to peers who have been to different universities, there is a general consensus that McGill’s adherence to maintaining hierarchies of privilege is unique and extreme. But, a lot of other students have a great time here. And I would never discourage anyone from pursuing a college degree if that is what they want.

I feel that people’s experiences really vary and it depends on a lot of factors. While there has been intense shittiness, I learnt a lot being here and met tons of badass POC who have challenged me and reframed the way I think about the world. Sometimes in places of massive BS, we learnt a lot about ourselves. I will say that many times, people, friends, professors and staff would step up and make things better in those small micro-moments. There are also great student run resources like Queer McGill, the Union for Gender Empowerment, the Black Student Network, and SACOMSS (a sexual assault support centre) that can provide support as well.