The Political Bouillon

[ThePoliticalBouillon]

This is a politcal journal that brings together the big universities (Concordia, McGill, UdeM)of Montreal together into one platform.

http://thepoliticalbouillon.com/

My question for all of is : How interested are you on a student point of view in politics? Do you actually value our opinions? If not, what are some demographics and segments that will be interested in what we have to offer?

Any constructive critism is welcome. Thank you all!

[Bonam]

My question for all of is : How interested are you on a student point of view in politics? Do you actually value our opinions? If not, what are some demographics and segments that will be interested in what we have to offer?

I can't speak for any "demographics", but personally, I value opinions that are well reasoned, supported by facts and evidence, and demonstrate some insight into the topic at hand. The value of the opinion depends on its merit, not where it comes from. Students can and do certainly have opinions as valuable as anyone else, as well as as worthless as anyone else. In my experience as a student in the recent past, the one thing I can say definitely is that organizations that claim to speak on behalf of "the student opinion" represent only a fraction of students, as students hold a wide and diverse range of opinions.

[Shady]

I consider this spam.

[ThePoliticalBouillon]

Of course the diversification of opinions is one of the appeals to our site. We want to voice the opinions of those who want to contribute no matter how radical or unorthodox they are. Thanks for the input Bonam, it's reassuring that other people are willing to listen to what we have to say!

[ThePoliticalBouillon]

I consider this spam.

Sorry, Off-Topic discussion, I just thought I could discuss anything that pertained to media. If this is considered as spam then I'll gladly delete my thread. I like this community a lot and I've been following discussions for a long time now, just wanted to know what they would think about this project.

Edit: This is also not-for-profit, and there's a basis for the post other than sheer advertising.

Edited October 24, 2012 by ThePoliticalBouillon

[Topaz]

My view is if a young person can give their life and join the military, then they have every right to be heard but also other young people have the same right. By listening to this group, the older age groups can guide them on where they are wrong or in other words, have a good debate and not put them down because of their age, theirs is the future after all..

[Guest American Woman]

This is a politcal journal that brings together the big universities (Concordia, McGill, UdeM)of Montreal together into one platform....

I think that's great. University students should be interested in politics, imo - and people should be as interested in your pov as any other; and I trust you are interested in all ages' pov and value their opinions, too.

[Moonlight Graham]

I can't speak for any "demographics", but personally, I value opinions that are well reasoned, supported by facts and evidence, and demonstrate some insight into the topic at hand. The value of the opinion depends on its merit, not where it comes from. Students can and do certainly have opinions as valuable as anyone else, as well as as worthless as anyone else.

I agree with this.

Unfortunately, few young people vote in our elections so their opinions and interests aren't listened to very often by politicians. As we've seen, sometimes this can be overcome by protest movements, which young people/students are more enthusiastic in conducting than any other age group.

In my experience as a student in the recent past, the one thing I can say definitely is that organizations that claim to speak on behalf of "the student opinion" represent only a fraction of students, as students hold a wide and diverse range of opinions.

I also agree with this. I've recently been taking some university courses, and in my experience university student unions are horribly corrupt and in many ways undemocratic organizations that give a bad name to poilitically engaged students. Many of these elected students envision careers as future politicians in Canada, and knowing this, the political future of this country isn't going to get any better. Some of the things these student representatives do is downright scary, some real authoritarian b.s. that would never pass a Charter test Some of these reps i've come across are 4th year political science students, so they should know better, but they don't. It's as if many students have no concept of our Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

[ThePoliticalBouillon]

My view is if a young person can give their life and join the military, then they have every right to be heard but also other young people have the same right. By listening to this group, the older age groups can guide them on where they are wrong or in other words, have a good debate and not put them down because of their age, theirs is the future after all..

Everyone has a right to be heard, however, I think because of the protests here, there is a certain stigma toward acknowledging our opinions, which is a shame, we have so much to offer and no one to listen to what we have to say, we are the future of course.

I think that's great. University students should be interested in politics, imo - and people should be as interested in your pov as any other; and I trust you are interested in all ages' pov and value their opinions, too.

Of course! We're actively seeking out members for our organization in hopes of fostering diversity.

I also agree with this. I've recently been taking some university courses, and in my experience university student unions are horribly corrupt and in many ways undemocratic organizations that give a bad name to poilitically engaged students. Many of these elected students envision careers as future politicians in Canada, and knowing this, the political future of this country isn't going to get any better. Some of the things these student representatives do is downright scary, some real authoritarian b.s. that would never pass a Charter test Some of these reps i've come across are 4th year political science students, so they should know better, but they don't. It's as if many students have no concept of our Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

That's always the danger of any organzation led by any one person, perhaps it might have to do with social biases within that organization as well as wanting to get along with their peers (which unfortunately is very relevent with us youngings). This being said, maybe we can safeguard this by having weekly debates on subjects that are pertinent in today's politics to encourage growth in a wide variety of political affairs.

If anyone is willing to help our cause, don't be shy to PM! We're looking for ways to broaden our audience so any idea is welcome. You're going to help shape something that will influence a lot of students, so please keep that in mind. Thank you all for your opinions!