Homing in on Homecoming

By Allison Flynn | As a way of celebrating the thousands of alumni coming "home" on Oct. 18-21, McGill's Homecoming team is offering a host of tried-and-true activities as well as some new events. From breakfasts, BBQs and book launches at Macdonald Campus to anniversary luncheons, lectures and tours downtown, here are some highlights of the upcoming festivities:

On Thursday, Oct. 18, kick off Homecoming '07 festivities on a high note at "Spotlight on Schulich," a concert featuring a sampling of live jazz, opera, orchestral music and some innovative music research gizmos from the renowned Schulich School of Music. This musical affair will also usher in McGill's campus community celebrations that coincide with Homecoming Weekend this year.

The Great Arts Debate, an exciting new event on the Homecoming schedule, will be held Friday, Oct. 19. Come hear four great minds from the Faculty of Arts, Professors Chris Ragan, Richard Shultz, Sarah Stroud and Darin Barney, go head-to-head with four members of the McGill Debating Union. Dean of Arts Christopher Manfredi will moderate.

Classes Without Quizzes (CWOQs), the wildly popular series that lets you be a student again without having to worry about exams or assignments will be held on Saturday, Oct. 20 at both the Macdonald and downtown campuses. Classes will broach timely topics such as cyber-bullying, tabloid journalism and bioethics.

A must-see event for Saturday, Oct. 20 is the Beatty Memorial Lecture with Tanzania's Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlement Program, known as UN-HABITAT. Her talk, Ideas for the World, will address how to reconcile the need for socially and environmentally sustainable cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

That same morning, the McGill Bookstore will host the 2007 installment of Lunch et Livres, where you can greet and eat with renowned McGill literati. Three alumni authors will be featured: Bill Brownstein, inveterate Montrealer, writer and columnist with the Montreal Gazette; Heather O'Neill, a Canadian writer whose debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, was the winner of the 2007 CBC Canada Reads national book competition; and Alex K. Paterson, a lawyer and polished raconteur whose first book, My Life at the Bar and Beyond, is a rich, anecdotal memoir that adds a personal dimension to recent Quebec history.

A complete schedule of events and ticket information is available at https://www.alumni.mcgill.ca For additional information, please contact the Homecoming Office at 514-398-8288 or 514-398-7684.