Clubs, Services and ISGs

Clubs, Services and ISGs

Student groups represent a significant part of the operations and programming of the SSMU. With 250+ Clubs, 17 student-run Services, and 11 Independent Student Groups, students have a wealth of opportunities to get involved and become a part of the campus community. The easiest way to see what the SSMU has to offer is through attending.

Activities Night. Activities Night is a club fair, where all of the SSMU’s 250+ student groups set up tables to have the opportunity to speak to the executives of each group and sign up for the email list of any and all of the groups at the event.

Clubs

The SSMU’s 250+ clubs fall into ten different categories. Clubs are interest groups, representing a wide variety of hobbies, interests, and causes, all of which are run entirely by other undergraduate students. While the commitment level varies from club to club, the involvement of members in any given club can range from attending weekly meetings and volunteering on a regular basis to attending an event once or twice a semester. Clubs allow you to customize exactly how you want to be involved and how much time you want to devote to student life.

If you have a specific group in mind that you’re interested in joining, reach out to that group directly! After contacting a group and being asked to be added to their mailing list, you’ll receive updates about the events and notice of their general meetings.

Services

The SSMU operates 17 student-run Services, which provide a wide range of services and resources to the student body. Unlike clubs, where students sign up to become members of a particular group, Services operate without formal membership lists because any McGill student is able to access the resources provided by all of the Services. Despite not being able to be a general member of a Service, the SSMU Services offer countless opportunities for becoming a volunteer and serving the student body.

Services are financially part of the SSMU, and many of them are funded by their own fee-levy. Others receive funds allocated from the SSMU budget. The budgets for these Services are approved every year by the SSMU Council and are created in collaboration with the members of the services themselves.

Have you ever used a SSMU Service? We want to hear from you! Please fill out this short survey to help us learn more about how SSMU Services can better support you! Fill out the survey here!

Founded in 1970, we are a service of the SSMU, available to the entire McGill and Montreal Community. While we are dedicated to addressing the needs and interests of Black students at McGill, all interested students, irrespective of race, culture or creed, are encouraged to participate in our numerous events The Black Students’ Network (BSN) is a service provided through the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU), and is available to all McGill students. BSN offers social and political events by and for Black Students, in addition to hosting discussions and providing mentoring and resources. The mission of BSN is: 1) To sensitize the McGill community to issues concerning Black peoples 2) To work towards making the McGill campus safe and accessible for black students in order to support their academic success as well as mental and physical well-being. While dedicated to addressing the needs and interests of Black students, all interested students, irrespective of race, culture or creed, are encouraged to participate in the organization’s numerous events and activities." Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
Midnight Kitchen is a non-profit worker and volunteer run collective dedicated to increasing food accessibility on McGill campus and beyond. We support individuals and communities by providing a working alternative to capitalist, profit-driven systems of food production. We also offer education with respect to: food politics, social justice issues, food preparation, and urban agriculture. By taking the initiative to produce and distribute food in our own communities, we act in the pursuit of social and environmental justice and support others who share these goals. LinkedIn Instagram
DriveSafe is a service run by the Student Society of McGill University. Our volunteers drive students home safely from anywhere on the Island of Montreal for free. We run regular shifts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM, and we run at special events including Frosh, Carnival, Grad Ball, etc.
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SSMU WALKSAFE is a volunteer service run and supported by students at McGill University. Our mandate is to accompany our clientele to and from any location in the City of Montreal. By using WALKSAFE, students can avoid having to walk alone at night. By providing this service, WALKSAFE is helping to establish a culture of safety in the McGill and Montreal communities.
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TVM provides training to learn the basics of filmmaking and media production, as well as video promotion and event coverage free of cost for the McGill and Montreal community. TVM also hopes to help these clubs and organizations promote their events or raise aware for important causes using our services. TVM aims to be a creative outlet for any and all SSMU and PGSS members who wish to express themselves and explore the medium of video production. Lastly, TVM provides its members with an enjoyable place to work, create and learn by encouraging and stimulating growth and professional development. We have general members, executive members (Producers and Editors) and our Admin and Leadership team. The admin team includes the President, VP Internal, VP External, VP Finance, VP Equity, and Executive Producer. The leadership includes the Tech Director, IT Director, Chief Editor, Music Composer, and Graphics Coordinator. The admin and leadership team oversees the day-to-day operations of TVM.
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Since its foundation, the McGill Arab Students' Network (ASN) has represented the Arab population at McGill and introduced the McGill and Montreal community to the rich Arab culture and heritage. Throughout the years, the ASN has expanded in proportion to the increasing number of Arab students on campus and the vast interest in the hosted events expressed by the general McGill community. The ASN offers a diversity of events and initiatives – some social, some educational, others centered around charity and development. Our goal is to create a tight-knit and active community to make McGill and Montreal feel like home, while also bridging gaps and positively engaging as representatives of our culture with the wider McGill and Montreal community. So whether it's a Middle East enthusiast or just a homesick student craving their homeland's cuisine, the ASN is reaching out. Please note that the ASN has no political or religious affiliation; any charities or initiatives we support are humanitarian or educationally oriented. We stand for international human rights, equality, and justice for all.
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The Muslim Students Association (MSA) brings together Muslim students to provide resources, essential services, and educational tools needed to enhance their university experience. Through the services and events provided, the MSA aims to facilitate the spiritual and social growth of its members, as well as the larger McGill community, supporting diverse student needs. Services provided include: weekly Jum’uah (Friday) prayers, a regularly maintained general prayer space, a student-run Islamic library, halaqas (religious knowledge gatherings), tajweed (Qur’an recitation) classes, social events, community and environmental activities. Past events (not limited to): annual MSA Frosh, Ramadan Iftars (dinners), Eid al Fitr & Eid al Adha celebrations, movie screenings, lecture series, information sessions, social awareness campaigns, fundraising dinners, Islam Awareness Week, annual inter-MSA Ski Trip, spoken-word/poetry/comedy/game nights, and open photography exhibitions. Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
The Eating Disorder Centre of SSMU is the first post-secondary chapter of the not-for-profit organization Safely Connected. As a part of Safely Connected’s chapters program, it belongs to what will become a network of university based community resources. Run by peers, for peers, Safely Connected McGill has a youth centered approach and understanding to care, education and advocacy. The Eating Disorder Centre of SSMU is dedicated to providing and creating inclusive, accessible resources and content that address, acknowledge and break down the white centered, cisnormative, ableist stereotypes and structures of care for eating disorders. Diet culture, fitness culture and fatphobia create unsafe, activating and toxic environments and conceptions of the meaning of food, health and bodies. The Eating Disorder Centre of SSMU aims to break down the unrealistic and distorted aims of these forces, to create university campuses that become spaces of care, recognition and understanding, allowing students to connect and heal through community.
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We are a SSMU service focused on bringing food and nutrition to the McGill community in a sustainable way. Through three endeavours— our nutrition workshops, the Good Food Box, and our annual food conference—we aim to engage and encourage the McGill community to take part in sustainable food systems. Instagram
The Peer Support Centre is a safe space for McGill students to receive support sessions from a peer who is trained in active listening. These sessions are available by drop-in or appointment through our website. Our mission is to provide a confidential, non-judgemental, and non-directional service to our community! We believe everyone deserves the chance to be heard and are privileged to empower our community through our support sessions, mental health advocacy, and education! Drop-in or make an appointment to chat one-on-one with a supporter about anything on your mind. LinkedIn Instagram
514-398-6246 to call, or visit our website for the online chat! McGill Students’ Nightline is a confidential, anonymous and non-judgmental listening service run by McGill students to provide the community with a variety of support. This includes anything from information, to crisis management, to referrals, to a chat on your way home. We are an English service in operation since 1984 open every night of the fall and winter semesters from 6pm to 3am. Feeling stressed, lonely, anxious, depressed, or suicidal? Looking to have a nice chat on your way home? Need to talk but don't think your friends would understand? Confused about booking an appointment at Health Services, Mental Health, or Counseling? Searching for the tastiest late-night pizza, or the closest poutine within a 500m radius? Want to talk about a difficult situation, like a sudden loss, tough relationship, or recent trauma? We're here for all of this (and more!) any night of the week. Give us a call, send us a chat!
The Union for Gender Empowerment is a Referral Service of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), though we open our doors to all and do not limit our services to undergraduate McGill students.
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Queer McGill, in adopting the mantra “For Queer Students, by Queer Students,” promotes and protects Queerness at McGill University and in the greater Montreal community. While Queer McGill is dedicated to serving all those who may face discrimination on the basis of their gender and/or sexuality, Queer McGill does not make determinations of eligibility but instead serves those who self-identify with this description. Queer McGill fulfills this mandate by providing both material and immaterial services including, but not limited to, maintaining a safer space and active presence on campus, participating in political action, representing and advocating for Queer students, and facilitating social activities to strengthen the Queer community. Queer McGill organizes educational campaigns and events while supporting a library and archives of Queer media and information and dispensing Queer-affirming and health-related products to those who want them. Queer McGill carries out its mandate with the utmost commitment to equity and anti-oppression and strives to continually improve itself and its views. In recognition of the intersection of Queerness and other marginalized identities, Queer McGill allies itself with organizations supporting marginalized and oppressed Groups and supports their political actions and causes. Instagram
The McGill Student Emergency Response Team is a student-run volunteer service, supported by the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU). Our mission is to provide a free and accessible first aid service to McGill University and the greater Montreal community. Our team is made up of 75+ dedicated volunteers that are certified First Responders under the Canadian Red Cross. We carry a wide range of first aid equipment, including automated external defibrillators, oxygen tanks, cervical collars, and Epi-Pens, and we operate under nationally-recognized protocols. We respond to all McGill residences, with the exception of Solin Hall, between the hours of 18h00 and 6h00. As an official training partner of the Canadian Red Cross, we aim to disseminate first aid knowledge and skills to the public, by offering first aid courses and certifications. LinkedIn Instagram
The Plate Club is a free dishware rental service dedicated to providing a sustainable alternative to disposable dishware for on and off campus events. We have everything you'd need to host any event, from plates, forks, wine glasses, pitchers and more.
The Flat Bike Collective is a student run organization at McGill dedicated to promoting cycling as an accessible, affordable, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation. We seek to empower cyclists by encouraging self sufficiency and to foster the cycling community both on and off campus.
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The Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) is a volunteer-run organization committed to supporting survivors of sexual assault and their allies through direct support, advocacy, and outreach. SACOMSS strives to be a pro-survivor, pro-feminist, anti-racist, anti-colonial, anti-ableist, anti-classist, queer-positive, trans-positive, pro-sex worker, and anti-oppressive organization. We provide a safe, accessible and non-judgmental space for members of many different communities and identifications. All our services are open to the public and are provided free of charge. The DIAL hotline service has been temporarily moved to Zoom. Information on how to call in, along with the updated weekly hours can be found on our homepage. Instagram
The Musicians Collective is a service which provides opportunities for musicians at McGill to meet each other. We organize a variety of events throughout the school year, including open mics, workshops, jam sessions, and end of year concerts. These events give students the opportunity to play music, to listen to other McGill students perform, to maybe learn a new instrument, and to meet other like-minded musicians. We also offer a student-teacher referral service, in which students seeking to learn a new instrument or to improve their skills of their current instrument, can reach out to a list of students who are willing to teach them.
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Independent Student Groups

SSMU also has a relationship with a number of independent student groups, which are groups existing on campus outside of the SSMU structure. These groups are larger than the average club and have very distinct governance structures, often being incorporated as not-for-profit organizations.

Currently, the SSMU has a formal affiliation with 12 independent student groups, ranging from a radio station to campus publications to sustainability initiatives.

The Golden Key chapter at McGill University believes in excellence and strives to provide the best environment possible for guiding our members to achieve in academics, leadership and service. The 246th Golden Key chapter and the 1st in Canada, McGill was chartered April 7, 1997. With more than 9000 members since 1997, the McGill Golden Key chapter is one of the largest chapters in Canada with an average of over 700 members currently at McGill in any given year. Members focus on community service, networking events, and reaching out to make connections with the local community and the entire university student body. We welcome prospective members who are in the top 15% of their class and interested in service and leadership development.
MUSTBUS is a student-led initiative focused on providing low-cost transit travel. The organization offers weekend and holiday bus services for McGill students to explore cities like Toronto, NYC, and more. Through the service, we hope to promote student mobility and public transit usage/education for the student body. Instagram LinkedIn
The McGill Tribune is an independently published weekly student newspaper. Any McGill student is encouraged to contribute to any of our sections: News, Opinion, SciTech, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, Student Life. You can also join our Photography, Multimedia or Design sections. LinkedIn YouTube Instagram
The Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill is a student-initiated, student-funded, student-run organization that actively works towards social and environmental justice. Through socially-engaged research, popular education, action, advocacy, and our working groups, QPIRG connects McGill students with the greater Montreal community. QPIRG-McGill has an anti-oppressive mandate, meaning that we are opposed to all forms of structural and interpersonal oppression, including but not limited to oppression on the basis of class, gender, race, sexual orientation, and dis/ability. Using a grassroots, solidarity-based model, QPIRG-McGill is committed to supporting and empowering marginalized communities. QPIRG-McGill is opposed to all forms of discrimination on the basis of: class, gender, race, sexual orientation, and dis/ability. We strive to be inclusive and accessible to everyone. Our work is rooted in an anti-oppression analysis and practice. We seek to build campus-community alliances and inspire social change through inclusive and non-hierarchical approaches. YouTube Instagram
The LICM is committed to increasing access to justice for McGill and Montreal communities and to meeting the needs of students and marginalized groups because justice matters for everyone. We offer free and bilingual legal information as well as student advocacy services. LinkedIn
As a federally incorporated, not-for-profit corporation with special consultative status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, IRSAM has something to offer to everyone within and outside the McGill community. From our community outreach programs to our Model UN conferences, we have a broad range of events and activities that focus on international relations, the United Nations and local volunteer work. LinkedIn Instagram
AIESEC is the largest student-run nonprofit organization in 127 countries. We aim to develop leadership by sending students abroad for international volunteer and internship programs.  
The McGill Chavurah is a community intent on creating inclusive spaces for Jewish students. We host regular shabbat services and other events in the McGill neighbourhood which aim to integrate the peace and comfort of shared jewish experience into the hectic feeling of student life. We are progressive, sustainable, inclusive, traditional, non-hierarchical, and egalitarian in both structure and practice. Because we are student-run, we evolve to fit the needs of our changing community every year. We prioritize your input and support, and dedicate this project to you, McGill’s Jews.
ECOLE (Educational Community Living Environment) is a model of urban sustainable living and a physical hub for the McGill and Montreal sustainability communities. Our mandate is to bring together McGill students, faculty and staff and Montreal community members in the pursuit of sustainable living by means of applied student research, alternative education, and community building. ECOLE is an ongoing experiment that strives to be a model of urban sustainable living. ECOLE has ten facilitators that live in our physical building (3559 Rue University) that host many types of events and workshops for the greater McGill / Milton Parc communities. LinkedIn Instagram  
The Daily Publications Society (DPS) is a fully independent, student-run, not-for-profit organisation which publishes two student newspapers at McGill University : The McGill Daily and Le Délit. The McGill Daily began as a daily sports rag in 1911 and has served the McGill community ever since, evolving into its current format as an alternative media outlet. The Daily currently produces one print issue every week, online content, as well as Unfit to Print, its podcast produced in collaboration with CKUT. Le Délit was introduced in 1977. It was first limited to a French section of the regular McGill Daily, then grew to be its own weekly French issue (then called Le McGill Daily Français) before separating itself from The Daily in 1979, becoming its sister newspaper. Want to get involved with our papers ? The McGill Daily and Le Délit are always looking for new writers and contributors to join their team! As a student at McGill you are already a member of the DPS and have a say in how our papers are run. No experience is necessary.
 
CKUT 90.3 FM is a non-profit, campus-community radio station based at McGill University. We've been powered by McGill students since we began as the radio club in the 1940s, and a dedicated group of McGill students fought to get us on the FM airwaves in 1987 - and won! CKUT provides alternative music, news and spoken word programming to the city of Montreal, surrounding areas, & around the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Hear us at 90.3 MHz on the FM dial, 91.7 by cable, or listen online at ckut.ca. CKUT is made up of over 200 student and community volunteers working with a staff of coordinators to make creative and insightful radio programming. As a campus-community radio station, CKUT’s mandate is to provide an essential service to those in the Montreal community whose needs are not met by mainstream commercial radio. CKUT functions not only as an alternative to the status quo, but also as a viable community resource. CKUT serves as a training ground for the community and student populations, and in doing so, provides an essential educational and information service to the greater Montreal community. Students can listen to CKUT at 90.3FM on the radio dial, online at ckut.ca or on the go with the free Tune-In App. To get involved, email volunteering@ckut.ca! LinkedIn YouTube Instagram

Student Life FAQ

How do I find a student group I’m interested in?

There are countless ways to find out what SSMU has to offer! The easiest way to find a student group you’re interested in joining is perusing the Club Listing, Services Listing, and Independent Student Group Listings on the SSMU website.

The most common way to see all of SSMU’s student groups in one place is by attending Activities Night, a clubs fair that SSMU hosts at the beginning of each semester.  Activities Night, hosted in the SSMU building, brings in all of SSMU’s student groups under one roof for students to sign up for membership lists, speak to the student executives running each group, and learn more about how to get involved.

If you have a specific interest or even a very general idea of what you’re looking for in a student group and would like some guidance on where to start looking, you can also contact the Vice-President (Student Life) or the Club Administrative Officer.

How do I sign up to join a student group?

All student groups maintain their own membership lists, so there is not one centralized way to sign up for a number of groups at once.  To become a member or a volunteer for a student group, the easiest way to sign up is contacting that group directly by email or attending a general meeting.

Many groups also have sign-up lists available for students to add their names to during Activities Night.  Signing up for one of these lists will generally put you on the group’s email list, where you’ll be able to get more information about how they define their membership and how to become one!

Do I need to pay membership fees to join these groups?

The answer to this question varies depending on the type of group in question.  Among clubs, some have membership fees which vary based on the activities of the club, but the majority have no membership fee.

There are no direct membership fees associated with any of the SSMU Services or the Independent Student Groups, but some of these groups receive funding that is paid directly through your student fees on Minerva, which gives you membership rights.

Why do I pay for some of these groups directly through my e-bill on Minerva?

Because Services and Independent Student Groups provide resources and opportunities to all McGill undergraduate students, they have the option of levying a fee from the student body directly that all undergraduate students pay into on Minerva.

Of SSMU’s twenty services, of those groups (M-SERT, SACOMSS, Nightline, Midnight Kitchen, Queer McGill, the Union for Gender Empowerment, TVM: Student Television at McGill, Organic Campus, the Black Students Network, First Year Council, and the McGill International Students Network) levy fees directly from the student body.

Of SSMU’s ten Independent Student Groups, six of those groups (the Legal Information Clinic at McGill, the McGill Daily, the McGill Tribune, CKUT Radio, QPIRG McGill, and the ECOLE Project) levy fees directly from students.  So long as you haven’t opted out of the fee through Minerva (note that the McGill Daily and McGill Tribune fees are not opt-outable), you hold voting rights in those organizations and can participate at their Annual General Meetings.