About seven and a half million children and youth up to the age of 25 suffer from mental illness in Canada. Mental illness is serious, debilitating and life-altering.  

The McMaster Student Absence Form allows McMaster University students to request relief from coursework due to medical or personal reasons. McMaster recently updated their MSAF policy to clarify some terms and add more definitive timelines to the process. This new policy came into effect on Sept. 1. 

On Sept. 17, the McMaster University rowing team held a fundraising event outside the Fortinos Ancaster to support their trip to the Canadian University Rowing Championship. 

With the academic year in full swing, students’ bustling and vibrant energy is back on campus. Students can return to enjoying in-person classes and gatherings, socialize with friends and faculty and explore the thriving arts and culture scene in Hamilton.  However, for a significant portion of the student body, the university experience is not as fulfilling. Many students are excluded from campus life solely because they are commuters.   

Last September, the Nuisance party bylaw was enacted by the Hamilton municipal government in response to an unsanctioned homecoming street party in 2021.  Homecoming street parties in 2021, unaffiliated with McMaster University's official football homecoming, resulted in the flipping and destruction of an undergraduate student’s car. This incident along with other reckless activities sparked the nuisance party initiative in the following year by Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson. 

Last year, the city of Hamilton implemented the nuisance party bylaw in response to the rather infamous and disastrous fake homecoming party that took place two years ago.  The bylaw, which makes it illegal to promote, host, attend, permit and cease or refuse to leave a nuisance party, leaves students facing penalties upwards of a whopping $25,000 if charged with an offence. 

Each year, McMaster University and the McMaster Student Union collect over $1,400 in mandatory supplementary fees from each of their full-time undergraduate students. As tuition and supplementary fees are due on September 25 this year, students, once again, enter a period of heightened financial stress paying off significant balances to avoid late fees and interest charges.  

Matamak is a new restaurant that opened in Westdale on Jul. 12, founded by Omar Barakat. It operates on a subscription-based model, where members pay a monthly subscription fee to enjoy the low cost of food at Matamak, starting at $25 per month. 

On Sept. 16, the McMaster University women’s field hockey team began their season. Their first game of their campaign saw them face up against the McGill University Martlets, in which the team secured a dominant 3-1 win. 

The season is underway for Marauders men’s baseball, with the maroon and grey team having played both the University of Guelph Gryphons and the Laurier University Golden Hawks in a two-game series.