In his campaign for MSU president, Olami Olalere aims to introduce an MSUTV, create a back-to-school event day and promote housing accessibility
Olami Olalere is a third-year Honours Life Sciences, and one of three students running for the McMaster Students Union 2025 presidential election. The three main pillars of his platform emphasize improving student life, fostering student engagement and promoting student expression.
Olalere refers to these pillars as the "iSee" framework. His campaign slogan is "this is on me, all for you!"
Student Life
The first pillar of Olalere's campaign focuses on improving student life. Olalere highlights four key areas of action under student life: bettering engagement with and access to MSU services by improving advertising, addressing housing accessibility, advocating for better transit and events designed for enrichment and fun.
Olalere proposes increasing access to MSU services through enhancing advertising. Olalere plans to raise awareness of the services and resources the MSU offers, ensuring that students are better informed. To achieve this, in his campaign platform he proposes "partnering more" with MSU affiliated centres, such as the Women and Gender Equity Network, the Pride Community Centre and the Student Health Education Centre, to drive more traffic towards MSU services.
With the goal of improving helping students find housing, Olalere proposes holding a housing fair where landlords would showcase their properties. He also plans to collaborate with the municipal government to uphold student tenant protections and establish a route of direct communication between students and the municipal government. He has indicated an intention to introduce a housing budget to fund these initiatives.
Olalere's next priority is improving transportation on and around campus. He plans to engage with Metrolinx to increase the frequency of GO busses during rush hours. He also wishes to arrange monthly buses for students to attend away Marauder sports games to foster school spirit.
Lastly, Olalere wants to introduce new events that enrich the student experience by planning additional events for homecoming, including a halftime show at the football game and to build on the night concert by including a fair featuring local vendors.
He also proposes a smaller "Back-to-School Day" event on campus, offering entertainment and activities to celebrate the return to campus at the start of the academic year.
Student Engagement
The second pillar of Olalere's campaign focuses on engaging students with campus events that promote inclusivity, empower student voices and encourage civic participation.
Olalere proposes introducing a culture festival or month featuring various cultural events, performances and exhibitions to address what he perceives as a lack of events that represent the diverse student body.
Olalere also proposes creating a "Maroon Wall," a place for students to express themselves and engage with peers. He intends to collaborate with McMaster Athletics to create a McMaster student-only stand for home games.
With the goal of showcasing student creativity, he proposes hosting a gallery and art exhibition where students can display their work, participate in a bidding process and win prizes.
With the goal of fostering engagement with MSU politics, Olalere proposes student town hall meetings in the McMaster University Student Centre atrium to discuss key issues with the MSU. He also proposes collecting the opinions of students through surveys, suggestion boxes and monthly MSU outreach booths in MUSC.
Additionally, Olalere wants to encourage civic participation by educating students on the importance of voting and providing peer support resources to address what he refers to as "election anxiety."
Student Expression
The third pillar of Olalere's campaign focuses on student expression.
In his platform, Olalere proposes hosting a Halloween festival. The festival would feature events for both on and off-campus students, including a haunted house in the Hub.
If elected, he claims he would create "MSUTV", a student-run media outlet dedicated to showcasing the vibrant life of campus. The platform would live-stream sporting events, student governance coverage and highlights of campus events, allowing McMaster students to see their stories come to life.
More information on Olami's campaign can be found via Instagram.
While Olalere's campaigns aims to address a wide range of student issues, some points lack detailed planning and would benefit from more research and consultation
Olami Olalere's campaign succeeds in highlighting a wide scope of student issues on campus while proposing initiatives to improve the operations of the MSU. However, many of these promises lack clarity, substance and proper consultations with key stakeholders and experts on campus.
In his campaign, Olalere's first pillar focuses on increasing traffic to MSU services by enhancing advertising methods. While Olarere shared with the Silhouette that he consulted full-time MSU staff about student usage of MSU services, his platform fails to include any data or specific details from these consultations to validate the need for this promise.
In his platform point on housing accessibility, Olalere mentioned his intention to create a route of communication between students and the municipal government to improve tenant protections for students. However, this proposal lacks clarity regarding who exactly students would be communicating with or what concrete steps would be taken to implement this communication channel. Olami did not state that he had consulted with any city officials on this point.
Student Engagement
In the second pillar of his campaign, Olalere envisions creating a “Maroon Wall”, a dedicated space for students to express themselves, share stories and engage with peers. Yet, key details about the initiative remain undefined, such as where the wall would be located.
Olalere intends to work with McMaster Athletics to create a student-only stand for sports games on campus to encourage student engagement in sports and to foster school spirit.
“I go to almost all the basketball games, almost all the football games, soccer games, men, women, volleyball games. I support the team, physically in all these aspects. I enjoy watching the team . . . and I go to these [games]. I am seeing the attendance. It is low,” said Olarere.
Olalere did consult with Director of McMaster Athletics and Recreation Keenan Jeppesen, and both agreed this was a worthwhile initiative to explore.
One of Olalere's proposals involves arranging monthly meetings with students in the McMaster University Students Centre, where, if elected as MSU president, he would provide a space for students to voice their concerns.
When speaking to the Silhouette, he was asked how he would handle students raising controversial topics and ensuring that such public discussions are respectful. Olalere acknowledged the potential for these issues but ultimately stated that students' voices should be heard. More consideration into the safety and security of this event could help to strengthen this platform point.
He further suggested that the meetings would be reassessed halfway through, though this response lacked clarity on how potential conflicts would be managed effectively and whether any concrete actions or protocols would be implemented to ensure fair representation and productive dialogue.
Student Expression
The third pillar of Olalere's campaign includes implementing a new MSU service called “MSUTV”. This student-run media outlet would aim to showcase life and events on campus.
However, there are already two existing student-run MSU services. The Silhouette, McMaster's student-led newspaper established in 1930, and 93.3 CFMU, McMaster's campus radio station established in 1963, similarly cover campus events, news and sports.
As of May 1, 2025, both departments will be funded by the CFMU Radio Inc. student fee to enable greater cross-collaboration, including more joint video initiatives.
Olalere's platform does not acknowledge these established services or indicate whether he consulted on the creation of a new campus media outlet. Olalere did not consult with the Silhouette or CFMU about what exactly his "MSUTV" would cover and how the two services might overlap.
When questioned in an interview, Olalere elaborated on his idea, including plans for post-game interviews and opportunities for students to interview athletes, with these segments and games being broadcasted on television. This would bridge the gap between the athletics and student sides of campus life, according to Olalere.
The current campus screen network that the MSU owns were replaced through a capital-expenditure request to the SRA in 2022. They currently run paid advertising and the Silhouette news ticker. There has been no clarification from the candidate if he proposes to still have this remain in addition to the "MSUTV" content.
However, he still did not clarify how his new proposed media service would fit alongside and be distinguished from the two already existing campus media services.
Finally, when being interviewed by the Silhouette, Olalere walked back one of his points in his original campaign platform that he provided. When discussing his proposed housing fair, he admitted he thought the idea was infeasible.
Overall, Olalere's campaign succeeds in presenting himself as a candidate eager to empower student voices.
It is also worth noting that Olalere is the only candidate running for MSU President from outside of the "MSU Bubble," showcasing the want for students to get involved to make a difference on campus.
Nevertheless, it ultimately falls short due to lack of clarity in his proposals and a failure to provide details on how he plans to implement his ideas effectively.
Student housing has been in crisis for years and new laws in Hamilton might offer an opportunity to bring back an old solution, could student co-operatives make a comeback?
Hamilton’s student housing market is a mess. Every year students struggle in a race to acquire limited off campus housing, often making sacrifices in cost or distance.
Student housing has also been subjected to increasing blame for Canada’s broader housing crisis, which has pushed the current liberal government into capping foreign student numbers in a weak attempt to address endemic problems.
Hamilton’s housing situation is particularly desperate, with both buying and renting remaining unaffordable for most. Despite being one of Hamilton’s top municipal issues, progress has been slow outside of the downtown core.
Recent changes to zoning regulations have made space for more gentle density development, allowing duplex, triplex and fourplex buildings in single unit zoned areas. These zoning changes offer a new path for student housing in the Ainslie Wood and Westdale areas where student housing is most concentrated. This could potentially mean a more diverse set of housing options and an expanded pool of available housing, all critical things to addressing the student housing crisis - but will it?
As high profile projects in Hamilton’s downtown core, backed by major developers, have been delayed due to increased capital costs, it shouldn’t be surprising that the small-landlord-dominated student housing market would be resistant or incapable of engaging in neighborhood-changing development. But what international investors may see as an emerging market opportunity, is not something students can afford to be kept out of the decision making process on.
The characterization of Canada’s student housing market as underdeveloped has some basis in the lived reality of students; a lack of purpose-built housing options is detrimental to both supply and choice. But current proposed solutions, such as the one offered by the Real Estate News Exchange, are not ideal for students. We don’t need more corporate owners building huge, unaccountable student dormitory towers.
There is however one radical alternative. Student co-operative housing has a long history in Canada. Canada’s oldest co-operative housing project is actually Toronto’s Campus Cooperative Residence, opened in 1934.
Student co-operative housing has a long history in Canada, Canada’s oldest co-operative housing project is actually Toronto’s Campus Cooperative Residence, opened in 1934.
In the latter half of the 20th century, rental co-op's emerged in force to support low and middle income communities in securing affordable, secure housing. The model sought to provide low-cost housing by eliminating a profit motive. Residents also take part in co-operative governance, electing a board to oversee the co-op's affairs and maintenance.
Student co-ops use the co-operative housing model to manage costs and community affairs in their buildings. This democratic process keeps profit making out of student housing and allows for students to create an affordable community-based alternative to extractive student housing. This democratic mechanism could be used to balance student housing needs and sustainable development objectives in the student neighborhoods surrounding McMaster.
The only issue with this utopian vision of democratic student residences should be obvious however - money. Whether it be the capital to build initial projects, or expand upon a hopefully successful model, a bunch of idealist students whose university careers might only last a few years are not ideal for securing loans.
For interested student activists there are examples of successful student co-ops to learn from across Canada. However, moving fast to capitalize on the opportunity offered by Hamilton’s new zoning regulations will take organizational capabilities and infrastructure that would be hard to build from the ground up quickly enough.
If the McMaster Students Union wants to make a serious impact in students' lives, using its organizational capabilities and status to facilitate the creation of co-operative student housing could make a permanent impact on McMaster student’s lives. The MSU could put itself at the forefront of a new movement with a bold, creative solution to student’s problems, but it will take daring leadership and effort to succeed.
The MSU could put itself at the forefront of a new movement with a bold, creative solution to student’s problems, but it will take daring leadership and effort to succeed.
Recent interest from the federal government in using co-operative housing means there are opportunities — and possible funding — to tap into.
McMaster’s international student population faces struggles navigating the housing market, including housing scams, communication barriers and exploitative landlords.
For McMaster University students, navigating the Hamilton housing market can be a challenging experience. With a housing crisis on the rise and rent prices rapidly increasing, many McMaster students struggle to find affordable and accessible places to live.
International students in particular face unique struggles with finding housing. Fourth-year international computer science student Nisheet Kumar Sobti explained how communication barriers between international students and landlords complicate the already difficult process of finding student housing.
“First, you need to understand how difficult it is to find a house for an international student. Especially if you're coming from a different country and you speak a different language. A lot of students when they come to Canada don't even know how to speak English,” said Sobti.
First, you need to understand how difficult it is to find a house for an international student. Especially if you're coming from a different country and you speak a different language. A lot of students when they come to Canada don't even know how to speak English.
Nisheet Kumar Sobti, fourth-year computer science student
In the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 6,500 of McMaster students were international, making up 17.5 per cent of the student body. Sobti explained that the struggles specific to this student population are real and ongoing, which became most apparent to him during his experience finding housing.
“Finding a house the first time was so difficult. There were a lot of scams going on. A lot of landlords, they didn't want to give a house to international students because we couldn’t meet in-person,” said Sobti.
Housing scams can include advertisements for houses that don’t exist or already-rented properties, suspicious requests for money or false lists of amenities. Many incoming international students are unable to attend in-person house showings prior to signing a lease, making them subject to misleading advertisements or housing scams.
Second-year software engineering student Aysu Özdal echoed Sobti’s sentiments. Özdal explained that despite feeling apprehensive to sign her lease, she was desperate to find somewhere to live for the upcoming school year.
“Until the day I moved into that house, I was so scared that it could be a scam. I paid first and last months’ rent and I was so scared that it would be a scam, because there's no getting the money back,” said Özdal.
Until the day I moved into that house, I was so scared that it could be a scam. I paid first and last months’ rent and I was so scared that it would be a scam, because there's no getting the money back.
Aysu Özdal, second-year software engineering student
Özdal explained that although her lease agreement ended up being legitimate, this is not the case for every student put in her position. Beyond language barriers and physical distance, international students aren’t always well informed on their rights as a tenant and navigating potentially exploitative landlords.
McMaster arts and science graduate and current CFMU community outreach coordinator Sharang Sharma spoke on this barrier, explaining that international students a prime target for exploitative landlords.
“Half the time [international students] don't know what the laws are, what our rights are … So those kinds of predatory practices are particularly effective,” said Sharma.
Half the time [international students] don't know what the laws are, what our rights are … So those kinds of predatory practices are particularly effective.
Sharang Sharma, arts and science graduate and CFMU community outreach coordinator
McMaster does have programs in place, such as International Student Services office, that aim to address these barriers and assist international students in their transition to Canada. However, many international students still face these struggles and are victims to scams and unlawful housing conditions.
Fourth-year international health science student Vitoria Murakami Olyntho shared her thoughts on this shared circumstance and suggested some potential avenues for McMaster to get involved.
“I wish McMaster could take more of an involved role in helping students find housing. Maybe having groups of McMaster accredited landlords or regions where there's kind of a partnership between the school and the housing market…It would be easier to navigate, it would be less confusing and [feel] more trusting,” said Murakami Olyntho.
Not only does this student population face specific barriers when navigating finding places to live close to campus, such as facing housing scams and communication difficulties, but they also are often scapegoated market.
This year, federal government officials stated that the growing number of international students entering Canada has put a strain on housing availability and as a result has driven up rent prices.
Rates of issued international student study permits in Canada have increased by 75 per cent over the last five years. and this increasing blame has resulted in the federal government considering an international student cap.
Conversations around an international student cap are ongoing, all the while incoming international students continue to struggle to find secure and affordable places to live. For more information on resources for international students, visit the International Student Services office.
The victims of scams, cutthroat competition and more scams – students need better support navigating the housing crisis
With the brutal race to find listings, equally intense bidding wars and scams everywhere, McMaster University students continue to face unrelenting obstacles in attaining off-campus housing this year. And they need support – support that the university is failing to provide.
Fuelled by the impacts of the pandemic, the shortage of on- and off-campus housing and the rapidly growing number of McMaster students, affordable housing has evolved into a luxury that few are fortunate to find. While the Hamilton housing crisis may seem like a simple supply and demand issue at first glance, the unstable rental market poses unique challenges for different groups of Students.
International and out-of-province students, for one, are faced with difficulties when trying to arrange their accommodation from a different country or province. Being unable to view listings and meet with landlords in person only makes them more vulnerable to scams and difficult landlords. On top of that, McMaster’s own off-campus housing website does not screen listings and fails to protect students from scams.
International and out-of-province students, for one, are faced with difficulties when trying to arrange their accommodation from a different country or province. Being unable to view listings and meet with landlords in person only makes them more vulnerable to scams and difficult landlords.
Male students are also overlooked in the housing crisis. Though advertising for female-only housing tends to be abundant in Facebook groups and other listing websites, male and co-ed student housing is scarce. Even on McMaster’s off-campus housing website, which features co-ed residences, a majority of the listings are over a thousand dollars per room, rendering the homes unaffordable for many students.
And let’s not forget the incoming first-year students who are waitlisted for residence at McMaster due to the limited availability of rooms and competitive eligibility criteria based on academic achievement. Not only are these students inexperienced, but they also lack the advantage of starting their search earlier in the school year since residence applications take place in June. Without sufficient time and resources provided by McMaster, incoming students are forced to fight for the last few available rentals.
And let’s not forget the incoming first-year students who are waitlisted for residence at McMaster due to the limited availability of rooms and competitive eligibility criteria based on academic achievement.
As many McMaster students have yet to secure affordable, safe and convenient housing, they face a year of uncertainty.
Some students may need to make a commute worth hours or exceed their budgets to afford a sub-par room near campus, while others with limited financial flexibility and fortune are on the verge of homelessness. The sheer infeasibility and severity of current circumstances could even push some students to consider dropping out this year.
To make matters worse, the period of economic inflation continues to put a strain on students. It also doesn’t help that McMaster’s bursary applications close during the winter term. The uncertainty of being accepted for funding and ill-timed disbursement doesn’t allow students to plan their finances for the academic year.
Though McMaster is working to create more residences, there is a need for unique short-term solutions to address the current state of the crisis.
McMaster must recognize that the Hamilton housing crisis is about much more than housing.
From the search for housing to life in their new homes, the crisis has taken a significant physical and mental toll on students, putting their success and well-being at stake. The stress of managing finances, employment, commuting, school and poor housing conditions, such as overcrowding, is draining students across the country.
Students should not have to think twice about purchasing a meal or saving up for next month’s rent. They should not have to compromise their own well-being or academic success because of unaffordable housing. McMaster and other post-secondary institutions need to do better.
By Christina Reed, Contributor
Every winter, many women in Hamilton find themselves without a safe, warm place to sleep.
Without protection from the elements, these women struggle to survive. As affordable housing in Hamilton becomes increasingly inaccessible, the number of homeless women in Hamilton in need of emergency shelters rises each year. According to a 2018 community profile from the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 65 per cent of the 386 individuals identified as experiencing homelessness in Hamilton spent the night at a shelter.
In Hamilton, a number of non-profit organizations collectively work to address the needs of women vulnerable to homelessness. Mission Services of Hamilton, a Christian charity centred around eradicating poverty, runs Willow’s Place, a year-round drop-in hub that provides safety and amenities during daytime hours. This includes access to showers, harm reduction services, a secure place to rest and opportunities to engage in creative and social activities. In the winter, Willow's Place provides extended hours, given that they secure sufficient donor support.
Carole Anne’s Place is an overflow women’s shelter run during the winter months by the Young Women’s Christian Association of Hamilton, a women-led service organization that focuses on health and wellness programs. Women coming to Carole Anne’s place are greeted with a hot meal, a safe bed to sleep in and hot coffee the following morning. Bus tickets are provided so that women can travel between Willow’s Place and Carole Anne’s Place.
Violetta Nikolskaya, Senior Program Analyst at the YWCA Hamilton and co-founder of the Women and Gender Equity Network at McMaster, said that working around the clock was key to working together and providing essential services.
“Our relationship was built on the collaboration of women's services — no one organization can do this alone,” she added.
“Our relationship was built on the collaboration of women's services — no one organization can do this alone,” said Violetta Nikolskaya, Senior Program Analyst at the YWCA Hamilton and co-founder of the Women and Gender Equity Network at McMaster
This is the fourth winter that Carole Anne’s Place has supported homeless women in Hamilton. The program originated from another Hamilton non-profit, Out of the Cold, which offers hot meals to those in need over the winter months.
Previously, Carol Anne’s Place had been funded by Out of the Cold and Hamilton-Niagara’s Local Health Integration Network, one of the 14 provincial authorities that governed public healthcare administration in 2019. Ontario’s 14 LHINs were replaced by a 12-member Ontario health agency board; as a result, the YWCA has lost access to previous funding.
There would be no provincial support for Carole Anne’s Place to open on Dec. 1. Without funding, Carole Anne’s Place would be unable to open this winter, leaving many homeless women with nowhere to go during dangerously cold nights. Willow’s Place, which relies on donations, would also be unable to expand their winter hours without further funding this year.
On Nov. 6, in a last-minute push, City Hall approved $128,000 in emergency funding to keep Carole Anne’s Place and Willow’s Place available this winter.
This is not a sustainable solution. Sam Merulla, the Ward 4 councillor who moved to provide the donation, sided with this point.
"It's not good management to have someone all the sudden come in at the eleventh hour and say 'we need a quarter of a million dollars?' It's not good governance," said Merulla to CBC.
"It's not good management to have someone all the sudden come in at the eleventh hour and say 'we need a quarter of a million dollars?' It's not good governance," said Merulla.
According to Nikolskaya, it is not uncommon for initiatives such as Carole Anne’s Place and Willow’s Place to struggle with sustainable core funding. The need to maintain emergency shelters in Hamilton is becoming more urgent with the rising number of homeless women in the city. Nikolskaya reports that emergency women’s shelters have been over capacity for the last several years, and she has witnessed the amount of women seeking refuge at Carole Anne’s Place increasing with every year.
In the winter of 2014-2015, Nikolskaya reports that only about five women would access Carole Anne’s programming per night. In the winter of 2018-2019, this number jumped to an average of 14 women per night, with some nights seeing as many as 20.
Often reaching maximum capacity, Hamilton's shelters have been turning away women in recent years. This is likely linked to the rising prevalence of homelessness in Hamilton and a lack of affordable housing.
While monetary donations play a huge role in supporting the YWCA and Mission Services, there are other ways to contribute. For example, donations of socks and underwear are also valuable. According to Nikolskaya, any contribution can be an impactful one in ensuring that no woman is left in the cold this winter.
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