OPIRG hosts movie screening for McMaster alum's documentary about the history of student activism at McMaster

On Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, the film Peace Love (Unicorns) & Communism had its on-campus premiere. McMaster’s Ontario Public Interest Research Group Outreach branch, formerly known as the McMaster Social Issues Network, hosted a free screening of the film for students in the Burke Science Building.

McMaster alum Adeola Egbeyemi wrote, produced and directed Peace Love (Unicorns) & Communism. Egbeyemi is a 2022 McMaster graduate and one of the founders of Climate Justice McMaster, formerly known as MacDivest.

The film explores the activism and struggles that marked her time at McMaster, but also that of past generations. Egbeyemi is particularly passionate about climate activism. "When I learned Mac was investing in fossil fuels . . . myself and a couple of housemates started [what is] now known as Climate Justice McMaster but formerly MacDivest and that was the start of a long journey of organizing stuff and not winning it,'" said Egbeyemi.

Jiya Rawal and Nimra Atiq, the co-presidents of OPIRG Outreach, discussed OPIRG’s involvement in both the production and screening of the film on campus. “OPIRG Outreach really wants to help social injustices within our community and help to bring awareness about that, especially about student-led change,” said Atiq.

“A good portion of the documentary is funded through OPIRG McMaster. We also gave her other support,” said Rawal.

Egbeyemi discussed the documentary's reflection of the broader university student experience. “I feel like it’s a documentary that tries to not only talk about university issues, but it also feels like you’re in university where so much info is hitting you at so many corners. Where you’re kind of overwhelmed but you’re like, "Okay, this is what it’s like,"” said Egbeyemi. 

I feel like it’s a documentary that tries to not only talk about university issues, but it also feels like you’re in university where so much info is hitting you at so many corners. Where you’re kind of overwhelmed but you’re like, “okay, this is what it’s like."

Adeola Egbeyemi, McMaster graduate
producer, writer and director of Peace Love (Unicorns) & Communism

The documentary features powerful testimonies from students and activists who over the past 20 years worked hard to create a safer, more inclusive environment on campus. “It was cool to be able to now, looking back, document what — at the time when I was in middle school — people at Mac were doing to make the campus safer for people like me eventually when I would get there,” expressed Egbeyemi. “I think one really important thing they tried to make better is just making campus safe for women.”

It was cool to be able to now, looking back, document what — at the time when I was in middle school —people at Mac were doing to make the campus safer for people like me eventually when I would get there.

Adeola Egbeyemi,
producer, writer and director Peace Love (Unicorns) & Communism

As the writer, producer and director of the film, Egbeyemi had to juggle many different roles, each demanding a different set of skills. She credits her experience working on student musicals at McMaster with helping her learn how to manage a large, complex project.

"One aspect that I really feel like I gained was the spaces that are still there that foster skills in the arts . . . and one of those being McMaster’s faculty musicals in which I was able to learn what it means to be responsible for so many moving pieces in a musical and then to transfer those skills outside of Mac to a film," said Egbeyemi.

For Egbeyemi, the film represents more than just a personal project. It’s an expression of the collective student effort that has shaped McMaster over the years. She reflected on the powerful role that activism has played in transforming the campus. “They are the documentary. It’s almost hard to say this is my documentary because so many people contributed to it,” expressed Egbeyemi.

While Peace Love (Unicorns) & Communism showcases only McMaster’s campus, its themes can resonate and extend to student activism globally. The film touches on universal themes of social justice, environmental activism and the ongoing struggle for equity and inclusion. If you missed this documentary screening, keep an eye out for future upcoming screenings on the film's Instagram page.

C/O Keenan Jeppesen

Keenan Jeppesen, the Associate Director of High Performance, seeks to advocate for and represent Black student athlete voices

McMaster’s Department of Athletics and Recreation has recently been restructured to have separate staff groups that cover both athletics and recreation. These are headed by associate directors who report to the Primary Director, Shawn Burt. Trish Chant-Sehl is the associate director, recreation and healthy living, whereas Keenan Jeppesen is the associate director, high performance.  

Jeppesen joined McMaster Athletics and Recreation ain January. His roots in the McMaster community run deep — as a child growing up in Hamilton, he attended McMaster basketball camps. He returned to McMaster as a student working towards his MBA and played on the Marauders men’s basketball team as a forward in the 2009-10 season, donning number 13. 

Upon earning his MBA, Jeppesen worked for Viacom and Ubiquiti Networks before returning to McMaster to work as the director of basketball operations from 2018 to 2021. Afterward, Jeppesen began to work with the Onyx Initiative, aiming to help Black and Afro-Canadian students connect with corporate Canada to earn internships and work experience. Now, Jeppesen has found himself back with McMaster once again in the role of associate director, high performance.  

“McMaster’s always been important to me and I think it's such an important part of Hamilton; [it is] the fabric of the community. And I'm just so happy to kind of be back in this capacity and help kind of continue the great tradition that McMaster has and really build upon that and try to take it to a new level,” said Jeppesen.  

In this role, Jeppesen covers everything competitive, from teams that compete at the U Sports or national level, teams that compete in Ontario University Athletics competitions, clubs and recreational teams that compete in other leagues and the staff that support them, including field therapists, strength and conditioning coaches and even student services coordinators.  

As the role is a newer one, Jeppesen is working to define the role for himself and for the department. High performance is a general term and he hopes to take a holistic approach to it, covering everything both on and off the court.  

“It just doesn't mean wins or losses, but it's really about the development of our student athletes academically, as leaders and community members both within Hamilton and the greater McMaster community. [They are a] source of pride and true ambassadors of the McMaster values and missions,” explained Jeppesen.  

"It just doesn't mean wins or losses, but it's really about the development of our student athletes academically, as leaders and community members both within Hamilton and the greater McMaster community. [They are a] source of pride and true ambassadors of the McMaster values and missions."

Keenan Jeppesen

With Jeppesen’s experience in uplifting Black voices, a large part of his role is implementing a response after the Black Student-Athlete systemic review that came out in October 2022. Part of this response is the 21 financial awards for Black student athletes, called the 'Black Excellence Athletic Financial Awards'. The application involves short submissions from Black student athletes that highlight their leadership and excellence to the community.  

“The way I continue to support in the review response [is] really just bringing my own lived experience to the role and understanding Black and BIPOC student athletes and just trying to bring that lens to the decisions we make within the department and creating programs that in some cases are specific to them,” explained Jeppesen. 

In addition to lending his own perspective to the situation, Jeppesen seeks to build the athletics and recreation department up by incorporating student feedback.  

“[I’m] trying to be someone that student athletes of all ethnicities are comfortable coming to share their perspective and really just trying to build a department that really incorporates the feedback of our student athletes and making sure that we reflect their values and deliver the services that are important to them,” said Jeppesen.  

“[I’m] trying to be someone that student athletes of all ethnicities are comfortable coming to share their perspective and really just trying to build a department that really incorporates the feedback of our student athletes and making sure that we reflect their values and deliver the services that are important to them."

Keenan Jeppesen

In this role, Jeppesen is able to combine his passion for strategy with working and uplifting student-athletes. Continuous improvement within the Department of Athletics and Recreation can be expected under Jeppesen’s leadership.