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The MSU is well on its way to launching Maccess, its newest service. As the name suggests, Maccess will cater to students with both visible and invisible disabilities, with the goal of peer-based support and advocacy.
“What's different about this [service] is that it's peer-centric and that it also helps to capture students who maybe suffer with acute disabilities, so that captures students who deal with mental health concerns,” explained Giuliana Guarna, VP (Administration) of the MSU.
“We know there's a desire for peer support and we know there's also a desire to have an advocacy component that teaches students self-advocacy and also in the sense of campaigns and educating the campus, and advocating to the university.”
Guarna hopes the service will help prevent students from feeling “othered,” and while Maccess does not have a confirmed space yet, due to the logistics of physical accessibility concerns, she stressed the importance of finding a non-medical space. “Many students don’t find the medical resources to be sufficient,” she explained.
She also hopes Maccess will pioneer a better ally system for students with disabilities. While Student Accessibility Services runs its own version of the program, she said, “Many of the students who are part of the ally program don’t actually have a disability. So they don’t really appreciate the nuances of navigating the university while having a disability.” The service would hopefully launch a version of the program where students with disabilities could share tips about accommodations.
Ultimately, it will be Alex Wilson, the service’s newly hired coordinator who will work to shape the service. The selection committee, made up of Guarna, Brandon Stegmaier, the MSU Services Commissioner and Nishan Zewge-Abubaker, the MSU’s Diversity Services Director, worked with a set list of competencies to find a candidate who fit the job description. “[We wanted] someone who understands what is currently happening on campus with regards to disability and what services already exist,” explained Guarna. “Second, we are looking for someone who can build an inclusive space that would operate under an anti-racist framework and that had knowledge of intersectionality.”
To Guarna, Wilson displayed all the qualities the committee looked for. “I think he has a very thorough understanding of the role of peer support based on his role with SHEC. He also has a very strong understanding of working with campus and our community partners,” she said.
In regards to the role that lived experiences with disability played in hiring, Guarna said that the committee never said that they were exclusively going to hire someone with a disability, visible or invisible.
“We never even said we were going to hire someone with a disability. I mean, obviously we would hope that we do, because they're going to have that more nuanced understanding; however, I don't think it's even fair for us to have to expect a student to self-identify, because again, that is a barrier. And that in itself creates a barrier for those students, having to say, ‘I have this disability.’”
Wilson, for his part, is looking forward to taking on his new role. Starting in January, he will work six hours a week on developing the service, a job he will continue over the course of the summer, the goal being to officially launch the service September 2016, though it remains to be seen in what form.
“The next few months will be very dynamic as we look at how the collaboration between SAS, SWELL, SWC, HRES and Maccess turns out.” He also cited that finding a permanent, readily accessible space was another factor that would be vital in getting the service set up.
While progress has been made, the Maccess has a long way to grow yet, and it will be exciting to see how the new advocacy service develops.
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Three weeks ago, one of my staff members came knocking on my office door.
“I recently found out about something, and I’m not sure what to do.”
The following 40 minutes were then spent discussing the difficult issue of covering the death of a student in the paper.
When someone the same age as you passes away due to sudden or violent reasons, it is never an easy discussion. It is something that needs to be done while still respecting the privacy of the deceased’s family, while still maintaining integrity and honesty in coverage. As a student news outlet that covers campus-related issues, the passing of a student can be a challenging but important story to cover.
As some of you may have heard, on the night of Saturday, Nov. 21, a fellow Marauder passed away from a tragic accident. Mariel Garcia, a first-year Humanities student, was struck and killed in a hit-and-run. The accused was recently released on bail, and the family is currently raising funds to pay for the funeral.
Garcia is not the first student to pass away during this school year. This is not meant to at all take away from her unfortunate and untimely death, but it is a reality that many students are sheltered from.
Our campus functions just as the rest of the world does — issues arise, conflicts are resolved, and sometimes, unfortunately, people will die.
There is a certain grief that comes across the student body that needs to be respected at a time when the loss of a life is affecting many. When you hear about the passing of a stranger in the paper, does it add or take away from your experience of grief? Is it our place to cover the death of a student?
As a newspaper governed by the ongoings of student-aged people, the notion of death can feel surreal in our community. We are taught that young people are not meant to die, and when it does happen, it is something to study and publicize. And while there can be merit in that, when you see someone’s face on a front page, it can be tough to associate them with a real person who once sat in the same lecture halls you may be in right now.
We have chosen not to write a piece specifically about the loss of one of our students as a way of allowing our campus community enough time to grieve together.
If someone close to you at McMaster has passed, and you would like to see a memorial, article or investigation related to their life or death, we ask that you contact us.
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By: Lina Assi
Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions was introduced to our campus last March at the General Assembly, and has been a contentious topic on campus. This debate has led to several misconceptions amongst the McMaster student body. One of the main criticisms has been that BDS targets our fellow Jewish students, and it has been mislabeled as anti-Semitic. This begs the question, if a movement that promotes ethical purchasing is unjust, aggressive and bigoted, how was it adopted in a vote that included more than 600 McMaster students at last year’s General Assembly?
In short, the BDS movement is not a discriminatory policy. It does not target McMaster students of Jewish faith, nor does the BDS movement seek to dismantle the state of Israel. The main objective of the BDS movement is to hold Israel accountable for its infringement of international law that seeks to provide indigenous Palestinian communities with their basic human rights. The lack of knowledge regarding the BDS movement has led to the derailment of tackling the main issue of illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Territories.
BDS was supported by many student groups and non-government organizations, including the Hamilton Chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace. Last year, students in support of Palestinian human rights organized initiatives on campus that involved Jewish and Israeli speakers that addressed the infringement of human rights by Israel.
One of the main catchphrases of the student groups promoting Palestinian rights on campus is “we don’t want your anti-Semitism!” An organization of students on campus that seek to bring justice to one ethnic group and injustice to another would be counterintuitive and quite frankly, hypocritical. Students that support BDS legislation on our campus did so to speak out against injustice to the indigenous Palestinian population and, I assure you, would do so again for any injustice we witness today. The BDS legislation on our campus strictly addresses corporations that are profiting from the illegal settlements in the Palestinian Territories, settlements that have displaced thousands of people and caused harm to the Palestinian communities on several levels.
As a McMaster student, I invite you to take it upon yourself to pass judgment on this movement only once you have done your research about what BDS legislation on our campus means. It is an initiative that seeks to promote justice in accordance with our values at McMaster. To pass a snap judgement does not do justice to any party involved in this complex issue.
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A little over three years ago, I excitedly moved into my student house. I predicted it would soon become the backdrop of my soon-to-be reality TV-worthy student life, but instead I was welcomed into my new home with a slew of landlord upsets. With everything from bathroom leaks, to broken decks, to a mysterious older man who used to enter our home at night to fix the plumbing (yes, this was as terrifying as it sounds), at times my student house was more of a problem than a personal oasis.
At the time, I didn’t realize that all of these issues were at the fault of my landlord, since he often asserted his authority in a way that made myself and my housemates feel responsible.
We are definitely not the only students to be in a situation like this. Tenants of Westdale and Ainsliewood homes have often fallen victim to landlord traps that place them in uncomfortable and unlawful positions. In an effort to combat this problem, the MSU’s Student Community Support Network has launched the #MacLivesHere campaign, a Twitter and recently MUSC-centric campaign that will help students become better acquainted with leasing homes and give them an opportunity to share their grievances.
The #MacLivesHere campaign is, in theory, a great idea. So many students get into signing leases without knowing all their rights, and this has led to complications in the past where students end up getting the short end of a deal that is supposed to be in their favour.
The only unfortunate part of the campaign is that it is run by a somewhat overshadowed MSU service, the SCSN.
The MSU is a big organization. It is comprised of both large and small services, with some getting more attention than others. This structure is something expected, but it also begs the question, how necessary are all of our services, and can our money be better used serving groups with the power to make campaigns noticed and accessible?
The SCSN is a service that is meant to help students build positive relationships with the Hamilton community. Unfortunately, even though their aim is noble, some of their efforts and campaigns often get overlooked when larger groups take center stage. It could be a valuable and well-used service for students, but when larger promotions sidestep its actions, the group just appears to be another accessory of the MSU that helps keen students piggyback on a service to work their way towards a future full-time job with the Union.
As a person who is more informed about campus events and services than most, I still don’t know all that much about the SCSN. It is one of multiple MSU services that passes just enough under the radar that very few seem to be checking up on them — this is a disservice both to them and the student body.
Perhaps its time to take a good look at our services and decide which ones are worth our time, and figure out how we can better use our resources to make those shine. It would be great to see more students exposed to the Mac Lives Here campaign, but as far as many students are concerned, SCSN hasn’t even signed a lease.
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Sitting outside of Les Prince Hall is the most recent installation of the initiatives made possible by the Student Life Enhancement Fund.
Officially labeled as the McMaster Outdoor Fitness Circuit and Boulder Climbing Facility, the outdoor installation is a playground for fitness enthusiasts and beginners alike. Located by the track in front of Les Prince, the circuit contains various bars and benches that allow an individual to perform a variety of strength and conditioning sets. Two large, man-made boulders are also connected by a small rope-bridge.
The installation was originally built in August, but had its official launch on Nov. 12.
"I think it's a cool idea because we're always talking about space and how space is a premium and hard to come by, and I think it's cool that [Athletics and Recreation] is moving outside," said MSU President Ehima Osazuwa.
“Inside, there is literally no space to do anything, so we need to think about creative and new ways of utilizing space; there's a lot of outdoor space on campus that we currently don't really utilize,” he said.
The circuit was one of two initiatives selected by students as the best ideas during last year's Presidential elections, alongside a plan to enhance and optimize the space in the Student Centre.
An open period for new, student submissions is currently ongoing for SLEF, and Osazuwa described his excitement for several ideas including heated bus shelters and napping stations on campus.
Once the submission period ends, members of the Board of Directors will determine the feasibility of projects and present a shortlist to students to vote on during the Presidential elections this year. Once the top ideas are chosen, a suitable partner must be found to keep the initiative maintained and sustainable, like with the outdoor circuit being maintained by Athletics & Recreation.
“I'm a really big fan of SLEF because I think SLEF gives people the chance to dictate where their money is going to, and also give us creative and new ideas as to where we should spend student dollars on,” said Osazuwa.
However, not all initiatives necessarily have such a quick turnaround. An on-campus skating rink has been in the works for over three years now, but has run into various issues regarding feasibility and the logistics in implementing one and maintaining it during the winter.
While Osazuwa highlighted various hurdles such as the falling Canadian dollar and the details involved in maintenance, he indicated that he was hopeful with the progress this year.
“There's been more progress compared to previous years,” said Osazuwa.
Students have until Nov. 20 to submit their ideas.
Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor
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By: Isaac Kinley
McMaster University President Patrick Deane is assembling a fossil fuel divestment advisory group in response to a petition demanding that the university pull its endowment out of fossil fuel investments.
The petition, an initiative of Fossil Free McMaster, aimed to collect 1,000 signatures but has so far managed to garner just over 900 in the two years that it has been online. Its text warns of the disastrous effects of climate change and says that McMaster students “deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.” It calls on the university to halt new investments in fossil fuel companies and to divest from all fossil fuel-related investments within five years, which it argues is also a financially responsible decision.
The advisory group will counsel the McMaster Board of Governors’ Finance Committee, responsible for the University’s investment decisions, on whether to divest from fossil fuels. Deane aims to form a group that is unbiased and includes both an undergraduate and a graduate student. To this end, he has contacted the Student Representative Assembly and the Graduate Students Association to ask them to provide candidates.
Conner Hurd, the head of Fossil Free McMaster, feels that this lack of bias may be difficult to achieve. “There’s very few people who sit on the fence on this issue,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to find an unbiased sample.” He expects that the advisory group’s eventual verdict will be in Fossil Free McMaster’s favour, but also stresses that his group advocates an approach that will allow the University to avoid losing money.
“Going forward with integrity doesn’t just mean taking the moral high road on any argument, it means being pragmatic. Ultimately we don’t want the university to lose out on money that comes back from endowment funds because it goes towards bursaries and grants,” he said. “Plus it is donated money, so the people who’ve donated [it] want to see it go back into the University.”
Professor emeritus of economics Atif Kubursi, who has been involved with the initiative along with Biology professor James Quinn, is also optimistic about its outcome, although he said he would like McMaster to move more quickly on the matter. “We should be at the vanguard of things,” he said. “It would be terrible if the university were a laggard and always reacting to others.”
He also feels that the recent 50 percent drop in oil prices may provide McMaster with a financial incentive to divest. “If they had listened to us, they would have saved a lot of money. This is an opportune moment to rebalance your portfolio by going into the kinds of investments that are sunrise, not sunset. The oil industry is a sunset industry. Sunrise would be renewable energy,” he said. “The University, even for pure financial reasons, is ill-advised to remain in fossil fuels.”
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By: Gabi Herman
As November sets in and the weather gets dreary and grey, the Queer Students Community Centre hopes to bring a rainbow of colour with this year’s MacPride festivities.
The QSCC office is tucked away in a back corner of MUSC to maintain student privacy, but MacPride is the QSCC’s week to be unabashedly public. Fourth-year Social Work student and QSCC coordinator Emily Smith says that the publicity of the annual event “brings a degree of community for people who haven’t found it yet.” MacPride also serves as a way for the university community at large to show support.
The festivities began on Monday with a MarioKart tournament and a coffee social, and each day has been busier than the one before. With 16 events, this is the biggest year in recent memory. Smith hopes that there is a turnout to match. “Last year we had about 250 people come, and this year we are hoping for more,” she added.
Interested students have had an array of events to choose from. Wednesday featured classic Pride events: the Pride march and rally, followed by the keynote address. Body positivity workshops, Trans Inclusion 101, a board game night and a drag show are some of the options on offer for the rest of the week. The “Let’s Talk Queer” event series is notable for the collaboration it has brought about. The QSCC, EngiQueers, and SHEC have created three events about LGBTQ+ issues related to sex, relationships, and the workplace.
In addition to creating connections between campus groups, organizers hope MacPride builds bridges between the queer community and students who are not normally involved in LGBTQ+ related activities. Smith said, “People shouldn’t see the word ‘queer’ and think ‘oh, this isn’t for me.’” Unless otherwise specified, events are open to allies and intended for anybody who is interested.
Real goals, concerns, and initiatives are interwoven with the festivities. The QSCC is involved with the “MSU Wants You” campaign, and hopes to improve representation of queer people in student government. The QSCC also provides a peer support service to help address mental health issues in the LGBTQ+ community.
Trans rights are also a priority for the QSCC. The MSU and the Presidential Advisory Committee for Building an Inclusive Community both have committees that are working to change single-stalled gendered washrooms to gender-neutral. The QSCC also provides resources to help students address concerns with university professors and officials misusing pronouns, using the wrong names and other manifestations of transphobia on a case-by-case basis. However, according to Smith, there have been barriers to addressing transphobia on a broad level. “Making that big systemic change is really difficult, because what we really want to push for is training … the university keeps telling us there’s not enough money,” she explained. However, due to recent demand, the QSCC is working on investing in trans inclusion training for its members and volunteers.
The atmosphere in one of MacPride’s first events, the Queer Coffee and Social, was a relaxed contrast to the busy rush of students in the Student Centre. Many of the students in the room were first time event attendees, many with a vision of what the QSCC could do for them. Students expressed desire for more newcomers’ events, excitement for the Pride march, and a hope to meet peers who understand their experiences. Dina Kovacevic, a fourth-year Communications and Health Studies student and a QSCC exec, was glad to feel “a community vibe on campus” for the queer community.
MacPride runs until the end of the week. The schedule can be found on the MSU QSCC webpage or on Facebook.
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The second year that I worked for The Silhouette, at least 50 percent of my job revolved around food. I ran the Lifestyle section, and I took restaurant reviews very seriously. I still love eating out now, so when the new MacEats app was released, I was quick to download it and give it a try.
The new app is the offspring of Hospitality Services and the Student Dining Committee, a group of students devoted to sampling and judging the foods on campus. The app allows students to search across the menu offerings at campus eateries and compare their options before swiping their meal card. With categories like Food Types, Open Late, Locations and more, with the tap of a screen, students can find out which campus restaurants are open and what they are selling.
While the app will surely be helpful for many students, there’s one category that seems to be missing — budget.
It checks all the boxes for showcasing food options and even highlights which locations cater to dietary restrictions, but it has no way for students to search meals based on price.
It’s no secret that food on campus is expensive. And for many students, it can be exceedingly difficult to find an affordable meal that isn’t going to take a huge chunk out of their weekly budget, especially if they didn’t factor in eating on campus.
The app is great for students who live on campus and have meal plan dollars to use up, but for those of us who do not have a large pool of funds attached to our student cards, budgeting is important. Especially now that most campus vendors accept credit and debit, the purchasing habits of the full student body should be considered.
If the app had a section where students could program in the amount they were willing to spend and view options based on that number, not only would it help those looking for a more reasonably priced meal, but it may even increase sales at campus vendors since students wouldn’t be so turned off by what appears to be exclusively high-priced cuisine.
Student finances should be a priority across campus, especially when it comes to making campus life something affordable or at least accessible for all financial backgrounds. Budgeting a student life shouldn’t be something hard to swallow.
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By: Celine Ferreira
After one of the longest election campaigns in Canada's history, the Liberal Party's victory is not the only surprising change to come out of this election.
Professor Karen Bird, whose research involves comparative politics, gender and politics, and indigenous and minority groups, spoke on a panel organized by the Department of Political Science on Oct. 21 concerning the 2015 Canadian Federal Election.
"The share of women among the newly elected Parliament is little better than before. Women now hold 26 percent of the seats, compared to 25 percent. The glass, for women, is still only half full," she said. “The evidence overall suggests we’ve been stuck at about 25 percent for a long time and it doesn’t seem to fix itself on its own.”
The addition of new ridings and the insurgence of new candidates suggested that more women would be elected. However, the one percent increase does not truly reflect this hypothesis. Prof. Bird said that is due to the lack of seats won by the New Democratic Party which had the largest proportion of women in their caucus.
The NDP has implemented various practices that have increased their number of female MPs, including reaching out to women and offering the support they need to run. A great effort is put into recruitment and a mandate has been established requiring justification for why a female candidate was not found if that’s the case. Bird later stated that such efforts should be adopted by all parties if there is going to be a translation to a more gender balanced parliament.
Due to the higher proportion of women with a post-secondary education, women are increasingly doing well economically, therefore resources such as those provided by the NDP are not of prime interest. Bird went on to say that something must be done at an institutional level to address the lack of women represented in parliament.
Female representation is also topical at McMaster. Last year’s “MSU Wants You” campaign urged more female candidates to seek high-ranking positions within the MSU, and while this initiative is a step towards better female representation at McMaster, it also signifies the work that remains to be done. The federal election can be examined to see how our student government can become more representative of the undergraduate student body at McMaster.
Out of the top nine research universities in Canada, McMaster has the second lowest representation of women in its council especially in executive positions. When asked about her opinion regarding this, Bird said that this is not due to the fact that the women are less qualified for the position or that voters are voting against women; it is a result of structural hindrances.
“I think that if there was some information about what the office involves – what the work is on a day-to-day level, what kinds of tasks are involved – a lot of women would say, ‘I have exactly those skills,’” she said.
Bird further stated that explicitly publicizing what the job involves would attract more women as they would recognize that student government is something they would like to be involved in and that they do have many skills and accomplishments that would make them strong candidates for that position.
Bird hopes that in future elections, whether on the federal scale or at the university level, women will recognize that they possess the skills, experiences and ideas needed to hold key positions that shape public policy.
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After a successful (albeit rainy) premier in April, McMaster’s block party Light Up the Night is returning to campus again this year. Last year’s event featured musical performances, carnival food, a coffee house and board games.
MSU President Ehima Osazuwa is looking forward to this year’s iteration of the event. “It’ll be a similar layout to last year. Rides, speakers, multiple stages, food, fireworks, board games. As everyone knows I’m a big food person, so I’m open for us to having food,” he said.
Even with the cold, rainy weather that coincided with last year’s LUTN, between 6,000 and 7,000 students attended the party. Osazuwa said that with better weather and more events to participate in, that number could easily increase. The coffee house hosted by Bridges Café was an extremely popular event last year, and Osazuwa mentioned that a bigger event of that nature is in the works.
Osazuwa is eager to begin planning this year’s block party. “I’m excited because we get more time to plan out the events because last year they started planning in mid-February because Teddy [Saull] had to go to the assembly to get approval and that didn’t happen until February,” he said.
The details of this year’s LUTN have yet to be finalized. “We had our first meeting a few weeks ago and the major contributors were there. The alumni, Student Success Centre and the MSU all came together to start discussing the plan for the year,” Osazuwa said.
Along with a bigger event comes a bigger budget. The first Light Up the Night was a way to spend the MSU’s. This year, the MSU will contribute $40,000 to the event, with alumni and the SSC likely contributing similar amounts, though that has yet to be finalized. Osazuwa explained, “Campus Events has a budget and we increased that budget [by $40,000] for the sole purpose of Light Up the Night.” Technically, that money comes from students in the form of the $124 MSU fee all members pay.
Since students fund a large portion of LUTN, Osazuwa hopes to give students the opportunity to share their thoughts. He said, “One thing we’ve been looking into is having a mini steering committee with students who want to get involved with the planning process for this event because I think it’s important that we get alternatives on the table.” He added, “Because as much as I try to represent students, I don’t really know everything students would like or would want.” The student steering committee will be launched next term.
From a wider variety of events, to greater consideration regarding what students want to see, this year’s Light Up the Night is aiming to have something for everyone. “At the end of the day, the money comes from students, so we need to make sure that we spend the money in a responsible manner and cater to the needs of students,” said Osazuwa.
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