This year, McMaster is home to 304 clubs under the McMaster Students Union branding.

That's 304 clubs that receive the full benefits of MSU affiliation, which includes funding to support club initiatives, eligibility for the use of the lockers and/or offices in ClubSpace, and the ability to use the MSU name and various MSU advertising services free of charge. These and other benefits are outlined in the MSU section of McMaster's Policy on the Recognition of Student Groups.

However, not outlined directly in this document are other, implicit benefits that a club receives as a part of the MSU. Most importantly, a sense of legitimacy is entitled to each and every MSU-affiliated club as a reflection of the unique contributions made to the university's goals and values. This tacit endorsement on behalf of the school is arguably the most valuable of the benefits a club can receive.

But that sense of legitimacy fades when the meaning of being a club on campus is overwhelmed by an oversaturation of causes and agendas.

Currently, McMaster runs one of the largest clubs systems in the country, despite its undergraduate population of 25,900 falling well outside of Canada's top ten largest schools. For comparison's sake, the University of Ottawa has 10,000 more undergraduate students than McMaster, yet hosts just over 175 clubs. And while the University of Toronto runs 800 clubs for its 68,000 undergraduate population, this number is spread across its three campuses.

The only two campuses in the country that definitively have a larger clubs program than McMaster this year are Queen's University, with an absurd 400 clubs for an undergraduate population of 20,500, and the University of British Columbia, with 370 clubs for a student body nearly twice as large as McMaster's.

“We are confident that the size in terms of funding, number of clubs, and reach is one of the best in the province and also in Canada,” said MSU VP (Finance) Scott Mallon of Mac’s clubs.

This is a point of pride for McMaster students, and rightfully so. Students can attribute the passion and diversity at McMaster as contributing factors behind the extensive clubs system.

But of the 304 clubs this year, only 29 of them are classified as "cultural" clubs; "social issues" make up the largest cohort of clubs at 106. And whether it's with an oversaturation at ClubsFest or a dilution of funds to clubs, there are real drawbacks to such a large clubs system.

"I remember [ClubsFest] was really crowded; I was a bit overwhelmed," said first-year Life Sciences student, Nancy Recalde. "I didn't really know where to look, so I ended up going through it three times."

It's a problem that compounds upon itself, too; a large volume of clubs comes with an increasing number of student executives, and the implicit pressure for students to be executives of their own clubs. This mentality is of particular relevance to students applying for professional schools or looking to expand their resume, with less of an emphasis on what the club can provide for the school, and more on what the club can provide for the individual.

This has led to a large turnover of clubs in the past year. During the 2013-14 academic year, 365 clubs had been approved for MSU affiliation; only 279 of them are returning clubs for the current 2014-15 academic year. And out of 86 clubs that were newly ratified one year ago, 25 of them are no longer in the MSU clubs directory this year.

While losing 29 percent of first-year clubs can be swallowed as a part of student-led initiatives, that's 25 clubs dispersed only a few months after they had been deemed unique, beneficial, and, most importantly, sustainable.

Griffith Dias, MSU Clubs Administrator, explained that new clubs need to be able to prove their niche and contribution to the McMaster community.

"We read the application and see if they provide something to the community, provide an actual enhancement to the life on campus," said Dias. "Another aspect [we look at] is a unique and inclusive environment that [addresses] the McMaster community's needs right now."

However, this raises an important issue regarding club sustainability. The current application process depends largely on the niche a club fills and its potential benefit to the McMaster community. But outside of anecdotal questions in an interview, there is currently no requirement for new club executives to address the sustainability of the driving idea behind their club, and its sustainability past an executive's time at Mac.

Dias explained, “the majority of the time, the success of a club diminishes as years go by because the student leaders graduate and they cannot find the students to continue the club. But, at the same time, some clubs were not following McMaster or MSU policies and were given chances to improve throughout the year.”

With the current system in place, the MSU is able to reevaluate clubs on a year-to-year basis, but the system is currently more designed to solve problems rather than prevent them. Still, compared to last year, it seems there has been a conscious effort on the part of the MSU to better regulate the clubs that receive certification and funding.

“The clubs listing did reduce from 2013-14 to 2014-15; a lot of clubs did not choose to reapply again, and there were a lot of issues with some clubs regarding risk management and event approval,” Dias said. “Some of them, we couldn't give them status again.”

What's important to note is that clubs do not require MSU status in order to gather as a group on campus. Greg Chen, a third-year Health Sciences student, has run an unofficial recreational math club for the past two years, and with an attendance of 5 - 10 people each week. The group works on and discusses math problems and problem-solving challenges. While acknowledging the benefits of MSU-affiliation, Chen explained that he hasn't seen the need for it yet.

“In terms of the funding, just by the nature of the meetings I haven't had a need to [apply],” he said. “My biggest asset at this point in my life is my time, so applying for MSU club status might actually be of negative value for me, just because of the administrative overhead that could potentially be involved.

“Being unofficial of course has downsides with regards to promotions, but it's kind of exciting at the same time,” he continued. “Everyone in the group feels some level of ownership over [the club], partially because it's so small, and partially because we realize that the only reason why the group exists is because of the people who show up; we have nothing else driving it.”

Issues such as funding are inevitable when examining how a large clubs system has potential ramifications on clubs with a need for a larger budget. Currently, the MSU already provides $100,000 towards club funding. Mallon explained that this budget is more than adequate.

“There are a lot of clubs that do not spend their total allocation. However, the MSU has not decreased the clubs budget because of this. Each year, the clubs that prove their responsible spending are eligible for more funding.”

But clubs do lack a wider range from which to request funding; allocations begin at $150 for new clubs, to a cap of around $1,000, based on each club's requests to the Clubs Administrator.

“MSU funding for clubs is just one aspect that is provided for clubs,” Dias explained. “But we do encourage them to go out and have fundraisers and seek other avenues for fundraising initiatives [...] for their club in general.”

Clubs at McMaster span from small enthusiast groups with little to no operating cost, to clubs like The Meducator and Smiling Over Sickness, which run budgets well beyond the maximum allotment provided by the MSU. Responsible funding is undoubtedly a priority for both the MSU and students, and a club like SOS does earn a lot of its funding through fundraisers.

But the cap on funding is the product of an imbalanced and limited supply, a symptom of such a large pool of clubs. Of course, clubs, and new clubs, are still the lifeblood of student initiatives; but considerations beyond niche need to be evaluated, as the sustainability and benefit to other McMaster students are just as valuable, if not more.

Inemesit Etokudo
The Silhouette

To begin, I want to make sure that the argument of this article is not misconstrued. This article is not seeking to debate the issue of sexism that may have arisen from the original article, "My big, frat, Greek Life," or even trying to bash a positive article that I agree with over many points. Rather, I am going to try to tackle the incomplete portrayal of Greek Life here on campus as a direct result of the exclusion of sororities from this conversation.

Not once did this article say the word “sorority”, or even allude to the fact that they are a real entity on campus fighting for many of the same issues as fraternities. In order to discuss Greek Life, both sides need to be discussed in unison to paint the entire story.

To even begin discussing such a controversial issue, both sides of the topic needed to have been explored fully. Negative opinions of Greek Life, and more specifically sororities, stem from lack of knowledge about the deeply embedded tradition and community they inherently posses.

The fact that no sororities were so much as mentioned in this article only goes on to perpetuate this fact, providing the general public - who are very unaware of Greek Life here at McMaster and in the Hamilton Area - an incomplete synopsis of the larger issue.

This frustration is emanated across members of diverse sororities, as expressed by Brittany Collura, a fourth year Religious Studies and philosophy student and member of Delta Pi who comments that, “We’re a part of Greek Life just as much as the fraternities. We offer the same opportunities and bonding that the boys have and we too suffer from the lack of school recognition. It’d be nice if we were at least seen by the public as active members of the Greek community.”

Yosra Musa, a fourth-year English Literature student and Membership and Recruitment Executive of Nu Omega Zeta, perfectly summed up this fact when she expressed that, “Sororities create safe social spaces, and by excluding them you are excluding the work they do.”

The bottom line is this: it is all about fair representation. The original article definitely highlights some very important points about Greek Life here on campus and will undoubtedly go strides in spreading the positivity and richness that Greek Life order cialis canada does in fact bring to a campus; however, these conclusions were reached without consulting an integral part of this system.

I want to conclude by saying that as a heavily invested member of McMaster Greek Life, I am not in opposition to this article. The fact that an article about Greek Life has been published is a huge positive and will truly open up the arena for a more in depth discussion to be had, and for that I am beyond ecstatic; however, sororities exist too.

It is understood “that when McMaster’s policy was implemented, fraternities were the only form of Greek Life on campus but times have changed and there are quite a few sororities on campus today” – Hilary Chase, a recent graduate of McMaster, and one of the earliest supporters of Greek Life on Campus through her work with Tau Sigma Phi.

So here is my ode to my Greek Life sisters here on campus. I appreciate the hard work and dedication you put into breaking the Hollywood-manufactured stereotypes and being an influential part of our community. Your hard work does not go unnoticed and I hope this is just the first part of a discussion that needs to be had.

Sophia Topper
Staff Reporter

McMaster has countless faith-based clubs and organizations, but they lack a place to interact. For years, the creation of a multi-faith centre has been in the works, but these plans have not come to fruition.

“It gets talked about, but it doesn’t seem to happen,” said Reverend Carol Wood, a McMaster Chaplain. “Every group has to support their own religious advisor."

“For a long time I’ve been interested in interfaith dialogue,” said Wood, an Ecumenical Chaplain. She has worked to create the Daughters of Abraham program, a group of Jewish, Muslim and Christian women.

The program arose from “some major tensions in years past...We worked to create some dialogue sessions to speak to some conflict areas,” explained Rev. Wood.

However, this still excludes men and those of other faiths from the discussion.

Rev. Wood looks towards the University of Toronto multi-faith centre as an example of the possibilities such a place could yield. The centre boasts a meditation space with a living green wall, a prayer space for 200 and a smoke detection system that can be altered to allow for traditional smudge ceremonies to occur.

However, explained Rev. Wood, the muli-faith centre at U of T was a “year in the procurement and implementation.”

“[Although] two proposals went out, and the [David Braley Athletic Centre] wanted to create an open space that would be a place for people to practice as well as a space for programming, and some unprogrammed times… a bit more money [was needed] than what was available,” said Rev. Wood.

Such space would “allow people to mix and interact, which I think is pretty important,” Wood said.

Dr. Liyakat Takim, Sharjah Chair in Global Islam said, “I think that’s a very important idea… we live in a multi-faith society, and that demands multi-faith gatherings.”

“It still won’t accommodate every single interfaith need…at least it’s a start,” said Rev. Wood.

While groups involved in the development of a multi-faith centre see its value, some students are not as keen on the idea.

One such student, Emily Wilson, said, “I think that different religions are really interesting, but I don’t think I would utilize a multi-faith centre, and I don’t think many people would.”

First-year Arts and Science student Liana Glass said, “I don’t think that people would go to things that are for a faith other than their own, except for people who are objectively interested in religion and not there for spiritual purposes.”

McMaster’s annual Clubsfest can be as overwhelming as it is exciting. Hundreds of enthusiastic McMaster clubs flock to the Burke Science Building lawn to try and seduce new and old students alike to their group. The competition is fierce because for many clubs, the sign-ups gathered at Clubsfest form the basis of their membership for that year.

“There were a lot of people,” said Mehjabeen Elahi, a first-year Humanities student. “And where it was busy I just skipped.” Elahi ended up in three clubs: Humanity at Mac, UNICEF, and the Muslim Students Association.

Jenna Healey, a second-year Life Sciences student, also remarked on how busy the day was. “There was a ton of clubs. We tried to see all of them,” she said.

The chaos of Clubsfest was not just in their heads. For 2013/14, the McMaster Students Union ratified a whopping 326 clubs. That’s more than most schools in Ontario; in comparison, the University of Ottawa has 186 clubs and Western University has 204.

“Anecdotally speaking, and from my own research into a number of different schools, McMaster University does have one of the largest Clubs departments in Ontario,” said Jessica Irvine, the MSU’s Clubs Administrator.

At first glance, this huge diversity seems like a point of pride, and indeed, the MSU’s website says of Clubsfest that, “With hundreds of clubs to choose from, there’s something for everyone at McMaster!”

But does the quality of McMaster’s clubs programming increase with the quantity? There is only so much space on McMaster bulletin boards and only so many tables at Clubsfest, and McMaster students are limited in the number of events, meetings, and fundraisers they can attend. A membership increase in one club forces, to a certain extent, a membership decrease in another.

These are problems that disproportionately affect new clubs, of which there are 54 this year. Many established clubs already have members to plan and attend events. In contrast, new clubs often start the year with just half a dozen or so charter members, and spend the first few weeks of school fighting the more than 300 competing clubs to attract the dedicated members that make possible the fundraisers and social events for which clubs exist. Inevitably, some are unable to compete and fizzle out by the end of the year, evidenced by the fact that 65 clubs failed to apply for re-ratification this year.

“It’s a challenge to get the word out there and to get people really interested in the group,” said Yara Farran, a second-year Arts and Science student. Farran is the communications director of McMaster’s Golden Z club, new this year. It is the campus chapter of the Zonta International Group, which, according to the organization’s website, seeks to “[improve] the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women worldwide.”

To try and attract members, McMaster Golden Z relies heavily on social media. “We’re really using word of mouth because on the executive committee it’s ten girls, and we’re just telling all of our friends, we’re inviting everyone we know on Facebook,” said Farran.

For some clubs, though, even just 10 members is a lot.

Bracelet of Hope is a charity that seeks to empower women in the African country of Lesotho by buying and selling their handmade goods, especially the red bead bracelets that give the organization its name. Victoria McKinnon, a third-year Arts and Science student, is the President of the group’s McMaster chapter, which started last year.

“There were five of us,” she said. “We just kind of decided we would start it and see what we could do with it. It was ratified as a club last year, and then the other four members graduated so I’m president now.”

For McKinnon, the small size of the club was appealing in some ways. “It really gave me a chance to take on a role of leadership that I probably never would have had in a big club where you have 30 people applying for an executive position,” she said.

In other ways, though, size was a limiting factor. “There are fewer people to volunteer for events, fewer people to volunteer for bake sales, and if people’s schedules conflict that’s more of an issue,” McKinnon continued. This year, she has worked to increase membership, and BoH is now up to 30 members.

Another problem that arises with McMaster’s club saturation is that each organization’s piece of the MSU financial pie is smaller. Clubs can apply for between $100 and $1000 of MSU funding.

“Based on the nature of the club, the size of the club, the scope and the programming the club has planned they will receive a specific allocation amount which they can use for items such as advertising, promotions, operating fees, room rentals etc. Typically, larger groups with more members will receive a larger allocation as their cost is generally higher,” said Irvine.

However, it’s not just small clubs that receive less funding—it’s new clubs, too.

“Finding money—that’s the hardest part,” said Katarina Polletto, the President of the new McMaster Alliance for Body Peace, when asked about the challenges of starting a new club. “Especially as a new club, we know we’re not getting any money. We requested, I think, $600, but that’s not going to cover anything. And we’re not going to get it, I know we’re not.”

Despite financial limitations, Polletto has grand plans for her club, which she initiated after seeing two close friends suffer from eating disorders. Already, she’s had interest from off-campus sponsors.

Clubs are also able to fundraise on campus, but even this is made difficult by the amount of competition. Bake sales in MUSC, for example, are an efficient way to raise money, but space in the atrium is limited.

“It definitely is very competitive to get bake sale tables, which makes it difficult because this year there’s one club a day allowed a bake sale table,” said McKinnon.

The most successful clubs at McMaster often do not experience these same problems from year to year.

For Asian F.O.C.U.S., one of McMaster’s most popular and visible clubs, neither membership nor money are the issues, according to the club’s president, Colin Liu, a fourth-year Commerce student.

“We’ve been around about 16 years,” he said. “We’d like to say we get a hundred [new active members] every year. So anywhere between 300 to 400 active general members [each year].”

As far as money goes, AF’s social events are so lucrative that they even allow the club to act as a source of funding for other campus organizations. “There are a lot of charitable clubs on campus that require a little bit of upstart or donations to help their cause, and so frequently you will have a lot of clubs on McMaster that contact us personally asking for some sort of collaboration or some sort of donation or what not,” said Liu.

Liu sees a lack of longevity as the biggest issue facing campus clubs. “Often, what I see is that there will be a huge cluster of students that start a club together and then they graduate. And then you’re left with a new wave that’s not as prepared,” he said.

To avoid that collapse, it is important to build a strong base and attract motivated new members from a variety of years early on. This makes the start-up process for new clubs stressful as they compete with other organizations to gather money and members. However, each executive was optimistic about the coming year.

Polletto is excited to lay the groundwork to ensure the Alliance for Body Peace’s future success. “At least three of us, me, the events coordinator, and the publications [coordinator], are going to be here for another three years. So we should be able to get some establishment down before we move forward,” she said.

Similarly, McKinnon is looking forward to utilizing the increased funding available to BoH as a club in its second year. “I want to bring [Bracelet of Hope’s founder] Dr. Anne-Marie back. She’s really good.”

Meanwhile, Liu will try to keep AF’s momentum going. “I think you just got to do what you got to do. Be friendly,” he said, when asked how to get noticed on campus.

“[Our members] get their friends involved, and it’s just a snowball effect.”

You see the bake sales every week. Sometimes a particular treat pulls you in. Sometime a specific poster draws your attention. But how often are you directly concerned with the cause or where your money is going?

Mac has over 300 MSU-affiliated clubs and approximately 125 are specifically related to social issues. These groups may be building homes in the global South or combatting domestic poverty.

But how are we to know if what they say they’re doing, they’re actually doing?

In a TED talk by AIDS Ride founder Dan Pallotta, he discussed how we are damaging the non-profit sector by refusing to look to business models as ways to improve their impact and our own charitable giving.

As students, part of our MSU fees goes towards clubs funding. And don’t you want to know your money is being used productively? Besides the portion that goes to services we directly access, at SHEC for example, other parts of our fees go towards various other operations in the MSU. This is largely to do with the management of clubs.

As someone who was once on a club executive, I am acutely aware of the process that clubs undergo to simply renew their status and receive funding.

But I don’t think it’s enough.

You submit a rough budget, a year plan, lists of goals, etc. But fundamentally no one is holding you accountable to these goals. And specifically in the case of social issues clubs, I think this puts us, as investors, in a dangerous predicament.

We are unaware if a club is sending money to where they say they are. Or we may not even know if they are achieving or struggling to achieve the goals they set out to accomplish.

When I see the small, student-led grassroots initiatives in various countries, this fear seems especially real. How well thought-out are their endeavours? Do they have a business plan based on short-term and long-term goals and an action plan to get them there?

And from a human resources perspective, will all of the initial startup money they received from clubs funding be in vain if the founding students graduate and haven’t planned for a leadership pipeline?

This problem can be just as applicable to other social issues clubs that are tied to larger not-for-profits and NGOs like Amnesty International or Free the Children. These groups may be well structured and aligned with larger organizational goals, but can easily lose sight of goals or funds amidst all the bureaucracy.

In five years here, I can certainly say I’ve seen social issues clubs pop up and collapse within the course of a year or two due to poor planning, lack of support and lack of goal setting and other accountability-based measures.

I’m not saying that other types of clubs don’t face the same problems, but if we really want to call ourselves global citizens, and our generation really cares about addressing social problems, it has to start with caring about social issue-based clubs on campus.

One day, we’ll have incomes of our own to invest at will. Hopefully we’ll choose to invest in not-for-profits and social enterprises that address social problems. And hopefully we’ll choose wisely and invest strategically in organizations that truly will make a difference.

But until then, let’s critically ask if we’re doing enough on campus to hold social issues clubs accountable.

So next time you’re at that bake sale table, speak up and ask what it is that you are supporting.

SRA passes motion to allow club to ask for a levy of $0.90 per student

Three years ago, Joshua Patenaude attended the very first general meeting of the McMaster Marching Band.

It was small then. It had just received ratification as an MSU club, and was finding its feet with meager funding and only a few members.

But now that the Band has grown in size and in reputation, Patenaude, who is now group’s president, feels that it’s time to move forward.

“We’ve been doing a lot of it on our own,” he said, “but it’s gotten to the point where we need funding to continue on.”

When the student body votes for the McMaster Students Union’s next president in January, a referendum question will appear on the ballot. It will ask whether students are willing to pay $0.90 each annually (indexed to CPI) to support McMaster’s marching band.

If passed, the fee would provide the band with close to $19,000 next year.

The money would go to costs like buying and repairing instruments, renting practicing space, investing in new uniforms, paying instructors and covering fees charged to play at certain events.

“We think this [money] will go a long way to sustain the band and to keep it open to the McMaster community,” said Patenaude.

Western University has had a marching band since 1938. The Queen’s Bands have been around since 1905.

Students wishing to join the marching band will continue to pay a membership fee, likely in the $65-$75 range, said Patenaude. The added money will, though, make the band more accessible in other ways. Members will not have to provide their own instruments, and the size of the band could expand to upwards of 70 people.

“If you have a passion about music, if you have a passion about committing to the spirit of McMaster, we want to make that a reality for you. We don’t want obstacles in the way,” said Patenaude.

The referendum was approved by the SRA at its Nov. 25 meeting.

In order to get a referendum on the presidential election ballot, a student must either collect the signatures of three per cent of the full-time undergraduate student body (roughly 600 signatures) or get approval from the SRA.

As they put together a proposal for the latter, the Marching Band was also collecting signatures. By the meeting, they had collected 391.

The Marching Band had initially asked the SRA to approve a proposal for a $1 fee per student. According to their budgeting, that number would cover operating expenses while leaving a little wiggle room for growth or unanticipated capital purchases. The Assembly chose to instead approve $0.90, which would only cover the expected operating costs.

Balloting for the MSU presidential election, and for the referendum, will take place from Jan. 29 to 31.

While many McMaster students participated in homecoming festivities on Oct. 13, a dedicated few considered issues beyond Hamilton’s horizons in the Health Sciences Centre.

The annual Talk Change Conference was hosted at McMaster this year, organized by the University’s chapter of Smart Solutions. The club, part of an inter-university network, is focused on developing innovative and sustainable solutions to global development problems. McMaster’s chapter is still in its infancy, but was nonetheless chosen to play host for this fall’s conference.

“The actual Talk Change event has been present for the past couple years, and we knew that McMaster was hosting,” explained Nithin Vignesh, co-president of McMaster Smart Solutions. “What we didn’t know was that it was going to be this early in the school year.”

The theme for the conference was global health. The executive invited a range of speakers familiar with diverse facets of global health.

Dr. Katherine Rouleau of St. Michael’s Hospital, who is director of the Global Health Program at the University of Toronto, was among the speakers at the event.

“Every time I accept an invitation like [this] ... I really hope it’s worth my time,” Dr. Rouleau said. “But I have to tell you, today I am so happy I’m here.”

Her morning workshop was well attended, and the topic of primary care and community-based medicine seemed to engage the audience.

“The caliber of question, of insight, of understanding of the students is spectacular,” she said, after exceeding her time limit to field questions. “These are well-informed, open-minded, critical [students] … who are clearly quite committed to the essence of global health.”

Dr. Rouleau, as well as the other speakers and workshop leaders, were chosen based on survey results from students.

“Our education directors… put out a survey about topics that they [felt] students may be interested in…and we got a list of topics that we could potentially use,” said Vignesh.

The most popular topic was HIV/AIDS, which led the team to choose Dr. Prabhat Jha, O.C.

Dr. Jha, as well as being the founding Director of the Centre for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, was recently awarded the Order of Canada for his work in epidemiology and the economics of global health.

In addition to such researchers as Dr. Jha, the conference featured two student speakers. Fourth-year Health Sciences student Lauren Friedment offered a workshop on the ethics of “volun-tourism,” inspired by her time volunteering in Africa.

Alexandra Sproule, a third-year Arts and Science student, earned the Engineers Without Borders fellowship last year, and spoke to some of the conference delegates about her insights on designing for real people in Ghana, after having spent four months on an internship in the country.

McMaster students weren’t the only ones involved, however. As Smart Solutions is a cross-university club, students from other schools were invited.

“We were surprised … we had a good mix,” said Nida Sohani, the club’s vice president, of the 135 delegates, who hailed from Western, Guelph, Waterloo and Ryerson.

“They weren’t all undergrads. We had people that have graduated, an older audience. We honestly weren’t [expecting that].”