By: Anonymous contributor
I never imagined that I would date my teaching assistant. I also never imagined that I would have a “W” on my transcript from dropping their class. Dating my TA was probably one of the worst decisions of my undergraduate degree.
When I got into a relationship with my TA last semester, I didn’t think it was too big of a deal. Dating your TA is much more socially-accepted than dating your professor or course instructor.
For one, the age differences between you and your TA aren’t always that big. My TA was two years older than me, but I’ve had TAs who were my age or younger. In that case, it’s hard to impose a ban against two consenting 20-somethings dating.
But what a lot of people don’t recognize is that there’s a power imbalance when dating your TA. Even when they’re the same age, or a bit older, there’s the fact that the TA is in a position that can strongly influence your academics and career.
When I had talked with my TA about our relationship, he told me that the department frowned upon student-TA relationships but there was no strict rule against them. While he was “required” to fill out a conflict-of-interest form, nobody forced him too. As long as he gave my assignments to another TA to grade, nobody batted an eye at our relationship.
I don’t think that’s enough. Especially in classes where TAs are asked to deliver lectures or hold review sessions, it’s not enough to require TAs in relationships with their students to not directly grade their work. Their presence alone influences their students’ marks.
Even when I got out of the relationship, I still felt ashamed and embarrassed every time I had to see him in tutorial or lecture. When I found out that he had marked my midterm, I was angry but didn’t know what to do. It’s difficult to tell your professor the reason you want to switch tutorials or have your test remarked is because you slept with your TA.
In the end, I ended up dropping the class and dodging questions from people asking me why. I still see my TA around campus, however, and I’m scared that I’ll be assigned to his class again. I’ve been so anxious that I’m even considering switching programs to avoid him.
A conflict of interest policy is not sufficient. I reviewed Mac’s conflict of interest policy for employees and there is a section that states that a conflict of interest is present when an employee of the university engages in an “intimate relationship with a person who relies upon them for opportunities to further their academic or employment career”.
However, the only actions an individual must take when this conflict arises is to report to their direct supervisor, who can then decide if the “conflict is confirmed”. If it is, then the case is moved to higher-ups who decide what sort of actions need to be taken to remove the conflict.
But by the time that decision is made, it’s probably too far into the semester to make any changes. In my case, my TA didn’t bother disclosing our relationship since he knew the only action that was required was that he didn’t grade my work.
Even though it states in the policy that failure to report will result in “appropriate disciplinary procedures”, I’m not confident that the university enforces this.
McMaster University should protect their students by banning student-TA, or any student-faculty, relationships altogether. These relationships have harmful power dynamics that blur the lines of consent, and can sometimes be considered sexual harassment or assault.
I’m not saying that all student-TA relationships end poorly. Sometimes it really is just bad timing when two people happen to meet. But if a relationship is meant to be, it can wait till the end of the semester to begin.
Dating your TA seems like a fun and sexy experience. In reality, this kind of relationship can be complicated, embarrassing and act as a huge stress on your academics and your mental health. Honestly, that cute TA isn’t worth it.
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By: Biran Falk-Dotan
I’ve been a student at McMaster for three years, and every year the same controversy comes up. One side claims that Israel is a tolerant and peaceful nation; the other side blames Israel for the oppression and deaths of Palestinians. Each year, The Silhouette publishes multiple Opinions articles on this issue. During my time at Mac, this issue and Boycott Divestment Sanctions dominated two MSU General Assemblies, taking precedence over matters that were immediately relevant to McMaster students. My claim is going to be unpopular with both sides: as students, we should focus on other things.
The Israel/Palestine problem is complicated. On one hand, many Palestinians live in poverty and suffer legitimate oppression, but on the other hand many of Israel’s actions are in response to a real security threat. Everyone agrees that there is a problem, but nobody can agree on the solution. Should it be a one-state or two-state solution? Should other states actively accept Palestinian refugees? The MSU has endorsed a boycott, but boycotts must have specific policy goals in order to be meaningful. We should acknowledge that there is no widely accepted solution.
Even if the solution were clear, the Israel/Palestine issue has no implications for the personal, social, or academic activities of McMaster students. Case in point: BDS passed last year, and what difference does that make to McMaster students? The only people affected are those who are now unable to buy certain products, and those whose relatives live in Israel/Palestine. Meanwhile, we have plenty of important issues on campus that are not getting enough attention. Tuition fees, mental health support, and campus accessibility are all relevant and important topics that are compromised by us shifting our limited attention to Israel/Palestine. As McMaster students, we should focus first and foremost on the issues that affect us and our communities.
“We can’t just do what is good for us,” you might object, “we need to address humanitarian issues around the world.” My response might surprise you: I agree. On average, a few hundred people die annually due to Israeli/Palestinian violence, and that is a reprehensible loss that I take very seriously. However, I think there are more pressing conflicts in the world.
For each Palestinian who dies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, about 100 Syrians die in the Syrian civil war. China executes thousands of people every year, often for non-violent offenses. Over 3000 civilians have died in the Yemeni civil war in only a year. There are dozens of grievous human rights abuses around the world in states like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Ukraine, Iran, Ethiopia, Burundi, and others.
Each of these results in greater loss of life than in Israel/Palestine, yet these abuses receive little attention on campus. If we really want to improve the plight of oppressed peoples globally, then each of these problems should receive at least as much attention as Israel/Palestine.
In fact, if our aim is simply to save lives, military conflicts are not even among the chief concerns. In 2015, over 200 million people had malaria, and nearly half a million died of it, even though it is easily treatable. According to the World Health Organization, five million deaths (including 1.4 million child deaths) occur every year because of polluted drinking water. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world, and it is also treatable and preventable. In fact, even in Israel/Palestine, more people die of car accidents each year than of military violence and terrorism combined. If our aim is to save lives, I think we need to start looking at the options most readily available to us. By investing in medicine for the poor, we can save more people with greater certainty, and without divisive debates.
If our aim is to save lives, I think we need to start looking at the options most readily available to us.
Every life is important and each life is equally valuable. For that reason, I think our humanitarian efforts should focus on situations in which we can save the most lives, and in that respect the Israel/Palestine argument is only distracting us from the worst problems and the problems we can effectively address. The McMaster community, including the MSU, should focus on issues that are relevant to McMaster students, not the issues where a few small groups of people have made lots of noise.
Photo Credit: Jon White/ Photo Editor
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By Sabeen Kazmi
On my way home from McMaster on Wednesday evening last week, my sister texted me exclaiming that Israel and Hamas had agreed on a ceasefire.
According to Owen Jones - an independent columnist - the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza began in early October when Israel ignored the ongoing ceasefire negotiations and killed fifteen Palestinians fighters, a mentally disabled individual and a thirteen-month old in an intrusion. During negotiations for ceasefire agreement, air strike missiles were fired by Israel, killing Ahmed Al-Jabari, the military leader of Hamas. The assassination of Al-Jabari resulted in the end of ceasefire negotiations and the Palestinians retaliated by firing rockets at Israel. On Nov. 8, Israel responded to the firing of rockets by striking air missiles, which lasted eight days. These bombs and missiles destroyed several homes, headquarters of news channels, injured thousands of civilians and killed a 168, 37 of whom were children. The rockets fired by Hamas killed five and injured 219 Israelis.
News of the ceasefire agreement was conflicting for me. I was, of course, relieved to hear that there was no immediate danger to innocent civilians on both sides. However, I was also skeptical - just how long will the ceasefire agreement hold? Worst yet, I was afraid the ceasefire agreement would end the recently growing interest regarding the decades long Gaza and Israel conflict. I did not want people to stop talking about this issue because there was no longer an imminent threat – bombing and the firing of missiles and rockets’ endangering the lives of innocent civilian.
Yes, rockets were fired into Israel. And yes, the targeting of civilians is wrong and should be condemned. However, only calling Hamas’ actions ‘acts of terrorism’ is ridiculous and blatantly hypocritical. Israel has committed similar actions on a much larger scale and violates basic human rights on a daily basis.
Over the last decade, 1,476 children and over 6,500 Palestinians have been killed and 59,575 injured by Israel.
Even though Israel exited Gaza in 2005, it now maintains and controls the occupation from the outside.
On his recent visit to the area, Noam Chomsky described Gaza as the “world’s largest open-air prison.” The idea of the Gaza siege in the words of Israeli official Dov Weisglass “is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” Israel’s current siege limits water, food, medical supplies and is the cause of 40 per cent of Palestinians living in poverty after losing their jobs in Israel. The siege has also halted all exports which resulted in the crash of private sector. Furthermore, due to the tight regulations of imports, Gaza does not have the necessary supplies needed to attempt the rebuilding of infrastructures which were demolished by Israel.
Thus far, 24,813 Palestinians’ homes have been demolished by Israeli defense forces since 1967. A large number of Palestinians continue to live in the rubble of their homes; meanwhile, others move in to live with relatives. A total of 80,000-90,000 Palestinians are displaced due to this conflict, 50,000 of whom are children. The numbers of displaced refugees continue to rise; the shelters are overcrowded and are sheltering twice their originally planned capacities
Additionally, the entire civilian population in the Gaza strip remains vulnerable, with no safe haven, no bomb shelters and closed borders, making it one of the rare conflicts where civilians have no place to flee.
We must not be placated at the news of ceasefire agreements; instead we should use this tragic event as an opportunity to prevent further violations of rights from occurring to Palestinian people.
The siege on Gaza must be lifted along with regulations implemented on food, water and medical supplies. Gaza’s dependency on Israel must end and living conditions must be restored.
