In the aftermath of the fire that destroyed their studio, Grey Harbour Tattoo is back and better than ever
C/O @greyharbourtattoo
Located in Hamilton’s art district on James Street North, Grey Harbour Tattoo is a semi-private tattoo studio that has been offering client-centred service to customers since April 2015. The studio was opened by tattoo artists and owners Tom Penny and Ron Vino and formerly, Sherlane White.
Penny was born and raised in Hamilton. After several years working in the automobile industry, he changed direction to study visual arts at Sheridan College, where he learned to tattoo at a local studio. After returning to Hamilton, Penny approached fellow tattoo artist and current business partner, Vino, with the idea of opening up his very own studio.
Penny himself tattoos primarily nature-based and traditional tattoos, drawing on flora and fauna as his subject matter. Meanwhile, Vino’s tattoos are very saturated and characterized by bold lines and bright colours.
“What I strive for is just to constantly progress. It's a very competitive industry, and there's people constantly coming up. Even just in our shop, we have a few new artists and working alongside them pushes us to constantly get better,” said Penny.
On April 21, 2020, about one month after the first business closures due to COVID-19, Grey Harbour Tattoo was caught in an arson attack on James Street North that destroyed it as well as La Bichette boutique and Born & Raised restaurant.
“[The fire] was something obviously that we didn't expect. How do you explain something that was just so shocking? I came in [so distraught] that it was almost hard to believe that we went through it,” said Penny.
“[The fire] was something obviously that we didn't expect. How do you explain something that was just so shocking? I came in [so distraught] that it was almost hard to believe that we went through it,” said Penny.
Penny was first alerted to the fire by Vino, who rushed to the scene when the building owner initially realized that Born & Raised had caught fire.
“I just remember we were all sitting at home doing our own things, and I got a message from Rob saying, “[the] building's on fire.” Thankfully, it didn't get out of hand and someone was present there to put the fire out. At first I just couldn't believe it—within 10 minutes [of receiving a phone call] I was there, seeing what I didn't ever expect to see. Obviously I've seen fires in my time, but to see your own space just demolished was pretty shocking,” said Penny.
In the aftermath of the fire, they set up a GoFundMe campaign with the help of fellow local tattoo artist Brock Ryan, which hit its $25,000 fundraising goal in order to cover expenses outside of the studio’s insurance coverage. Through collaboration with local artists to raise awareness, the studio received immense support from the local community.
“Word spreads. Even overseas I was getting messages from people and so just seeing that kept us positive. Knowing that we were going to be okay, we were going to get through it and we had support,” said Penny.
In a stroke of good luck, the owners of a space across the street reached out to Penny, so the studio transitioned from a second and third storey location to a spot opening straight onto James Street North. They are now located at 172 James Street North.
“No one was hurt and the building was vacant because of COVID, so there were so many things to be thankful for rather than [focusing] on the negative,” said Penny.
Although they are currently closed due to COVID-19 lockdown procedures, Grey Harbour was open from August to December 2020. They have changed the way they operate due to COVID-19. Now clients contact the artist they’d like to tattoo them directly in order to book an online consultation.
From there, the artist will discuss design ideas, placement and determine if tracings or pictures are necessary. Depending on the artist, wait times range anywhere from a couple of weeks to months due to limited client capacity and enhanced sanitation procedures.
Grey Harbour Tattoo takes a special pride in tailoring to the interests of each individual that comes to their studio, with a very client-centered approach to tattooing.
“The way we run the studio is you choose the artists you want to work with, you look at the work, you check out their social media page. If someone came to me with an idea that I felt another artist at another studio is better for . . . I'll refer them to another artist. We just want our clients to get the best possible tattoo,” said Penny.
After a difficult year, Grey Harbour Tattoo is happy to be back from the face of hardship and delivering the best possible service to their clients once again. Their experience is a testament to the resounding support of the local Hamilton community.
We need to continue using cash as a form of payment in order to include low-income folks in our society
As we go about our lives, you may have noticed that we are going increasingly paperless. Whether it’s spending money on your morning coffee, buying groceries or making a purchase online, many people opt for their debit or credit card as opposed to cash. In the world of Apple and Google Pay, it’s as easy as pressing a few buttons on your phone and holding it over the card machine.
However, going cashless isn’t easy for everyone as it excludes a large number of low-income folks and especially, houseless people.
To own a debit or credit card, you need to own a bank account. To do this, though, many Canadian banks, if not all, ask you for an address. It’s clear how this can be an issue for houseless folks or people who do not have stable housing — what address are they supposed to put?
In light of the Defund HPS protest that occurred this past November, it’s evident that lack of permanent housing is an issue that hits close to home. Additionally, banks often require you to deposit up to $100 in order to start a bank account, which can be a huge cost for some.
However, going cashless isn’t easy for everyone as it excludes a large number of low-income folks and especially, houseless people.
So although it may be convenient for many people to use their cards, not everyone is able to have a debit or credit card. Then, this leaves us with the problem of a society that is growing increasingly cashless: what do low-income folks do when they are unable to pay for groceries and other necessities because they do not have access to an electronic payment method?
Although many places still accept cash payments, there are many notable changes that have occurred that suggest that one day, we may no longer be able to use cash as a form of payment.
Even bus fares have become electronic. The Hamilton Street Railway stopped selling paper tickets and passes and all paper tickets expired by the end of 2020 in order to promote the use of Presto. While the HSR still accepts cash fares, they are $0.75 more expensive than a one-time Presto fare and your fare must be exact as no change will be provided.
Although you can refill a Presto card using cash, you can face issues loading your card. In addition, a Presto card costs $6, which is an additional financial barrier.
During the pandemic, the desire to rely on our debit and credit cards is even higher, as many people do not want to risk catching COVID by handling cash. Some stores even refuse to accept cash as a precaution. Even if you are able to use cash, many stores prefer electronic payment methods.
Even though I understand why this precaution is in place, the Centers for Disease Control and Contamination have highlighted that it is unlikely that COVID spreads often from touching surfaces, such as money. Thus, it should be safe to accept money, especially if that is the only form of payment someone has. If you want to take extra precautions, you can sanitize the money to make sure that you minimize the risk of COVID.
Even though I understand why this precaution is in place, the Centers for Disease Control and Contamination have highlighted that it is unlikely that COVID spreads often from touching surfaces, such as money.
Despite our movement towards a cashless society and despite the pandemic, we should still be accepting cash. Low-income folks already have so many barriers they have to face. At the very least, they shouldn’t have to worry about whether a store will accept their money.
It’s caring about more than just convenience. It’s caring about low-income folks and houseless folks that have no other option to pay with but cash.
Students volunteering on the frontlines speak on their experiences during these difficult days
This article is a part of the Sil Time Capsule, a series that reflects on 2020 with the aim to draw attention to the ways in which it has affected our community as well as the wider world.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been at the forefront for much of this year, even before it was officially declared as such in early March. It has affected every one of us in some way and has rightly dominated our news headlines. The pervasive nature of the pandemic has also drawn our attention to the indispensable but often unrecognized work of those who have been on the frontlines of this crisis.
Hospital staff are, of course, among this group, having been involved with the pandemic since the beginning. However, the crisis has drawn attention to essential work done by not just the nurses and physicians, but also the administrators, janitors, paramedics, screeners, security workers, social workers and x-ray technicians among many others.
The pandemic has also drawn attention to the essential services and workers beyond the hospital, including construction workers, firefighters, gas station and grocery store clerks, long-term care home workers, social services workers, teachers, transit operators, truck drivers and utility services workers. This list does not even begin to scratch the surface of how many frontline workers still go to their job each and every day in order to make our lives easier.
Prior to the pandemic, arguably many people took these services for granted and those working in these industries received little recognition for their work. Now, these individuals are at the forefront of the crisis, keeping our communities going during these difficult days. It has never been more apparent just how essential they are.
Before the pandemic, many students already occupied jobs that are now considered essential. In 2007, 61% of working full-time students were employed in the retail and foodservice industries. Heading into the pandemic, individuals aged 15 to 24 were more likely than other age groups to hold jobs in industries hit hard by the pandemic, such as accommodation and foodservice.
Fourth-year student Alyssa Taylor has been working at her café job for 2 years. When the pandemic hit, she continued to work.
“Working during the pandemic has been a strange time. Every shift I came into, especially near the beginning, there were new rules and protocols that were never really explained thoroughly. Everyone really got thrown into it and we had to figure things out for ourselves, much like the rest of the world during this time and it was difficult. Although there were many challenges, it was good for me personally because I began to get more hours, responsibility and seniority at work,” said Taylor.
"Every shift I came into, especially near the beginning, there were new rules and protocols that were never really explained thoroughly. Everyone really got thrown into it and we had to figure things out for ourselves, much like the rest of the world during this time and it was difficult," said fourth-year student Alyssa Taylor.
Many other students were prompted to help out in any way they could. Senior nursing students have continued to do clinical placements and many have also worked with community organizations in Hamilton on an initiative to provide homeless individuals and those at risk of homelessness with necessary personal protective equipment, such as masks.
Students have been involved in a number of other capacities as well. Some students have decided to make masks and other PPE for healthcare workers. Others volunteered in food services and healthcare settings. Shalom Joseph and Emma Timewell were among these students volunteering on the frontlines.
“We were like: “we need to do something, we need a job, we need to keep ourselves occupied” and then we noticed a lot of other students are doing the same thing. They were doing their thesis or they were just taking a semester off and they were working at the hospital. [There were also] a lot of [University of Toronto and Ryerson University] students, like nursing students even just generally working [at hospitals], giving their time back. And it was really nice to see that,” said Joseph.
Joseph volunteered as a COVID screener at a Toronto hospital emergency room. He was one of the first points of contact for patients arriving at the hospital and would ask them what has now become standard questions regarding symptoms and travel history.
Joseph volunteered as a COVID screener at a Toronto hospital emergency room. He was one of the first points of contact for patients arriving at the hospital and would ask them what has now become standard questions regarding symptoms and travel history.
Joseph felt that it was important to give back to his community which had supported him during his own difficult days. However, watching the pandemic unfold in this way has been extremely difficult and emotionally draining work.
“It's a role that's mentally daunting . . . it's really hard to stop thinking about the occurrences of an ER and the events of an ER when you don’t want to. You process these events and memories later on when you're ready to process them and that's not something that everybody understands. Not everybody understands that when you work a job in the hospital, or even anywhere that could have that sort of effect on you, that you need some time afterwards to relax and to form a community while doing that — it's very difficult because you have to focus on one thing at a time,” explained Joseph.
"Not everybody understands that when you work a job in the hospital, or even anywhere that could have that sort of effect on you, that you need some time afterwards to relax and to form a community while doing that — it's very difficult because you have to focus on one thing at a time,” explained Joseph.
Additionally, Joseph mentioned that while he is grateful that he is able to do this for his community, he has found that it has made it more difficult for him to connect with other parts of his community, such as friends from McMaster. In part, because he has spent so much time on the frontlines, Joseph is well acquainted with the risks of coronavirus and has been very strict with regard to following social distancing guidelines and other pandemic protocols. However, this is something that many of his friends did not understand or agree with.
“So me and my friend groups [have not been] as close as we were. Some people in my life did take offence to that. They did say, “oh, you're being too worried about it" or, "you're taking it too far, we haven't seen each other in six months”,” said Joseph.
Timewell was on exchange in the United Kingdom when the pandemic was declared and chose to remain there rather than return to Canada. Over the summer months, she volunteered with a local food delivery program, packaging groceries and delivering them to members of the community who were self-isolating.
Timewell was on exchange in the United Kingdom when the pandemic was declared and chose to remain there rather than return to Canada. Over the summer months, she volunteered with a local food delivery program, packaging groceries and delivering them to members of the community who were self-isolating.
Though it was often difficult and demanding work, both mentally and physically, Timewell felt that her volunteer work had not only given her something to do during the lockdown but also, as someone new to the community, it gave her the opportunity to connect with people.
“Especially during the heart of the first lockdown, it really helped me feel a part of a community that I didn't even live in before the pandemic started. Because we're doing all these deliveries and stuff, I got to know the actual physical location really well. I've been to every square inch of this borough that I never lived in before and then also, I got to know a lot of people that I would never have met and not just young people [either]. There were a lot of people who had lost their jobs and so they were volunteering because they couldn't find a job at the time, or [people] who were retired who would come and talk. Or even on our deliveries, we got to have short conversations [with people in the community],” said Timewell.
Connections and community are so important during trying times and in many ways, frontline workers have been a rallying point for communities. People have come together to support these essential services workers, offering their help in a variety of ways from childcare to therapy.
Additionally, as Timewell mentioned, volunteering or working in these services can facilitate the formation of new connections, especially for students who are not able to connect with their usual community in the same way.
“I think it's been really difficult not being able to be on campus. I think it takes away a lot of the community . . . I think [volunteering] can be a great opportunity for a lot of people to have a little bit of social interaction at a time that isn't really built for that,” added Timewell.
“I think it's been really difficult not being able to be on campus. I think it takes away a lot of the community . . . I think [volunteering] can be a great opportunity for a lot of people to have a little bit of social interaction at a time that isn't really built for that,” added Timewell.
As we move forward into the winter months, our frontline workers are going to be increasingly more important and it is imperative that we continue to support them and each other now, but also after this crisis has passed.
By shopping local, consumers can use their economic power to mitigate the inequitable destructive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses
In the highly divisive political and social atmosphere brought about by the pandemic, one message has been almost universally applauded: shop local. It is no secret that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are distributed unequally.
Case in point: since the start of the pandemic, one in ten restaurants across Canada have permanently closed their doors while Canadian billionaires’ wealth has increased by over $53 billion dollars.
This is not a uniquely Canadian problem — the global debt to gross domestic product ratio has soared to a record 365 per cent, with emerging economies and developing nations bearing the greatest burden. Meanwhile, billionaires worldwide have seen their holdings mushroom by 27 per cent. A k-shaped recovery, indeed.
In Ontario, the unfairness of shuttering small businesses whilst allowing large retailers to continue to sell both essential and non-essential items has generated both confusion and outrage. However, appeals to Doug Ford’s government, such as a petition by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses seem to have faced silence.
As the numerous inequalities are spelled out in red, we are left to determine if the uneven financial impacts of COVID are more a product of the realities of a pandemic or the discretionary actions of government. Frankly, evidence points unmistakably to the latter.
In Ontario, the harshest lockdowns prohibit indoor and outdoor restaurant service and only stores providing essential products or services are permitted to remain open. However, big-box stores that are allowed to stay open because they sell essential products are thereby able to continue selling non-essential products, wielding an unfair competitive advantage over small businesses. Why can I walk into Costco and buy clothes, but at a regular clothing store I need to order online and pick them up curbside?
However, big-box stores that are allowed to stay open because they sell essential products are thereby able to continue selling non-essential products, wielding an unfair competitive advantage over small businesses. Why can I walk into Costco and buy clothes, but at a regular clothing store I need to order online and pick them up curbside?
In Manitoba, this injustice was addressed by government regulations ordering that any store permitted to remain open could only sell essential products – anything else would only be available through curbside pickup. To ensure compliance, stores had to remove or rope off the non-essentials.
In November, Costco was hit with a $5000 for defying the government regulations. And in Ontario? Doug Ford assures us that he consulted with the Chief Executive Officer of Walmart Canada — but not thousands of small business owners — and concluded that forcing big-box retailers to comply with restrictions on the sale of non-essential items would be a “logistical nightmare,” so it wasn’t worth the trouble.
With the government refusing to address the inequity of closing some businesses and not others, consumers must take it upon themselves to level the playing field. This is the ethos behind “buy local.”
There are myriad benefits to shopping at local businesses: supporting the regional and national economy, ensuring the integrity of supply chains (it’s more than a little disconcerting to go to the grocery store and see empty shelves) and promoting the development of a middle class.
Unfortunately, buying local is expensive. For many people, the effort to support community businesses has become more about virtue and status signalling for the wealthy than a feasible economic alternative. Furthermore, buying products for a substantially higher cost than is necessary undermines one of the central tenets of our economic system: competition.
The benefits of marketplace competition manifest themselves in its corollary: economist Joseph Schumpeter’s creative destruction. The idea is that businesses unable to cope with current market conditions will die off and be replaced by newer ones, thereby ensuring a healthy and vigorous economy that benefits businesses as well as consumers.
The fear is, then, that the economic burden of buying local will be overly-taxing on consumers and will create an uncompetitive local economy that will impair post-pandemic recovery.
However, COVID-19 can be seen as a time of “created” and not creative destruction. Government shutdown regulations and not changing consumer preferences have altered the consumer marketplace to suit the very specific and very temporary economic conditions of the pandemic. Thus, buying the cheapest and most easily available product is not bolstering an efficient economy, it is exacerbating the unfair advantages enjoyed by large corporations in an artificial marketplace.
Post-pandemic, the government regulations will end, but the effects of our consumer behaviour during the pandemic will endure. Therefore, those who can afford to shop local should — nothing less than the long-term economic health of our communities is at stake.
Nursing students are struggling to meet the challenges of COVID-19 and aren’t receiving much support
By: Maxine Juneau, Contributor
There is no question that the shift to online classes and the COVID-19 pandemic have hit students hard this semester. Many are struggling to adjust to the new format and keep up with the course expectations despite the inability to access in-person student support and resources. Nursing and midwifery students are in an especially unique position this year as many continue to have in-person clinical placements.
At the start of the pandemic, there were questions on whether or not nursing students would proceed with in-person placements. With practical skills and patient interaction being such a vital part of the program, many students questioned if we would even be able to meet program requirements without clinical experience. More questions arose as other nursing schools across the province announced that they would be transitioning to virtual placements.
However, the Faculty of Nursing at McMaster University moved forward with level three and four placements starting on schedule in the fall term and level two placements starting in the winter term. While many students are grateful to have the opportunity to work on the frontlines, others are struggling to meet the challenges and stresses that COVID-19 presents.
In a recent Spotted at Mac post, an anonymous nursing student asked if anyone else was feeling uncomfortable about in-person clinical placements with COVID-19 cases spiking. They expressed how they were worried because a classmate had recently caught COVID at their placement.
While these fears are perfectly valid, fellow nursing students and recent graduates were quick to remind them that they had “signed up for it.” Many replied with comments such as, “well, as long as you wear your personal protective equipment, you will be okay.”
These kinds of comments that say this is “part of the job” are dismissive of the ways that COVID has negatively impacted nursing students. They don’t even begin to recognize that some students may not have a choice in whether or not they can take a semester off. While as students we decided to go into the semester knowing that COVID would be a factor, nobody could have predicted the different ways that it has impacted us.
This pandemic has affected the mental health of many students, including nursing students. Students are worried about catching COVID at clinical and passing it along to their family and friends. They are also worried about accidentally bringing it into the clinical setting or passing it between patients and why shouldn’t they be? They are seeing friends and family catch it, they are seeing patients suffer from it and they are seeing outbreaks on their own units.
Students are worried about catching COVID at clinical and passing it along to their family and friends. They are also worried about accidentally bringing it into the clinical setting or passing it between patients and why shouldn’t they be? They are seeing friends and family catch it, they are seeing patients suffer from it and they are seeing outbreaks on their own units.
Clinical anxiety is something that many students experience even during a normal year. Lying awake in bed the night before not being able to get a wink of sleep, feeling like you’re going to throw up from nerves when you step on the floor. Even having to take a deep breath to slow your heart before going into a patient’s room are all normal parts of being a nursing student. Now, the fears and anxieties of COVID have been added on top and students are struggling to cope.
Even many registered nurses these days are struggling to cope with the stresses of COVID-19. The International Council of Nurses recently reported that nurses with COVID patients suffer from burnout and psychological distress. Many health care workers, including health science students, have had to face the pandemic while also self-isolating from friends and families. Even with all the public support for health care workers, there is no denying the mental health pressures this pandemic has brought.
Yes, masks help. Yes, we made the decision to go into this semester. Yes, it is part of the nurse’s role. Still, we are nursing students first and foremost. Many of us are still learning to cope with the pressures of the clinical setting. Many of us are still just trying to keep up with classes. Now, we are being asked to put on a brave front and face the pandemic head-on? Nursing students are struggling to meet the challenges of COVID-19 and more needs to be done to support them.
To any nursing students that are reading this, I want to let you know that you are not alone. Any fears and anxieties you may be having are completely valid and there are many of us who stand beside you. If you ever need someone to talk to there are resources out there for you. We are all in this together and never feel afraid to reach out!
Mental health resources:
→ Good2Talk — https://good2talk.ca/
→ McMaster University Student Wellness Centre — https://wellness.mcmaster.ca/
→ Wellness Together Canada — https://ca.portal.gs/
→ Barrett Centre for Crisis Support — https://www.goodshepherdcentres.ca/services/barrett-centre-for-crisis-support/
By: Esther Liu, Contributor
The Silhouette: Could you give an overview of the website clothmasks.ca?
Dr. Catherine Clase: We were very concerned about dialysis patients early in the pandemic and we were concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in the dialysis unit, particularly for patients who have to come in for in-centre hemodialysis. There wasn't enough protective equipment to allow for universal masking at that point back in March so I started reading about cloth masks and their filtration properties.
Then, we recognized quite quickly that there was a lot of evidence about this and that many examples of cloth that we found in [the] literature were actually showing fairly reasonable filtration properties. At the same time, modelling studies that were coming out were showing us that even an imperfect mask was likely to have a big effect on the pandemic. So, a group of us who are epidemiologists who normally write about kidney disease, we got together and wrote a piece around immediate community implementation of masking, recognizing the uncertainty of the evidence.
As we were writing that, the CDC was updating its guidance and then Health Canada, a few days after that. So by the time we advocated for that, the many people working in public health and many epidemiologists around the world had already come to that conclusion. We'd amassed quite a lot of information on the filtration properties of cloth and we thought it was worth publishing that. So, we published that as a review article.
Then, we knew that everybody was trying to make cloth masks or scouring the internet, trying to find the original papers trying to interpret them. We had recognized, by doing that ourselves, how difficult it was. So, we thought that it would be really great to have a plain language version for everybody else, for everybody who doesn't want to read the version that has all the technical details in it. And so, we created the website clothmasks.ca and then some volunteers translated that into other languages for us. We have had 50,000 visitors over the time that [this] has been in place.
Could you also elaborate on your role in the initiative?
My role was really to be sort of a facilitator and team lead because there was a tremendous amount of work always being done by other people . . . we had a team of people taking information out of the primary papers and creating very large tables with all this information. We did it all in duplicate and it was all checked. The people who did that were junior researchers and a PhD student, Edouard Fu. He led the data extraction team, so he did tremendously work on this initiative.
How are you finding running the initiative?
It's challenging, though we're very fortunate because McMaster recognized very early in the pandemic that there was a problem with PPE. Here in the city, here in Canada and around the world, McMaster engineering very creatively decided to use internal investments to create this new Center of Excellence in Protective Equipment Materials . . . Now, I find myself part of something so much bigger. My part is the epidemiology and my piece around cloth masks and around trying to advocate for better cloth masks to be designed. The engineers have really engaged with us. One of the engineering graduate students, Scott Laengert, he has changed his PhD to work in this area. Charles de Lannoy, his supervisor is very actively engaged [in] cloth masks. Other than that, there are many other engineers that are also working on other aspects of PPE. All the knowledge and expertise, it's all going to help build a critical mass, which is going to make PPE at every level better.
Speaking more about interdisciplinary approach, you earlier talked about how it's difficult for you to go about this since your focus is primarily on kidneys. Could you elaborate a little bit more on that?
My background is in clinical research and my clinical area is usually kidney disease. Within kidney disease, we have expertise in a whole variety of different research methods and ways of looking at things — one of the areas of expertise that I've used over the years is the expertise that allows us to summarize things in informal ways. So really, it's that part of my background that I'm drawing on.
My motivation comes from wanting to protect people with chronic diseases and the whole society more generally. Every day, I interact with my patients who are living with chronic diseases who, if they were to get COVID-19, would likely be severely affected and would likely be in the group that experiences higher mortality. On the one hand, I have these tools that come from my experience as a systematic reviewer and then on the other hand I have this motivation that tells me what to do. So, I find that, though this is challenging and it's a really new area for me, I feel really well supported by the engineers who are my new colleagues. I feel that interdisciplinary teamwork is always important and especially important in the pandemic.
What future steps are you envisioning for the initiative?
At the moment, our goal is a better cloth mask. One of the recent changes in Health Canada was to suggest that we should use this substance, polypropylene. So we wrote an article about that in the conversation about what spunbond reusable industry-grade polypropylene is.
What we're really hoping in the very long term, perhaps not for this pandemic but eventually, is that we can move away from materials such as polypropylene which is plastic – not very biodegradable – to materials that are truly sustainable. If I had a dream, that would be my doing: eventually, these pandemic community masks that we wear will be made from something that's sustainably sourced and is compostable so [disposal] doesn't have a huge environmental impact.
If I was going to dream even bigger, I would say: "What if we could have this personal protective equipment in hospitals that meet those same criteria? What if we could have reusable masks that go to the sterilizing department, get washed, get autoclaved, we can wear them again, and they are as good as the masks we're wearing now?" That is a very long way away from where we are now, perhaps an impossible dream, but if we're thinking really big, then that would be my goal.
Any additional comments?
I just want to really give a big shout out to my colleagues at the Center of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials. Before I met them, at the beginning of the pandemic, they realized that there was a problem [with] personal protective equipment: that we didn't have enough. We had no Canadian manufacturer, we had no Canadian testing, we had no ability to ramp up our internal supply. And, as you know, borders were closing and planes were getting stopped, and you remember how difficult that was. My colleagues in engineering recognized that and they stepped up and they started doing things . . . Altruistically, that thinking of "I'm going to stop doing what I normally do and I'm going to do that" and so many of them choosing that – that to me was really extraordinary. The way that they have worked as an interdisciplinary team, including those of us from medicine and epidemiology, that too has been an amazing experience. I really just want to recognize all those people who had that idea and then made it happen.
The one last thing that I want to say is that I think we all feel like there is no light on the horizon, that things may not be [getting] better. I think what we all have to do is just keep doing the things that we've been doing, keep reinforcing the importance of doing the simple things that we've been doing to protect ourselves and protect others for the last few months. Head into the darkest months of this winter with patience and strength and hope for the future. I think things will get better, but we have to get through the next few months first.
In an isolating pandemic, music serves as a crucial way for us to cope
By: Jesica Martinez de Hoz, Contributor
The arts are repeatedly seen as non-essential. Yet, as COVID-19 has heightened issues in our economic, social and political structures, we look to music not only as a distraction from the outside world but as a means of connection.
Though it may seem like more than a lifetime ago, if you think back to March of this year you might remember the viral story about people all over Italy stepping out onto their balconies and joining together in song. After being restricted to their homes due to a country-wide lockdown, many Italians chose to use music as a way to keep their spirits up and stay in touch throughout an extremely distressing time.
A lot of musicians, rather than singing from the rooftops, have been using this time indoors to concentrate on making music. While some artists, like Taylor Swift, were able to write, record and make music videos for an entire album during the pandemic, others have had to come up with innovative ideas on how to collaborate and continue creating. Yet, regardless of any new struggles they have to face, the pandemic has not stopped musicians from making music.
Thank goodness for that. While this was happening across the globe, many Canadian students, including myself, were finishing up the winter 2020 semester online. Now, more than ever, do we need music to help us get by. Just as musicians use their songs as a way to express themselves, we listen to them in order to brighten our mood, better understand our own emotions or simply escape. Whether it was used to pass the time or as a diversion from current events, the amount of media consumed rapidly increased.
Music has helped me cope with the events of the last couple of months through a radio show which I host on CFMU, McMaster University’s community radio station. In being able to produce a new show every week, I’m given a creative outlet to share my thoughts, as well as the chance to promote the artists who have helped me de-stress while being stuck inside.
In being able to produce a new show every week, I’m given a creative outlet to share my thoughts, as well as the chance to promote the artists who have helped me de-stress while being stuck inside.
At first, it was difficult to transition from recording live at the station, to trying to figure out how to use GarageBand all by myself. However, like many musicians, in forcing me to adapt, this pandemic has provided me with the opportunity and incentive to learn a new skill that I would have never otherwise attempted.
With several of CFMU’s hosts also taking steps to record their shows from home, the station has continued to act as a bridge between the McMaster and Hamilton communities during this period of isolation. Locally and globally, radio is helping musicians remain connected with their fans and listeners stay connected within their communities, showing yet another one of the music’s many influences.
We often take for granted how substantial music is in our daily lives, even before COVID-19. Yet, whether it's an outlet for us to be creative and express ourselves, a diversion from stressful current events or a way to feel connected, music has been an essential way for many to manage in this pandemic.
Transmit to these virtual and physically distanced events during your winter break
As the holidays approach, snow blankets the streets, colourful lights twinkle as they adorn the outline of houses and the smell of Pillsbury’s cookies fills the air. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the provincial government to not allow large social gatherings, the spirit of the holidays lives on.
There are still many virtual and physically distanced events that can help you recover from stressful exams and reconnect with the community. Whether you are in Hamilton or on the other side of the world, there is something for everyone in this list of eight winter events happening in Hamilton.
1. The Holidays, Mental Health & COVID-19
Wondering how to manage all the changes this holiday season? This webinar from the Hamilton branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association is taking place on Dec. 15 at 1:00 p.m. It will take a deeper look at how the COVID-19 has and will impact the 2020 holiday season. The webinar will give concrete strategies to maintain your mental health and stay connected to your loved ones during the holidays.
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2. Ushi Mart Winter Holiday Market
Ushi Mart is hosting a physically distanced in-person winter market at The Cotton Factory from Nov. 28 to Dec. 28. A wide variety of local vendors will be selling art, jewelry, housewares, clothing and trinkets. Tickets are $5, and customers will need to book their visit ahead of time as only five visitors can enter per hour. All proceeds from the market will go toward Wesley Urban Ministries, a non-profit organization that offers support to those who are homeless or living in poverty in the Hamilton, Halton and Brantford regions.
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3. Christmas Store & Tree Farm
Until Dec. 22, you can cut your own or purchase a pre-cut Christmas Tree at Merry Farms on Concession Road. It’s a 176-acre farm also popular for its corn maze and pumpkin patch in the fall. Reservations must be made in advance through their website. They also have a Christmas store on-site where you can find unique items to decorate your house. On Dec. 12 and 13, Merry Farms is offering on-site food service by The Rockton Lions Club.
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4. Art Gallery of Hamilton Film Series
If you are on the hunt for a new show or movie to watch, join the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s Online Film Series from the comfort of your home. The series, which is available for a fee, will last throughout December, and you can stream films such as God of the Piano, Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack and Rocks. Check out their website for more information about when the tickets for each film will become available.
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5. Supercrawl Livestream Series
Although Supercrawl was cancelled this year due to the pandemic, they are hosting a series of livestreamed performances every weekend until the end of December. The virtual concerts, which are held through Facebook, are free. Upcoming performances include Tim Hicks, The Dirty Nil and Terra Lightfoot.
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6. Royal Botanical Garden Express
Hop on the Royal Botanical Garden Express train through Hendrie Park, which is decorated for the season with beautiful holiday lights. Hendrie Park is the largest cultivated garden area at Royal Botanical Gardens with 12 different themed spaces. Tickets can be purchased at the main doors and the rides will remain open until Jan. 3.
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7. Goodbody Feel December Workshops
Goodbodyfeel is offering various virtual workshops for self-care, self-love and self-compassion during the holidays. You can learn about restorative postures, how to do a guided self-massage, how to bake seasonal treats, participate in an online dance party and more. Different workshops will be held each week from Dec. 12 until Dec. 31 to help you destress and relax.
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There is no better way to put yourself in a festive mood than listening to holiday music. The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet will perform holiday classics and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah on Dec. 18. The performance will be available to watch online until Jan. 18, 2021. This concert is part of the orchestra’s Hamilton Series and tickets are available for $27.
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The mental illness label can have tremendous impacts and we should approach it with more care
By: Frank Chen, Contributor
CW: mentions of mental illness
Veterans of university know: this late-November to mid-December stretch is not a good time of the year. As midterms wrap up and exam season ramps into full gear, this is the point where students become overwhelmed, burnt out and exhausted. Yet, we have some of the most important examinations ahead. Especially in this “unprecedented” year, the burden on students is massive, and the McMaster University community has been vocal about it.
At the forefront of this is a discussion regarding student mental health. Over the past year, the ideas of mental health and mental illness have been thrown around a lot by students. Students are increasingly expressing loneliness, reporting frustration with coursework and burning out. As a result of those feelings, I’ve seen more and more people labelling themselves as depressed or anxious. But “mental illness” is a term with a lot more weight than many people realize.
When the “mental illness” tag is put on you, it’s often seen as a fixed state — a never-ending onslaught of “bad” mental health. It becomes easy to stop appreciating the good parts of your life when you fixate on the idea that you are “mentally unfit.” Regardless of illness or not, there can be real harm done just by the label itself.
As an example, in my first year of university (which was in person), I bought into the idea that my stresses and insecurities were a form of generalized anxiety disorder. Due to this, I put boundaries on how I could or could not act based on what I thought of my own mental state. This took away so many possibilities.
Instead, I now realize how my stresses in my first year could be reframed as a normal response to a change of environment and an adaptation to university life. But regardless, my belief of having anxiety limited me and it can be incredibly easy to misjudge these negative emotions to mental illness.
Both my personal experience and some of the nuances in how students talk about mental illness illustrate an important idea: that our view of mental illness can be incredibly individualized. In stressful situations that evoke emotional responses and actions, we often miscategorize our failings to ourselves rather than a product of our environment.
For example, students often blame themselves for their grades, for not being prepared enough or for not being that star student who can simultaneously juggle many commitments. However, what we fail to consider are the social contexts that we are in that often make it difficult to achieve these standards, such as home conditions, family duties or socioeconomic status.
In stressful situations that evoke emotional responses and actions, we often miscategorize our failings to ourselves rather than a product of our environment.
Similarly, students also often talk about mental health as a dichotomous issue, as either having good or bad mental health, which inherently puts pressure on themselves to “fix” their mental states. But realistically, everyone has good and bad days, largely influenced by the events and activities taking place that day. Mental health is less a fixed state based on your own failures, but rather something that is constantly fluctuating largely influenced by your surroundings.
Our individualized view of mental illness poses danger for those caught up in it. Mental health when approached from the view that it’s the fault of the individual can often lead to a vicious cycle where mental illness can lead to self-doubt and self-hate, furthering negative self-perceptions. The label of illness can be hard to escape from, but social context is key when approaching the way you feel. Understanding that the vast majority of signs and symptoms of what you may think is illness can actually come as normal responses to stressful contexts.
It can be hard to step back and convince yourself that social contexts can play the role it does. Historically, mental health as a discipline has been rooted in individualism, harkening back to the days when disabled people, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks and others who were deemed socially undesirable were blamed for their “mental illness.”
Mental illness was used as a tool to control those who didn’t conform to social standards set at the time, their purpose was originally to condemn the individual. In part, it’s this long-standing history of individualized mental illness that contributes to why so many people still think of it this way today.
With the impending exam season, we need to be more aware of the implications of a term like “mental illness.” As we move into a stressful time for students and educators alike, I hope that we can all consider whether those negative thoughts and emotions are truly arising from mental illness or something else — because it can be very easy to misattribute feelings as disease, when there can be bigger and broader social contexts in play.
Sil Time Capsule is a new series that will continue to bring forward student voices
As we near the end of 2020, now is a good time to reflect, especially given how much has changed this past year. 2020 has been a rough year for everyone, but with its difficulties come opportunities for learning and changing, both within all of us as individuals and within our society.
The COVID-19 pandemic remains the event that will define 2020 for years to come. The pandemic and its regulations have caused tensions, a shift across the board in education and different sectors to a virtual environment and rises in mental health issues due to isolation and other issues faced by many.
This pandemic has brought forth many challenges, particularly for students struggling to make the best of their youth amid a world of isolation and online classrooms. However, it has also highlighted pre-existing issues within our society, such as serious health disparities as a result of socioeconomic status. All in all, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has forever changed our world and how we experience it as individuals and as students.
[/media-credit] Information from the City of Toronto, as reported by Jessica Cheung of the CBC
Next, there was the shooting of George Floyd and the rallying cry against anti-Black racism in North America and across the world. The Black Lives Matter movement, an existing movement against police brutality and anti-Black racism, shifted into the limelight, offering all a chance to reflect on their role in anti-Black racism.
The effects of this were far-reaching, with systemic racism being highlighted across our nation at an institutional and individual level. Beyond discussions on anti-Black racism, there was also a rise in the discourse regarding anti-Indigenous racism. The Land Back protests are a prime example of the important role activism played this year in sparking dialogue on inequities in our society. As students and as a student newspaper, it is essential these events are brought forth and discussed adequately.
[/media-credit] Black Lives Matter protests in Toronto, as reported by Laura Armstrong and Jacob Lorinc of the Toronto Star
Finally, there was the 2020 United States federal election. Although American politics can sometimes feel distant, this election caused — and will cause for the next four years — a shift in global politics and marked the end of an era in the United States and North America with Donald Trump as the President of the United States.
Additionally, given the close ties between Canada and the US, the repercussions and changes that will accompany the election and its results will be felt here more than in other countries.
It is important to note the election, along with all other monumental aspects of 2020 mentioned thus far, was accompanied by a multitude of other important global events. These must — and will — be discussed in great detail in the coming issues at the Silhouette through both this series as well as through our Summer of Activism series in the News section.
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As a student newspaper, it is important we discuss global events and how they affect us and the McMaster student community. Global events affect everyone in one way or another. COVID-19 is a global health issue but has left deep impacts on the lives of students. It highlighted important issues in our society such as the extent to which income and privilege dictate your level of health and protection. Students are not isolated nor removed from these realities.
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It is also important to discuss the many global events of 2020 as a student newspaper because these are in many ways mirrored by realities in our own community. For example, just as systemic racism and police brutality shifted to the limelight of national political discourse in the United States, realities at McMaster such as the anti-Black racism culture in the university’s athletics department were highlighted in a recent report.
As a student newspaper, we are responsible for informing our peers, discussing these issues and how they have affected our students. As global citizens, we are responsible for raising awareness of global issues, events and inequities.
More than just being mirrored in our community, these events have also had a profound influence on our very sense of community.
More than just being mirrored in our community, these events have also had a profound influence on our very sense of community. Often exceptional and unprecedented events encourage stronger connections and drive communities closer together.
However, the nature of the pandemic has resulted in the opposite, with many students feeling disconnected and unsupported in these difficult times. As a student newspaper, it is important that we not only inform our peers and raise awareness about global events and issues but also that we do our part to maintain community and facilitate the connection between students.
Furthermore, this kind of coverage and engagement with global events is something that many, if not most, students are interested and invested in. During the Black Lives Matter protests at the beginning of June, the Silhouette posted a short message in solidarity, but we were challenged by our community to do more. Over the last few months, we have been working to deliver on those promises that were made and are continuing to look for ways in which we can improve.
Across all sections this past semester we have worked to ensure that we address and acknowledge these issues and events and their influence on our community. This article in particular serves as the introduction to a new series. Titled Sil Time Capsule, this series is an opportunity to reflect on this past year and draw attention to the ways in which it has affected our community as well as the wider world.
2020 has been an eventful and unprecedented year and as a student newspaper, we have a responsibility to acknowledge these events, inform our peers and raise awareness about them. We also have a responsibility to address the ways in which they have affected and influenced not only the wider world but also our own community. This time capsule series is one way by which we are working to do justice to the events and issues of this year and their influence on the communities big and small of which we are a part.
