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After settling in the dust for a few years, a vacant restaurant space on 631 Barton St. E. has been given a new name and identity. The space now breathes the essence of tiki culture as extravagant drinks are set on fire and music pulsates through its art-covered walls and wooden floors etched in Polynesian-inspired patterns.
MaiPai is adding to a renewed sense of prosperity on Barton Street East as new businesses open up and historic establishments are restored. It’s also riding on a wave of local tiki bar resurgence. In 2015, The Shameful Tiki Room and The Shore Leave opened in Toronto, reintroducing the concept of a Toronto bar entirely dedicated to tiki culture for the first time in two decades.
The original tiki movement can be traced back to the early 1930s when the first Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant, Don the Beachcomber, first opened in Hollywood, California following the end of Prohibition— a nationwide ban on manufacturing, transporting and selling alcohol in the United States.
Ironically, prohibition drove an accelerated production of rum, much of which aged in casks waiting to be discovered by enterprising bar owners, like Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr., who founded Trader Vic, a Polynesian-themed restaurant chain, and claimed to have made the first Mai Tai, a staple tiki bar favourite, in 1944 from 17-year-old rum from Jamaica.
History then tells the story of a post-war urge for escapism in the 1940s, igniting a tiki bar obsession all across the United States, and eventually Canada, as bargoers imagined themselves escaping the realities of the world they lived in.
By the 1960s, tiki bars were all over Ontario, and in 1975, the Trader Vic chain arrived to downtown Toronto. Tiki bars continued to provide a sense of escape until the 1970s, when their novelty eventually sizzled out as people began to lose interest. Trader Vic’s Toronto location closed its doors in 1993.
The resurgence of modern-day tiki bars begs an important question—what are we escaping from? Or perhaps the love of tiki culture is just enough reason to bring back an experience in the past and reinvent it—which is exactly what MaiPai is introducing to Hamilton and Barton Village.
MaiPai’s menu is dedicated wholeheartedly to tiki culture with a Detroit-inspired pizza twist. This style of pizza originated in the 1940s when Gus Guerro from Buddy’s Pizza made a sicilian dough pizza in a thick rectangular steel pan with cheese going right to the edge—winning over the hearts of Detroiters and Hamilton chef Salar Madadi, who’s known for opening up Pokeh, one of the first restaurants in Canada dedicated to serving poke, a Hawaiian appetizer.
It all came full circle when Madadi happened to be in Detroit, at a tiki bar, and the idea of MaiPai came to be.
Madadi then reached out to long-time friend Peter Lazar, Director at UrbanRoom Group, a Hamilton-based event production company, and asked him if he wanted to open a tiki bar.
Despite shamefully name-dropping Niagara Falls’ Rainforest Café as his closest exposure to tiki culture, Lazar quickly fell in love with the idea and Madadi’s pizzas. MaiPai brings together both their talents of creating memorable and quality experiences with food and space.
“The more I got into it, the more I fell in love with tiki as a culture . . . We both love creating an experience that really transforms [a space] or moves people into an escape,” said Lazar.
“I really like the idea of people having somewhere where they can go in and there’s basically just no reminders of the outside world. There’s no TVs, there’s no windows. You just go somewhere and like, you just need to check out and have a good experience and good food,” added Madadi.
It only takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to MaiPai’s atmosphere and for you to feel transported back in time and into another world. Antique lamps, lights, dozens of tiki mugs and decorations were salvaged from flea markets and tiki restaurants that were open in the 60s. Some interesting finds include a skull-shaped mug covered in what appears to be melted cheese and pepperoni and a matchbook from a long-gone Hamilton tiki bar rumoured to have been the Tiki Trapper.
While MaiPai Tiki Bar may be a new concept to the Gibson neighbourhood, co-owners Madadi and Lazar are no strangers to this area — in fact, they live just a couple minutes’ walk from each other and the restaurant. It felt very natural for them to be working together on a project so close to home.
Their neighbours and community have welcomed their new venture with open arms—selling out their first two weeks of reservation-only menu testing in under 12 hours.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B780RnPgUFa/
“Both of us really respect and love opinions. We love hearing. We love the idea that multiple people's voices can come together and make something that's really unique. I think a lot of it just boils down to respect . . . we’re so appreciative of the staff that comes into work and . . . the fact that people would want to choose to come and eat out here,” said Lazar.
MaiPai’s menu is inspired by Madadi’s travels, Hamilton and responses from the community. MaiPai also includes a selection of wings, and almost the entire pizza menu can be made vegetarian or plant based.
One pizza in particular is inspired by Hamilton’s plethora of sub shops. The pizza has a thick, but light and airy crust made with MaiPai’s 48-hour cold fermented dough. It’s cooked with mortadella, salami and hot peppers, and when it comes out of the oven, it’s topped with shredded lettuce, kewpie mayo and sub sauce.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6JdknEF55a/
MaiPai will continue their soft launch hours into February and are hosting feature nights to test out menu items and setting cocktails on fire ahead of their official launch in March. By then, Madadi and Lazar will have opened up the second part to their space by expanding into 629 Barton Street East—tripling their capacity to 80 patrons.
Much like the passionate revival of tiki culture, there’s a very present dedication to bringing new possibilities to Barton Street East. MaiPai is a story of how Hawaii meets Hamilton in peculiar ways, and the next chapters are looking promising.
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This is part one of a three part series. Throwback Thursday looks to explore the past, present and future of Hamilton’s music scene through the eyes of those within.
The Hamilton music scene is ever-changing. The rise of Supercrawl over the past decade has given local bands a public platform that they might not have had access to otherwise. Through this Throwback Thursday series, I seek to uncover the recent history of Hamilton’s music scene, and how the city has developed the unique musical identity that it’s known for today. This will take the form of three profile-based articles focusing on interactions with the past, present and future of Hamilton’s music scene.
We will begin with a snapshot of Hamilton’s music scene in the 1990s. Our guide is a former Silhouette Arts & Culture Editor, and co-author of Canadian alt-rock music book "Have Not Been The Same".
Ian A.D. Jack began studying Kinesiology at McMaster in 1992. Although his studies were heavily focused on physiology and physical movement, Jack had a passion for music that stemmed from his childhood.
Jack recalled living in Thunder Bay as a child in the 80s, going to the local library and borrowing vinyl records which exposed him to a wide range of music. When Jack’s parents divorced, he turned to music as a comforting mechanism.
Photo C/O Ian A.D. Jack
“Music has been my saviour all along,” said Jack.
With the late 80s came the surge of bands such as U2, The Smiths and New Order, creating a new wave of music. Music was getting louder, heavier, but strangely more melodic as well. Jack was captivated by this style. He tried to emulate their sounds, find out as much as he could about the bands and build his music collection.
While Jack was at McMaster, he would spend all of his extra money at Cheapies Records and Tapes (67 King St. East), a staple record store in Hamilton’s music scene that is still around today. Cheapies does not confine itself to one type of music, allowing anybody to find their own interests in their vinyl record bins. After his first year of university he began writing for the Sil, after realizing that he would be sent new music for free so long as he wrote something about it.
“It was a great way of funding my habits and became a gateway for me to meet a lot of artists and my heroes,” said Jack.
In the past, the Sil used to have a dedicated pull-out section called Hamilton Entertainment Arts Directory, or HEAD. This section featured movie and album reviews, but also had a heavy focus on reviewing and interviewing local Hamilton-based bands. Jack wrote his first article for HEAD about alternative rock band, Rhymes with Orange. He continued writing for HEAD in his third year and became co-Arts Editor in his final year of school. HEAD was an important way for students to understand the music scene in Hamilton.
In addition to profiling Hamilton music, Jack’s section also featured interviews with bands such as Oasis and Blur. HEAD also ran interviews with notable people in the movie industry such as actor/director Kevin Smith, actor Don McKellar and director Noah Bombock.
In the 90s, there were two pubs on campus that hosted live music. The Rathskeller, now Bridges Café, typically housed Hamilton-based bands, and the Downstairs John, which has since been demolished to make room for L.R. Wilson Hall, typically hosted more well known Canadian bands. Jack described the city’s music scene as being rougher than it is today due to the minimal amount of exposure artists received as well as the undeveloped, underground scene they were playing in.
“Now, you have some more prominent artists like The Arkelles and White Horse, and you have Supercrawl. That festival didn’t exist [before],” said Jack.
Jack also recalls off-campus venues that would host live music. The largest of these clubs was called X-Club, housed on the second floor of a building at King William Street and John Street North downtown. Up and coming indie bands such as Jale, Doughboys and Pure would perform. Jack remembers tall posts extending from the floors to the ceiling, obstructing audience sightlines. Nevertheless, it was a great place to catch an indie show.
La Luna (306 King St. West), was another spot that would host smaller bands or acoustic sets. While primarily functioning as a Lebanese restaurant, it had a small space for live performances, hosting the likes of Dave Rave, Jale and Jacob Moon. This venue is still open today.
Jack noted that The Corktown (175 Young St.) sometimes felt dilapidated, but it hosted a number of punk and alt-rock bands. For that reason, it remained one of his favourite places to watch live music in Hamilton. One notable band who performed at Corktown was Junkhouse, a rock band helmed by Tom Wilson. This venue is still open today and frequently hosts live music.
While not primarily a place for live music, Fever, now Absinthe (38 King William St.), was a dance club playing alt-rock music. This style of music started to gain traction with more and more people throughout the city.
Throughout Jack’s university years in Hamilton, a few major genres dominated the Steel City’s music scene. Punk rock was made prominent in part to Teenage Head; rock n’ roll was from Junkhouse; folk rock came from groups like Crash Vegas; and power pop from bands like The Killjoys.
“Hamilton is like the Brooklyn to Toronto’s New York,” said Jack when describing the 90s music scene.
In Jack’s earlier years, many Toronto-based artists moved to Hamilton as rent was more affordable west of the city. The same is true of New York-based artists who move to Brooklyn.
“It’s financially logical and you also have a collective of creative people that can afford to be creative,” added Jack.
Jack graduated from McMaster in 1996 and went on to teach music in the elementary sector; however, his writing endeavours didn’t stop with the Sil. He co-wrote a book in 2001 called "Have Not Been The Same" that focused on the development of alternative rock in Canada from 1985 to 1995. Through this project, Jack had the chance to interview local Hamilton-based bands from his university days, such as Doughboys and Jale, in a process that came full circle for him.
On a more personal note, I had the pleasure of being taught by ‘Mr. Jack’ from grade four to six. Since my graduation from elementary school, we’ve kept in contact over the years. By coincidence, I also found my way to McMaster for my post-secondary education. When I told him I had accepted my offer, he told me to look into writing for the Sil. My first year was really about finding my own footing at the school, as is the case for many other students, which is why I wasn’t able to pursue his advice. At the start of my second year, he told me to reconsider writing for the Sil. I took him up on his advice and the rest, as they say, is history.
An inspiration not only to my music, but also to my personal morals and values and seemingly to my journalism career, thank you, Ian.
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This article has been edited as of Feb. 11, 2019
A previously published version of this article misquoted Ikram Farah. The quote has since been updated.
Students are often at a standoff with the MSU president. A commonly held belief is that the President cannot get things done, while presidents themselves often feel that they are misunderstood by the student body. Looking back at former presidents, we can see the difficult realities of their jobs. However, each MSU president has many opportunities to enact change, and it is their responsibility to work within their limitations.
It’s hard to keep all the eggs in one basket
“When someone is running for president they are running on 12-15 platform points, but that is not your only priority, you are a CEO, you are a manager of the whole institution,” said Ikram Farah, former MSU president for the 2018-2019 school year.
Every MSU president has and will continue to struggle with balancing priorities. Consulting past presidents and critically examining a previous year’s struggles is meant to help incoming presidents plan for the year ahead. New president-elects are given the opportunity to do this during their training period under the current MSU president, which lasts from February to April of each year.
Even with this transition process, neither Marando, Farah nor Monaco-Barnes were prepared for how much time would be taken up by priorities unrelated to their platform points.
“I didn’t realize how much of my time would be taken up with chairing various meetings, SRA, clubs, committees, events, and other things that you don’t really see the president do until you are in the role yourself,” said Marando.
During the transition period, outgoing presidents still have their own responsibilities and incoming presidents have their academics. It is unclear exactly how many hours are spent orienting.
“[After March] you’re out, and the new person’s in, and it’s up to them and their team to carry on their objectives but also carry on ongoing projects to full term,” said Justin Monaco-Barnes, former MSU president for the 2016-2017 school year.
Limitations of the transition period may negatively impact a president’s future ability to establish continuity, balance priorities and prepare for unpredictability. Farah faced the impact of the Ontario Student Assistance Program cuts and the Student Choice Initiative. Responding to these events took up much of her team’s time.
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” said Farah.
Continuity is key
Longevity, according to Monaco-Barnes, can be an issue with a one-year term. A president must continue previous presidents’ work while attending to their own platform points and responsibilities. Marando, Farah and Monaco-Barnes highlighted the added pressure that comes from students wanting tangible results.
“. . . A lot of people probably don’t know I sit on groups that improve the university IT plan, or work on mental health support in classrooms. People don’t see all the time and energy that goes into working with our full-time staff and supporting business operations of the MSU. I think that if there isn’t a big promotion of something, people think nothing is happening. In reality things may span over a years — such as our new student space expansion — requiring a lot more resources than one might think,” said Marando.
The student space expansion came from Monaco-Barnes’ platform, whose Pulse expansion plans eventually evolved to include a new student center, the Student Activity Building.
“And then here we are, two years later, and it’s being built which is pretty cool,” said Monaco-Barnes.
Monaco-Barnes took an unpaid leave of absence to run two student-wide referenda and help secure funding for the expansion plans. During the second referendum, Ryan McDonald, the VP (Finance) at the time, also took an unpaid leave.
While the Student Activity and Pulse expansion are underway, future MSU presidents must see them through. Not all projects will survive this process.
At the end of Monaco-Barnes’s term, plastic water bottles were replaced with boxed water in Union Market. Union Market reverted back to plastic water bottles the following year.
“I don’t know how you control that. You hope that the continuity pieces that remain in the MSU leadership wise, you hope they will continue your original messages and ideas, but once you’re gone you can’t really control those things,” added Monaco-Barnes.
If this is a known problem, incoming and outgoing presidents should prevent it from happening as much as possible. Starting from scratch, as Monaco-Barnes noted, is a waste of time.
Who do you want in the room?
As Farah said, it can be easy to forget the significant impact that an MSU President can have in advocating for students. Advocacy could result in change that students may not link back to MSU, as such changes happen over the long-term.
“We need people with ideas and strategic vision. That’s where the Pulse expansion or student activity building becomes impactful. But we don’t always need that large action. Advocating for policies that enhance student life are incredibly important too; however, policy takes time though,” said Farah.
A president will have several opportunities to advocate for students. But it is not easy to get the job done. Monaco-Barnes said that higher-ups can wait out a president that they disagree with. There is also an intimidation factor at play, as the MSU president will interact with older and more experienced counterparts.
“It’d be very easy for a president to go in and do a lacklustre job if they are not motivated,” said Monaco-Barnes.
MSU presidents will make mistakes and struggle with their jobs. Their role is difficult to fully appreciate from an outside perspective. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t point out their mistakes and challenge them to work around limitations. If we do not hold them accountable, then we may see less work being done. Is being MSU president hard? Yes. Does that mean that they cannot accomplish anything? Absolutely not.
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On the night of Jan. 30, 2020, Giancarlo Da-Ré was in the basement of Togo Salmon Hall with a few members of his core campaign team when he learned that he was the new president-elect of the McMaster Students Union. As per tradition, the news was delivered to him by the current MSU president Josh Marando via phone call.
The ranked voting system requires over 50 per cent of the votes to elect a candidate. With 4810 students voting and 666 students abstaining, the threshold this year sat at 2073 votes. Da-Ré received 2504 votes, 431 votes over this requirement and approximately 52 per cent of the total votes that were cast.
The 2020 elections also saw a new low for the voter turnout, with only 19.1 per cent of eligible McMaster students voting this year. This marked a sharp decline from last year, especially when compared to 2014 to 2017, when voter turnout did not once dip below 40 per cent. This downward trend began in 2018, when voter turnout dropped to 28.8 per cent, and continued to 2019, when it dropped even further to 26.8 per cent.
“I was disappointed to see that the voter turnout this year had dropped again. I think this was the product of a few different factors, one of which being the low number of candidates, which would contribute to overall promotion of the election across our community of voting members,” said Da-Ré.
“I was disappointed to see that the voter turnout this year had dropped again. I think this was the product of a few different factors, one of which being the low number of candidates, which would contribute to overall promotion of the election across our community of voting members,” said Da-Ré.
Since all candidates are given five business days to contest any results and to appeal any fines, Da-Ré’s new position is still unofficial. Nevertheless, he is continuing conversations related to his platform, which highlighted accessibility, climate action and student experience.
One critique of Da-Ré’s platform is that while he claims that it was informed by 100 consultations, there were several key groups that he had not contacted by the time the campaign period began. Now, Da-Ré asserts that he has set up consultations with Maccess and the Academic Sustainability Programs Office in order to work towards accessibility and sustainability.
He also voices his desire to consult with people whose perspectives might differ from his own.
“If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from the campaign period, it is that there are many groups on campus trying to tackle different parts of the same puzzle, and that there is a lot of work I have to do to better understand those different pieces,” he says.
“If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from the campaign period, it is that there are many groups on campus trying to tackle different parts of the same puzzle, and that there is a lot of work I have to do to better understand those different pieces,” he says.
While he does not elaborate on any specific details, Da-Ré states that his consultations have helped him understand how offices and departments within McMaster interact with each other. He states that he has gained a sense of the work that has been done recently in this community, and, by extension, an idea of the work that still needs to be done.
With this in mind, Da-Ré wants to remind students at McMaster that they are foundational to the university’s community.
“Students are incredibly passionate and hard-working, and while some changes won’t be seen overnight, they have more power than they think in influencing change within our community,” he says.
Regarding what his first plans would be when he takes office, Da-Ré says, “It’s hard to say what my first plans will be a few months from now, but I look forward to getting up to speed on current initiatives and projects so that I can hit the ground running in May.”
For now, Da-Ré looks forward to the election results becoming official and to starting the transition process with Josh Marando.
He welcomes anyone interested in consulting to send an email to [email protected].
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Only 19.1 per cent of McMaster students voted in the 2020 McMaster Student Union’s Presidential election, the lowest voter turnout for an MSU Presidential election since 2009. In total, 4810 students cast their ballots. The 2020 Hamilton Street Railway referendum that took place concurrently saw 5,763 students cast their votes, equivalent to a voter turnout of 22.9 per cent.
On Jan. 30, the MSU Elections Department ratified and released the results of the MSU residential election and HSR referendum.
President-elect Giancarlo Da-Ré won the 2020 MSU Presidential election with 2,504 votes, a 1,529 vote surplus over the second place candidate, Jackson Tarlin.
Tarlin, the election’s runner-up, garnered 975 votes.
666 students abstained, and Krystina Koc received the lowest number of votes at 665.
Da-Ré will officially take office on May 1, 2019.
Voter turnout this year was the lowest it has been in a while, following a steady decline since 2018. Engagement fell from 41.6 per cent in 2017 to 28.1 per cent in 2018. In the following year, this steep drop appeared to level off, with a 1.2 per cent drop between 2018 and 2019. However, this year, the steep decline returned yet again, with turnout dropping by 7.7 per cent.
In the past five years, the lower the voter turnout, the greater the proportion of votes that went to the candidate who won.
In the past five years, the lower the voter turnout, the greater the proportion of votes that went to the candidate who won.
The MSU elections department investigated the sharp decline in voter turnout that occurred between 2017 and 2018. They concluded that it was likely because a large number of students opted out of receiving emails from SimplyVoting, McMaster’s online voting system. Offering students the choice to opt out is in line with Canada’s anti-spam legislation.
According to chief returning officer Peter Belesiotis, the elections department also emails students independently, regardless of whether they opt out of receiving emails from SimplyVoting.
“This has ensured that we reach all students with the relevant information, even those who may have opted-out from SimplyVoting emails. These email efforts are in addition to the print media, social media, video production and SMS messaging used to inform students of the election,” stated Belesiotis in an email.
Despite these measures, voter turnout was even lower this year, falling 9 points below 2018 levels.
Voter apathy and lack of trust in the student union may have played a role in this decline. A Silhouette article from 2018 speculated that candidates’ campaign strategies play a large role in voter turnout, citing class talks, student engagement and debate performance as potential factors in determining voter turnout.
Abstentions this year were also significantly higher than they have been in recent years. Between 2016 and 2018, abstentions remained below 7.3 per cent. Last year, they rose to 9.2 per cent, and this year they jumped to 13.8 per cent.
Voters abstain for a variety of reasons. Students may choose abstention as a vote of no confidence, because they feel that none of the candidates are qualified. Alternatively, an abstention could mean that the voter cannot decide between multiple candidates, or they feel that they do not have enough information to make an educated vote.
The majority of students voted to continue the existing bus pass agreement between McMaster University, the MSU and the Hamilton Street Railway. The option for a 12 month bus pass with expanded service on Route 51-University received 2338 votes after the first round of the MSU’s ranked election system.
The second most popular option, an 8-month bus pass from September to April with no expanded Route-51 service, received 1901 votes.
The option for no bus pass received only 494 votes and was eliminated after the first round of the ranked election system.
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By Elisa Do, Contributor
“How many of you are thinking of pursuing a career in health care?”
Since my first day at McMaster, I have — on several occasions — been asked this same question by various professors.
Every time, the classroom flooded with hands in the air. And it was safe to say that none of us were surprised.
Health care encompasses a growing range of professions that have become increasingly popular in our world today. This popularity arises from various circumstances, but it is especially due to the growing number of aged “baby boomers.” As folks of that generation age, the number of individuals seeking healthcare also increases. Thus, leading to greater needs for healthcare professionals, and further emphasis on the field’s importance. Considering this, many children are being taught the benefits of building a career within health care, and more specifically, the benefits of becoming a physician. Physicians are known to have high paying salaries, receive a high level of respect, and face considerable job demands.
However, working in health care is meant to be attractive beyond these practical values. To work in healthcare means providing for others; it means caring for complete strangers. And that, to me, is something meaningful.
Unfortunately, when thinking about the opportunities that healthcare can offer, folks tend to brush aside other crucial professions within the field. One of which include the profession of nursing. Nurses are often viewed as inferior to physicians and portrayed as mere subordinates within the media. They are thought to hold fewer skills, when in truth, they simply hold an extremely valuable set of different skills.
When I think about the time I spent in the hospital with my family, I think about the warm smiles of the nurses. I remember their patience, and their acts of kindness that brought my family comfort. That is not to say that the doctors were not helpful during our difficult times, but the level of intimacy was not the same. I remember the way they cheered my family on, and I remember thinking to myself, “I have to give back to this community someday. I have to bring kindness to other families the way that they did for me today.” In the short amount of time that the hospital became my home, those nurses touched me and my family in a way that will last a lifetime.
When I think about the time I spent in the hospital with my family, I think about the warm smiles of the nurses. I remember their patience, and their acts of kindness that brought my family comfort. That is not to say that the doctors were not helpful during our difficult times, but the level of intimacy was not the same. I remember the way they cheered my family on, and I remember thinking to myself, “I have to give back to this community someday. I have to bring kindness to other families the way that they did for me today.” In the short amount of time that the hospital became my home, those nurses touched me and my family in a way that will last a lifetime.
Nurses are not only caregivers, but they can also be involved in treating injuries, administering and managing medications and performing basic life support. Many of their responsibilities are those typically associated with the roles of doctors.
But even with all the responsibilities that nurses carry, many still regard nurses as “assistants” to physicians. Nurses are often thought to be less significant in the hospital as many forget that health care requires a team effort. If you want to provide care for strangers, and wish to have those strangers put faith in you, it takes a lot more than diagnosing conditions or performing surgery. It requires providing emotional and psychological support for patients and their families, maintaining a safe environment for everyone, and taking unique approaches when providing care for each individual.
In an integrative review done by several members of the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Turku, the perceptions of nursing that young people carry were found to inaccurately reflect the profession’s actual responsibilities. In fact, these perceptions have not changed in the last ten years. Nursing was described with poor working conditions, difficult shift work, and low social status. Along with the many stereotypes regarding nurses — such as gender roles and sexualization — found in the media today, many folks fail to further consider the educational requirements and intellectual demands that nurses face.
Before coming to McMaster, I had intended on applying for the undergraduate nursing program. Although I eventually changed my application choices as I discovered more regarding my interests, the nursing program still stands to me as an exceptional pathway into doing amazing work.
However, when I had initially introduced my family and friends to the idea of me becoming a nurse, I was presented with questions such as: “Why would you want to be a nurse? Why wouldn’t you want to be a doctor?” Hearing these questions not only felt insulting to my values, but more so insulting to the professions themselves, as if all there was to a career was the monetary benefit, or the accepted social status.
And I know doctors and nurses are not the only jobs being misconstrued. Understanding the responsibilities behind any profession takes more than a simple Google search or hearing salary ranges from friends.
Whether to choose medicine, nursing or any other health care pathway for that matter, should be a decision made based on what the individual seeks for their future. There are many wonderful reasons to become a physician, but I believe the spotlight of health care has been too concentrated on the title of ‘doctor’ rather than what the job really entails. It’s time we shift this spotlight and highlight the importance of other contributing members of the healthcare team; it’s time we take a closer look at what it really means to “pursue a career in health care.”
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What is a meme? The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a meme as an “idea, image, video etc. that is spread very quickly on the internet.” But is that all? Memes are increasingly becoming a mode of communication and community building, particularly among younger generations. The Hammer Memer, a Hamilton-based meme account with over 6,000 followers, describes it as a “virtual handshake”— a fitting description given handshakes are universally recognized as a sign of greeting or agreement, representing the idea of building friendships and connections between people through the medium of the web.
“You can tell that it can bring a community together … just having these shared experiences, and then laying them out in some sort of comedic visual. It gives people this sense of collective bonding,” explained the creator of the Hammer Memer, who wishes to remain anonymous.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6YbTEqnuPr/
Each post on the account speaks to that shared experience of Hamiltonians, whether it be the loss of the LRT, a love for the arts or the struggle to stay healthy. There are dozens of comments on each post, with followers tagging their friends to talk to them about it. While the content may be silly, the number of people interacting with it shows how relatable it can be, to friends and strangers alike.
There are dozens of comments on each post, with followers tagging their friends to talk to them about it. While the content may be silly, the number of people interacting with it shows how relatable it can be, to friends and strangers alike.
Despite running a relatively successful local meme account, the creator of The Hammer Memer, has had a rocky relationship with social media prior to creating the account.
“My relationship with social media is kind of all over the place, in a way that I don’t really enjoy, but I also know that it can be a lot of fun, and it can be used for a lot of good things. I just kind of got fed up using it to showcase my personal life because I’m not the most public person, I’m a pretty private person. So I decided, ‘You know what, I’ll start making memes’ because I thought it was a really fun but easy way to use social media for good . . . to make people laugh,” explained the creator of The Hammer Memer.
The response to the page has been overwhelmingly positive, with the account even partnering with the local brand O’s Clothes to sell their own merchandise. While much of the online community and social media has been criticized for becoming increasingly toxic, The Hammer Memer has created a predominantly positive space for Hamiltonians to gather.
“You hear a lot about the volatility of the interweb, and I was expecting a lot of persistent haters after some particular memes especially, but nobody was really attached to attacking me or anything like that. Overall, I’ve only received love,” they said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6VjbK1FrHX/
Some of the posts touch on more serious topics, like the Chedoke water crisis and coverup, in order to draw attention to them. The Hammer Memer says that, increasingly, they’ve noticed that younger audiences are turning away from traditional media sources in favour of online content, like memes.
Some of the posts touch on more serious topics, like the Chedoke water crisis and coverup, in order to draw attention to them. The Hammer Memer says that, increasingly, they’ve noticed that younger audiences are turning away from traditional media sources in favour of online content, like memes.
“I do know that a lot of media sources don’t appeal to younger crowds especially. I guess it’s a generational thing, but I think the [former] reliance on getting information from major networks, I feel like some people have lost confidence in them, or trust in them. I know that I do have a younger crowd following me, and when it comes to sharing information to the public about relevant information that affects our community . . . I do get to help certain groups of our community to be informed and stay informed,” they said.
So what is a meme? Is it just an image to be shared? In many ways, that simplicity is what makes memes appealing; they’re easy to access and they’re relatable. At the end of the day, memes are what you get out of them, whether that be a laugh shared with friends, or a slightly forceful exhale as you laugh on your own.
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Keep an eye out in next week's print issue for a feature on Hamilton's LRT project. For now, here are the updates:
[Video descripton: Andrew Mrozowski, A&C Editor at the Sil, walks around campus to discuss updates on Hamilton's LRT project.]
On Jan. 12, 2020, McMaster University’s Student Representative Assembly met for the first time in the new year to ratify 15 new clubs and to complete their initial review of non-MSU groups on campus.
Incite Magazine was the final non-MSU group to present their organization’s activities and budget to the SRA. According to Associate Vice-President (Finance) Jess Anderson’s report on Jan. 8, the McMaster Student Union’s Finance Committee has completed their review of all non-MSU groups on campus. These non-MSU groups receive funding from McMaster students but do not fall under the purview of the MSU Club Department.
According to the report, there are currently five non-MSU groups on campus: McMaster Marching Band, Engineering without Borders, McMaster Solar Car, Incite Magazine and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group McMaster.
“While there were a few hiccups regarding communication throughout the reviewing processes, the committee was very pleased with McMaster Marching Band, [and] have provided recommendations to Engineers without Borders, McMaster Solar Car, and Incite Magazine,” states Anderson in the report.
The Finance Committee has yet to come to a decision or provide recommendations for OPIRG McMaster. While a delegation from OPIRG attended the Dec. 8 SRA meeting, the group is still currently discussing salary and administration logistics with their union, Canadian Union of Public Employees 1281.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="sra-jan-16-2020"]
During the meeting, 15 new clubs were ratified by the SRA after recommendation from Clubs Administrator Aditi Sharma. A list of newly ratified clubs and their mission statements was also provided on Jan. 7. These include cultural clubs such as the Indonesian McMaster Student Association and McMaster Bengali Student Union; social issues clubs such as Blackspace and Glamour Girls; and recreational clubs such as the McMaster Real Estate Society and McMaster Filmmaking Club.
Each semester, potential clubs submit their applications to the Clubs Administrator and Clubs Executive Council. Successful applicants are then interviewed by the Clubs Administrator. Potential clubs are evaluated for their uniqueness, ability to maintain significant student interest and ability to positively impact the McMaster community. Finally, recognition as an official MSU club requires ratification by the SRA.
Last semester, there were two instances that raised concerns about the process of vetting proposed clubs. On Jul. 21, SRA ratified the Dominion Society, triggering an intervention three days later by MSU President Josh Marando due to the club’s alleged connections to people and organizations with white supremacist ties. Similarly, the SRA passed a motion on Sept. 22 to de-ratify The McMaster Chinese Students and Scholars Association for violating section 5.1.3 of the Clubs Operating Policy by endangering student safety.
Discussion regarding club ratification lasted under four minutes. The question of the club recognition appeal process for unsuccessful applicants was also brought up at the meeting.
“One of my constituents wanted to start a club with the purpose of, if I’m remembering correctly, creating a space where the ideas of various faculties (science, humanities, etc.) could be discussed and shared openly together [...] The clubs department did not approve the club for reasons the constituent did not agree with and the constituent claims not [to] have been informed of a formal appeals process in their rejection,” wrote one SRA member wishing to remain anonymous.
According to the SRA member, the applicant was told that the proposed club fit a niche already occupied by the Controversial Texts Discussion Club, which aims to encourage discussion of academic texts and potentially controversial topics in Science, Philosophy and Religion. However, after reaching out to CON-TEXT several times and receiving no response, the applicant told the SRA member that they believe the club to no longer be active.
Section 4.13 of the MSU Clubs Operating Policy states that club applicants can first appeal to the Clubs Administrator. If still unsuccessful, applicants can make a second and final appeal to the CEC.
“In the email that [an unsuccessful club] got, they have an appeal period. They can send their appeal to the clubs administrator and CEC to be reviewed,” added MSU President Josh Marando at the meeting.
Lasting just over 42 minutes, this was the shortest SRA meeting so far in the 2019-2020 school year.
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