Check out how undergrads of each year feel about wrapping up their first post-COVID restriction era university year.
Adriana Miranda — 1st Year Social Sciences
While first-year social science student Adriana Miranda would describe her overall first-year experience as rewarding, she expressed how completing her first year has left her with hard-hitting life lessons she can always carry with her.
Miranda feels that she truly came into learning how to confidently advocate for herself and her needs. She now understands that in university if she needs access to any available resources on campus, she must ask for it herself. This component of university taught Miranda that she must always be aware of her rights.
Even if Miranda is currently enjoying wrapping up her second semester with new friends, as a racialized student she faced systemic barriers in her first semester when she was still relatively new at McMaster.
“I never felt othered until I started attending McMaster. I saw many racialized students experience isolation and have difficulty making friends. Noticing this influenced how I viewed my classes, peers and professors. Thankfully, once I made friends everything got better,”
Adriana Miranda
In Miranda’s experience, she believes that McMaster can take a greater initiative when it comes to protecting and standing up for students experiencing sexual harassment and violence on campus. Even in departments dedicated to handling such issues such as the Human Rights and Dispute Resolution Program Miranda did not feel cared for or validated by the school.
“After all that, my main takeaway is that it’s built on colonialism and patriarchy. I’m realizing that now, I’m not going to be as naïve and as trusting with the institution because I’m now aware of what people in charge perpetuate,” said Miranda.
Going forward, Miranda will focus on finding spaces for racialized students like the Latin American Student Association and Women and Gender Equity Network where she can feel safer and more included.
Elizabeth Rylaarsdam — 2nd Year Life Sciences - Sensory Motors System
Now in her second year, Elizabeth Rylaarsdam had to adapt her first year in the life sciences program online. This year, she moved to Hamilton from Ottawa.
“When everything was online, it still felt like school. However, when I moved away alone for the first time to a new city and transitioned to a hybrid [format], everything felt optional,”
Elizabeth Rylaarsdam
In this year’s hybrid academic model, Rylaarsdam had trouble staying motivated in her online courses as switching between online and in person repeatedly between courses made some classes feel more real for her than others. Rylaarsdam had to adapt her learning style many times in university due to the COVID approaches taken by McMaster along with many second-years and has been unable to establish a routine that works for her.
Living alone combined with the physical demands caused by in-person learning made Rylaarsdam lessen the number of hours she worked to avoid falling behind academically. She reduced her working hours from 30 hours a week to 10 to 12 hours even if her living expenses increased.
It was difficult for Rylaarsdam to find a core social group within a school setting as she observed others in her year have somehow formed friend groups already. Aside from hanging out with her hometown friends from high school friends who also attend McMaster, Rylaarsdam managed her mental health by joining the Hamilton Hornets Women’s Rugby Club.
Playing rugby weekly allowed Rylaarsdam to stay in shape while being able to find a community that she regularly socializes with in a new city.
“Despite the tumultuous learning curves of moving and finally starting in person university where I felt like I experienced much of the learning I was supposed to get in my first year in my second year, I am hopeful about starting fresh next semester after a restful summer now that I know what to expect,” explained Rylaarsdam.
Jaclyn Holdsworth — 3rd year Arts and Sciences
Jaclyn Holdsworth’s third-year experience in the arts and sciences was defined by the bonding she experienced with her cohort post lockdown. Holdsworth experienced connecting and making friendships in her first year within the community culture fostered by her program before enduring Zoom university until this semester.
“After so much time in lockdown, everyone had more appreciation for the kind of social network and the relationships we wanted to have with others. We are a lot more willing to foster relationships and the quality of those relationships are a lot more authentic,”
Jaclyn Holdsworth
Experiencing the isolation of Zoom school was difficult for Holdsworth, however it caused her to become more willing to acknowledge the times when she is not feeling her best. To mitigate her mental health, Holdsworth stresses the importance of doing at least one small act of self-care every day, be it restocking snacks or going for a walk.
Embracing and taking care of oneself even when times are tough allowed many third-years like Holdsworth to understand that better times await, and that you are in a much better position to be able to support other others if you start to take care of yourself as well.
Upon tasting in-person life after a world-shattering event, and still with one year of university left, Holdsworth vows to make herself happy everyday instead of planning for possible contentment five years down the line. Trying not to take her undergraduate experience for granted anymore, Holdsworth encourages everybody to take the time to be present and practice gratitude every day.
“I would prefer not another pandemic if you can arrange for that. Plan for tomorrow but don’t depend on it,” said Holdsworth.
Claudia Yong — 4th year Kinesiology (Graduating)
Working tirelessly on her kinesiology degree throughout her undergrad, Claudia Yong waves a bittersweet goodbye to her time as an undergrad student as she returned to classes in-person just in time to graduate. Yong still feels a little unfamiliar in her position as a fourth-year student given that she lost a year to COVID, and wonders if other graduating students are also feeling a sense of imposter syndrome.
“The moment I realized I was graduating was when we were taking grad photos. When I put on the gown and sat in the chair for photos, it was surreal, and I could not believe it. The moment the camera went off I finally realized that I’m graduating,” said Yong.
Fortunately, the return to classes this academic year allowed Yong to pursue the hands-on thesis work she always dreamt of doing and ignited a passion for research in her. Missing out on much of the experiential learning of her science degree in her third year, COVID greatly influenced Yong’s decision to pursue a masters to once again give herself the opportunity to explore and further expand on the research skills she fell in love with.
With the end of her degree, Yong is continuing to learn not to compare herself and her journey with others, understanding that everybody has their own destined trajectory.
Referencing the kindness of her kinesiology professors, Yong always encourages the importance of fostering meaningful connections for personal enrichment with faculty members, regardless of a desire for recommendation letters.
Claudia Yong
“Many women including myself experience a lot of dismissiveness in healthcare, even from other female practitioners. I want to positively impact the healthcare system for women who might otherwise avoid treatment,”
MacDivest’s first in-person protest on campus a success as support intensifies for divestment across McMaster
Photo C/O: Shaded Lenz
McMaster University Student Center was abuzz on the morning of Oct. 27 as many Mac students rallied up for the sit-in organized by MacDivest as part of their ongoing mission to make divestment a reality at McMaster. The protest consisted of students banding together at the Student Center for a duration of 24 hours, until the morning of Oct. 28 to encourage the university to follow suit with the trend of divestment recently spearheaded by Canadian universities such as the University of Toronto and Simon Fraser University. Mainly, the students wished to grab the attention of McMaster’s Board of Governors, a major directorial committee responsible for McMaster’s budgeting and spending practices. Given the crucial role of the Board of Governors in determining the trajectory of divestment at McMaster, the sit-in event was geared directly towards the Board of Governors, naming itself as “Drain the B.o.G.”
Adeola Egbeyemi, a fourth-year arts and science student, is a representative of the arts and science student caucus at the McMaster Students Union and uses her knowledge to involve herself heavily in the divestment project.
“We did not expect this level of student engagement. We were very visible and we had a lot of students notice what was happening and want to get involved. Students are tired of climate inaction,” explained Egbeyemi.
Being MacDivest’s first in-person gathering following COVID-19 safety protocols, the rebellious measures employed in the sit-in are a response to the university’s repeated pattern of inaction towards the climate emergency throughout this year. In February of 2021, McMaster’s financial affairs and facility services hosted a virtual town hall regarding McMaster’s investment decision where all Zoom controls were deactivated, effectively rendering the town hall a seminar, and not providing a platform for students to voice criticisms. Immediately following this in March 2021, the first climate strike was coordinated with MacDivest and 13 other activist groups across Hamilton where over 100 letters were sent demanding divestment, with no responses from the McMaster administration or the Board of Governors.
Photo C /O: Shaded Lenz
Caption: Adeola Egbeyemi speaks at the sit-in
Over the summer, McMaster University’s secretary and privacy officer contacted MacDivest to state that the Chair of the Board of Governors had asked for a written submission from, to which MacDivest preferred to present their findings in a virtual meeting format with the Chair and other relevant parties present due to the earlier submission of letters, to which they received no further responses from the Board of Governors. Finally, the event which forced MacDivest to conduct the sit-in as a physical form of protest on campus was the power washing of a mural painted which emblazoned “no brighter world without divestment.”
MacDivest chose Thursday, Oct. 27 to put on the sit-in, given that it was the day before the Board of Governors were to meet for the first time in the 2021-2022 academic year and since David Farrar, the president of McMaster demanded the Board craft a divestment plan.
The sit-in wished to evaluate how the Board of Governors approached the divestment planned and if it was in accordance with MacDivest’s thoroughly researched demands.
“We expected there to be lower to higher points of engagement throughout the sit-in as it is a 24-hour event and at our highest point of engagement was when community speakers addressed the university, with over 50 people listening in. We had around 30 people sleep in at the Student Center,” explained Egbeyemi.
The sit-in was a carefully planned event on behalf of MacDivest, with planning beginning over reading week and MacDivest coordinators reaching out to various experienced activists and organizers involved in the Hamilton climate scene, specifically with Defund HPS and Hamilton 350. The sit-in was coordinated by four MacDivest internal teams dedicated to managing various aspects of the event.
The sit-in attracted the attention of McMaster University security services, who reached out to MacDivest on Oct. 26, a day before the sit-in was set to occur. Security services expressed concerns regarding COVID-19 safety protocols and fire safety and had attempted to convince MacDivest to end the sit-in and disperse the crowd at 11 p.m. instead of conducting it overnight as planned.
“We had Divest members who were fire safety trained be present for every shift and we were not going to back down on our event. We felt surveilled by campus security throughout the sit-in,” said Egbeyemi.
Despite the success of the event, when MacDivest did attend the anticipated Board of Governors meeting, they were faced with disappointing news that divestment was not announced. In place of complete divestment, the Board of Governors in conjunction with President Farrar announced a carbon neutral plan and stated that McMaster’s indirect investments with asset managers were too complicated to facilitate divestment.
However, support still reigns strong for MacDivest, with most student faculty groups at McMaster chiming in their support and the McMaster Students Union endorsing university-wide divestment while divesting themselves. MacDivest and its projects are also backed by McMaster Green Invest, a group of McMaster professors fighting for reinvestment in non-fossil fuel industries, with many faculty members expressing their views on why Mac should divest.
However, deciphering why the Board of Governors refuses to take the final step towards divestment despite the entire university voicing their support is not MacDivest’s responsibility. MacDivest only intends to keep pushing the university to recognize the facts of climate change and that the climate crisis is here to stay. This sit-in also demonstrated to the Mac community and students how intensely tied the Board of Governors are to the fossil fuel industry and how removed they are from the sentiments of the university, with many Board members such as Chair Bradley Merkel having decades of history at major fossil fuel corporations such as Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil.
“The involvement of fossil fuels and those who have a stake in it should be separated from an institution that brings in students and is about a ‘brighter world’ and a brighter future. McMaster needs to live up to its saying and it should actively try to also have a stake in creating that brighter future,” said Egbeyemi.
Board of Governor’s Secretary Andrea Thyrett-Kid was not available to comment on the situation when contacted.
The Sil will continue to monitor the development of divestment at Mac.
How mental health issues and barriers look different this year during the stressful time of exams
Online learning has had a negative impact on students compared to being able to learn and study in person alongside their friends and peers. This is not simply just the opinion of some, but of many university students in Canada.
Mental health issues among undergraduates have been on the rise for a very long time as studies show, especially as most students have spent the past semester struggling to adjust to the isolated nature of online learning. In fact, recent studies have shown that students with the opportunity to study and stay in contact with friends have much better mental health than those who remain isolated.
McMaster University is no exception to this trend. This is especially concerning given the approaching exam season. The end of the semester, with its exams sometimes worth more than 50% of a student’s final grades in a course, sleepless nights spent studying and never-ending pressure to perform “well enough,” is nothing short of one of the most stressful times in the school year for the typical student.
The online learning environment has only made this time of year all the more stressful and challenging, as students are not able to study and learn alongside their peers as they would in previous years, creating a very lonely learning environment. Additionally, access to commonly sought resources during this time, such as one-on-one counselling or peer support as well as stress-relieving sessions and events, has been negatively affected by the shift to an online platform. This is something the Student Wellness Centre at McMaster has acknowledged as a difficulty that students will sadly have to face during this already difficult time.
“So when you're on campus, you are able to interact with your peers,” explained Connor Blakeborough, the health promoter at the Student Wellness Centre. “[I]n the pandemic, a lot of people have been cut off from their ways of self-care and community care that they might be able to have otherwise.”
Unfortunately, given COVID-19 regulations and how programs at the Student Wellness Centre have had to adjust to the new way the university is operating this year, some will not be able to access their resources at all. In fact, those not living in Ontario cannot access any type of medical care or one-on-one counselling. This puts all those living in other provinces as well as international students in difficult situations if facing mental health issues during this upcoming stressful time as they do not have access to a resource many of their peers do.
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“As of right now just because of COVID and because healthcare is provincially regulated, we can only offer medical and one on one counselling to students that are living inside of Ontario,” said Blakeborough. “So if they're not inside of Ontario, they will have to get in touch with their family doctor to find some type of care.”
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From student perspectives, experiencing university in person during exam season means more than just trying to have an enjoyable experience; it can mean the difference between feeling alone in the world and being able to connect with many others who are in the exact same situation as you.
The simplicity of being seated beside someone in the lecture hall who will soon write the same exam as you can make you feel less alone and ready to take on the challenge of exams. This perspective was explored by members of the McMaster Students Union Student Health Education Centre executive team.
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“[I]f you're on campus, you're often surrounded by a lot of other students in the library, who are also going through finals are also experiencing the same stress that you are, but being at home and being more isolated,” explained Joelle Li, a health sciences student and SHEC events and programming executive. “It's harder to connect with others who are in a similar situation as you [because of the pandemic] and therefore you can feel more alone [but] other people feel like this as well.”
However, there are also challenges that students will face in the coming weeks that have existed for far too long. Grind culture, the over romanticization of sacrificing one’s health for the sake of grades and achievements, has been a pervasive and severe issue faced by undergraduate students that has simply adapted to a more online mode given the current learning method.
“People sort of put pride on the fact that they haven't slept this many hours or they've been in the library for this many hours,” said Li. “[G]rind culture is almost cumulative. [I]f your friends are grinding, then you feel like you have to grind and overall, it leads to a toxic environment or mentality and this is quite common, I would say, among the students.”
It can be extremely overwhelming for students to face the challenges of online learning and online exams, which is compounded by the detrimental effects of the grind culture. However, services at McMaster University such as the Student Wellness Centre and SHEC have adapted their operations to make themselves more accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic and online school. These tools will likely be beneficial to many students as we all head into the upcoming exam season.
SHEC Events and Programming executive and health sciences student, Frances Scheepers, explained how the peer-support service is now utilizing the online platform, Tawk To, in order to provide anonymous drop-in counselling from their volunteers.
One of their iconic events that is usually widely accessed by students — #SHECares — will still be taking place this year. In the past, this has largely featured the distribution of exam care packages. However, this is not possible this year. Thus, SHEC has had to make adjustments. Scheepers said that instead of delivering in-person care packages, SHEC has opted to do online giveaways.
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Although it is unfortunate that access to resources and services has been impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is encouraging that services are striving to continue offering support in whatever ways they can. However, it is also important that students are made aware of how to take care of themselves during the online exam season as this will surely look very different this year.
“There are certain sort of self-care strategies that might be beneficial during this time,” explained Scheepers. “People are typically used to spending their leisure time on their laptop and watching TV. And so during this time, especially, when you're at home physically distancing, it might be beneficial for some individuals to spend their leisure time doing things other than [going] on their laptop.”
It is important students find ways to take care of themselves during the upcoming exam season, given the loss of key resources and isolated methods of learning and test-taking. After all, they will be pioneering the first entirely online exam season in McMaster history.
How improper needle disposal is an issue in Hamilton and for McMaster
CW: drug use, opioids substance abuse, needles
Have you ever traveled across the city of Hamilton, or ran on trails in the areas surrounding McMaster University and come across needles left behind by people using drugs? Have you wondered what you can do about the issue? The problem of needles being left behind in various areas of the Steel City, including hotspots for students at McMaster and youth living in Hamilton, has long been an issue in Hamilton.
Although successful attempts by some groups to mitigate the issue have been made, improper needle disposal continues to be a pervasive problem in the city with the potential to endanger youth and is indicative of the effective epidemic of opioid use in our community.
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Despite public health authorities having clear guidelines for the disposal of needles after use, they continue to be found in large quantities across our city. One member of the Hamilton community has made large contributions to mitigate this issue, making significant strides towards reducing levels of needles left across the city.
Nicole Barati is a 24-year-old in Hamilton who is a part of the East End Hamilton Neighbourhood Watch. She has worked with her fiancé to reduce levels of needles across Hamilton simply through picking them up, collecting them and setting up bins across the lower city to encourage safe and clean disposal of needles.
“The problem with needles in Hamilton is extreme. Within the past four months we have scoured areas and collected upwards of 3,000 needles,” explained Barati. “The biggest issue is not so much the amount of needles that are distributed but the amount of needles that are just left out in the open without a care for anyone to fall victim to.”
In collaboration with Shelter Health Network, Barati was able to set up several bins across the city to promote the safe disposal of needles. She will also be holding a meeting open to the public for those interested in how to spot needles and the harm reduction materials distributed in our city that are available for use. Large improvements have been made with regard to the levels of needles found openly in the city.
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“Areas that were once littered with dozens of needles, we are finding 2-10 which is a huge change. We’re noticing that our more remote bins that are not out in the open are being used. We empty each bin biweekly and we've noticed a steady increase in the use of our bins,” said Barati.
Although improvements have been made, it is important that drug use, including that of opioids and proper disposal of needles, are topics that can be spoken about openly, without the stigma attached to those who use drugs. Awareness and action taken by our local municipal government and authorities regarding this topic, and individual efforts to make a change are the first steps in overcoming this issue.
“If people are not properly educated on harm reduction materials and safe needle disposal our city won't get any better,” said Barati. “Unfortunately addicts don't usually realize after their high that they've dropped their used needle on the floor.”
Students at McMaster also have a stake in this as there are still students living in Hamilton despite school being online. Participating in the fight against misinformation and stigma is something that involves students. This is a sentiment shared by Shayan Novin, a second-year health science student.
“It is saddening that this is the reality of drug addiction. Society continues to turn a blind eye to addiction and willingly neglects a population that needs our help. It all stems from stigma. We should not be learning about these things through CBC articles, but in the classroom,” said Novin.
While it is true that addressing stigma, misinformation and misconceptions surrounding drug use and those who use drugs is important, the improper disposal of needles is something that endangers McMaster students currently residing in Hamilton.
It is essential this issue is addressed by public health bodies and that students have access to the resources they need to understand this issue.
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“Lack of safe disposal options may pose additional barriers to harm reduction,” said Marzan Hamid, a second-year health science student. “As a member of the Hamilton community, I worry for the most vulnerable populations that may need these options the most.”
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This is an issue that has long gone undiscussed, despite the many dangers and societal implications associated with it.
"This is an epidemic, we are seeing needles outside our doors, in our alleyways and in our parks," Barati said. "We cannot turn a blind eye to this matter because it will only get worse.”
C/O: Silhouette Archives
How McMaster’s COVID-19 Research Fund enables scientists and students alike to engage in exciting research to fight the pandemic
Universities across the world have come together to conduct COVID-19 research. Some research projects have even entered phase three clinical trials. The brightest minds around the globe are all hard at work in the lab or hunched over a computer sifting through collected data to put an end to the ongoing pandemic. In the midst of all the headlines boasting of some institution’s cutting-edge research, have you perhaps wondered how McMaster is fighting against COVID-19?
McMaster holds the title of the most research intensive university in Canada for good reason. Like many of the most advanced research institutions across the world, McMaster’s faculty and students have been working intensely on COVID-19 projects, from exploring the potential for new diagnostic tools to exploring potential drugs that inhibit the virus’ ability to infect human cells. Many such projects have been made possible by many grants and these include the McMaster COVID-19 Research Fund, a program whereby the university itself and donors are able to support research projects conducted at McMaster.
One recipient of the McMaster COVID-19 Research Fund is Dr. Richard Austin, a professor in the medical sciences graduate program. He is the research director at St. Joseph’s Healthcare for the Hamilton Center for Kidney Research and has been at McMaster for 25 years. His research interests are focused on understanding why those with chronic kidney disease are at a higher risk of death due to cardiovascular complications. While waiting for his lab to reopen after facing setbacks from COVID-19 regulations, Austin became interested in the potential of a connection between his work prior to the pandemic and the novel virus itself.
C/O: Dr. Richard Austin. Richard Austin pictured here.
“We had stumbled upon a couple papers that were published actually showing that one of the cell surface proteins that we work on – GRP78 – was actually identified as a receptor that can combine to spike proteins on the virus and bring it into cells,” explains Austin.
Austin’s research lab has been hard at work looking further into the potential of this discovery he made when looking through the medical literature. His lab has since paired with a large scientific company in order to have access to different molecules that can bind to GRP78 and potentially block it and ultimately the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into human cells. The goal is to find out whether such a molecule may be used as a potential antiviral agent.
C/O: Michal Moshkovich. Pictured here is Dr. Richard Austin’s research team.
“We have small molecules from another company that we're working with that bind to surface GRP78,” said Austin. “So we're going to [ask whether] if we take some of these small molecules, can they actually disrupt the interaction of GRP78 with the spike protein so it doesn't get into the cell; so it could be an antiviral agent? That's what we're thinking.”
Austin’s research project has since grown and now involves an interdisciplinary team of researchers across McMaster. The team is now a collaboration of different faculties all working together to potentially uncover an antiviral agent. The team includes Dr. Karen Mossman, a virologist and professor in pathology and medicine, as well as a medicinal chemist. “One great thing about McMaster is the collaborative efforts we have,” explains Austin. “Here's a product that's sort of spurred out of an idea at three in the morning, when I was doing nothing and wanted to check on PubMed, into now, three investigators at McMaster that are actively looking at this whole process of GRP78.”
Another recipient of the McMaster COVID-19 Research Fund is Dr. Nikhil Pai, an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics, division of gastroenterology & nutrition, for his current project, “A Prospective, Observational Study on the Diagnosis of COVID-19 Infection from Stool Samples of Children and Adults.”
The project involves many collaborators across McMaster: Dr. Marek Smieja, Dr. Jeffrey Pernica, Lee Hill, Emily Hartung, Jelea Popov, Jodi Gilchrist, Julia Maciejewski, Dr. Mark Larché and Dr. Karen Mossman.
C/O: Michal Moshkovich. Pictured here is from left to right: Dr. Nikhil Pai, Dr. Jeffrey Pernica, Dr. Marek Smieja.
However, also participating in this exciting project are two undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) Program, Michal Moshkovich and Melanie Figueirdo, in second and third year, respectively. Indeed, it is not only professors and PhD students who are invested in the fight against COVID-19, but the student community as well.
C/O: Michal Moshkovich. Pictured here is Michal Moshkovich and Melanie Figueiredo, the undergraduates involved in Dr. Pai’s project.
The study will help determine whether COVID-19 infection can be detected from stool samples, which could potentially revolutionize current diagnostic methods. This is especially important considering the high prevalence of asymptomatic patients or COVID-19 positive patients who test negative through nasopharyngeal swabs.
“We are testing stool obtained from patients across eight major adult and children’s hospitals serviced by south western Ontario’s regional virology laboratory,” explains Moshkovich. “This study will better define rates of community infection, increase diagnostic accuracy, broaden our understanding of disease transmission risks and potentially offer more economical approaches to COVID-19 testing.”
The study, which involves a large multidisciplinary team, has garnered attention from across the globe and professionals from abroad are reaching out to offer their own data to assist the study. This just goes to show the importance of collaboration in science, a field which can often seem uber-competitive, during global emergencies.
“What's really incredible is how quickly we and the research community were able to pivot when there’s a global crisis happening to get important, relevant data out immediately,” explains Figueirdo. “We are doing this with a pediatric infectious diseases specialist, clinical pathologist, Director of lab medicine professional; we’ve gotten ministry of health support, McMaster university support and had phone calls with collaborators from Brazil back in February who wanted to share diagnostics with us. It’s very global and rapid; it feels great!”
What better way to spend your undergraduate career than by lending a hand to global COVID-19 research? Moshkovich and Figueirdo have definitely made the most of the pandemic and have had the unique experience of being involved in the nitty gritty of research that might eventually lead to COVID-19 patient care and global implementation of diagnostic techniques. For students also interested in getting involved in the fight against COVID-19 or simply impactful research in general, Moshkovich has an important message.
“The world is evolving — everything is changing,” says Moshkovich. “Do not hesitate to reach out to specialists, practitioners, laboratory heads and offer a hand in making this change. Because that is exactly what we did!”
There are three ingredients necessary for a successful restaurant: menu, atmosphere, and passion. One step into Brux House Craft Beer & Kitchen, the newest addition to food haven Locke Street from Quatrefoil’s husband-and-wife duo Fraser Macfarlane and Georgina Mitropoulos, and you can already tell that this is the making of a great restaurant.
“There aren’t a lot of restaurants in Hamilton that do craft beer as well as a pretty extensive restaurant side. We really work hard on pairing and making sure everything works because we are one single unit but two faces,” said head chef Gabe Cruz, former Canada’s Top Chef contestant. Every detail in the restaurant feels purposeful without feeling forced, from the wood slab bar top, striking dishware, hanging light fixtures, branded menus, and lit letters in the back of the main room spelling out BRUX.
Between the music in the bar, the intricate details, and the bartenders with interesting facial hair, it’s easy to brand Brux House as a hipster spot, but the upscale contemporary restaurant appeals to a variety of clientele. The most discernible trait of Brux House is easily the dedication to fine dining. The extensive beer menu boasts 16 draughts, as well as rotating taps, and although it has a respectable-sized wine list, the beer selection is clearly the pride and joy of Brux House. Passion is poured into every area, from the menu to the quality of the service. At Brux House, cooking is an art form, one that Cruz works to master each day.
“You’re always learning, there’s always something new, there’s always something coming up. You force yourself to learn and get better.”
The European-inspired restaurant boasts a menu that is not too overwhelming, but is small enough for the best items to be showcased. The descriptions of appetizers like baked cauliflower, kale salad, sunchokes and mains like pork schnitzel, mussels, and arctic char made my mouth water, as my waiter excitedly talked about the process of smoking salmon in-house and explained the beer pairings with infectious excitement.
“When you plate something or send something to a customer, you’re basically giving a reflection of yourself and who you are, what you believe in, and what cooking is to you. So it is an art form. You’re telling a story of how you became who you are through that plate, the same as an artist would do through their canvas,” said Cruz.
Cruz, like many of the employees at Brux House, often arrives early in the morning and stays until late. The dedication and sheer love for food, beer, and cooking takes Brux House from a good restaurant to a great one.
“The best part of [cooking is] when you put something out and it’s one of the best things someone has tasted, and can tell that you’ve poured your heart and soul into it.”
Food is an art form, and the passion that spreads from the kitchen to the bar aims to make a new culture around the way we enjoy food. And enjoy it I did.
with buttermilk, horseradish, beets, watercress
As the waiter brought out the plate of pastrami-spiced smoked salmon, it was clear that Brux House valued presentation and taste simultaneously. Despite my (former) dislike of beets and watercress, the accompaniment of the vegetables with the salmon – smoked in-house – was a surprising delight. The subtle sweetness paired with the sharpness of the salmon gave me a newfound appreciation for beets. A layer of buttermilk and horseradish mixed with beet juice resulted in an almost vinaigrette that lent itself deliciously to the salad.
with dill sour cream, shaved vegetables, watercress mousse, rye toast
Perhaps to solidify its hipster atmosphere, the pot of baby shrimp is delivered not in a pot, but in a mini-mason jar of watercress mousse topped with dill sour cream, with a side of rye toast. The dish was slightly confusing and left me wondering which utensil I was supposed to use. Although I was forewarned that the shrimp was cold, it left something to be desired, but I was satisfied. This is the kind of dish that you can tell is made well, but the overall enjoyment is completely dictated by personal taste preferences.
with stout, mustard and bone marrow butter, petite salad
If there’s one way to impress me, it’s with a well done – but medium-rare – steak. Generally a stout marinade would be far too bitter for my liking, but offset with the bone marrow and mustard butter, the steak had an overall creamy, tangy taste that wasn’t too overwhelming. For the most part, fries are indiscernible from place to place, but the frites that accompanied the meal had the perfect amount of salt, and the curry ketchup I was offered brought the fries from above average to excellent. Although I could’ve eaten this meal forever, the steak was on the smaller side, leaving me satisfied, yet wanting more.
with duck fat fingerlings, brussels slaw, paprikash sauce
As the first bite of Cornish hen hit my taste buds, I heard a barely audible sound escape my lips. Clearly the standout on the menu, and the most expensive item, the Cornish hen put an immediate smile on my face. It was topped with a slaw that will make even the pickiest of children happy to eat Brussels sprouts, and it was accompanied by a paprikash sauce that gave the meal an always-welcome heat. To put it simply, the duck fat fingerlings, Brussels slaw, paprikash sauce, and Cornish hen made sweet, sweet love in a symphony of taste.
with salted caramel ice cream, royal gala apples, toasted almonds and vanilla cream
If you ask anyone, the most heinous crime I’ve ever committed is being ambivalent about dessert. The way I see it, if I have room for dessert, I haven’t done it right. The waffle topped with salted caramel ice cream and accompanied with royal gala apples, toasted almonds, and vanilla cream was a perfect mix of salty and sweet. I didn’t have room for dessert, but I managed to finish the entire thing anyway. If putting yourself through stomach pain isn’t a sign of enjoyment, I don’t know what is.
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Canadian universities are supposed to be diverse and inclusive.
But just a few weeks ago at Ryerson University, a student union vice-president candidate had his poster defaced with “ISIS for life” scribbled across.
This incident of religious discrimination is just one among many across North America, like Swastikas sprayed outside Jewish fraternity houses and shootings of Muslim students near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
It’s easy to be apathetic about these events as they seem to pass quickly through the news cycle, simply appearing as a blip on your Twitter feed, just another event happening over there, to other people.
But these events are symptomatic of a wider pattern of religious discrimination and xenophobia that also appears at McMaster. Although many of us may not even notice it, religious discrimination is embedded in our university.
The Silhouette talked to four students to better understand the lived reality of religious discrimination.
Although many of us take freedom from religious discrimination for granted, some students experience it so much that they almost become immune to it.
“As a Jewish person you kinda grow up used to it and you become immune to it,” said Sean Haber, a fourth-year student at McMaster and an active member of the Jewish community on campus.
“Thank god [anti-Semitism] here hasn’t reached the levels it has reached in Europe and some campuses in the states. There has been anti-Semitism on campus, in some ways it’s subtle, in some ways it’s a lack of the university trying to understand the needs of Jewish students,” said Haber.
This subtle discrimination is also a reality for Muslim students.
Sabeen Kazmi, a fourth-year student and active member of the Muslim community says up front personal discrimination is somewhat rare. “Overall generally in my day-to-day life, I don’t really feel like I’m being discriminated against because of my religion. For the most part people have been very interested in learning about me and my religion.”
But religious discrimination does not only manifest in person-to-person interactions; it is also woven in to our academic system.
“On an academic level I’ve seen a lot of content that’s been oppressive in many ways. A lot of times professors will teach you things that are not okay. And you can tell right away they don’t have a training that allows them to be anti-oppressive,” explained Kazmi.
“The content, and materials and courseware can sometimes also be very limiting and restrictive, and you don’t really find your own ethnic group represented adequately in most course wares.”
Discrimination can also manifest in the form of not accommodating religious holidays.
“There are accommodations to deal with exams if exams fall on the Sabbath or on holidays. A lot of time that goes teacher by teacher. I can tell you I almost failed first year chem because my midterm was on a holiday and at first he was going to make me just fail it, and after fighting with him for a long time he let me put [that percentage] on the exam,” said Haber.
The problem is that students don’t always feel comfortable reporting this.
“Generally students would kinda be hesitant to go to someone from administration because they’re worried about how it will be handled or if they’ll face repercussions, so they’ll generally come to us and we’ll try to talk to administration, so it’s just important for us to keep those avenues open,” said Ammar Ahmed, President of the McMaster Muslim Students Association.
When asked whether she feels comfortable on campus, Hayley Goldfarb, a third-year student and member of the Jewish community said, “in general yes [I feel comfortable] but there have been specific instances where I definitely didn’t feel comfortable clearly identifying as Jewish on campus, whether that be wearing a Star of David or wearing a shirt with any kind of symbolism on it.”
There is also variation in tolerance and understanding based on faculty.
“From one faculty to the next there might be some differences, because in social science people are more aware of racial discrimination and gender based discrimination,” said Kazmi.
Systemic discrimination also manifests in terms of fewer food options.
“[Kosher food options] are not good at all. There are a few kosher snack options on campus, and bridges has a kosher salad bar,” said Haber.
But although these students say more overt discrimination is rare, McMaster has not been completely exempt.
More intense anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have existed at McMaster, when triggered by specific events.
For instance, Kazmi, a peace activist, says in her role advocating for social change, people critique her because of her religion, rather than her ideas.
“That kind of hate has only happened when I’m in a very particular context at the university… For example, I would be called ignorant, ‘your people are barbaric and therefore I am barbaric too and I should just be thankful that I’m in Canada, and stop stirring up trouble.’ Those are very targeted in that they are talking about my identity as a Muslim and they are not criticizing what I’m advocating for.”
But Kazmi was quick to add that many activists face some kind of discrimination.
“This isn’t something that is unique to my experience as a Muslim woman. I think that most activists or people that are advocating for something out of the norm experience it too,” she said.
Discrimination being triggered by specific events or contexts is part of a wider pattern.
“A lot of anti-Israel action on campus will lead to the silencing bullying and harassment of Jewish students,” said Haber.
In particular, Jewish students experienced anti-Semitism in relation to the Boycott Divestment Sanction vote at last year’s MSU General Assembly.
“I received anti-Semitic messages because of my support for Israel, from strangers. One of them calling me Jewish scum or Zionist scum or something like that and it was all connected to the BDS vote,” said Haber. “That’s a pattern that you see not only at McMaster but at campuses around the world.”
Muslim students also face discrimination when advocating for peace.
“When I’m advocating for anti-war initiatives that’s when people have been really aggressive towards me, and I don’t know why, but somehow it just feels like when I turn on that identity of mine, I become a free target for all, to come and say whatever they want to me,” said Kazmi.
However, preventing discrimination does not mean that critical discussions cannot happen.
“You can criticize the government of Israel and criticize Zionism but it is not okay to criticize people simply because they are Jewish,” said Kazmi.
Ultimately, students will need to feel empathy for their peers of different religious beliefs in order to foster a safer environmental for all.
Mac Hillel and the McMaster Muslim Student Association have already worked closely together to combat these issues.
“Hillel and the MSA have a great relationship, and that’s something that needs to go forward when combatting anti-Semitism and islamophobia,” said Haber.
In fact, Haber says there are many commonalities in religious discrimination.
“One of the reasons we’re targeted just in general is because we are different. We stick to our own customs and our own rules… We should be proud of how we make ourselves different and how we stick to whatever religious ideology we have,” said Haber.
The dynamic with interfaith collaboration can be positive and fulfilling.
“We do some work with Hillel, with P2C [Power to Change], and we’re having an event in about a week or so with the Atheist group. The thing is, when you’re working with groups everything is really good because everyone is on the same level ,and we all kind of get it and we like to discuss these topics,” said Ahmed.
“In general, as a student and as a member of society, it’s everyone’s responsibility to look out for everyone. So as a Jew I want to make sure all of my fellow students are comfortable whether that’s in their religion or political beliefs. So in the same way, even if you’re not Jewish, I hope that you would support those who are and hope that they feel comfortable,” said Goldfarb.
Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are not just minor problems; they are barriers to student success.
“For a student that is kind of facing this issue day in and day out it becomes a very suffocating environment for them. They can’t focus entirely on their academics anymore, they are more worried about these other things just because that environment is weighing down on them. It’s honestly a very serious concern if a student is going through that, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly,” said Ahmed.
Religious intolerance is not something you may expect to find at a university like McMaster. But as these students have shared, it is a reality many students do in fact face.
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When I was first accepted to McMaster University, there were a lot of questions I asked myself before I decided to come here.
Would I have great opportunities here? Would I make friends? Would I fit in?
With all of the struggles that being a freshman in university brings, I knew that in order to find my place I had to find something I was interested in, and use that to my advantage.
My first year at the school would be the year that the McMaster football team would bring home their first ever Vanier Cup title. It made me proud to be a Marauder, and proud to have some of my friends coming home as winners. It was that year that I knew sports would be in my future.
Sports were always an interest of mine, but it wasn’t until I stepped foot onto this campus and took in my first Marauder football game that I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life.
Not only did I want to learn more about my fellow athletes but I wanted to be able to learn their stories, struggles and triumphs. It fascinated me that I could connect an audience with an individual and a sport through writing and word of mouth.
After starting my second year at McMaster, a young man working for the school newspaper entered one of my lectures, advertising the opportunity to write for the paper. It was almost fate for if I had shown up any later to my class (not an unusual occurrence) I would have missed his speech and probably wouldn’t be here today.
I emailed the Silhouette right away and eventually ended up covering women’s volleyball as a volunteer writer.
Despite knowing nothing about volleyball I knew this was a great opportunity and a chance for me to do something I was passionate about.
After writing for the Sil as a weekly volunteer, the position of Assistant Sports Editor came available and after some encouraging words from many Silhouette editors I decided to apply. To my absolute delight I got the job and that began a new chapter for me on my path to a future career.
I ended up learning later on that my Senior Sports Editor and myself were the first females (in recent memory) to assume the editorial roles. It empowered me but at the same time made me nervous as I knew I had a lot to prove.
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The summer before I started working at the Silhouette a documentary on ESPN caught my eye, which focused primarily on the struggles that women have faced to gain exposure and respect within the sports industry.
It amazed me that it took such a long time for females to gain acceptance into this field of work, but it also made me hopeful because so many woman before me had broken new ground and continue to do so.
After watching the full documentary I gained a new respect for the sports industry as a whole and for the people who work in sports journalism and broadcasting.
Women have come a long way and are starting to be seen in a similar light as men within this business. That to me was comforting.
Once my job with the Silhouette started I found it stressful to ensure I kept up with both my newspaper and school deadlines.
The Silhouette staff was wonderful, welcoming and always shared helpful advice when it came to learning how to manage my time accordingly.
It wasn’t until my second semester that things started to become eye-opening for me. I received a message from an individual living in the Westdale area who told me they had read the Silhouette for a number of years and had always been a fan.
The message seemed hopeful at first but then quickly became very blunt. This individual then stated that after learning that the sports editors were female that they saw the sports section in a completely different way, a way that they just simply could not comprehend. They then informed me that they refused to continue to read the section until the positions of sports editors were to be filled by two males.
It definitely woke me from the daze I was in, and I finally understood the struggle that many females before me had faced.
Many of my friends wondered why I would want to continue after receiving something of that nature, but in the end, people like that will always exist, it is simply up to you to do what you love despite what anyone else thinks.
I encourage everyone with a passion to continue on your path to success. Although there will always be people who think their opinion is going to affect you, you simple can’t let that happen.
Despite the negativity that does exist, the positive feedback the Sil has received this year has been both positive and encouraging.
It is the positives that you need to hold on to that will keep you going.
No matter what, never let go of what you love.
At one point or another, most people fantasize about being a racecar driver. For some, it may have come while watching Formula 1 early in the morning. Others may have dangerously felt the urge while out with their driving instructor, who gripped his seat with white knuckles as they sped through a turn at a busy intersection.
The McMaster Formula Hybrid team is a student-run organization full of people with the desire to actually engineer and design such a car. Composed primarily of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering students, the team has been in operation in some form or another since the 1980s and has been making waves since they switched their focus to producing a hybrid vehicle in 2011.
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The team boasts over 100 members who are interspersed into a variety of factions — Chassis, Suspension, Brakes and Pedal Tray, Powertrain, High Voltage, Low Voltage, Safety and Business — each with their own specific concerns. Due to the complex nature of the work being done, members are required to be specialized in a certain area.
Since 2012, the team has been entering into a competition staged by Dartmouth in New Hampshire each year. The event is an international one and is open to all schools (provided that they can round up the registration fee) and typically draws some of the brightest young minds in the industry.
The hybrid category is billed as the most challenging on the event’s website due to the stringent demands it makes on competitor’s time, leaving them little opportunity for other activities. McMaster placed third behind only Yale and Lawrence Technological University in the hybrid division last year.
As a result of the intensive nature of the work being done, Suspension Captain Barry Mason says the team is only filled with the most dedicated of students with the slackers weeding themselves out.
Speaking as someone who normally logs 35-40 hours on the project every week, he said that you get out what you put in.
Captain of both Aerodynamics and Business Administration Zachary Lanoue, compounded that point, noting that the time you thought you didn’t have will manifest itself if you really love doing it.
These McMaster students are devoting all their waking hours not spent in class either at their shop or turning over problems they’re working on in their heads. But rather than detracting from their studies, Lanoue said it has only served to help them with their schoolwork.
“While we do spend a lot of time working on the car — sometimes more than 40 hours a week — a lot of what we do is directly related to our courses and often more advanced therefore we are not losing as much study time as you’d think,” said Lanoue.
William Long, Senior Engineer and Program Manager, said that the fact the team does not receive funding puts them in a different boat than projects like McMaster Solar Car which gets a portion of student fees each year.
“Only those on campus really know what the Solar Car is and they haven’t competed since 2009. A big problem is that people feel that all this money is going to these student clubs and no one is actually doing anything with it, so we want to show that we’re winning awards and representing the McMaster brand everywhere we go, and we’re doing it in a way where none of it is paid. It’s all extracurricular stuff for our own gratification and education,” said Long.
Long added that the Redsuit songbook debacle forced the team to pull the reigns back on a crowdfunding initiative in order to avoid being swept under the rug with the claims being levied against the group. He went to lengths to stress the different values that the Formula Hybrid team upholds saying that the Redsuits are concerned mainly with outreach, while they are focussed on maintaining a high level of engineering. The crowdfunding campaign is now active and can be reached through indiegogo.com.
Lanoue was quick to chime in on the team’s motives saying, “Nobody’s going to sit down for the amount of time that we do and work on this thing without a passion for it.”
Although a good deal of the team is made up of mechanical and electrical engineers, Long said that they’ve been happy to see more members of other faculties making contributions to the team.
“We have students from Business, Commerce, Health science, multimedia and B-Tech involved. Part of our focus has been to open up the table to everyone across campus because different people have different things they can bring to the table,” he said.
Those students are helping to add another dimension to the team, giving them a competitive edge over others. The multifaceted nature of the competition, which also entails a designing a business case for the car, means that their input is invaluable.
“Where the business students come in handy is in developing that case in which they prove to a group of investors that they would be able to market and sell this car. They’re adept at looking through financials, doing market research, as well as managing the team,” said Lanoue.
Long also said that they are welcome to adding more female members to their ranks in addition to the three already on the team: Megan Wood, Talyssa Ferrer and Basia Kowolaska.
Wood has wanted to work on cars since she took an auto-shop class in high school and said, “I don’t have enough good things to say about the team and everyone on it. Joining it has definitely helped make my first year at Mac a memorable one.”
The team is in the midst of a heavy building stage ahead of the competition, which is set to take place from April 28 to May 1.
The car itself is 1/4 the size of a regular Formula 1 car, but it is nothing to be trifled with. It is slated to tip the scales at approximately 475 pounds when completed. To achieve such a light vehicle, carbon fibre parts are being used to construct the chassis and all aerodynamic devices. It will be able to accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour in three seconds flat, with its top speed being 150 km/h (it’s limited by their gearing ratio). As its name implies, the car will run on a hybrid power-train with the front wheels each being powered by an in hub 15 KW electric motor and the rear wheels being powered by a 250cc KTM SXF.
As a result of the work they’ve been putting in, the team cleaned up at last year’s competition, winning a total of four awards. Their success hasn’t necessarily made getting monetary sponsorships in Canada any easier, but having the pedigree they’ve acquired has given them more confidence when negotiating with their current sponsors who can see that their investment is being put to good use.
This year, the team has high hopes and regards themselves as major contenders.
Tomi Milos
Features Editor
Although cycling has long been hailed as a formidable mode of transportation for city-dwellers, most Hamiltonians can be reluctant to hop on a bicycle for fear of their safety. But the threat of grievous injury does not seem to be deterring McMaster students from gravitating towards such an affordable means of transportation, as a 2010 poll of faculty, staff, and students conducted by University Sustainability discovered. Results showed that 34% of respondents biked to campus everyday.
Maclean’s recently recognized this cycling quassi-renaissance and dubbed McMaster one of Canada’s top-five cycling schools in its annual university rankings issue. In its summation of why the school deserved the recognition, the national weekly news magazine rather vaguely said, “The school’s Sustainability Office monitors and improves biking infrastructure, bolstered by Hamilton’s increasing municipal efforts on alternative transportation.”
Seeking to understand just how McMaster has garnered such acclaim, I spoke to Kate Whalen, senior manager of University Sustainability. The Strathacona resident undertook the role in 2009 and practices what she preaches; she does not own a car and cycling is her main mode of transportation.
Whalen praised the work that the city has done saying, “McMaster is surrounded by incredible cycling infrastructure; [Hamilton was] one of, if not the very first city to have our buses outfitted with bike racks.”
She also acknowledged that certain areas of the city aren’t incredibly bike-friendly: “There are many areas of the lower city that have substantial opportunity for improvement in both road infrastructure and bicycle parking space. With its high population density and variety of land uses, the downtown area also presents some of the biggest opportunity within the city to increase walking and cycling through these improvements.”
But it remains to be said that some improvements could also be made within McMaster itself, where the bike parking options fail to meet increasing student demand. One only has to take a stroll by Gilmour Hall at noon to notice how many students have been forced to lock their bikes to the steel banisters on the stairs for lack of a free spot on a nearby rack.
Whalen maintained that University Sustainability is aware of and working to rectify the problem, indicating that the 2009 installation of a secure bike storage facility opposite Chester New Hall with the financial assistance of Metrolinx Bikelinx program as well as Cyclesafe lockers display McMaster’s “committment to providing many and various types of bicycle parking and storage.”
She highlighted the fact that University Sustainability runs an annual poll of students, faculty, and staff to determine which areas need bike racks and then pass along the information to Security and Parking Services who invest into expanding bike infrastructure.
“Through the feedback obtained through community consultation, we have been able to place new racks in all requested locations each year since 2009.”
Whalen has high hopes for the future and pointed to exciting developments for cyclists, “Most recently, investment into campus bike racks was also included in the McMaster Climate Action Plan including the addition of 600 new bike parking spaces over the next three years.”
The document indicates that 20 bike racks will be added across campus this year, with a special focus on the intramural sports facilities by the David Braley Athletic Centre.
Even with the addition of more racks, one issue that Macleans skated around is theft. 84 bikes were stolen from McMaster in the last calendar year, and 36 have already been pilfered this school year.
Ian Holley says Security Services is working on cutting down that number. The special constable investigator is a staunch promoter of cycling culture, having served as the auctioneer for MACycle’s annual bike auction. If Security Services can pinpoint a pattern occurring at a location — or better yet — a specific culprit, Holley says they’ll set up one of their own bikes to be stolen and monitor the area.
Holley asserted that the thieves might not always be students, noting that many would-be perpetrators can be drawn to the campus because, “McMaster has the biggest collection of bikes in Hamilton, and they’re generally nice ones.”
What irks Holley is that many owners of these high-end bikes are using shoddy cable-locks that are all too easy to cut.
“We see almost no theft involving good U-locks, even at our regular racks. We’ve made a big push towards educating people and saying, ‘Please use U-locks or make use of our secure storage facility.’”
The secure storage facility Holley is referring to is situated beside Chester New Hall, which he admits is not the best location for everyone. But $5 per term to lock your bike within a fenced-off structure that’s monitored by camera doesn’t seem like a hefty price to pay. When asked why there aren’t more of these facilities around campus, Holley said it’s hard to justify building more in better locations when they’re not seeing use in the one they do have.
While the cycling infrastructure at McMaster and in its immediate area seems to be on the right track, things don’t happen to be as rosy in the city’s core where cyclists aren’t afforded the same privileges.
The new bus-only lane on King Street that stretches from Mary to Dundurn Street may ensure a speedy commute for the approximately 1,500 HSR riders who traverse the corridor each hour, but the poorly planned initiative has thrown bike safety under the rug. The lane poses a problem to cyclists who risk a $65 fine for entering it, which leaves them with the choice of taking an inconvenient route, or facing the danger of becoming a part of a car-bus sandwich.
Christine Lee-Morrison, media contact for the pilot project, said, “Certainly a reserved vehicle lane is typically a safer place for a bicycle to operate; however, bicycles typically travel slower than a bus. A mixed usage situation would not allow the City fully test the acceptance and impacts of a future rapid transit scenario.”
Rather than encouraging bike riders to take parallel routes, Hamilton City Council could take a cue from London, England where the bus lanes are made available for use by both cyclists and motorcycle riders. The decision was brought about by a 2008 study conducted by Transport for London which segregated powered two-wheelers and bikes from the main traffic flow and found that bike usage actually increased.
The further trouble with the parallel bike routes is that many of them end abruptly. Although the city has spent approximately $1 million a year since 2010 on adding 35 km of bike routes as part of their master cycling plan — Shifting Gears —building a safe continuous route across the top of the North end has been neglected.
Some web-savvy Hamiltonians recognized this error and organized an online petition called Yes We Cannon whose aim it was to establish a bidirectional bike lane on Cannon Street in time for the impending 2015 Pan Am games when many would be commuting from the James North Go Station to Tim Hortons Field. The petition has amassed 2172 online signatures and was a determining factor in city councillors dedicating $600,000 in September to the instalment of a two-way bike lane between Sherman Avenue and Bay Street.
Cannon Street was the best setting for the venture since it doesn’t experience high traffic volumes, moving only 2300-2600 vehicles per lane, per day as opposed to Mohawk and Garth Streets carrying 6600-9850 vehicles per lane, per day.
Daryl Bender, project manager of Alternative Transportation for the City of Hamilton, is optimistic about the city’s efforts to revitalize the bike scene. Citing a Portland, Oregon study that suggested that better cycling infrastructure and an increase in cyclists reduces the collision rate rather than collisions themselves, Bender said,“We are not certain if the same will be the experience here in Hamilton as our cycling infrastructure increases, but it would be ideal to see the number of collisions also be reduced.”
Despite poor downtown framework and a campus plagued by bike theft, cycling culture in Hamilton and at McMaster seems to be surging forward with the persistence of a Tour
de France peloton.
