McMaster rowing heads to nationals after earning medals at OUA championships

For current fifth year student Sarah Cushnie, the rowing team is not where her McMaster athletic career began. Cushnie began as a cross country athlete, but two seasons ago she made the transition to the rowing team, and has since become the captain of the women's team.

“The transition was actually pretty smooth. So the reason I initially switched is because I was having a lot of injuries as a runner. So one of my forms of cross training was to get on the rowing machine on the erg. I really loved it and I also excelled at it,” said Cushnie.

As captain, her focus has been on making the entire rowing program a more cohesive one and bridging the gaps between the novice, junior varsity and varsity teams within the program.

A more cohesive environment seems to have helped the team excel this season. From the novice level to the varsity level, the rowing team achieved great results throughout the regular season, building momentum ahead of the Ontario University Athletics championships.

This year’s OUA championships were hosted in St. Catharines on Oct. 24. And Oct. 25. The competition saw the Marauders women's team capture multiple medals. Sarah Oresnik and Brooke McCoy earned a bronze medal in the lightweight women's pair event. Cushnie and Nathalie Hilbert won a silver medal in the open women's double event.

These impressive results set the Marauders up for a great push at this year’s Canadian University Rowing Championships on Nov 2. and Nov 3. in Victoria, BC. While the event may be a source of pressure, Cushnie sees it as a way to celebrate.

“Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment,” said Cushnie. 

Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and, and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment

Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.

The exciting weekend at nationals was also a busy one for the team. But despite the busyness of the weekend and the travel, the women's rowing team continued with their mindset of viewing being at nationals as a bonus. Cushnie recalled the gratitude she felt being able to spend her time with her soon-to-be-graduating teammates. 

"I was sharing a hotel room with Kate [Panzica] and Natalie [Hilbert] because it was just like the open-weight women in one room and both of them are graduating this year. So for me it was really nice to have that opportunity to really connect with them on a formal trip one last time before they leave," said Cushnie.

As Cushnie took to the first race of the weekend with her partner, she did not fell much external pressure on herself, being already happy with the results of the season. Though with this being Cushnie and Hilbert’s final race weekend, a sense of optimism filled Cushnie.

“It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else,” said Cushnie

It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else.

Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.

At nationals, the pair placed second in their time trial, qualifying for the A final the following day. Their performance in the final resulted in a third place finish in their last race of the season. Despite a slow start to the race, they were able to catch up to the pack and end their season on a positive note. 

After this race, the 2024 season came to an end for Cushnie and the rest of the rowing team. But the growth of the rowing team is something Cushnie is determined to continue through the off season. She’s aiming to build an eight person boat team to race in competitions.

After a successful season, the growth of the women’s rowing team will be one to keep an eye on. Cushnie’s work will hopefully bring the team to the next level come next season, continuing the team's pattern of success this year.

McMaster Community Garden’s new expansion is underway, adding green space and improving accessibility for students on campus

The Community Garden at McMaster is expanding behind Burke Science Building and is set to open in Spring 2025. The expansion will double the garden's growing capacity and feature a fully accessible garden, including wheelchair-accessible paths, raised garden beds provided by Raised Beds Canada and a variety of accessible gardening tools and seating areas.

The Community Garden, a student-led initiative launched in 2012 by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group, is located in front of the General Science Building. The garden aims to improve access to healthy and fresh food for the McMaster community. During the school year, all produce grown is donated to food security services, including the Food Collective Centre.

Throughout the growing season, the garden cultivates a variety of produce, such as carrots, kale, strawberries and golden raspberries. The garden also features a grapevine that spans the entire perimeter and a cherry tree. 

Thush Gnanamuttu and Olivia Rowan, the 2024-2025 coordinators for the Community Garden who oversee all decisions and manage the volunteer team, spoke about the design of the upcoming expansion. 

“We worked with accessibility groups including Maccess, Facility services and other on-campus accessibility consultants on the work of the design. A lot of the work this summer was making sure it was a collaborative design and a lot of thought was put into the features,” said Rowan. 

We worked with accessibility groups including Maccess, Facility services and other on-campus accessibility consultants on the work of the design. A lot of the work this summer was making sure it was a collaborative design and a lot of thought was put into the features.

Olivia Rowan, Co-ordinator
Community Garden

Gnanamuttu and Rowan mentioned that the new garden will feature raised garden beds at varying heights, designed to be more wheelchair-friendly and accessible to all. They also noted the addition of an accessible picnic bench that was donated by the McMaster Class of 1954. “We wanted to bring a bench in here because it would be cool to run educational workshops and just have this as a space that volunteers can enjoy as well,” said Rowan. 

Gnanamuttu and Rowan acknowledged the hard work of their volunteers, who assisted in building the garden beds, picnic table and garden shed. 

“It's really important to have community-centred green spaces where people can learn about gardening, get a break from the work they’re doing but also do something really meaningful to support their community and we see that with all the volunteers that come in. They really feel like they have a sense of purpose,” said Rowan. 

It's really important to have community centered green spaces where people can learn about gardening, get a break from the work they’re doing but also do something really meaningful to support their community and we see that with all the volunteers that come in they really feel like they have a sense of purpose.

Olivia Rowan, Co-ordinator
Community Garden

The coordinators also shared their plans to add a Little Free Library in front of the garden expansion. Their goal is to place books about sustainability and gardening education in a public bookcase, allowing people to exchange books as they pass by.

The coordinators recognized several sponsors who helped design and execute the expansion, including OPIRG McMaster, the McMaster Okanagan Office of Health and Wellbeing, McMaster Facility Services, Raised Garden Beds Canada and Little Free Library. 

[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]

By: Sasha Dhesi

How many bad haircuts have you gone through before you settled on the one you currently have? If you’re anything like me, your hairstyle choice reflected something about you as you grew out of adolescence into this awkward post-child/pre-adult purgatory. The way in which we present ourselves can say a lot about who we are, after all.

I distinctly remember my first truly awful haircut. It was 2010. I had turned 13 a few months before and I had just seen (500) Days of Summer. The only thing I took from that movie was that Joseph Gordon-Levitt likes girls with straight bangs, so I decided, against my better judgment, to mimic the hairstyle. I remember looking into the mirror after the haircut, only then realizing that a simple hairstyle was not going to make me look like Zooey Deschanel, although I wasn’t going to admit that for another two years.

lifestyle_bad

Whether we like it or not, we say a lot about our identities by the way that we style ourselves. After all, what are our aesthetics but the simplification of the self into a presentable, marketable thing? It’s well known that our teen years are spent developing our identities, creating the image that we feel best represents us without being alienating. Aesthetic choices are a big part of that, and the way in which we present ourselves ultimately speak volumes about the people we are.

I remember looking into the mirror after the haircut, only then realizing that a simple hairstyle was not going to make me look like Zooey Deschanel.

After that disastrous haircut, I decided to grow my hair out so I could donate it. As my hair grew, my tastes changed, and my look reflected that. Gone were the bangs and ill-fitting jeans of pre-adolescence, and in were the polka dotted dresses and acne-hiding locks. As I grew more and more fascinated with the styling of films like Amélie and the 1962 version of Lolita, my style grew into an obnoxiously cutesy fit, complete with bows, polka dots and oxfords. It’s safe to say that literally no one took me seriously from age 14 to 16.

A lot of people fall into the trap of believing that our ideas are permanent. The person you are now isn’t going to be the person you are a year, month or even a day from now. You learn new things about yourself, you encounter new experiences and you grow as an individual. Chances are that your style is going to reflect that. Don’t run from it, lean into it.

A few months before my 18th birthday, it was becoming increasingly clear that no one was going to take me seriously if I looked like an extra from a Wes Anderson movie. So I did something drastic and chopped most of my hair off and into a little chin-length bob, a harsh style when mixed with my naturally dark, straight hair. I learned two tidbits of information from this: unless you’ve done it many times before, cutting your own hair will only end badly and will require a trip to the hairstylist anyway, and your family members will freak out when they see that their almost adult relative has decided to play with scissors like a five year-old. I’m still glad I did it; the bob suits me and works well with the sleek silhouettes that I opt for now.

Our stylistic choices reflect the person we want to be perceived as, and that can say a lot about who we are. The Internet and social media add an interesting layer to this, as there’s probably a tutorial out there to perfect any look imaginable. It can be pretty frustrating sometimes seeing these 12-year-olds with perfectly curated Instagram grids, but I’ll manage. After all, in a few years, these same 12-year-olds will be berating themselves for their poor tastes as they continue to grow and evolve into the people they’re going to become.

[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]

 

Subscribe to our Mailing List

© 2025 The Silhouette. All Rights Reserved. McMaster University's Student Newspaper.
magnifiercrossmenu