By Andrew Fayed, Contributor
After falling to the Western Mustangs, last year’s Vanier Cup finalists, 17-34 two weeks ago, the
McMaster Marauders’ men’s football team appears ready to move on and build off of the
momentum of their strong opening weeks into the rest of the season. With several lower
ranked teams ahead on their schedule, the Marauders are favoured to be at a record of seven
wins and one loss by Oct. 19.
While their game versus Western can be seen as a slight bump in the road for the Marauders,
starting quarterback Andre Dueck sees it as fuel for the rest of their season.
“Western is always a fun game. You get to really test yourself against what the benchmark is for
a championship team in this league and see how you matchup,” said Dueck.
The deeper stats for their game against Western show that the Marauders ran into penalty
trouble, in the form of 15 penalties resulting in 130 yards lost. The Mustangs finished the
contest with 6 penalties, losing only 37 yards. When questioned on the impact that these
penalties played in the end-result of the game, Dueck recalled some words of wisdom from
Head Coach Stef Ptaszek.
“Coach said after the game that you have to be at least 14 points better than the other team if
you want to have the refs not be a factor in winning,” Dueck says with a chuckle before
continuing, “It’s always tough when you get into penalty trouble but it’s part of the game of
course, so you have to play around it as much as possible and overcome it when it happens.”
Beyond penalties, the larger disparity between the teams arrived in the form of their rushing
games. Western appeared to dominate for 232 yards rushed to the Marauders 43. Dueck had
nothing but praise for Western’s rushing game.
“It was huge. They got to control the clock, the tempo of the game and hurt us on the
scoreboard. The bottom line is we have to get the job done and they did it better,” Dueck
added.
With that being said, the marauders run game came back in an emphatic fashion during their
game against the York University Lions this past weekend on Sep. 14. Veteran running back
Jordan Lyons averaged 5.5 yards per carry, totalling 94 yards on the ground and two
touchdowns.
With the dust settled on the Western loss, the Marauders are setting their sights on a schedule
that favours them heavily. With their hardest game behind them, the Marauders will face five
teams that are ranked outside of the U Sports football Top 10 rankings.
“It’s definitely been a strong start to our season, but we have some long-term goals that [are]
important not to lose sight of, so we’re only looking to build from here.”
Dueck fills the role of the motivated leader of the Marauders’ men’s football team, ensuring
that both he and the team are honest and accountable. When questioned on why he chose to
play for the Marauders team, Dueck stated it was his love of the game that brought him to
Hamilton.
“Football is such a team game. It’s a chess match. Everyone has to do their job on every single
play for the play to work. It’s a true team game, there’s so much intelligence that goes into
playing.” Dueck said.
The pressure of being a starting quarterback for a top-five ranked school might be enough to
cause other students to panic; but Dueck, a third-year commerce student, seems to perform at
his best under pressure.
“I enjoy the business. I’m definitely never bored, and I have a great support network here. I
really love it,” stated Dueck.
You can catch Dueck and the Marauders’ men’s football team in action at their next game on
Sep. 21 against the Windsor Lancers at McMaster’s Ron Joyce Stadium.
By Eamonn Vallely, Contributor
Chris Chan is a 21 year old, fourth-year integrated science student from Vancouver, British Columbia. He also happens to be one of the most valuable players on the men’s ultimate frisbee team this year, especially after stepping up to the role of captain. Chan is approaching his new title with great mindfulness and targeted goals for the upcoming season.
For the first time this year, the men’s ultimate team has recruited a coach, Troy Booth, a very experienced frisbee player from Brisbane, Australia. This takes a load off of Chan’s back. In the past, captains often assumed the additional responsibilities of being a coach. Despite Chan being a very experienced and well-rounded player, having a couple more hands on deck, including his co-captain Torja Istiaque, offers Chan the chance to focus on the leadership aspect of his job.
Chan explained how much he values Istiaque as a co-captain. Istiaque has what Chan described as a macro-understanding of the game, something that Chan believes he himself lacks. Chan refers to macro-understanding as the ability to see a dilemma and its solution in the context of all factors that impact a game. He described how Istiaque can recognize the solution without overthinking it.
“For me personally, I’ve tended to always focus on very small parts of the game so for example, If I see something going wrong on the field or something [that is] not working out I’ll start thinking about every little thing and every reason why. But for him, he might just be like oh we need to switch this up in our system,” Chan said.
The team recently implemented a mindfulness training routine before games and practices. This idea is based off a book Chris has been reading, by George Mumford, called The Mindful Athlete.
“Re-focus on the present moment so you’re not thinking about varying distractions, so we can play to our fullest,” Chan said as he described the mindset in the book.
Chan’s passion for Ultimate is unwavering and real. This is evident in the way he describes the game and his goals. Chan has a set of objectives, as any leader should, and even though there are only three chances at competitions throughout the season, Chan’s goals are not simply based around a win.
“I don’t want to focus only on results. It’s not about finishing top eight, I just want our team to reach its full potential. I’ve found [that] if you place your focus on results it never turns out well,” Chan mentioned.
Chan believes the pathway to excellence is through treating every practice with the same intensity as a game. If the goals of a team are solely based around numbers, it is difficult to address the pathway to that success. The motivation is to be the best they can be.
The leadership role of captain comes with a unique set of responsibilities. For example, after a tough loss, the captain has to maintain composure and a positive attitude. Chan is fully aware of this and tries to approach every challenge with the concept of improvement. Captains and coaches will discuss attributes of the game the team needs to work on and consciously implement them in practices.
Chan would describe himself as a competitive person who believes that in order to compete at the highest level you have to have a fierce mentality on the field: to be relentless, mindful, selective and smart with your energy.
“I think you have to be if you ever want to compete at the highest level every time you step on that field you’re not thinking oh maybe I’ll go out and play well. You’re going out with the mentality of I’m going to destroy my matchup,” Chan added.
Chan has many goals related to ultimate, not all of which are necessarily confined to McMaster University. Ultimate frisbee is a relatively small sport in Canada, meaning there is a lot of room to ascend to higher skill levels and leagues. Chan strives to obtain a position on a professional ultimate team like Furious George from Vancouver or the GOAT ultimate squad from Toronto. Both of these teams represent some of the best ultimate players in Canada and the pinnacle of high-level disc.
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Tyler Gagne is a fourth-year centre on the McMaster men’s rugby team. He plays an instrumental role on the team, not only through his strong defensive presence, but also through his role on the team leadership group with five other players. This group includes veteran players Tyler Gagne, Clay Pendakis, Ryan Matthews, Jack McRogers, Cole Brown and club captain Megh Rathod.
In their season opener, Gagne had a pair of tries which led to him having one of the top performances that game. Even with his success, Gagne remained humble and highlighted key performances from the rest of the team.
“I just go out there and do what I can for the team,” Gagne said. “It always feels good to have a game like that, but a couple of other guys had great games in that game too it wasn’t just me. Our whole team played really well, it’s hard to pick one performance out.”
This year will be one where the men’s rugby team plays their heart out. They have an outstanding team and are determined to leave an impression on Ontario University Athletics rugby.
“We believe we can medal. We believe we should go five-one based on the season [and] hopefully we can win all six. Other than that play the best rugby we can, enjoy it and have a great year,” Gagne said.
One of the defining contributions to the success of the team is team culture. The maroon and grey challenge the idea of a traditional team in the sense that they are more than a group of highly-skilled individuals who play a sport together. Of course, they do fit that mold, but they are also a family.
“The team we have is one of the best I’ve ever played on. All the guys are super close. There are no disputes on the team, no conflicts, everyone just loves each other and we go out there and play the best rugby we can. Which really helps on the field obviously,” Gagne added.
Growing together and knowing when to put the team ahead of their own needs has been instrumental to their success.
“I’m one of the older guys on the team, I’m in fourth year. There are a couple of other fourth years on the team, not too many but we’ve been together all four years and all the guys we’ve been coming up with have bought into the system and we’ve all come together to be a great team. It’s easy when guys come into the team and buy right in right away,” Gagne said, “It’s super easy to get along with everybody. Nobody has too big of an ego which is nice and we all get along really well and it’s a great culture.”
One of the main things that sets apart the men’s rugby team is their unique but effective approach to leadership. Having multiple people share the load of guidance brings along many advantages. For example, communication on and off the field can be more coordinated. Simply put, it is a strategy that seems to be working wonders for the marauders. For their next game they will take on Trent University on Sep. 21 where they look to improve their record to two wins and one loss.
Tyler Gagne - Men's Rugby
Tyler GagneCentre
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Point Of View
By: Matty Flader, Photo Reporter
We’re taught from a young age that certain things in the world are constant. There’s a northern star in the sky, a brain in our heads and art for those who can’t use that brain towards “something more productive”. Yet, if you ask a group of people to take their own photos of the same thing, you’ll get a myriad of results. Suddenly, the illusion of some consistent reality is shattered. Our points of view dictate what we see and how we understand. It’s so easy to think that reality is a constant and tangible construct, but what can truthfully be said to be “real” without it first being filtered through the infinitely varying human perspective? Thus, reality can only fairly be understood as socially constructed through some sort of collective agreement. This is my visual recap of Supercrawl — the way I saw things. My contribution of “something more productive” to reality.
#unignorable
By: Cindy Cui, Photo Editor
Poverty, domestic violence, social isolation and mental illness. Sometimes, the most serious problems in our communities are the ones we don’t see. By ignoring these issues, we make it more difficult for those who are suffering to find and receive the help they need. Instead, these people feel silenced, suffocated and invisible. As communities, we can help … but only if we recognize that these problems exist — only if we give them our attention. It's time that we make such issues, circumstances and stories #unignorable.
By Olivia Fava, Contributor
Democratic art. These are the two words that I would use to describe “EMERGENCY Pt2., Structures of Action”, a 2019 Supercrawl installation that built off of its 2018 predecessor to focus on the perspectives of the everyday person.
Christopher McLeod, a McMaster studio art alumnus and the creator of this exhibit, was originally inspired by the general apathy he perceived from those around him. This informed part one of his project.
“Looking at things that happen around us in our communities, our cities, our countries, around the world…I’d say to myself, ‘Is no one paying attention? What do people care about?’ I didn’t know,” said McLeod.
McLeod’s only solution was to ask the people exactly what they did care about. A tall “emergency” beacon invited passersby to share their greatest concerns on any scale, from political to personal. According to McLeod, he and his team heard from about 1,400 people over three days during last year’s Supercrawl festival.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2aNGk7n2-V/
The top three issues that were brought up in 2018 were safe streets, health and the environment. These formed the core of this year’s installation. While McLeod’s initial question dealt with what Hamiltonians were worried about, part two of his project asked a graver question: what are Hamiltonians willing to do about the core issues they had identified?
“Are we all just going to sit around and sort of watch what’s happening, or are we going to step up and try to make a difference?” asked McLeod.
This year, levels of action for each of the three issues were ranked one to five, from least to most involved. Like many others, I chose my level of action, signed my name on the corresponding colour of sticker, and stuck it to the beacon. Hamilton Youth Poets also performed spoken-word pieces on these issues, which were based on public submissions.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Z2LWkHbi0/
A high degree of public involvement in this project was very important to McLeod, as a way of drawing in those who might normally ignore these issues.
“I’m like a tool for society…my role [as an artist] is not to dictate. My role is: how do I create spaces, opportunities and experiences that allow a community to come together to have these conversations in a non-standard way?” said McLeod.
As I observed my sticker on the overflowing environmental side of the beacon, voices swirled around me. Kids were asking about road safety and friends were challenging each other to volunteer for the issues they were motivated to address. McLeod’s beacon stood in the middle of it all, literally and metaphorically shedding its light.
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Most Hamiltonians associate the weekend-long street festival, Supercrawl, with live entertainment and art installations. Flying above James Street North were giant colourful flags reading “deviate”, “subvert” and “resist” with the word “exist” on the back of each. Attracting vistors from blocks away, Flags asks what it means to exist within the twenty-first century, specifically as a queer person in Hamilton.
Adrienne Crossman is a professor of studio arts at McMaster University, but their journey began after finishing a master’s degree thesis at the University of Windsor. Their thesis project consisted of 15 small felt pennant flags, each a different colour representing queer and trans flags with words like “exist”, “postgender” and “neither/both” across the front.
“I’m subverting the medium of these little pennants that are often used for tourism or celebrating sports and I put words like “failure,” “deviate” or “resist”. That was a larger series . . . the one that said “failure” specifically was like an anti-varsity flag or celebrating this idea of failure or positivity of queerness,” said Crossman.
A year later and Crossman became a full-time professor at McMaster. Although they had previously visited Hamilton and recently moved for work, they had never exhibited any work in the city. They had an idea that would not have been possible without the festival backing their work.
“I’ve just been thinking a lot more about how to have more of an impact with my work. I’ve never done an outdoor installation before and I’ve never made work at this scale...It’s a new piece, new work, but also an evolution. It’s the second iteration of a similar concept. It also functions differently, there’s three flags, they’re much larger and they’re a different shape,” said Crossman.
“Flags” consisted of three different eight by five foot flags hanging from lamp posts. Crossman designed the colours, shapes and lettering, but hit the barrier that they cannot sew. They hired a seamstress to help with the task of putting together the large flags in order to debut in Hamilton for the weekend-long festival.
The queer community in Hamilton has had a turbulent history. Hamilton was home to one of Canada’s most recent bathhouse raids in 2004.
The raid created an uproar within the LGBT community. Questions of safety arose and led to a decline in queer spaces throughout the city. Currently, no designated queer space exists; however, many local businesses are welcoming.
Recent homophobic protests have put members of the Hamilton queer community on edge, leaving many to wonder about safety, a question that seems to be prevalent across many communities across the globe. Crossman hopes that their work continues the conversation on the path to resisting the oppression that faces the LGBT community not just in Hamilton but across the country.
“It’s just the continuation of a conversation. So the text reads “subvert”, “deviate” and “resist” as forms of resisting oppression but on the back where it says resist it more speaks to the fact that existing as a queer person, a visibly queer person or anybody that doesn’t suit the way that people might perceive as normal – just existing itself is a form of resistance which I think can be a very radical sentiment,” said Crossman.
Although three large, brightly coloured flags may look inviting during Supercrawl weekend, they hold deep meaning.
“A lot of my work has a trojan horse approach where you make something that looks fun but can spark or start a dialogue about something that is a little more serious,” said Crossman.
For Crossman and many within the queer community, “Flags” is just the beginning of continuing dialogue against oppression faced daily by Hamiltonians and others around the world. Although Supercrawl is Hamilton’s premiere arts and culture event, they engage with contemporary social issues to ensure they are bringing a new perspective to the city.
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Mental illness touches everyone. For artist Ahmed Elfatih, intimate memories of his own life created the foundations for his art. From Sept. 7 to 16, Elfatih’s art pieces took over the walls of the Hamilton Audio Visual Node (HAVN) on 26 Barton Street East for “Mixed Matter”. This unique exhibit displayed Elfatih’s struggles leading up to his immigration from Omdurman, Sudan to Hamilton, Ontario. With a focus on his personal experiences with mental illness, each of his paintings tell a different memory from his life.
“These paintings are actual events; actual things that happened to me,” said Elfatih.
Elfatih’s mother was one of the main reasons why Elfatih was able to come to Canada. For five years, she worked to bring her family to this new country. Suitingly, all of Elfatih’s paintings are dedicated to his mother.
Elfatih started making art as early as six years old when his sister began teaching him how to draw characters such as Mickey Mouse. With the support of his dad, Elfatih eventually picked up art as a way to cope with his mood swings.
“When I’m happy, I paint. When I’m sad, I paint. It’s actually a healing method for me,” said Elfatih.
“Mixed Matter” is an art show that highlights all the struggles Elfatih faced in the process of coming to Hamilton. Elfatih noted that most of his difficulties in Omdurman revolved around managing mental illness. He continues to paint because he hopes to start a cause or campaign to use art and music to heal. Art is how he kept his happiness and energy.
Elfatih’s compositions contain unique figures and scenery that may not make sense to the mind at first. But that’s a lot like what feelings look like - sometimes when you try to depict them, they just don’t make sense. They are beautiful, chaotic and tragic in their own ways.
Feelings are exactly what Elfatih wants people to get from his exhibit. He wants his art to touch the human mind and heart; to see if others can relate to his work.
“I feel comfort when I find out that other people also go through those issues. What I’m trying to get is feelings. I want people to [leave the exhibit] with experience … That was what I was aiming for,” Elfatih remarked.
Elfatih notes that “Bell’s Curse” is one of his favourite pieces he’s done. “Bell’s Curse” depicts Elfatih in front of a patterned royal purple background. On the right side of his face, his features seem normal; if not a bit down-turned. On the left, his features blossom in different directions; almost as if they are sprouting out of his face and growing in their own way.
What could be the story behind this painting? Recently, Elfatih was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a temporary weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles. As a child, this was something he had experienced temporarily.. Four months ago; however, it stayed. Elfatih says that the painting represents him. What he takes from this painting is that flaws are beautiful and that you should be proud of them.
“God hand picks you to have [flaws] … especially if it’s visual, it’s like hey, I’m gonna put this little gift on you; this pearl on you,” he said.
As you go through the exhibit, you can see both the hurt and the healing that Elfatih has gone through. This is evident in each individual brushstroke, caption and story that his paintings retell.
Mental and physical illnesses are difficult. His paintings depict that clearly. But sometimes, some good can come from the pain and struggle.
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By Rya Buckley, Contributor
Hamilton’s trademark multi-arts festival, Supercrawl, has grown to attract artists, entrepreneurs and audiences from across the globe. As a result, a local artist taking the stage of this event has become particularly special. Last weekend, aspiring 17-year-old Hamiltonian R&B singer-songwriter, Neena Rose, performed on all three days of the festival.
Having released a flurry of singles over the last 12 months, Rose has been generating a major buzz on the Canadian music scene. Her singles, including the recent release “(You A) Machine Gun”, are snapshots of her debut EP called 333, which is set to come out later this year.
Rose’s recent buzz has been years in the making. She recorded her first original song, “Rock N Roll Lullaby” at the age of 12. In 2013, Rose performed for Oprah Winfrey and a crowd of 14,000 when the media mogul came to Copps Coliseum (now FirstOntario Centre). While the early success has been rewarding, Rose mentioned that she had fallen in love with music years before she began gaining recognition.
“[T]he first memory I have of singing and realizing I even liked to sing was … at an anniversary party … for one of my aunts when I was maybe four. There was a pianist … and then she’s like ‘Hey, do you want to sing something … I’ll play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and you sing.’ I’m like ‘OK.’ So I got up there and I sang in front of all my extended family and everybody’s like ‘Oh my God, she can actually hold a tune,’” Rose recalled.
A couple years after the discovery of her talent, Rose’s mother put Rose in singing lessons. Rose remembers writing her first song around the age of five or six. She started to consider music as a career when she was 12 years old and attending a youth summer program. It was during this program that Rose recorded her first song. Attracted to both the creative process of songwriting and the ability to make a living by doing what she loved, Rose began to pursue music professionally.
Amidst her budding career, Rose is finishing up high school. She hopes to go to university for business and perhaps also major in music. She continues to immerse herself in both the business and creative sides of the music industry.
Earlier this year, Rose was the youngest Canadian to participate in California Copyright Conference’s “Young Guns – Innovative and Thriving in the New World Music Order” panel. The California Copyright Conference facilitates discussions of copyright-related issues in music and entertainment. Rose was brought in to give her perspective as an up-and-coming artist navigating the industry.
Rose is drawn to the systematic nature of the music business. She understands the importance of being an artist with a coherent brand. Her passion for both the creative and business sides of being a professional singer will likely serve as an asset as she continues her career.
“I love when there’s something I can follow, like a pattern. And so like there’s tricks and stuff as with everything, but I like that you can learn how to actually function in an industry, in a business and make it work and still do the things you love,” said Rose.
For Rose, singing, and especially song writing, is an outlet. She pulls from everyday happenings in her life when she is making music. She hopes to one day be able to write songs for other artists as well.
In all the music that she creates, Rose wants her audiences to feel empowered. From her debut single, “Games”, where she stated that she doesn’t want to be pushed around, to the more recent single, “Mannequin”, where she encourages listeners to be themselves, Rose spreads messages of positivity and self-love through her work.
Performing at Supercrawl last weekend is full circle for this Hamilton native, who attended the festival when she was younger. She has seen the festival grow over the years and is honoured to have been a part of its lineup.
“I’m definitely inspired by people in my own hometown pursuing their dreams … [The Hamilton art scene] is booming. It’s definitely really prevalent. There’s so many things that are happening in Hamilton that people don’t even know about,” Rose said.
And just like her city, Neena Rose is blooming too.
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Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Canada’s governor general to dissolve parliament for a 40-day federal election campaign. The election will be held on Oct. 21.
“In every election, as Canadians, we get to make an important choice for the future of our country. We get to decide what kind of future we build together,” said the prime minister in a press conference last Sept. 11.
The 2019 campaign, leading up to election day on Oct. 21, is taking place only months after Trudeau violated Canada’s Conflict of Interest Act. He accepted full responsibility for attempting to influence the attorney general during the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec-based construction company that was bribery and fraud charges at the time. In the aftermath of these events, the upcoming federal election will determine whether the Liberal Party will retain a majority government.
Residents of the Hamilton West - Ancaster- Dundas riding will soon be electing their Member of Parliament.
The Silhouette spoke to Liberal, Conservative, NDP and Green party candidates about how they believe their parties will benefit the students of McMaster.
Students interested in learning more about the candidates or their platforms should attend MacVotes’ Federal Candidates Debate in MUSC Atrium on Oct. 8, 2019.
Filomena Tassi, Liberal Party
The Honorable Filomena Tassi, the incumbent for the Hamilton West - Ancaster - Dundas (HWAD) riding, remains optimistic about the upcoming election.
“The Liberal Party has a plan, has values that we want to make sure Canadians embrace as we move forward,” she said.
For her, these values will lead to a diverse, open and inclusive government who believes in Canadians, who wants to give everyone a chance and who wants to level the playing field so that everyone has a just and fair chance at succeeding.
Born and raised in Hamilton, Tassi has been a high school chaplain for the past twenty years and believes that government policies greatly benefit from student engagement. Her re-election campaign is already underway and touches upon several issues she believes students are passionate about, including affordable housing and education, job creation and the environment.
“We have an advisory group that consists of representation from McMaster, Mohawk and Redeemer,” said Tassi.
According to Tassi, the advisory group meets on a regular basis and is continuously provided with input from leaders of these three post-secondary institutions. This is to ensure that the group is responding to the needs of youth and keeping their voices in mind when creating policy. Tassi stated that, if elected, she would continue consulting with student groups.
“I want to make sure moving forward that we continue on that same front, an open communication where the student leadership is able to share with me what the student body wants and is looking for from the Federal Government,” she said.
Much of the Liberal platform for the upcoming election is yet to be announced.
Bert Laranjo, Conservative Party
Bert Laranjo immigrated to Canada from Portugal at the age of nine and is a registered nurse by trade. Having managed Cambridge Memorial Hospital’s multi-million dollar emergency department, he believes he has the qualifications to serve as MP.
With regard to his role in the Conservative Party, Laranjo says that he wants to ensure, as Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has said, that the healthcare system remains intact and that funding continue to be transferred towards the provinces.
“Most families are feeling … they are short at the end of the month and just getting by. We don’t want you to just be getting by. We want to help Canadians to get ahead. To have money set aside for education, have money to pay bills,” said Laranjo.
According to Laranjo, the Conservative government will serve students by prioritizing job creation.
“That’s something that the Conservative government has always been focused on — to make sure when you come out of school that the opportunities are there so there’s a return on your investment,” he stated.
In addition to job creation, the Conservative platform includes reducing taxation on income bracket, repealing Bill C-69, which provides a process for assessing the environmental, health and socioeconomic effects for energy and resource projects, eliminating the Trudeau’s government carbon tax and attempting to end illegal border crossings into Canada.
Yousaf Malik, NDP
Yousaf Malik is a graduate from McMaster and holds an M.A. in economic policy. He has lived in the Hamilton West - Ancaster - Dundas riding for the last 10 years. In that time, he has been a public advocate for the voices of everyday Canadians, running for School Board Trustee in 2018.
“One of the main drivers for why I’m doing this is [that] we have four generations in the household, from my grandma who is 85 years young, to my son who is now almost nine months. And from what I see is, our government has consistently not followed through [on] their promises and commitments to all four generations,” said Malik.
He brings forward the issue of some students being unable to afford education. He refers to education as ‘the great equalizer’ and declares that education should not be limited to those who are able to afford a large loan or who have other resources to pay for school.
“I am so happy to be representing the New Democratic Party which is committed to increasing support for students and the increased federal bursary for students, working with provincial government and universities and colleges to reduce tuition with the ultimate goal of making university and college education post-secondary education tuition-free in Canada,” he stated.
He is also interested in Canadian healthcare system reform. He says the NDP is committed to creating head-to-toe coverage—including prescription medication, vision, dental and mental health.
“It’s not right that we have a system in Canada where you are able to see a doctor, but then at the end of the day, you’re not able to, in many cases, afford the medication you need to actually get better,” he said.
The NDP hope to lower Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio over the next decade; both the Conservatives and Liberals intend to balance the budget in the next five years.
Their platform emphasizes the creation of 500,000 affordable housing units and support first-time buyers, incentivized zero-emission automobiles and established a federal minimum wage of 15 dollars per hour.
Victoria Galea, Green Party
Victoria Galea is a McMaster alumnus, having graduated with an Honours B.A. degree and will soon complete an M.A. in International Relations.
She has served as the CEO for the Green Party Riding Association for the last two years and believes that the Green Party is the only legitimate option for voters interested in changes in climate action policy.
“This federal election is crucially important to make climate action policy happen. The Green Party is the only option if you care about [the] climate emergency,” said Galea.
On top of pushing towards free post-secondary education in Canada, Galea stresses the importance of mental healthcare on-campus. Having seen firsthand the lineup outside the McMaster health clinic, she mentions that the significance of mental healthcare providers is something the Green Party wants to put forward to effect — and one that people should support if they want ‘preventative’ and not simply ‘reactive’ mental healthcare services.
The Green Party platform this election may captivate the student audience with plans to forgive the portion of existing federal student debt, make college and university tuition free and provide 1 billion dollars annually to municipalities to hire youth.
“We can pay for all of Canadian students’ free post-secondary education by removing the current subsidies in place that the government provides to fossil fuel corporations,” she said.
“By no longer enabling the fossil fuel industry to develop, we are able to get better for every individual in Canada and not just the one per cent.”
The MP candidates stress the importance of youth participation in the upcoming election and emphasize the particular importance of this federal election for students and young adults.
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Visitors to this year’s Supercrawl festival likely left with strong memories of “Macro dose”, an installation featuring sonic vibrations and three towering, lit-up mushrooms sprouting from mattresses. Sean Procyk, the artist behind it all, peeled back the many layers of this exhibit.
“I had this idea of doing a surreal experience for viewers, so kind of like giant mushrooms in an Alice in Wonderland type setting. There was a big challenge in how I was going to have these giant mushrooms growing out of the street, so a lot of time was spent thinking about what kind of object I would want mushrooms to grow out of without it being arbitrary,” said Procyk.
Mattresses turned out to be Procyk’s missing puzzle piece. He was inspired by the displacement of Hamilton residents, which has been partly due to an influx of newcomers, development projects and overall gentrification. After a neighbour mentioned seeing several mattresses on their street, Procyk reflected on how mattresses are often left behind when people relocate. He paired this idea with his interest in mycology.
Glue lamination process for the mushroom caps. Photo c/o Sean Procyk.
“I started thinking about how mushrooms grow off of the refuse of the forest. Then I began imagining giant mushrooms feeding off of the refuse of human society, mattresses being part of the refuse. Then I thought about how, in the field of mycology, when you try to grow a particular type of mushroom species on some kind of substrate like grains or straw, which is the food that they feed off of, the term they use is you want to colonize the substrate. So there is a bit of a tie-in . . . I was just pulling language from that field and imagining colonizing these mattress with a particular kind of mushroom,” said Procyk.
As part of his interest in autonomous food production, Procyk grows his own oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Through this process, he learned that the “colonization” in mycology refers to sterilizing a growing medium, such as straw, inoculating it with the preferred mycelium and growing a monoculture. Sterilization removes all undesirable microbes and bacteria, improving the chances that the preferred mycelial culture will prevail. Through “Macro dose”, Procyk cleverly connected colonization in mycology to the colonization that still occurs across North America and the rest of the world.
Photo c/o Sean Procyk
To build “Macro dose”, Procyk collected, soaked and shaped Black Locust wood into mushroom caps in his very own backyard. The use of this particular tree was deliberate. As Procyk said, Black Locust has an extremely high rot resistance, burns efficiently at high temperatures, and could be a renewable source of heat energy. Unfortunately, it has been labelled an invasive species in Canada. Procyk suspects that this is because Black Locust’s growth patterns make it suboptimal for mass wood production.
“All this said, it brings to light the question of who makes decisions about what species are labelled invasive and what species are given privilege. In the lumber industry . . . it appears as it is those that support capitalist process that are given priority,” explained Procyk.
The relationships between the elements of “Macro dose” and real-world concepts complete a dreamlike narrative. For example, knowing that the resin of Black Locust glows a subtle green under UV light, Procyk made his mushroom caps glow an eerie green to represent this “invasive” species.
To further elevate his installation, Procyk used speakers to release sonic vibrations that created an absorbing audio-tactile experience for visitors. The green lights of the mushroom caps subtly dimmed in and out in response to carefully programmed frequency changes in sound.
“I prefer to create a soundscape that is more abstracted, something that is not too literal and is more about the experience of listening. So, I work with frequencies on the lower end, those tend to be more subtle . . . and immersive, they move through your body . . . and it is quite [a] soothing effect,” said Procyk.
With a dedication to his self-sufficient process, Procyk worked with themes of displacement and colonization to take Supercrawl visitors to an alternate universe.
