Krystina Koc is a Level IV Commerce student at McMaster.
Koc’s platform consists of eight points of action distributed between her two core initiatives: advocacy and student life enhancement.
Advocacy
Within the advocacy section, Koc focuses on safety, transparency, comfort and internal issues within the McMaster Students Union. Citing reports of break-ins in Westdale and Thorndale areas, Koc claims that student safety is a growing concern among students. Koc aims to improve student safety by increasing lighting in student neighbourhoods and facilitating safety measures with landlords. She also plans to create video modules detailing instructions that might help in potentially unsafe situations.
Her second initiative calls for the improvement of transparency within the MSU by writing bi-annual reports that would disclose the progress of MSU activities.
The third platform point, titled “Be comfortable,” aims to re-open discussions on McMaster’s Department of Athletics and Recreation’s tank-top ban in the Pulse. Koc’s goal is to ensure that everyone can feel comfortable while using McMaster’s athletic facilities.
Koc’s fourth point aims to make the MSU’s internal processes, such as conflict management and review of MSU services, more efficient.
“I plan to take the work that our current President, Josh Marando, has already begun and [continue] his efforts to improve [the MSU’s] internal workings,” she states in her platform.
Student Life Enhancement
Koc’s fifth platform point revolves around MSU Clubs. She plans to review all McMaster clubs that are redundant or have been inactive for six months. She believes this would make room for unique clubs and allow students to choose clubs with more ease.
Koc is open to exploring non-MSU clubs having access to campus resources, such as room bookings, for fundraising purposes.
Koc also advocates for the use of student cards at Union Market and aims to reduce the time that the store takes to restock food items. Koc claims that Union Market shelves are often left empty as the shipments needed to refill them come in too late.
Koc’s seventh point intends to improve access to mental health services on campus by developing strategies to enhance the Student Assistance Plan, a free online platform that offers psychological counselling to McMaster students. She also plans to increase support to Maccess, a peer support outlet for students with disabilities and disabled students.
Koc’s final platform point aims to combat food insecurity on campus by raising awareness for existing services such as the Food Collective Centre. She cites a U.S. study conducted in 2019 that states that 41 per cent of fourth-year students are food insecure.
More information about Koc’s platform can be found on her website krystinakoc2020.com.
Keep an eye out in next week's print issue for a feature on Hamilton's LRT project. For now, here are the updates:
[Video descripton: Andrew Mrozowski, A&C Editor at the Sil, walks around campus to discuss updates on Hamilton's LRT project.]
On Jan. 12, 2020, McMaster University’s Student Representative Assembly met for the first time in the new year to ratify 15 new clubs and to complete their initial review of non-MSU groups on campus.
Incite Magazine was the final non-MSU group to present their organization’s activities and budget to the SRA. According to Associate Vice-President (Finance) Jess Anderson’s report on Jan. 8, the McMaster Student Union’s Finance Committee has completed their review of all non-MSU groups on campus. These non-MSU groups receive funding from McMaster students but do not fall under the purview of the MSU Club Department.
According to the report, there are currently five non-MSU groups on campus: McMaster Marching Band, Engineering without Borders, McMaster Solar Car, Incite Magazine and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group McMaster.
“While there were a few hiccups regarding communication throughout the reviewing processes, the committee was very pleased with McMaster Marching Band, [and] have provided recommendations to Engineers without Borders, McMaster Solar Car, and Incite Magazine,” states Anderson in the report.
The Finance Committee has yet to come to a decision or provide recommendations for OPIRG McMaster. While a delegation from OPIRG attended the Dec. 8 SRA meeting, the group is still currently discussing salary and administration logistics with their union, Canadian Union of Public Employees 1281.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="sra-jan-16-2020"]
During the meeting, 15 new clubs were ratified by the SRA after recommendation from Clubs Administrator Aditi Sharma. A list of newly ratified clubs and their mission statements was also provided on Jan. 7. These include cultural clubs such as the Indonesian McMaster Student Association and McMaster Bengali Student Union; social issues clubs such as Blackspace and Glamour Girls; and recreational clubs such as the McMaster Real Estate Society and McMaster Filmmaking Club.
Each semester, potential clubs submit their applications to the Clubs Administrator and Clubs Executive Council. Successful applicants are then interviewed by the Clubs Administrator. Potential clubs are evaluated for their uniqueness, ability to maintain significant student interest and ability to positively impact the McMaster community. Finally, recognition as an official MSU club requires ratification by the SRA.
Last semester, there were two instances that raised concerns about the process of vetting proposed clubs. On Jul. 21, SRA ratified the Dominion Society, triggering an intervention three days later by MSU President Josh Marando due to the club’s alleged connections to people and organizations with white supremacist ties. Similarly, the SRA passed a motion on Sept. 22 to de-ratify The McMaster Chinese Students and Scholars Association for violating section 5.1.3 of the Clubs Operating Policy by endangering student safety.
Discussion regarding club ratification lasted under four minutes. The question of the club recognition appeal process for unsuccessful applicants was also brought up at the meeting.
“One of my constituents wanted to start a club with the purpose of, if I’m remembering correctly, creating a space where the ideas of various faculties (science, humanities, etc.) could be discussed and shared openly together [...] The clubs department did not approve the club for reasons the constituent did not agree with and the constituent claims not [to] have been informed of a formal appeals process in their rejection,” wrote one SRA member wishing to remain anonymous.
According to the SRA member, the applicant was told that the proposed club fit a niche already occupied by the Controversial Texts Discussion Club, which aims to encourage discussion of academic texts and potentially controversial topics in Science, Philosophy and Religion. However, after reaching out to CON-TEXT several times and receiving no response, the applicant told the SRA member that they believe the club to no longer be active.
Section 4.13 of the MSU Clubs Operating Policy states that club applicants can first appeal to the Clubs Administrator. If still unsuccessful, applicants can make a second and final appeal to the CEC.
“In the email that [an unsuccessful club] got, they have an appeal period. They can send their appeal to the clubs administrator and CEC to be reviewed,” added MSU President Josh Marando at the meeting.
Lasting just over 42 minutes, this was the shortest SRA meeting so far in the 2019-2020 school year.
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If you’ve been following the men’s basketball team this year, you’ll know they’ve been on a hot streak so far with a winning percentage of .750. This can in large part be attributed to Jordan Henry’s monstrous season so far.
Henry’s second-year leap resembles that of Luka Dončić’s, the latter going from All-Rookie player in the National Basketball Association and the former going from All-Rookie in the country, to doing it all and scoring at will on the court in their sophomore seasons. Henry is averaging 21.7 points per game, achieving the fourth-most PPG in the province. Even more astonishing is that Henry is only 0.2 points away from being third for PPG in the OUA. Usually, veteran players hold the top spots for PPG in the OUA. Henry is one of two players in the top five in PPG that is in their second year or below.
He may play for U sports in Canada at the moment, but Henry also has loose ties to the NBA. He played on the same team as RJ Barrett during the 2017 U19 Fédération internationale de basket World Cup, where Canada took home the gold medal.
Henry also ranks first among the Marauders in points, assists, steals and minutes played, while also ranking in the top five for the maroon and grey in rebounds, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and field goal percentage with players who have attempted over 10 field goals.
The Marauders have nearly matched their win total from the previous season — and it’s not even halfway through the year yet. Mcmaster currently has nine wins and three losses while last year they had a sub .500 win percentage with 12 wins and 14 losses by the end of the season.
Perhaps what is most remarkable is Henry has accounted for nearly 25 per cent of the maroon and grey’s points so far, having scored 260 points out of the team’s total of 1038. After making not only the OUA first-team All-Rookie but also the U sports first-team All-Rookie last year, it would surprise no one if our star guard made the overall U sports first team this year.
However, RJ Barrett’s former teammate is definitely not the only thing this team has going for it. Head coach Patrick Tatham and his staff have assembled a team that is not only performing at the moment, but will also blow the competition away for years to come. Looking at the roster, it’s hard not to notice that eight out of the 17 players on the team are in their second year and four are in their first year, leaving years of greatness ahead for the team.
This could be the year the Marauders finally take home the W.P. McGee trophy. First introduced in 1963, the trophy is awarded to the top ball team across Canada’s ten provinces and three territories. However, even though it’s been around for nearly 60 years, McMaster has never been able to bring it home, even though they’ve come second five times. Our last appearance in the final game of the season was in 1998.
Will this year be the first time in school history we take the W.P. McGee trophy? Who knows. But it’s definitely possible. Catch the team at their next game against the Western University Mustangs on Jan. 18, right at home in Burridge.
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By Adeola Egbeyemi and Caroline Bredin, Contributors
One like helps clean one beach. Repost on your story to plant 100 trees. Share to save the bees!
Slacktivism is a new and trendy form of online activism that, according to the United Nations, involves “people who support a cause by performing simple measures [but] are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change.” Slacktivism looks like reposts, retweets and shares on social media with no deeper commitment to the issue at hand. It’s being used increasingly often for social movements.
Slacktivism has developed because of the usage of Web 2.0, a shift to a user-centric internet, allowing individuals to create interactive profiles and share their thoughts, likes and photos. This internet evolution has fostered the growth of opinion leaders, who receive information from media and pass on the content, with their interpretation, to a reachable audience. This is exactly what we see with slacktivism, where large, branded accounts are believed to be opinion leaders and trick a considerable number of individuals into thinking they can passively support a good cause. As Web 2.0 is carefully designed to maximize shared content, it’s not surprising how fast spreading these accounts can be.
To be clear, sharing posts about social movements or global issues does raise awareness of those issues. It may even reflect a deeper desire to create positive change, regardless of whether this desire is actualized outside of social media.
However, there are negative implications of slacktivism that seem to be overshadowing the good. Instagram accounts that claim to be helping an issue can often be deceptive. The Instagram account @plantatreeco, boasting nearly 580,000 followers, is one example that has been subject to scrutiny. In one popular Instagram post, the account promised to donate one dollar for every 100 people who shared the post and followed the account.
Last week, the Huffington Post reported that a number of Instagram accounts promising to donate money to Australian wildfire relief efforts could not prove that they had actually made the donations. Hours after Huffpost reached out to @plantatreeco about allegations that it was a scam, the account provided what appears to be a $3,173.00 receipt of donation to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. However, HuffPost did not receive immediate confirmation of the donations’ authenticity from the NSW Fire Service.
@Plantatreeco also constantly post stories, urging people to visit its website, where they sell jewelry, with no indication that this money is donated anywhere. Additionally, the account has erased all its Instagram content, starting over multiple times. Lastly, the account does not seem to have partnerships, or any other external source of money. These are good indications of fraud because the account is able to jump from planting trees, as their name suggests, to the next popular issue like the wildfires in Australia. This allows them to constantly maintain popularity and page traffic. With no identifiable source of money or partnerships, there is no tangible evidence that they are receiving resources to do what they claim. The account has not issued any statements responding to these concerns. Yet, we see individuals still sharing stories with posts from this account.
It’s a scheme that seems paper-thin, but the fact that we are seeing it occur time and time again says otherwise. Last June, for example, the Instagram pages that sought to increase awareness of the plight of Sudan were, at best, simplifying the complex political issues in the nation. At worst, they were using tragedy to garner social media traffic. Sudan Aid accounts, such as the now-deactivated @savesudanpeople and @sudanmealproject, claimed to donate to Sudan through, for example, one meal for a Sudanese person per like on the post.
But, according to the BBC, “there [was] no evidence that any of the ‘Meal Project’ accounts were going anything at all.” The Meal Project accounts did not respond to these allegations, but are now shut down. Misinformation spread by “Meal Project” accounts was then disseminated by individuals who thought they were promoting positive social change through their shares and reposts.
In the case of immediate disasters, like the current wildfires in Australia, taking time to educate yourself and donating money directly to established causes is your best bet to help. However, after Australia has contained its wildfires, we’ll see slacktivism move to the next issue — beach clean-ups or tree-planting — with a disregard for the reasons why we are seeing fires more often globally. Donating to solve an issue like the wildfires does not prevent it from happening again because does not address the pervasive source of the problem: climate change. Thus, in the case of systematic problems, we should begin to consider supplementing large social media movements with consistent environmental engagement at the personal and local level. Examples of this are volunteering with Zero Waste McMaster, Fridays For Future Hamilton, The Sustainable Future Program or leading an OPIRG project. There’s even a fourth-year Communication Studies course at McMaster that explores the role of media in social activism.
Slacktivism is becoming more prevalent and although awareness is necessary, it is hardly sufficient for change. McMaster University is ranked second in the world for global impact. This ranking means that, as students and navigators of today’s Web 2.0, we should hold ourselves to a high standard when it comes to how we deal with social issues, taking care to read up on issues, being critical of social media pages and looking for local opportunities to effect meaningful change. The most significant threat to modern activism may not be the issues it fights against, but the passive and indifferent “share it and move on” attitude we see forming towards them.
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It was my second year of university and I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with my studies because I was having traumatic flashbacks every day and night terrors every night. I was seeing a counsellor and a doctor to address my poor health. Despite this, my marks continued to slip.
Luckily, I was able to register with Student Accessibility Services when I realized I needed some extra help with school. This lifted a lot of weight from my shoulders, as I was able to access lecture notes through the SAS website and spread out my tests over a longer period of time. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing from there.
One of my accommodations under SAS is for instructors to provide an alternative to missed classwork. Knowing this, when I was unable to write a midterm due to my disability, I emailed the instructor to let them know.
In their reply to my email, I was told, “We do not offer an alternate date to write the midterm. If you are unable to write the midterm today, you will need to use a [McMaster Student Absence Form]. Using an MSAF will move the weight of the midterm to the final exam making the final worth a total of 94%.”
Despite having SAS accommodations, I was rejected of the accommodations that were supposed to help level the playing ground when it came to succeeding in courses. I remember being upset and frustrated because I’ve always had the impression that educators should be focused on helping their students succeed. Because of my instructor’s response, this situation dragged out for over a month as my assistant dean had to talk to the instructor to advocate for me. Meanwhile, I was constantly studying for a midterm whose date was unknown to me. Since I was having difficulties rescheduling my midterm, I fell behind in class and ended up dropping the course.
According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, educators must accommodate their disabled students. Furthermore, accommodations should be unique and individualized — meaning, “blanket” accommodations that are meant to cover all disabilities often don’t work because disabled students have different needs. Educators should be cognizant that an accommodation, which may seem helpful in their eyes, may not actually be helpful for a student. As a result, they could be putting undue stress on the student who needs the accommodation.
Saying that I can use an MSAF to redistribute the weight of my midterm is not an accommodation. I don’t know about you, but having a 96 per cent exam doesn’t exactly exemplify a good ‘accommodation’. In fact, I’d argue that most non-disabled students would find a 96 per cent exam overwhelming. Maybe someone else might be okay with this accommodation, but it just wasn’t going to work for me. And that’s okay.
The unfortunate thing is that even with SAS, I still faced many barriers in receiving adequate accommodations. However, many disabled students go through their undergraduate career without SAS because registering can be a long process. For example, SAS registration requires medical documentation from a doctor, meaning that a formal diagnosis is necessary even though many conditions can be difficult to diagnose or may be highly stigmatized, which may result in the lack of diagnosis.
The unfortunate thing is that even with SAS, I still faced many barriers in receiving adequate accommodations. However, many disabled students go through their undergraduate career without SAS because registering can be a long process. For example, SAS registration requires medical documentation from a doctor, meaning that a formal diagnosis is necessary even though many conditions can be difficult to diagnose or may be highly stigmatized, which may result in the lack of diagnosis.
Instead of focusing on formal diagnoses, instructors should concentrate on providing support to students who need it. Evidently, there can be many complications that prevent someone from receiving disability status at McMaster. As a result, disabled students can fall behind in their coursework just because they cannot provide an accommodation letter from SAS to their instructors.
Even when you do have SAS, advocating for your accommodations can be taxing. Meeting up with your professors to discuss accommodations can make you feel vulnerable. Emailing professors every time you’re absent from class and having to reschedule several midterms after a flare-up can be exhausting.
Even after all of this, you may still face resistance regarding your accommodations. I have faced the risk of my SAS accommodations expiring even though my disability is permanent. As a result, I had to get medical documentation again to verify that my disability wasn’t going away anytime soon. I’m not the only person who has faced this problem — I’ve heard from many peers that they’ve faced a similar situation where their SAS status expired and they were unable to access accommodations when they needed them most.
The accommodation process is made more complicated by negative perceptions that students who ask for course accommodations are “cheating the system.” Of course, there’s always the possibility that there will be a student who asked for an accommodation they don’t actually need. But, more often than not, it’s because they really need it. A student’s SAS status shouldn’t be the only reason why an instructor should provide course accommodations. If students are reaching out to you about how they might need some extra help in class, consider giving them the support they need to succeed in your course.
Often times, accommodations can be easy to arrange. Providing a student with notes, lecture slides or an extension for an assignment doesn’t usually require extra effort on the instructor’s behalf. However, it’s important to note that even if the accommodation isn’t ‘“convenient’” to provide to a student, they still deserve to be adequately accommodated. To ensure that accommodations are properly handled, there should be a clearer follow-up process of accommodations within each faculty. Students should know who to go to when something isn’t properly handled, as well as be able to access support from their faculty during this process.
Because at the end of the day, educators should be concerned about a student’s success — not their disability status.
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Four days, seven shows and one location. For the past five years, the Frost Bites theatre festival has created a space for non-traditional theatre in Hamilton. Frost Bites focuses on site-specific theatre, which means that the shows are created for a particular venue. Therefore, shows can only be performed in one space and at one time.
This year the festival is taking place in and drawing inspiration from the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. Claire Calnan, the Executive Director of Hamilton Fringe, explains that before they begin writing, artists are taken on a tour of this venue and asked to write shows inspired by the space, challenging the typical process of writing the script first and finding the venue second. The festival is run by Hamilton Fringe and was created to add a dash of fun, bite-sized theatre to the cold winter months, and to challenge local artists to create something that transforms a space.
“Site-specific work is really interesting for me because it can transform a location for you, so that whenever you go by that location in the future you will think about it differently, because you’ve seen something happen there, or you’ve thought about it in a different way. It kind of transforms a landscape, and it can transform the landscape of a city,” said Calnan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfUCjvIAxl8/
The festival also works with the Artistic Leadership and Entrepreneurial Training Program, a program run by Hamilton Fringe to develop new artistic leaders in the city. The youth that participate in the program assist with running Frost Bites, whether that be by helping to design the space or running the box office. In this way, Frost Bites not only fosters new theatre in the community, but paves the way for the future of the artistic community in the city.
One of the companies performing is DeVision, a collective of six McMaster Film and Theatre alumni: Adeline Okoyo, Maddie Krusto, Claudia Spadafora, Jamie Milay Kasiama, Brianna Seferiades and Yvonne Lu. Their show, Key Words Include, explores the complicated concept of femme bodies as marginalized and marginalizing. Krusto, now a Master of Arts student at McMaster in the gender studies and feminist program, says that the site-specific nature of the festival creates a unique opportunity to exercise their creativity.
“As an artist, it’s really interesting to not only have this mandate of ‘Make a show,’ but to be able to come in and be inspired by things in the room. For example, when we came in for the venue tour and came into the room, there’s a big glass case, and we walked in and we immediately were like, ‘We could put people in there!’ and, ‘What can we put in there?’ and we were climbing into it, and it’s just really fun to explore what that space offers . . . in some ways it’s very liberating to get to explore first, and to play in this space, and think about what we can do,” said Krusto.
“As an artist, it’s really interesting to not only have this mandate of ‘Make a show,’ but to be able to come in and be inspired by things in the room. For example, when we came in for the venue tour and came into the room, there’s a big glass case, and we walked in and we immediately were like, ‘We could put people in there!’ and, ‘What can we put in there?’ and we were climbing into it, and it’s just really fun to explore what that space offers . . . in some ways it’s very liberating to get to explore first, and to play in this space, and think about what we can do,” said Krusto.
Each group brings their own unique focus and ideas to their performances. DeVision knew that they wanted their work to examine ideas of subjection and consumption, but working in the building helped to mold and shape their ideas, evolving to fit the space that they are performing in.
“We already knew we wanted to do a show that was something about the consumption of femme bodies, and the way that we’re being consumed, and so now the show has evolved into what is our relationship to the land, both when us as subjects and bodies being consumed, but we’re also settlers and consuming the land and contributing to settler colonialism. So what is that relationship when you’re both marginalized, but also marginalizing,” said Krusto.
Photo C/O Kaz Ehara/Verity Creative Inc.
Every show in the festival is performed in or around the same building, the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. But each show is dramatically different, offering different perspectives on the same building. Another performer is Annalee Flint, the creator of Flint and Steel Productions. She says that her show was entirely inspired by the venue.
“I specifically didn’t want to have anything in mind already, I really wanted to take advantage of the site-specific nature of it. So once I found out what the venue was I had kind of a little lightbulb about something that inspired me, and then once I actually got into the space I had that go further . . . So it really has been created solely with Frost Bites in mind and solely with this particular venue in mind,” said Flint.
Flint’s show is entitled amo, amas, amat, and it examines the meaning of love.
“It’s kind of an exploration of love, but using words and language, and maybe almost looking at what happens when you can have all of these beautiful, poetic words and declarations or statements about love, but you maybe can’t actually feel it or realize it for yourself . . . You spend your time focused on the beauty of language and the beauty of how love has been expressed by other people, but then you sort of neglect to figure out how to express it in your own world,” said Flint.
In order to fit multiple pieces into the same evening, shows are capped at 20 minutes, and are performed several times over the course of the evening. Amo, amas, amat has a run time of just 12 minutes. The multi-layered, complex meanings of the show are condensed down into bite-sized pieces, leaving the audience to construct interpretations of their own.
“[The show is] going to have all of [the meaning] behind it, but what actually is presented to the audience I think is something that everybody is going to take away a different meaning, or a different bit of wisdom, or a different emotion,” said Flint.
Frost Bites focuses on fostering relationships between different artists, encouraging artists to collaborate. Each night, audience members will be led into the main space, where there will be a special performance by Indigenous artist Rod Nettagog. On Saturday Feb. 1, choreographer Kyra Jean Green will be doing a dance collaboration with Nettagog. Audience members will not be the only ones seeing this for the first time, however; neither performer has ever met or worked with the other before — it will be an entirely unique and one-of-a-kind performance.
“It’s hard enough to create traditional theatre in the city and make it be successful, so then if you decide to create something a little bit off the beaten track, or a little bit unusual, or you want to put things in unusual places, it gets really hard to find an audience for that. I think that what I like about Frost Bites is that’s exactly what everybody that’s going to Frost Bites wants. They want something that’s a little bit different, a little bit weird perhaps, a little bit non-traditional; they know that that’s what the festival is about,” said Flint.
The Frost Bites festival happens in a new building every year, meaning that each performance is specific to its environment. The unique nature of the festival means that the artists have the opportunity to experiment and explore with different forms of theatre. Like the Hamilton Fringe Festival, artists that participate in Frost Bites are paid for their work. In this way, artists are able to hone their craft while still being supported by the community.
Frost Bites runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at the Hamilton Waterfront Trust (57 Discovery Drive). Adult tickets are $25 and grant you admission to as many shows as you can manage in one night. If that does not work with your budget, it is possible to see a 1-3 of the shows on Jan. 29 as part of the preview, for free. For more information or to pre-book, email info@hamiltonfringe.ca with “preview night RSVP” in the subject line.
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* Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals
On Nov. 30, 2019, a Dutch exchange student at McMaster University was thrown out of the Dirty Dog Saloon, a downtown Hamilton club frequented by McMaster students, after he was found dancing on a pole that appears to be meant exclusively for women.
Summer Shepherd, a fourth year Communications student at McMaster and a friend of the exchange student, detailed the incident in a Dec. 1, 2019 submission to Spotted At Mac, a Facebook page dedicated to anonymously publishing posts submitted by McMaster students. Although she was not present at the time of the incident, Shepherd wanted to share the exchange student’s own testimony on a platform that would better reach the Hamilton public.
According to this testimony, the exchange student, who has asked not to be identified and will henceforth be referred to as Nick*, was dancing on the pole when female bartenders began throwing ice cubes at him at his friends. He was then allegedly pulled off the pole by security guards and forced out of the club with neither his jacket nor his wallet.
“He was thrown on the ground outside and when he tried to defend himself, a bouncer put his hands around his neck, choking him … Another security guard came outside to scream at him using homophobic slurs and threw his jacket at him,” she said in a testimony posted on her own Facebook profile.
She added that Nick had a similar experience several weeks before the Nov. 30 incident, when he tried to go on one of the poles and was forced out of Dirty Dog’s.
This apparent policy at Dirty Dog’s seems to prohibit men from using the poles has led to accusations of homophobia. The Nov. 30 incident is not an isolated one. Multiple people have shared stories of similar cases in which security used aggressive behaviour to enforce the alleged policy. Two years prior, on Sept. 30, 2017, Michael*, then a McMaster student, experienced a similar situation.
“ ... I climbed up [one of the poles]. I was just up there dancing and having fun when I suddenly felt my legs pushed out from under me. I smashed my back as I landed on the platform and was then pushed completely off. I looked up from the ground and saw a bouncer walking away from the platform ... While [our group] talked about it, we saw the bouncer do the same thing to another male with no warning,” he said.
The following day, Michael’s brother messaged Dirty Dog’s on Facebook to talk through what the bouncer had done.
Screenshots provided by Michael’s brother show the club explaining, “ … I am sure as per our policy that your brother was told at least once to get off the bar or pole. He most likely ignored the instruction which then escalated the incident … The policy is not to tap or aggressively grab the legs of patrons on a pole since this can and would result in that patron kicking back. So [Michael’s] impression of the situation is both careless and probably wrong.”
The Dirty Dog Saloon representative continued by pointing out that it is the club’s priority to protect the security team’s safety. They stated that the security guard would not have used force, as the patron might have retaliated with physical violence. As a result, they claimed to have difficulty understanding the “level of trauma” that Michael claims happened.
The representative also cited the likelihood of Michael having been drunk, which they felt supported the possibility of disruptive behaviour on his part. Michael, however, maintains that he was sober throughout the situation and that he had not been given ample warning before he had been pushed off the pole platform.
A Jan. 10, 2015 review by a patron on ClubCrawlers tells yet another similar Dirty Dog’s story.
“They have a few dancing poles in the bar and jokingly with my friends, I started dancing on one, which I was forcefully taken down from and told guys were not allowed to dance on them.”
In the review, the patron claims to have been respectful to security; he heeded the policy for the rest of the night after the incident and did not retaliate. He then spoke to the manager, only to be told that the “women only” policy is in place because women — referred to derogatorily by the manager, according to Kyle’s testimony — bring profit to the club when they dance on the poles.
Furthermore, the reviewer claims that the Dirty Dog Saloon manager stated that men are more likely to turn off clubbers and that patrons allegedly come to the club for the primary purpose of seeking out women.
When asked for a statement regarding the Nov. 30 incident and alleged history of similar events preceding it, the Dirty Dog general manager, Paul McDonald, did not respond.
Other people have reached out to the club to discuss the incident and have not received a response, either. Jenny*, a student at McMaster, reached out to the manager in support of the Dutch exchange student and did not receive a reply.
Undeterred, she nevertheless began a petition to boycott the Dirty Dog Saloon the day after the Spotted at Mac post was published.
“I created the petition mainly in response to this issue, but also because after reading about other experiences people have had with [Dirty Dog], including incidences [of] racial profiling, I want people to know that this is not okay. We should be holding institutions to higher standards and not being complicit with acts of racism or anti-LGBTQ violence. Because if we turn the other way, we too are participating,” said Jenny.
"We should be holding institutions to higher standards and not being complicit with acts of racism or anti-LGBTQ violence. Because if we turn the other way, we too are participating,”
She also criticizes the “women only” rule attached to dancing at the Dirty Dog Saloon. She believes that, by limiting dancing to women, this rule marginalizes members of the LGBTQIAA+ community both by promoting heteronormativity and by placing a restriction on those who do not identify with the gender binary at all. It also perpetuates the idea that women should be dancing for men.
Jenny acknowledges that, as a white cis person, she cannot speak for the lived experiences of marginalized folks. However, she now hopes to create a new, more inclusive petition with people who have experienced discrimination at the Dirty Dog Saloon.
Her call to hold the club accountable for its policies and history of aggression is echoed by both fellow supporters and victims.
“This level of homophobia and violent behaviour cannot be tolerated. We need to hold clubs in Hamilton like Dirty [Dog] accountable for these disgusting acts carried out against LGBTQIAA people,” Shepherd said.
Michael, as someone who has testified to experiencing discrimination firsthand from the Dirty Dog Saloon, also wants to clarify that he has nothing against people who choose to go to this club. Instead, his primary goal is to hold management accountable.
“In my opinion, it shouldn’t be controversial that physically assaulting people is not okay,” he said.
“In my opinion, it shouldn’t be controversial that physically assaulting people is not okay,”
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cw: misogyny
By Roba Dekamo, Contributor
Most people experience some level of privilege based on a combination of characteristics society considers integral to who you are. Some factors that influence privilege include your race, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity. Based on these characteristics, your life will be harder or easier, and unfortunately you don’t get a say in the matter. Many folks are able to live easier lives due to privilege. For example, white folks are less likely to be pulled over while driving and men are less likely to be targets of sexual violence. However, one privilege I never considered, likely because doing so would contradict its very nature, is the ability to forget.
A friend of mine invited me to take part in McMaster University’s Mens’ Walk in Solidarity with the the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. As we made our way through campus, we stopped at four memorial sites: the Student Memorial Garden, Nina de Villiers Rose Garden, the Montreal Massacre Commemorative Stone and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Memorial. During one stop, a group member reminded us of how frequently we may pass by these sites, often daily, without giving them much thought. He defined this as “the privilege to forget”.
This isn’t to say men are dismissive of acts of gender-based violence and their impacts, but to say that, as cisgender straight men, many of us don’t have to carry the weight of our very safety being threatened on the basis of gender. Therefore, we can either consciously or unconsciously ignore the realities that women and non-binary folks face on a daily basis in terms of their physical security.
My daily decisions aren’t impacted by the threat of violence because I am a man. I don’t consider how late I can stay on campus if I am not walking home with friends. I don’t prioritize being aware of my environment or worry about who I’m surrounded by when I am out dancing. The women in my life can’t say the same.
While walking through campus with my mom, she helped me realize how easily I am able to forget. We crossed paths with a few friends and when one of them, a female engineering student, stated her program, she was met with all the affection I had come to expect from my mom but with one additional praise I didn’t anticipate: she called her brave. She cited the events of Dec. 6, 1989, the École Polytechnique massacre, where a man killed 14 women in a horrible act of misogyny because he said they were “feminists” for being in engineering. My mom reassured this young woman that her decision was hers to make, and that by defying gender norms she had been brave and made at least one mom proud. I’m sure her own mother was also very proud but unfortunately we are still waiting on a quote from her.
My mom found my friend brave for pursuing her passion, for choosing a field of study dominated by men and for doing what she wanted regardless of the standards. Brave for doing what men consider normal. This was another reminder of my privilege to be able to dismiss the concerns that women often have to take into account when making decisions. Will I feel safe and comfortable in this space? Welcomed or alienated? Is the discomfort worth pursuing something I want? I never had to face these questions when weighing my options in high school.
I remember a time in my first year when five women I was friends with mentioned that they always felt better when I joined them on late night escapades to find a kegger or backyard party. I was taken aback by the statement, not just because I’m built like a determined toothpick but because I never considered my physical safety to be in jeopardy by simply being out at night. To be fair, this anecdote isn’t as much about forgetting as it is about learning, but even beyond this experience years ago, these thoughts don’t occupy mind nearly as much as I’d argue they should.
I learned a lot from those friends and they helped me realize a few things: my understanding of the world was very limited and I had a lot to learn, but also we as a society need to share more. Sharing the burden of repairing broken systems and perceptions, but also sharing our experiences to help inform and educate each other about things some individuals may never experience themselves.
Violence against women and gender-nonconforming people exists 365 days of the year, at a rate drastically higher than men experience. This allows a lot of male identifying folks the luxury of tuning out the subject for 364 of those days, and acknowledging its significance as it arises, be it a news article, story from a friend or national observance.
Year round, men need to ask more often, listen more intently and genuinely care for what women and non-binary folks have to say about these issues. We can use each others’ experiences to learn a lot about the things we can never experience ourselves and hopefully this can help change the ways we think and act for the better.
What It Is:
Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor (10 James St. North) brings a taste of Toronto’s Union Chicken to Hamilton. While on the Toronto menu, Uncle Ray’s is a section dedicated to fried chicken, the new Hamilton restaurant focuses on and expands this concept, becoming the fourth location to house “Ray’s Famous Fried Chicken”.
Over the last few months on James Street North, you may have noticed the decal of a bunny wearing an eye patch adorning the shopfront asking, “Who the hell is Uncle Ray?”. After our visit, it is safe to say we know exactly who Uncle Ray is.
The name is a metaphor for the passion that you find from all the staff. This not only comes across in service, but also through the quality of food that Uncle Ray’s dishes out to its customers.
How to Get There from
Campus:
Grab the 51 from campus towards Main Street West and James Street North. Head north-east past King Street East and you’ll find the restaurant on the east side of the street.
Alternatively, you can take the 5C or 1A from campus and jump off at Main Street West and MacNab Street South. Walk north-east towards King Street West, then east towards the intersection.
For a quicker trip, you can take the 10 from Main Street West and Emerson Street to Main Street West and MacNab Street South.
The Cost:
Entrees are broken into two categories, plates and fried chicken. Plates range from $17 to $29.50. Fried chicken will cost you $18 or $19 depending if you get the O.G. Plate or Lightning Chicken, respectively. I am warning you now, a to-go box will probably be a good idea as the meals are big, providing you with two great portions. Sides dishes range from $5 to $9. The restaurant also has a large list of snacks and appetizers that run from $6 to $19. If you are looking to share a meal with two to three friends, Ray’s Southern Platter costs $69. Uncle Ray’s is able to split cheques.
As the name boasts, Uncle Ray’s has a wide assortment of beer from domestic to craft, as well as a few draught lines. A variety of wines can also be found on the menu as well as a handful of mixed drinks. If you’re gonna grab a drink, expect to be paying anywhere from $6 to $29.
Craving something sweet? Uncle Ray’s has a small, yet delightful dessert menu ranging from $5 to $8.
What to Get:
The moment of truth —
what should you try? When I went to the restaurant with my housemates, we were immediately greeted by the warm, industrial atmosphere of the space. It is slightly reminiscent of HAMBRGR before their renovations.
To drink, I enjoyed a Piña Colada that looked like it was straight out of a Caribbean resort. If alcohol isn’t your thing, they also feature pop and three types of water — sparkling, bottled and filtered tap.
Looking at the food menu, all of our eyes immediately went to the fried chicken section. Not only is it on the cheaper side of the menu, we figured it would be a mistake not to try their in-house specialty. I ordered the O.G. Plate (which includes gravy, pieces of fried buttermilk, boneless chicken thighs, hot honey and green onions) with a side of triple cooked fries accompanied by a malt vinegar aioli. My housemates ordered the Lightning Chicken (which includes habanero hot sauce, Nashville style fried chicken, hot honey and pickles stacked on a piece of white bread) with a side of fries.
We all exchanged pieces of each other’s chicken, and took a bite at the same time. We were blown away by how the kitchen staff was able to achieve a moist, tender thigh on the inside while being crispy and flavourful on the outside. The O.G. had a savoury, sweet flavour from the gravy and honey mixing on the plate. The Lightning Chicken didn’t taste spicy at first; however, two thighs in and your nose will be running and your eyes will be watering. DO NOT make the mistake of rubbing your eyes like I did!
The magic doesn’t stop there as Uncle Ray’s dessert menu features a few delectable desserts. As I was celebrating an early birthday dinner, I was able to get the carrot cake on the house, while my other housemates had the buttermilk soft serve and pot of chocolate. Uncle Ray’s triple-layered carrot cake with cream cheese icing was by far the winner at our table.
Why It’s Great:
Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor is quickly establishing itself as a go-to Hamilton spot in the downtown core. I know the price really doesn’t conform to the student-budget; however, if you are with a group of friends for a night out on the town and if you’re willing to splurge a little outside of this week’s food budget, Uncle Ray’s provides a great atmosphere to catch up and enjoy some tasty food.
A “life-hack” that my housemate and I learned with Uncle Ray’s leftovers: if you bring home your chicken and fries, pop them in the oven at 400°F for 25-35 minutes depending on the strength of your oven. If you can resist for about 5 minutes, your meal will be almost as crispy as when you first bought it.
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