After a fire in Bates Residence, a McMaster student was charged with arson-disregard for human life
On Jan. 28 at around 2:00 p.m., a small fire broke out at McMaster University's Bates Residence in a third-floor apartment.
The fire was contained to one suite, but the entire building was evacuated as a precaution. No injuries have been reported, and the building was able to safely reopen only a few hours later.
The fire was contained to one suite, but the entire building was evacuated as a precaution. No injuries have been reported, and the building was able to safely reopen only a few hours later.
Amarah Hasham-Steele, News Editor
“On scene, police and partners located the unit on fire, which was extinguished, and no injuries were suffered,” said Hamilton Police Services, in a media release, issued on Jan. 29.
While the fire was contained within the four-bedroom suite in which it started, three nearby rooms also suffered smoke and water damage, forcing their occupants to temporarily relocate. A total of eight students were impacted by the fire.
While the fire was contained within the four-bedroom suite in which it started, three nearby rooms also suffered smoke and water damage, forcing their occupants to temporarily relocate. A total of eight students were impacted by the fire.
Amarah Hasham-Steele, News Editor
HPS stated in their release that 20-year-old Ruomu Ba had been charged with arson — disregard for human life.
The HPS release also asked members of the public to contact Detective Sergeant Lockley by calling 905-546-3833, if they have any information about the case.
McMaster University released two statements about the fire on Daily News. The first, released on Jan. 28, informed students of the fire and that it had been safely extinguished. The second, released on Jan. 29, informed students that charged had been laid.
C/O Hamilton Police Service
Lock your doors!
Hamilton Police Service are investigating a string of break & enters that took place in the Westdale area in February. Police believe that student houses are being targeted.
On Feb. 8, a student posted a warning to Reddit’s r/Mcmaster regarding a recent break-in near Broadway Ave., between Sussex and Main West.
According to a HPS press release, the suspect entered the house and fled the area after being discovered by the resident. The suspect is described as male, medium build, black hooded jacket, black shoes and carrying a backpack.
The video can be seen on the HPS website.
The release comes amid reports of a series of 5 recent break-ins during early February.
The Silhouette contacted HPS for comment related to the Feb. 8 incident. As of Feb. 11, it is not clear to police whether the five incidents are related and the suspect is not known to police.
The police released a graphic that provides advice for students living in the area.
In an email, Staff Sergeant Catherine Lockley reminded students to lock their doors and windows and to secure sliding doors with a rod or a pole. Lockley also encouraged students to call police to report suspected break & enter activity even if it does not appear that entry was gained, or anything is missing.
Police urge students to contact police to report a crime in progress or a recent event by calling 911. Students with information should contact Detective Ross Johnson at 905-546-3818.
Activists gather to demand defunding of police services and investments in free housing
On Nov. 23 following National Housing Day, a group of activists known as Defund HPS gathered outside of Hamilton City Hall to demand the defunding of police services across all levels of government and greater investment into free permanent housing.
The group is asking for an immediate 50 per cent reduction of the Hamilton Police Services budget.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Our coalition is outside @cityofhamilton. We won’t leave until money is divested from municipal, provincial, and federal police, and invested into free permanent housing. #HamOnt #OnPoli #CndPoli #HousingIsAHumanRight 1/9
— Defund HPS (@DefundHPS) November 23, 2020
Other demands from the group include rejection of the $4 million budget increase that was requested by the HPS and that the HPS budget surplus of $567,875 is reallocated toward free permanent housing.
“Despite years of promises [regarding] housing, houseless people across the country are being brutalized by municipalities and police. Right now, there are [more than] 20 encampments in #HamOnt,” the group wrote on Twitter.
“Despite years of promises [regarding] housing, houseless people across the country are being brutalized by municipalities and police. Right now, there are [more than] 20 encampments in #HamOnt,” the group wrote on Twitter.
The group added that tents are being destroyed and mass park evictions are occurring while women’s shelters reach maximum capacity and men’s shelters provide unlivable or undignified conditions.
“People will die in the cold because our economy is prioritized over human life . . . Housing is a human right and must be free,” the group tweeted.
“People will die in the cold because our economy is prioritized over human life . . . Housing is a human right and must be free,” the group tweeted.
The group has now set up tents outside of Hamilton City Hall and state that they won’t be leaving until their demands are met. They are also asking to meet with Hamilton’s Mayor, Fred Eisenberger.
Sarah Jama, the organizer of the protest, has been charged by Hamilton police due to the number of people at the protest allegedly exceeding what is permitted for an outdoor gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jama will appear in court on Feb. 22, 2021 and is liable to pay a minimum fine of $10,000 if convicted.
On Nov. 26, after days of remaining outside of City Hall, Defund HPS organized a dance party to gather more attention and continue calling upon the mayor for action.
Maybe they can't hear us - let's get LOUD. Join us tonight at 6:30 PM for a dance party in front of City Hall! DJ miss crabs will keep us warm and grooving - let's make it unmistakable that if we don't get it, we WILL shut it down and we WILL turn it up. pic.twitter.com/MSw895z198
— Defund HPS (@DefundHPS) November 26, 2020
Also on Nov. 26, a news release from the city stated that bylaw officers will start issuing removal notices for the tents that are set up in front of City Hall. The release said that the notices do not impact people’s rights to gather in front of City Hall, but will indicate that tents and other structures need to be removed immediately.
“[T]he City will work with demonstrators to have them removed by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night to allow reasonable time for dismantling and removal. It is only the tents and structures that are being ordered for removal, individuals are permitted to remain on site, provided they do not exceed the 25-person outdoor gathering limit,” the city wrote.
On Nov. 27, the fifth day of the demonstration, a statement from Defund HPS was released. The statement shared that Eisenberger had finally spoken out about the demonstration and that he had called the group’s demands to defund the police irrational. Eisenberger said that the city had already made investments into housing.
However, the group stated that they believe the $50 million invested over a 10 year period into housing is insignificant in comparison to the $171 million budget allocated to the Hamilton Police Service in this year alone.
DAY FIVE: PLEASE READ OUT STATEMENT BELOW #DefundThePolice #HamOnt #onpoli #canpoli pic.twitter.com/gTRDGGMUMt
— Defund HPS (@DefundHPS) November 28, 2020
The next day, on Nov. 28, Eisenberger refused to meet with Defund HPS publicly but instead said that he would be willing to meet the group privately within closed quarters with no technology present.
In response, the group rejected meeting privately as they believe it is not safe and would like to meet in a way that provides transparency to all the activists that have gathered for the demonstration.
Others have criticized the mayor’s request to meet privately, noting that the housing crisis in Hamilton is a public issue and deserves input from the public.
“Our mayor always wants to meet privately. Why? Residents of Hamilton expect their elected officials to engage with everybody in the city. Private meetings do not help with the situation. More often than not, in these private meetings no work is done,” said musician and Executive Director of the Hamilton Center for Civic Inclusion, Kojo Damptey, in a video he shared in support of the protest.
On Nov. 29, a vigil was hosted to commemorate the lives lost of unhoused people. Following seven days of the ongoing demonstration, the activists continue to stand by their demands and run interactive programs for all those joining them in front of City Hall, including mural painting as well as tote bag and t-shirt making.
On Nov. 30, bylaw officers and police began forcibly removing tents. Videos show that tents and other belongings are being thrown in the garbage.
On Nov. 30, bylaw officers and police began forcibly removing tents. Videos show that tents and other belongings are being thrown in the garbage.
A statement has since been made by Defund HPS in regards to the tent removals. The group noted that the organizers were not communicated with by police prior to their sudden arrival. The officers were not socially distanced and were handing out trespassing tickets to people for random actions such as holding flowers.
“What we witnessed today was a complete failure on the city’s part to keep people safe. It was a violent attack on people’s livelihood and right to existing in a public space . . . These structures at the camp were critical to keeping people alive, keeping each other fed, keeping each other clothed, keeping each other healthy. We enforced social distancing measures and COVID-safety measures the entire week. We were simply exercising our right to protest,” the group wrote in their statement.
“What we witnessed today was a complete failure on the city’s part to keep people safe. It was a violent attack on people’s livelihood and right to existing in a public space."
Defund HPS is now asking people to “wake up the mayor”, getting his attention by calling his number, posting on his Twitter or sending him an email.
THREAD:
Wake up Fred get out of bed! Let’s give the Mayor a morning reminder, given his refusal to meet with his constituents in public!
Check it out pic.twitter.com/HtP3bztvCZ
— Defund HPS (@DefundHPS) November 30, 2020
As the demonstration continues, the group is asking for donations from the community for items such as tents, sleeping bags, blankets, umbrellas and more. Items can be brought to New Vision United Church, which is across the street from City Hall, for volunteers to receive and sanitize.
When the Silhouette reached out to Defund HPS, they were unavailable for an interview.
By: Andrew Mrozowski
Stop. Take a second and look up from this article. You’ll most likely see everyone around you on some form of technology, be it on their phones, tablets or computers. We now live in a world where we are so heavily dependent on technology. According to Yvonne Lu, people should be more conscious about how technology affects their identity.
Originally starting off her undergraduate career in commerce, Lu realized her passion laid in a different faculty. Lu began working in marketing and communications but felt like something was missing. She decided to take on a double major between multimedia and theatre and film.
Now in her final year at McMaster, Lu decided to combine her two disciplines into one overall thesis, taking the form of an interactive multimedia installation and a physical performance called interFACE, as part of the School of the Arts Honours Performance Series.
The concept for interFACE came to Lu over this past summer when she was employed by a music video company to be their social media coordinator. Although typically not very active on social media in her own life, Lu found herself getting jealous from the various platforms that she managed as there was an overall feeling that everyone was doing better than her.
“Although there definitely were positive and negative experiences, always being on social media and seeing that people younger than me were doing cooler things than I was, working with huge producers, big companies and getting more responsibility than I was… a lot of the times I felt jealous. It’s why I felt I was a step back, I understood why others were successful and a lot of it was trying to catch up with people,” explained Lu.
interFACE examines how young women interact with technology and how this oversaturation impacts their identity as they grow up. Stemming from a vignette of experiences, the multi-disciplinary art experience allows attendees to delve into the development of identity to look at similarities and differences between how we portray ourselves online versus in person.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="264" gal_title="interFACE"]
“The question to consider is whether or not social media and digital technology enables us to do more things, or if it consumes us and we are at the whim of the mass media,” explained Lu.
This form of installation is experimental as it features two parts. Viewers will first embark through an audio-visual capsule, which is an audio-sensory experience that saturates the audience in a world that Lu and her team have designed to convey the importance of why we should pay more attention to our own identities. Next viewers will be seated to enjoy the physical portion which expands on what they have observed in the audio-visual capsule.
“This is not something that you would see in traditional theatre. It’s not a narrative or linear piece. We are creating a visceral experience for both our collaborators and audience. We want them to feel that they are in the belly of the beast,” said Lu.
For the thesis student, what the audience takes away from the experience is the primary objective of this piece.
“There isn’t a specific message I want people to walk away with. It’s live theatre and it’s all about interpretation. For us, that’s kind of what I want audiences to walk away with. Questions of what they felt. It’s an emotional journey rather than a narrative,” said Lu.
Show times for interFACE will run on March 28 at 12:30 and 8 p.m. and on March 29 and March 30 at 12:30 and 7 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre in L.R. Wilson Hall. Admission is free.
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