Inability to opt-out of certain fees spark student discussions and dissatisfaction
Following an unprecedented summer for many, students at McMaster University continue their studies via online learning and face adjustments made both within their classrooms as well as the university as a whole. The transition to online learning has resulted in several changes to supplementary fees students are required to pay.
One of the biggest changes students face this year includes the Hamilton Street Railway bus pass. In June 2020, McMaster Student Union President Giancarlo Da-Ré wrote to the HSR asking for amendments to the student bus fee.
In July, Hamilton councillors voted to temporarily suspend the transit agreements with McMaster University, as well as Mohawk College and Redeemer University.
As a result, the 2020-2021 undergraduate student bus pass has been suspended for the period of September through December 2020. Rather than the original fee of $223.92, undergraduate students will pay $120.98 in January 2021 for use of the bus pass in the winter term through to Aug. 31, 2020.
Graduate students’ bus passes are still available and are valid from Aug. 22, 2020 until Aug. 21, 2021.
In a video shared by the MSU, Jess Anderson, Vice-President (Finance), said that aside from the temporary termination of bus passes, the MSU is also advocating for a discounted monthly transit rate for students; however, there have been no further updates for a discounted rate.
All undergraduate students are now required to pay adult fare when boarding the HSR.
It is not yet clear as to how the MSU will handle HSR bus passes for the winter semester now that the school has announced classes will continue to be online.
In addition to the undergraduate bus pass, the Athletics and Recreation fee has been a major concern within students’ supplementary fees for the 2020-2021 year. Although McMaster Athletics and Recreation have announced that facilities will be closed until at least Dec. 31, 2020, students are still required to pay an Athletics and Recreation fee with a reduction of 25 per cent.
Although McMaster Athletics and Recreation have announced that facilities will be closed until at least December 31, 2020, students are still required to pay an Athletics and Recreation fee with a reduction of 25 per cent.
Students are encouraged to participate in a variety of virtual fitness classes offered by the Pulse Fitness Centre.
The decision to keep a fee for Athletics and Recreation has sparked multiple student discussions on social media, most of which consist of dissatisfaction from students about having to pay a fee at all.
https://www.facebook.com/spottedat.mac/posts/2032560686879925
[/media-credit] Spotted at Mac conversations around supplementary fees.
Speaking to the Silhouette regarding what the remaining 75 per cent of Athletics and Recreation fee will cover, Director of Athletics and Recreation Shawn Burt said that fees not only go to supporting facilities in a typical school year but also go to support the infrastructure and staffing of the department. As well, fees support the department’s ability to deliver programming, whether it be virtually or in-person.
As for why students cannot opt-out of the fee, even if they choose to not participate in the virtual programs, Burt said, “I certainly understand that not everyone uses the Pulse or will use our online programming, but we do have to make an investment into staffing and infrastructure to ensure that we are able to deliver these things, even if not everyone can use them. It’s really not a usage-based fee, and it wouldn’t be reasonable to do it that way simply because accommodating 30,000 students into a fitness space logistically is difficult even at the best of times.”
Following the school’s announcement that the winter semester will also be online, Burt expressed that it is not yet clear as to whether Athletics and Recreation will remain closed as well. However, Burt said that adjustments to fees would certainly be looked at.
“Not unlike the fall, our expectation is that fees will be impacted as a result of [the school’s] announcement, so whatever needs to be done from our perspective to accommodate students and student-athletes, those steps will be taken at the direction that we receive for sure,” Burt said.
Students are also required to pay the non-MSU and non-McMaster fees, colloquially known as the Bylaw 5 fees. These include the fees for OPIRG, McMaster Solar Car Project, Engineers without Borders, McMaster Marching Band and Incite Publication. Other fee changes include the MSU organization fee which includes the operation of student services, club structures, governance apparatus and MSU advocacy work. Originally $133.26 for the fall of 2019, the fee has been reduced by 10 per cent, resulting in a fee of $122.45.
A breakdown of all supplementary fees for undergraduate and graduate students can be found on the Registrar’s Office Supplementary Fees page.
Full-time undergraduate students have the option to opt-out of the MSU Health and Dental plan. However, the opt-out option is only available for those with extended external coverage. Both plans together come to a total of $232. Students have until Sept. 30, 2020 to opt-out of both plans and be reimbursed the fees.
When reached for an interview about the MSU’s involvement with the changes to student fees, VP (Finance) Jess Anderson declined a phone interview.
Correction:
Because of an error while collecting information, a previous version of this article misstated some of the fee changes for this year. The numbers have been updated accordingly throughout the article and the graphic.
In last week’s referendum, full-time undergraduate students voted to uphold the current agreement between Hamilton Street Railway and the McMaster Students Union, which gives students bus passes for 12 months with expanded service on the 51-University bus line.
Out of five options, 43 per cent of students that voted chose the 12 month expanded bus pass as their top choice on the ranked ballot.
Students also had the option to decide between a 12 month pass without expanded service, an eight month pass with or without expanded service and no bus pass at all.
Prior to 2014, the MSU provided a subsidized HSR bus pass that lasted from September to April. In a 2014 referendum, students voted overwhelmingly in support of a year-round bus pass with expanded 51-University service.
The MSU renews their contract with the HSR every three years. Students voted to uphold the agreement in 2017, and did the same this year.
To establish the agreement for the base fee of the bus pass, the MSU engaged in a negotiation process with the HSR alongside the university, Redeemer college and Mohawk college.
In September 2019, students paid $225.55 for their bus passes. Next year, under the renewed agreement, they will cost $223.92, climbing to $229.62 in 2022. In comparison, an unsubsidized monthly HSR bus pass costs $110 per month, or $1,320 for a full year.
According to a 2017 briefing from the McMaster Graduate Student Association, the city of Hamilton has a vested interest in offering a reduced bus fare. A subsidized bus pass encourages students to explore the city, which can in turn lead to greater population retention.
The HSR stands to benefit from this deal as well. Approximately 12 per cent of the revenue collected by the HSR comes from the McMaster U-pass.
McMaster is one of many post-secondary institutions across southwestern Ontario to provide some sort of subsidized bus pass for undergraduate students. Within Hamilton, Mohawk college and Redeemer college also offer subsidized bus passes for students. Students at Queen’s University, the University of Western Ontario and the University of Guelph also decide via referenda to provide compulsory passes for undergraduate students. The costs vary depending on the university, ranging from $90 to $240.
Now that the McMaster bus pass has been voted on via referendum, students cannot opt out of the fee. This is because, when HSR knows how many students will pay the fee, they can project service levels and secure revenue. In turn, they agree to provide a bus pass at a substantially reduced cost.
After the student choice initiative was announced in January 2019, there was some concern that the bus passes would be designated as non-essential, which would have prevented the MSU from making an agreement with the HSR for subsidized bus passes.
In February of last year, Merrilee Fullerton, then the minister of training, colleges and universities, announced that the bus passes would remain mandatory.
The agreement with the HSR will be renegotiated in 2023.
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Every three years, the McMaster Students Union, McMaster University and the Hamilton Street Railway negotiate a new bus pass agreement. The existing agreement, which was last voted on in 2017 and will conclude at the end of August, is coming to the end of its three year term. It now needs to be reevaluated through a referendum.
This year, McMaster’s HSR Referendum coincides with the 2020 MSU Presidential Elections, just as it did in 2014 and 2017. The 2020 HSR Referendum will determine the availability and cost of bus services offered to students for the next three years, until 2023.
Before 2014, McMaster students only had access to an eight-month bus pass, encompassing September to April of each academic year. The existing HSR agreement was first instituted in 2014 by then Vice President (Finance) Jeffrey Doucet. As a result, McMaster students are able to use their bus passes year-round. Students also pay for increased bus frequency between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and late night service coverage until 3 a.m. on Route 51-University, which runs through Westdale, the McMaster campus and student housing near Emerson Street and Whitney Avenue.
In the 2017 HSR referendum, McMaster students voted overwhelmingly in support of continuing their deal with the HSR regarding bus passes.
On Dec. 8, 2019, current vice president (Finance) Alexandrea Johnston circulated a memo provided to the Student Representative Assembly regarding the cost breakdown of the existing HSR agreement for the next three years.
“I strongly feel that these are fair and reasonable fees for the next three years. When comparing our fees with other Universities, this is [a] deal for students that I am confident putting forward,” wrote Johnston in the memo.
The 2020 HSR referendum will follow the ranked voting system used in the MSU Presidential Elections. McMaster students will have the opportunity to choose between the following options via a ranked ballot voting system:
Cost of 2020 HSR Referendum Options
According to the MSU Elections Department’s webpage, students had the opportunity to form a campaign team to advocate for another one of the options provided in this referendum but were required to complete registration by Jan. 17. A post regarding HSR Referendum nominations was made on the MSU Elections Facebook Page on Jan. 7. Unlike the MSU Presidential Candidate nominations and Student Representative Assembly By-Elections, the post was not shared and did not receive any likes.
Voting for the 2020 HSR Referendum closes on Jan. 30 at 5 p.m.
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.]
By: Rimsha Laeeq
As a commuter at McMaster University, getting home early isn’t always an option. For students who commute, studying late for a midterm in the library or attending an evening event is hardly an easy decision to make.
When deciding to stay late on campus as a commuter, transit is an issue to consider. It is crucial for students to be involved in the many activities that the university hosts. Students should not have to worry about their safety when commuting home from school.
This is why the Hamilton Street Railway should extend their bus schedules to the later hours of the evening.
The HSR has many buses that operate throughout the day, from the eastbound to the westbound, including the 5, 1, 51 and the 10, otherwise known as the B-Line Express.
Nevertheless, after 7:00 p.m., the B-Line stops running, meaning off-campus students have to either arrange their own rides or take one of the three other buses, which usually requires transferring onto another bus in downtown Hamilton.
As an off-campus student, the last B-line bus I can take to reach home under an hour departs from McMaster at 6:43 p.m. With most events ending after this, it becomes difficult for me to get home.
My 50-minute commute on one bus turns into an hour and 15-minute commute over two buses, and includes waiting in the heart of downtown to catch the second bus.
Students living off-campus are often forced to leave campus early and miss amazing events that McMaster offers because their bus won’t run after a specific time.
Being a university student does not mean to solely “work with academics”. I believe it is important for the HSR to extend their bus timings not only for the safety of their students but to allow students to become more involved with the different events taking place on campus.
With extended bus timings, students can engage in the abundant cultural events occurring at McMaster, with the opportunity to meet several other students at the university from a variety of programs and levels. This gives students the benefit of learning about the diverse cultures present at McMaster.
Off-campus students shouldn’t feel like they don’t belong, or don’t have a say in many of the events taking place due to inconvenient bus timings. These students, including myself, need to be a part of the university culture.
When it comes to academics, H.G. Thode Library of Science and Engineering is open until 2:00 a.m. during exam season for students to effectively study, whether that be alone or in groups.
For most students, once you sit down to study and are motivated to do so, you can study for hours on end. With a restricted time period due to bussing, this can often demotivate students, as getting in a ‘grind’ mode may be quite difficult for some.
Additionally, students study differently, which means that they need to be able to switch up their study environments. Some students prefer to study on campus while others prefer their home. Students shouldn’t have to compromise their academics because a bus doesn’t run at a later time.
For students who commute using the B-Line Express, this bus only runs on weekdays. With midterms, exams or other events occurring on the weekend, students are forced to take two or more buses or find alternate means of transport to get on campus.
Students should not be afraid of staying late at the school they attend. They should feel safe and have no difficulty commuting back and forth from campus on the daily.
When considering the safety of students, their involvement at McMaster and networking with people to make their university career a more fun-filled experience, HSR bus timings should most definitely be extended.
For students who are currently commuting and have to stay late, the McMaster Students Union offers a volunteer service, the Student Walk Home Attendant Team, who will walk or bus with students to their destination. This service is open seven days a week from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
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By: Rob Hardy
Eight years ago, as a rookie contributor to The Silhouette, I wrote one of my very first pieces on the sorry state of the Hamilton Street Railway. It still survives online under the title of “Public Transit Blues”. So what's changed since for McMaster University students and the city itself? Not much.
Some things are a bit better and some have gotten worse, but overall I would say the HSR is the same miserable experience it's always been.
There do seem to be more student buses during peak times on campus so it's not as packed as it used to be. We also have been able to negotiate year-round bus passes for Mac students, which previously only gave us an eight-month deal.
While I believe the HSR functions as best as it can within its limitations, the truth is that this is often not even remotely good enough.
In my case, coming in from Stoney Creek, the time spent commuting is brutal. If I take the B-Line, it still takes roughly 50 minutes. Trapped in a compartment full of stale air, at times too overheated, and shaking like hell as it travels our streets, the experience can be uncomfortable.
What's worse is that unlike previously, where the B-Line used to come right onto campus, it now stops on Main Street. Having to then walk all the way down to Togo Salmon Hall, in often unpleasant conditions, is ridiculous.
Moreover, the B-Line still ends around 7:00 p.m. This results in having to make two connections, which significantly adds to the trials of an already long day. While I can understand that express buses may terminate service at night, it would greatly help if a consecutive route ran from at least University Plaza to Eastgate, even with regular stops.
I use the B-Line as merely one example. Anyone living on the mountain, who also has to first get downtown before progressing into Westdale, suffers similarly.
Part of this dilemma is that Hamilton has unique geography to contend with. Our city layout is not a simple grid like you would find in Edmonton, for example, with nothing other than a river to divide us.
But much of the fault lies with the HSR itself. My biggest issue is with buses that arrive early, causing them to leave many people behind. Sometimes I have been able to trace this to drivers who began their route early, because there is no other way, logistically-speaking, they could have already arrived at that stop.
This is notable given that the HSR has been trying very hard to rebuild ridership — somewhat of a fool's errand considering their target market is people who take the bus out of necessity.
What's more striking is that even intra-city travel within Hamilton becomes “a commute” if one were to cross the length of the city twice a day. The current system as it stands is simply too broken and not meant for people in Stoney Creek to travel by bus all the way to Ancaster mountain.
During this decade, the light rail transit promised to offer innovation, as we moved from the planning stages to acquired funding to implementation. After all, Canadian cities of comparable size can now reasonably be expected to have an alternative public transit option on their most travelled route.
But as things stand, the latest news is that certain council members are now weary of paying additional costs should the project go over-budget, a reasonable possibility considering its timeline has been continually delayed due to endless council motions on the subject. But why should the province keep footing the entire bill anyway, especially for a city whose factions are still so divided on this issue?
While the HSR is a crucial part of Hamilton, their monopoly on public transit leaves bewildered riders powerless to really express their concerns. When we are caused to be late for school or work, an apology is pretty useless, and most people don't even bother to complain.
What some have done is stop riding. Yes, the HSR wants to regain their numbers. But many previous and potential transit users are waiting for more than a hollow marketing campaign to be convinced.
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Following recent snowstorms that deposited as much as 40 cm onto Hamilton streets, some Hamilton residents are using social media to bring attention to the issue of snow-covered residential sidewalks.
Currently, residents are expected to clear snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a “snow event.” If residents fail to comply, the city will issue a 24-hour “Notice to Comply,” followed by possible inspection and a contracting fee for the homeowner.
However, residents say both residential and city sidewalks are still not being cleared, either by residents or by the city.
The Disability Justice Network of Ontario has encouraged residents to participate in the “Snow and Tell” campaign by tweeting out pictures of snow or ice-covered roads and sidewalks using the hashtag #AODAfail, referring to the Accessibility for Ontarians for Disabilities Act.
https://twitter.com/VicBick/status/1087879002092646401
McMaster student and local community organizer Sophie Geffros supports the campaigns and says it a serious issue of accessibility and justice.
Geffros uses a wheelchair and knows how especially difficult it can be for those who use mobility devices to navigate through snow-covered streets.
“It's people who use mobility devices. It's people with strollers. And it's older folks. People end up on the street. If you go on any street after a major storm, you'll see people in wheelchairs and with buggies on the street with cars because the sidewalks just aren't clear,” Geffros said.
https://twitter.com/sgeffros/status/1087384392866123778
Snow-covered sidewalks also affect the ability for people, especially those who use mobility devices, to access public transit.
“Even when snow has been cleared, often times when it gets cleared, it gets piled on curb cuts and piled near bus stops and all these places that are that are vital to people with disabilities,” Geffros said.
https://twitter.com/craig_burley/status/1088798476081741824
Geffros sees the need for clearing sidewalks as non-negotiable.
“By treating our sidewalk network as not a network but hundreds of individual tiny chunks of sidewalk, it means that if there's a breakdown at any point in that network, I can't get around,” Geffros said. “If every single sidewalk on my street is shoveled but one isn't, I can't use that entire sidewalk. We need to think of it as a vital service in the same way that we think of road snow clearance as a vital service.”
Public awareness about the issue may push city council.
Some councillors have expressed support for a city-run snow clearing service, including Ward 1 councillor Maureen Wilson and Ward 3 councillor Nrinder Nann.
I just don’t find it all that complicated. Cities are for people. It is in our best interest, financial and otherwise, to plow sidewalks. It’s also a matter of justice. I await the city manager’s report and ensuing debate
— Maureen Wilson (She / Her) (@ward1wilson) January 29, 2019
A city council report issued in 2014 stated that a 34 dollar annual increase in tax for each homeowner would be enough to fund sidewalk snow-clearing.
Recently, Wilson requested the city council to issue a new report on the potential costs of funding snow-clearing service.
Geffros sees potential for the current discourse to open up to further discussions on other issues of accessibility and social justice.
Hamilton’s operating budget will likely be finalized around April. Until then, Geffros and other Hamilton residents will continue to speak out on the issue.
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Last week, the Silhouette News team wrote up platform critiques for each of this year’s McMaster Students Union presidential election candidates. The critiques collectively point out that while the candidates are trotting out some interesting ideas, many are patently unfeasible.
Madison Wesley advocates for a McMaster campus store textbook rental program, but the director of retail services at McMaster told our News contributor that the program would be impossible to implement.
Justin Lee hopes to unveil “Uber for Busses,” but does not establish how he will work with app developers, the Hamilton Street Railway, McMaster and Hamilton city council to bring this to fruition.
Jeffry Campana aspires to build a McMaster ice rink by 2020, but as our News Reporter highlighted, plans to do the same in previous years collapsed in the face of insurance and accessibility obstacles.
Josh Marando wants to increase the deferred maintenance budget by $12,000,000 a year. Nevertheless, as our Features Reporter articulates, Marando’s plan hinges on acquiring Ontario government grants. Under the Ford government and recent budget cuts, this plan is just not feasible.
This is not to say that this year’s candidates have a limited knowledge of the MSU and what students care about. With a renewed focus on issues like accessibility and food security, the candidates seem to be cognizant of at least some pervasive student concerns.
They just also failed to do their MSU due diligence and consultation homework.
Whoever wins tonight should keep in mind that the MSU president does not have jurisdiction beyond the maroon-coloured walls of the union’s office.
Our next MSU president should fight to uphold their promises, but also shrink their imagination down to what is possible during their term.
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By: Sam Marchetti
The Hamilton Mountain, as it is affectionately referred to as by many Hamiltonians, is more than just a section of the Niagara Escarpment. It is an entire community, filled with rich history, quiet streets and the ever-out-of-reach Lime Ridge mall.
The mountain community is composed of largely everything atop the escarpment from Ancaster Mill and Mohawk College over to the Red Hill Valley Parkway and the infamous Devil’s Punchbowl. In between the two, there are beautiful views of the mountain brow, great entertainment at The Zoetic Theatre and a massive residential area which is home to a large portion of the Hamilton community. If you’ve never been up the mountain, I highly recommend checking it out—if you can get there.
The mountain community has so much to offer and McMaster University’s students have so much they can contribute. For example, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s annual science fair usually occurs at one of the high schools on top of the mountain, as does the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair which takes place at Mohawk College.
Both of these events need judges, a task that undergraduate students are well-equipped for. However, it is rarely the case, especially in the former event, that students take these roles. Usually parents or teachers are forced to judge these events either due to a lack of promotion at McMaster, or more likely, because it is too difficult for students to make the trek up the mountain. The same logic applies for other community-involvement opportunities on the mountain that are ideal for students — it just isn’t worth the trouble for many of us to get there.
To access the mountain community, McMaster students need to take a minimum of two buses. Students first have to catch one of three buses, the 5, 51 or 1, that take around 20 minutes to arrive at the downtown transit terminal. From there, they have to take another bus that takes them up one of the numerous mountain accesses.
Totaling around ten minutes to reach the mountain, to arrive to your destination can take, at minimum, an additional five to twenty minutes, depending on the location and any other buses you need to take. This is also assuming a non-weekend trip as weekend bus schedules from McMaster are even further reduced.
Students will also find that they usually are left waiting longer on the mountain for a bus than they would at McMaster, but these buses have fewer stops and are often on time. The point is, once up the mountain, getting around and accessing everything the mountain has to offer is pretty easy.
The rate limiting step always has and, until change occurs, always will be getting there. There are a number of solutions to this problem. The Hamilton Street Railway could provide a route, similar to the B-Line express, that can run directly from McMaster to the mountain brow. The total time it would take for a route like this would be about fourteen minutes.
This is half the time it takes to get there now, and removes the complexity of switching buses. Not to mention, such a route would be extremely beneficial to student commuters from the mountain.
Looking more long-term, the new light rail transit system seems to be timed perfectly to solve this issue. It opens doors for more LRT routes to be built around Hamilton, which could include one that takes McMaster students up the mountain.
No matter which solution is taken on by the municipal government, it is fair to say that this problem should be seriously addressed. The mountain should not be inaccessible to McMaster students, who want the ability to freely explore their community and have the means to contribute back. Until action is taken, it appears the city doesn’t care if students experience Hamilton.
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On March 26, the Hamilton Street Railway unveiled a research collaboration project with McMaster University aimed at consulting users about their experiences with the HSR in an effort to re-envision transit in Hamilton. However, it will be up to city council to determine whether or not the project will result in the implementation of tangible changes to the service.
The interest in the project was sparked in May 2017, when Moataz Mohamed, an assistant professor in the department of civil engineering at McMaster, and Mark Ferguson, a senior research associate at the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics, approached the city with a proposal for a research collaboration initiative.
“We had a few exploratory meetings to discuss what they do, the current state of the 10-year local transit strategy, how the HSR is preparing for remainder of the 10-year strategy, and what [McMaster] and MITL could offer the HSR,” said Dennis Guy, the HSR manager of customer experience and innovation.
The collaboration between McMaster University and the HSR will entail a two-year effort to consult the public about its expectations of the transit service.
The collaboration between McMaster University and the HSR comes against the backdrop of growing criticism against the HSR, particularly in light of the thousands of hours in cancelled bus service that plagued users in the fall.
“It’s a two-fold project. The first [phase] is mainly for focusing on assessing users’ experience, perception, desires and expectations from the HSR,” said Mohamed. “We will be using this data to re-configure the service in a way that enables the HSR to provide enjoyable service to the public.”
According to Ferguson, the university will be using the principles that informed its electric mobility research project, which consisted of a five-year effort funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to assess the costs and benefits of electric mobility usage in Canada.
“We have done a lot of consumer-oriented work there which looks into how open people are to power trains,” said Ferguson. “Conceptually, there are similarities between that type of research question and the one we are considering here, where we are assessing people’s openness to the use of public transit in Hamilton.”
However, it should be noted that McMaster’s role in the collaboration project will be confined to research.
“As a post-secondary institution, we are limited to provide research-based evidence to the decision-makers. This is our scope,” said Mohamed.
After the research is conducted, recommendations will be made to city council.
“We’ll outline proposed changes to not only improve the network, but also to adapt to LRT construction and implementation, so that we can minimize the disruption to [and] for customers,” said Guy.
The collaboration between McMaster University and the HSR comes against the backdrop of growing criticism against the HSR, particularly in light of the thousands of hours in cancelled bus service that plagued users in the fall.
Frustration with the service culminated in an emergency meeting held at City Hall in Nov. 2016, which was organized by Environment Hamilton and provided a platform for users to voice their concerns about transit in Hamilton.
Many complaints stemmed from the underlying problem of a lack of HSR funding from city council. Although it remains uncertain whether or not the recommendations will lead to changes to the HSR system, Mohamed and Ferguson are optimistic that their research efforts will be fruitful.
“At the highest level of the city, plenty of people are interested advancing the quality of the HSR,” said Mohamed.
The research will begin in June with a survey asking users what they most want from their public transit service.
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