Courts funded by the Student Life Enhancement Fund will be available for student use in the fall
On Aug. 7, the McMaster Students Union announced McMaster University agreed to refurbish two outdoor volleyball courts for the upcoming year. Previously part of a project under the Student Life Enhancement Fund, the courts at the Oval, located near the David Braley Athletic Centre and the Ivor Wynne Centre, will be open to students later in the fall.
In partnership with McMaster Student Affairs, the MSU has historically used the SLEF fund to support the development of student proposals for projects that enhance student life and community. Reviewed by the Student Services Committee, these proposals must meet specific criteria for approval, including being student driven, innovative and considerate of environmental impact.
Recent examples of projects backed by the SLEF include the Mac Community Kitchen, napping pods in the McMaster University Student Centre and the MacAccess Resource Library.
The courts’ revival was proposed by MSU president, Jovan Popovic, in Student Representative Assembly reports on Jun. 18 and Jun. 20. In the Jun. 20 report Popovic referenced a sign posting for the outdoor volleyball courts in Parking Lot H. The space had been originally outlined as a temporary parking lot for the construction of the Peter George Living and Learning Centre.
The courts’ revival was proposed by MSU president, Jovan Popovic, in Student Representative Assembly reports on Jun. 18 and Jun. 20.
Despite the building’s completion in 2019, the parking lot has since remained with the construction gear still present on the site. In a remote SRA meeting on Jun. 25, Popovic stated that approximately $20,000 of money collected from undergraduate student service fees was being wasted with the uncleared gear.
About a month and a half later, the MSU followed up with an Instagram video announcing that the university had agreed to revive the courts in time for the upcoming fall semester at no additional charges to students. A key focus of the project’s restoration was centred around the development of opportunities to promote recreation and student life across campus.
“Ultimately [the courts are] a big contributor towards student life because it’s providing students with the ability to come back [to campus] for reasons aside from academics,” said Popovic.
“Ultimately [the courts are] a big contributor towards student life because it’s providing students with the ability to come back [to campus] for reasons aside from academics,” said Popovic.
Jovan Popovic, president, McMaster Students Union
In his report on Jun. 18, Popovic explained that his two goals with the volleyball court revival were the recovery of the wasted student life money and the construction of new replacement facilities for those that were taken away from students.
“What this project was about was recovering what was lost. Hopefully this acts as a gateway for greater things, but ultimately this was the easiest and fastest way to get something done and to get it done in a timely manner,” said Popovic.
“What this project was about was recovering what was lost. Hopefully this acts as a gateway for greater things, but ultimately this was the easiest and fastest way to get something done and to get it done in a timely manner,”
Jovan Popovic, president, McMaster Students Union
Popovic also indicated that he would be advocating for a new tennis and basketball court to be built on the Oval. Other potential additions to this space could include green garden spaces and communal areas for both off-campus and residential students.
The Silhouette: Please introduce yourself.
Subin Park: My name is Subin Park. I use she/her pronouns. I am the Arts and Culture Editor.
Jovan Popovic: My name is Jovan and I’m the Sports Editor.
Ana Mamula: My name is Ana Mamula. My pronouns are she/her and I am the Opinions Editor.
Chris Osadchuk: My name is Christina. I go by Chris. I am the Multimedia Editor.
The Silhouette: What made you want to join the Silhouette?
AM: My entire life I wanted to write, but that field doesn’t really make the most money and is looked down upon. So, growing up I always wanted to do it, but I didn’t really think it was something I could just go into. But I still loved writing and I really just wanted to go into it. Now, I still love writing and that’s why it never feels like a chore.
CO: I was the Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper, The Bear Truth. I really enjoy student journalism. I think that it’s such a nice alleyway to pursue individual expression and to explore campus-specific issues while still being able to explore community issues in Hamilton. It’s just a great opportunity for students to be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves.
JP: I love journalism. At that point, I had been writing for eight years on some of my own websites. I always loved [The Blue Jays]. When I was just a kid watching them, I saw a commercial saying build your own website for free. I did and I’ve been writing about them ever since. That turned into writing for the Sil. Unfortunately, I stopped writing for my own website about two years ago. But, you know, I’d call this a pretty good upgrade now that people actually read my articles.
SP: I started participating in student journalism in high school. I wrote for my school’s newspaper, Graffiti. I made a lot of close friends and we had a lot of cool opportunities like going to the Toronto Star Awards for high school journalism as well. I wanted to continue that with the Sil.
The Silhouette: What's one really notable memory?
CO: Andrew is a part of a club called Absolute Pitch. He’s the band director and my best friend, Eileen, is the president. Absolute Pitch has their rehearsals after our Sil general meetings. One night, Andrew, Nisha, Eileen and I were sitting in the Sil office just going over random Pitch things and random Sil things and just chatting.
It became a jam session; there were mood lights and Andrew started playing an instrumental version of the Hamilton soundtrack. Eileen and I just started coming up with random verses and choreo and Nisha looked really worried and really disappointed. I think that made the video we took.
SP: There was a community initiative aimed at parents with cancer. At the time, I was also dealing with a family member who was diagnosed with cancer going through chemotherapy. So having that conversation while I was also coping with grief was really helpful. This year, I also covered Concrete Tales. It was about people who were experiencing homelessness and also substance abuse. They were coming to this eatery called 541 Eatery and Exchange. It showed me a side of Hamilton I didn’t really know about before.
The Silhouette: Since this is your final year at the Silhouette, is there a final message you want to give?
AM: I’m so grateful for my time here and everything that I experienced. If anyone
is reading this and debating on writing or joining our team, they really should. I’m very fricking shy and I still did it and I’m still having the time of my life. It’s such a good opportunity and it’s opened so many doors for me. I’ve grown so much as a writer.
JP: It’s really had a massive effect on my life. It’s provided a sense of community, it’s provided a place for growth, a place for new experiences and improving myself. This isn’t only in terms of journalistic skills but also learning how to communicate and work with a team, getting to know new people from interviews, establishing connections and networking, all kinds of things like that. There are so many elements to the job that ended up being significant life skills. Through and through a lot of the people I ended up meeting — whether it be friends who are co-workers or athletes who I ended up being friends with — I met them through the Sil.
After an eleven-day campaign period, Jovan Popovic was elected president of the MSU for the 2023-2024 academic year
On Jan. 26, Jovan Popovic was elected president of the McMaster Students Union for the 2023-2024 academic year.
On Jan. 26, Jovan Popovic was elected president of the McMaster Students Union for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Amarah Hasham-Steele, NEws Editor
Popovic's campaign prioritized student engagement with the MSU, student athletics and the commuter experience. Some of Popovic's campaign points included securing more funds for MSU clubs, revitalizing the Welcome Week experience and increasing student engagement through sporting events.
Approximately 10.5 per cent of McMaster students voted in the election, or 2,902 students out of a total 27, 690.
The minimum number of votes required to elect a president was 1231. Popovic was elected with a total of 1,326 votes.
This is a developing story.
Jovan Popovic has shown that he’s serious about his business in an industry that has found itself growing quickly amid the pandemic.
More often than not, university students solely focus on their studies for the four years that they spend in their undergraduate programs. For many, the only vision that they have in mind is schoolwork and graduation and they avoid pursuing their dream career on the side for this reason. However, this isn’t always the case. There are students around who have their own business success stories and have translated their entrepreneurship into serious and impressive endeavours.
A third-year business student, Jovan Popovic, has developed his passion for sports memorabilia into a serious business. Also known as the Sports Editor of the Silhouette, Popovic has been running his paid private signings business, Pop Sports Memorabilia, for 3 years. His business first began as a card flipping venture, but later changed focus, implementing a strategy to target a niche with sports fans by offering private autograph signings.
The business is based on Popovic finding various popular players and arranging private autograph signings with them. The business student would then collect items from all interested clients, and meet with the player on a predetermined date to get them signed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Popovic found this unique opportunity to develop his business, and by taking advantage, his business gained much momentum.
In an interview, Popovic explained how autographs became a rarity during the pandemic as face to face meetings were limited and players avoided in-person physical contact, whether it be by choice or as a result of league protocol.
“Ever since the pandemic began, the business sort of took off. People couldn't see each other as much face to face, so autographs really became a delicacy. That’s where my business came in.”
Jovan Popovic, Pop Sports Memorabilia Founder
Since autographs became much less common, private signings took over. As business continued to grow, Popovic continued looking for more players to sign, having included as many as 12 players in a single wave of signings before.
When explaining his business model, Popovic described himself as the one who “connects” the two parties — players and fans.
“The way the business works, I would conduct research and find players that I believe are in high demand. I would reach out to them using my connections, or by contacting their agents. As soon as I get in touch with them, I’d negotiate a deal, and once it's set I would bring it to my customer base and start collecting items for the player,” explained Popovic.
Although Popovic is currently in contact with dozens of different baseball players, getting in contact with all of them was not easy. He explained that when he first broke into the business, he messaged 150 different players over Instagram, only to receive a reply from one.
“It didn't start off well. Generally [for] every 150 players I’d message, I would get one reply. Once I finished off with the first couple players, I offered them referral fees to get me in contact with others. That was what helped my business propel forward,”
Jovan Popovic
Through his connections and his negotiations with sports agencies such as Apex Baseball and True Gravity, Popovic has managed to gather an impressive pool of talent from the baseball world. Among the players with whom he has done business are Daniel Nava (World Series champion, 2013), Reese McGuire (Blue Jays catcher), Kris Bubic (Royals starting pitcher) and Ross Stripling (Blue Jays starting pitcher and former All-Star).
Although players may be slowly returning to normal signing more often now than through a majority of the pandemic, Popovic has found himself able to maintain a high business volume. After having grown the business from scratch, Pop Sports Memorabilia has made a name for itself in the industry over the course of the year. To learn more about the business, or to get in touch with Popovic, you can message him through the business Instagram or visit his website.
