Another General Assembly has come and gone, with one of the lowest attendances in recent years. Only 16 voters were registered, meaning only 0.00065 per cent of the McMaster Students Union attended the event.
The annual General Assembly is meant to be a place where students who are not directly involved with student governance may have their voice heard. If the General Assembly hits quorum, which is three per cent of the MSU membership, all votes will be binding on the Student Representative Assembly, making it the highest form of governance in the student union. In the last 22 years, the General Assembly has only hit quorum three times.
This year marked a notable dip in attendance, with last year’s attendance hitting 50 at its peak, which remains a paltry number considering last year’s quorum was 660 MSU members.
Kathleen Quinn, incumbent SRA (Social Sciences) representative, cited lack of knowledge and interest in the union as the main reasons to why students were not coming out the General Assembly.
“I feel like we need to be doing a better job, we need to be getting in people’s faces and their classes and talking to them about why it’s important to be involved with their union, otherwise, this union will continue to be insignificant on this campus,” said Quinn.
Of the three motions put forward, two discussed changing the format of the General Assembly in hopes of engaging more students.
Quinn put forward a motion to introduce a general meeting in first semester in hopes of increasing interest in student governance earlier on. Quinn’s motion passed.
Maxwell Lightstone, an incumbent SRA (Engineering) representative echoed similar sentiments but proposed lowering quorum so motions passed by the General Assembly with an attendance lower than three per cent be binding, as well as holding a General Assembly every term and investigating the measures needed to allow motions passed at General Assembly with one percent be binding on the MSU as long as the SRA has ratified it. Lightstone’s tri-fold motion failed.
Quinn also put forward a motion asking the MSU to recognize education as a right and advocate for universal access. This motion passed.
The General Assembly continues to be an anomaly for the MSU with respect to student engagement, given that the MSU has some of the highest voter turnouts in elections and referenda. This past year’s presidential election saw a 44 per cent voter turnout and the Athletics and Recreation/Pulse expansion referendum saw a 30 per cent voter turnout.
In the past few years, the General Assembly has seen quorum a few times. In 2015, the General Assembly hit quorum due to the highly contentious motions, namely the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions campaign which called for the divestment from any corporations that profits from the occupation of Palestinian territory.
The General Assembly also hit quorum in 2012, but much of this is accredited not to the motions discussed but rather the extensive campaigning done by that year’s board of directors, which included its own webpage, well-designed posters and a popular Facebook page.
While the General Assembly remains the highest form of governance within the student union, it continues to lack any tangible results unless there is a controversial agenda or extensive marketing. Until at least one of those conditions are met, the General Assembly will continue to disappoint.
On Jan. 25, the McMaster Students Union added a new survey to their website as part of a recommendation by the Student Representative Assembly Standing Committee on Bylaws & Procedures. While there are a few different parts to this, including the minimum per cent of population needed to launch a referendum and to reach quorum for a referendum, the focus is on if there should be a minimum time limit before similar questions can be asked at referendum again.
There are a few problems with this survey. The first response to this question is, “One academic year, September through August (including the remainder of the year in which the question was asked)” with options for two or three academic years as well.
This could easily be interpreted as there being no clear option for only the remainder of the academic year. It is unknown at this point whether the remainder of the year is included as one academic year or if it is included seperately in the total time limit. Wording such as, “The rest of the academic year,” and “The rest of the academic year and one additional academic year,” would have helped clear up any ambiguity.
The survey also mentions the 2016 referendum that was conducted twice in the calendar year, but in different academic years. The questionnaire does not mention that this is the MSU Constitutional Referendum about electing vice-presidents at large. The assumption that everyone taking the survey either already knows this or that it is not important to the survey is odd considering that first-year students would be unlikely to know what referendum was conducted twice and upper-year students can easily miss out due to a turnout of 44.5 per cent in the 2016 MSU presidential election when it was first voted on.
Retires shortly after these close calls would be impossible if term limits are introduced, and would limit your ability to advocate on the affirmative side for topics you think would benefit McMaster students.
The only reason for including as little context as possible would be to bias voters towards time limits by emphasizing voter fatigue, de-emphasizing anything that may remind people how close the referendum was and reducing the incentive for responders to do external research. It gives off a fearful impression that attempts to guide people away from how bizarre it would have been to wait a significant amount of time for another round of voting after the first failed by so little in 2016.
This doesn’t even get into the fourth response to this question that reads, “I already said, no.” Not only is this redundant when “No time limit” would have made more sense to the question being asked, but the wording could be interpreted as a more aggressive tone than what is necessary. Second guessing yourself over not wanting to seem hostile is a real possibility, and introduces even more response bias to the survey in favour of time limits.
This survey sucks. It is understandable why there’s bias though. If I were part of the SRA, I wouldn’t want to talk about the vice-president referendum for a while too after dealing with it two times in 12 months, especially after taking neutral and negative stances for the first and second times respectively. A pro-time limit response could allow an extended break if implemented immediately and would guarantee the same status quo internally for years to come.
However, the willingness of the SRA to put a changed version of the Athletics and Recreation Space referendum back up for voting March 28 after failing on Jan. 26 by 10 votes in the second round of voting, one day after publication of the survey, represents a want to change policy based on good feedback without time limits. Retries shortly after these close calls would be impossible if term limits are introduced, and would limit your ability to advocate on the affirmative side for topics you think would benefit McMaster students. Don’t let survey bias dampen the voice of the people.
By: Saad Ejaz
In an effort to engage in more sustainable practices, the McMaster Students Union has stopped selling plastic water bottles this month, while pushing for boxed water cartons and re-usable water bottles.
Originally proposed as part of Justin Monaco-Barnes’ MSU presidential campaign, the union is further developing existing initiatives to make the MSU more sustainable.
“Roughly 41 per cent of universities in Ontario have switched to a model where it’s single use plastic water bottle free… and we thought we would do the same as it is a pretty significant step in the right direction,” said Monaco-Barnes.
The new program is different from programs at other schools that completely phase out single use water bottles. Monaco-Barnes referenced previous applications of phasing out all single use water bottles to the increase in soft drink sales.
“One thing we noticed from other schools and consultation was that when they got rid of plastic water bottles there was a spike in pop and other juices which is obviously counter intuitive to a healthy active lifestyle,” he said. “So we wanted to make sure that if we were taking out single-use plastic water bottles… we were putting in something that could still reach that demand but also be more sustainable.”
To compromise, the MSU-run Union Market introduced boxed water cartons in September alongside the store’s existing plastic water bottle selection. But as of earlier in Feb., Union Market has phased out single-use plastic water bottles.
While the boxed water containers are more expensive than the cheaper plastic bottles, they match the price of higher end brands.
"We are hoping that if we can have enough students commit to not buying plastic bottles, that will be a driver for the university to not stock them,"
Blake Oliver
McMaster Students Union
vice president (Education)
There is more to the increased sustainability of boxed water cartons than just their material. The cartons are square in shape, allowing more to be packed within a truck, creating a means to save on travel and gas. The boxed water cartons also require less input of water to be made. Currently it takes nearly three litres of water to make a single water bottle, whereas boxed water cartons only require one litre.
Blake Oliver, vice president (Education) of the MSU explained an upcoming campaign that will focus on how students can be more sustainable in their practices on campus.
“We are going to be encouraging students to not buy plastic bottles on campus. We are hoping that if we can have enough students commit to not buying plastic bottles, that will be a driver for the university to not stock them,” said Oliver.
Monaco-Barnes also mentioned further sustainability efforts, but that these would be issues tackled in the future.
“That is a down the road thing that I am going to stress to the incoming president… that it is something that would benefit students and the environment in an impactful way,” he said.
As of noon of Jan. 15, the MSU presidential race has officially begun, with the following candidates:
Athletic and Recreation Expansion and Student Activity Building referendum
A referendum asking students if they wish pay a fee going towards expansion the Pulse and new Athletics and Recreation Building.President Justin Monaco-Barnes has taken a leave of absence to represent the official YES campaign for this referendum. Shane Zuchowski will represent the official NO campaign for this referendum.
Hamilton Street Railway Pass
As a part of the MSU’s agreement with the HSR, the conditions of the pass must go to referendum every 3 years, and asks students if they agree with the new, re-negotiated pass fee.
Syllabus Repository
This referendum asks students if they wish to task the vice president (Education) to create an open access repository of course outlines/syllabi.
Voting will open on Jan.24, and both voting and campaigning will end Jan. 26 at 5PM.
Ryan MacDonald’s role as vice president (Finance) comprises the standard duties of overseeing the MSU’s budget, providing financial insight and some advocacy work.
Clarity and transparency have been points of focus over the course of his term thus far; MacDonald has made efforts to break down dense financial jargon into understandable monthly statements that may be accessed through the MSU website.
In addition, he hosted an MSU Open House event on Nov. 28, which gives the chance for students to talk to Board of Directors and SRA in a Q&A manner as they break down student fees and possible changes for the 2017/2018 budget cycle.
“We want to create a way where people can provide input, but in a way that is easy to use and students aren’t afraid to be able to speak up and say what they want to.”
MacDonald has without a doubt taken full advantage of his freedom in day-to-day activities to develop numerous projects with the student financial interest in mind. From revamping the TwelvEighty Business Plan, to evaluating Clubs funding, HSR Presto negotiation, Emergency Bursary and many more, Ryan has gone above and beyond with project planning and execution.
One of his largest projects this year was Homecoming. The concert package set a record with the third largest revenue driven by any campus concert in the province. Due to the Homecoming event, Campus Events had its best performance financially in at least the last five years.
While the vice president (Finance) is typically involved in advocacy, MacDonald has shown remarkable interest by serving as a delegate for the recent Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance general assembly. On top of this, he was published on the OUSA Ancillary Fees Policy Paper, which discussed topics such as standalone ancillary fee protocol, transparency, student control and fair cost sharing.
MacDonald’s record is blemished with the recent incidences involving the Exclusive Club Card. As per his memo on the ECC referendum, MacDonald claimed there was no opt-out period for the card. In fact, there was an opt-out period. MacDonald retracted that statement.
As the union’s Chief Administrative Officer, Shaarujaa Nadarajah’s role is mainly focused on maintaining and supporting the day-to-day operations of each MSU service.
Currently, Nadarajah only holds check-ins with part-time managers once a term and during the each service’s peak usage, meaning each PTM meets with Nadarajah a few times throughout the year for half-hour meetings discussing the strengths and weaknesses of their service. PTMs may ask for more proactive check-ins, and Nadarajah has highlighted that some PTMs have asked for this.
Nadarajah also holds monthly meetings with all SRA caucus leaders in order to help them fulfill their platform, meaning that SRA members are also being supported in that respect.
While it makes sense to move attention to peak usage months, having one official meeting per term means that PTMs are only meeting with their direct superior a handful of times throughout their terms and places much of the onus of support on PTMs themselves. Thus, Nadarajah has offered adequate, but not exceptional support to PTMs and SRA members.
With that said, Nadarajah has done a commendable job fulfilling her platform, by restructuring SRA training, clustering services’ trainings and debriefs and running workshops to aid people outside of the “MSU bubble” apply for positions with the MSU.
In addition, Nadarajah plans on implementing a blended learning format to SRA training mimicking the format of Welcome Week training, where SRA members may learn the more bureaucratic aspects of their role through online modules, and focus on professional development during the weekend retreat held in June.
Nadarajah has also made strides in making various MSU services more accessible for the general public, by implementing workshops and information nights for individuals to come and reach out to PTMs, something that often hinders people from volunteering with various MSU services.
Nadarajah has taken on other projects, such as sitting on the space audit committee, which took a look at the way MSU space is allocated, which occurred during the summer. The final audit found that the Maroons did not need an office, and re-allocated that space to Maccess, as well as shifting the distribution of storage space for services in the MSU committee room.
Nadarajah has also been involved with various campaigns in order to support various SRA members.
It is clear that while Nadarajah may not offer exceptional support to her staff, she has made efforts in other administrative areas to better the union and has been proactive in the McMaster community.
Blake Oliver’s first semester was successful, having either completed or begun every point of her platform promises.
Highlights of the semester include the first Policy Con, held on Nov. 12, which Oliver began as a means of creating more discussion around the more than 20 policies passed by the Student Representative Assembly. Oliver found that due to the length and complexity of the policies, most would pass without debate or amendments. It was attended by 60 people, including about two-thirds of the SRA.
“I wanted to have a more robust process to have better policies with more research, more student consultation and involvement, and more debate,” said Oliver.
While feedback indicated there was not enough time between the Sunday morning email and the SRA meeting for members to read the attached, amended documents following the Policy Con weekend, Oliver sent out the draft papers to all delegates and SRA members the Wednesday before the conference, the same day that they would have received them as per the old structure.
“If it continues to be successful, we will likely make an amendment to Bylaw 3 to ensure that SRA members are attending as a part of their responsibilities,” said Oliver.
Following original setbacks with CASA and ADVOCAN, two lobbying groups whose focuses did not align with McMaster’s, Oliver and Monaco-Barnes partnered up with the Wilfred Laurier University Students’ Union to lobby together in Ottawa on Indigenous Students, Students with Disabilities, and International Students.
“Overall, I felt like this was much more productive as we were able to meet with over 30 MPs to talk about priorities that I had specifically ran on,” she said.
Oliver’s promise to lobby for Indigenous course requirements have also been set in motion, with the creation of the Joint Indigenous-Admin Consultation Group that will begin meeting this December.
Oliver also successfully lobbied to remove mandatory yearly intake appointments for students with permanent disabilities, removed the need for students to have to hand deliver accommodations to professors, and removed the $20 doctor’s note fee, all of which can create barriers and issues with disclosure.
Furthermore, Oliver wants accommodation documentation to be focused more around functional limitations of the student rather than DSM diagnoses. In the future, she wants to ensure that students waiting for proof of documentation will be accommodated for while they are waiting, pushing others to take students at good faith.
Justin M
onaco-Barnes has had an exciting first semester as acting president and Chief Executive Officer of the McMaster Students’ Union. Acting as an advocate for McMaster’s student body, Monaco-Barnes’ presidential platform revolves around sustainability, service enhancement and the expansion of student space on campus. To date, he and the board of directors have been successful in breaking ground for short-term goals and paving the way towards long-term goals.
A major point throughout Monaco-Barnes’ campaign was environmental sustainability. Although his original plans of expanding the teaching and community garden and installing solar panels haven’t come to fruition yet, there have been several other successes towards a greener campus so far.
Through lobbying towards the federal government with sustainability in mind, McMaster was able to secure nearly $43 million in both federal and provincial funding in order to repair and improve the Arthur Bourns Science Building and create systems to enhance ongoing energy conservation efforts on campus.
On a smaller scale, Monaco-Barnes has been working with Union Market to reduce single-use plastic water bottle waste by eliminating the product entirely from the store and replacing it with boxed water packages, which are more sustainable in packaging and transportation.
One of Monaco-Barnes’ biggest successes this year was the proposal of a much-needed Pulse expansion. In early November, Monaco Barnes and vice president (Finance), Ryan MacDonald, presented a $60 million proposal that sees a 60,000 square foot athletics and recreation expansion. One part of the plan includes an entirely separate building dedicated to entirely unprogrammed student space, tying in with his platform point concerning student space on campus. The plan is currently in referendum and students will be able to vote upon the outcome in January during the 2017 presidential election.
“It’s been a success in my eyes already because we literally turned nothing into something,” said Monaco-Barnes, regarding the Pulse expansion proposal.
“We were able to turn this idea of a Pulse expansion, and make it into something pretty fantastic that addresses a lot of issues on campus.”
Other successes throughout Monaco-Barnes time in office so far include doubling the amount of "MSU Dollars" available for student clubs*, improving training for mental health services on campus, and improving hiring strategies that allow the hiring practices within MSU services to be more inclusive.
While Monaco-Barnes claims to have helped implement the university’s new sexual assault policy, his work on the initiative has coincided with action the university was already taking.
Overall, Monaco-Barnes has been working diligently to advocate for and improve student life at McMaster. In achieving short-term goals within his presidency, he is able to build and develop long-term strategies to ensure McMaster is the best it can be.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article and our print product says that MSU Clubs' budget was doubled. In fact, it was the amount of MSU Dollars for each club to spend was doubled. The Silhouette regrets the error. If there are other errors, please email thesil@thesil.ca with the correction.
With a conference and Student Representative Assembly meeting, MSU constituents have had their hands full this weekend looking at new policies to implement this year.
On Nov. 12, the SRA held its policy conference, where students were encouraged to make their voices heard on the subjects the SRA discussed the following day. This term, the topics of the policy conference were international students, ancillary fees, and sexual and gender diversity.
The international students paper recommended that more resources be offered to international students, most notably during their Welcome Week, access to better job opportunities and networking, supplementing the healthcare coverage and more support be offered with respect to tuition and visa issues.
The ancillary fees paper recommended increasing transparency in the ancillary fee breakdowns, improving the opt-out systems in place, and allowing students the opportunity to advocate where their money should be allocated.
The sexual and gender diversity paper recommended increasing the number of gender-neutral washrooms on campus by doing space audits in various buildings and changing signage, officially outlining pro LGBTQ+ policies and hiring full-time staff to support LGBTQ+ students.
The final papers were presented to the SRA on Nov. 13. All three papers were passed with little discussion, and serve as the SRA’s official recommendations to inform the University Affairs committee and the External Affairs committee while they advocate on students’ behalf.
FEMALE FALLOUT
In 2014, the Silhouette gathered the facts for female representation in student politics. The statistics were grim. McMaster ranked eighth out of nine major research universities in Ontario for equal gender representation on student government, a gap which was most apparent in the highest-ranking positions for president and vice-president. This trend is particularly concerning given that more women than men are enrolled in undergraduate studies at McMaster. The issue lead to the creation of groups such as MSU Wants You, a working group aimed at tackling the issue of equal representation. Two years later, it is unclear whether anything has changed.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Research on female representation in politics has taken the form of what Karen Bird, professor of political science at McMaster, calls an issue of supply and demand. Voters are not biased against women. Rather, it is an issue of supply, where women are not putting their names forward as candidates. When the electoral system involved parties, the responsibility falls on the shoulder of the parties to tap women on the shoulder and recruit them to run.
Blake Oliver, vice-president (Education) of the MSU, recalled her hesitation to run when she first got involved in the McMaster Students Union as a member of the Student Representative Assembly for Health Sciences.
“I remember looking through the past Health Sci representatives, [and despite the fact that our] faculty is two thirds female, I couldn’t find a single example of a time where both representatives had been women. It has almost exclusively been both men or half.”
“I had those women who were in their own leadership positions who were reaching out and saying to me ‘you would be good for this position.’ I think that has really contributed to me coming into this position now,” said Oliver.
MSU WANTS YOU
MSU Wants You was born out of the desire to have equal opportunity for minorities within the MSU. The group was a working group last year but as of the start of this year has developed into a full committee. The sense is that the group diverted a bit away from their original plan and has been stagnant for a little while, according to Oliver, but changes are in the process of being made.
Feedback has contributed to some of these changes. People asked for an event that was more accessible, leading to the creation of Elections 101, an info session leading up to elections. A formal session appeals to people who may not be comfortable to go to TwelvEighty and speak to SRA members.
While Oliver and Bird both implied that shoulder tapping has anecdotally helped encourage women run for positions they would have otherwise shied away from, it is seen as a double-edged sword by the MSU Wants You.
“From what I have heard from the past, the shoulder tapping is something we have discouraged, actually, because the people who have closer relationships and know people in these jobs will shoulder tap people they know and it becomes a perpetuation of the canonical MSU bubble,” said Helen Zeng, chair of MSU Wants You. Posts on Facebook advertising MSU positions are often littered with comments from MSU members tagging others in the comments, urging them to apply.
“That is something that I remember the group last year was specifically against because we don’t want to make it seem like these are the only people that would be good for the job,” said Zeng.
This leaves us with a conundrum that is all the more emphasized by a non-partisan system. Bird acknowledges that at the level of student government, you don’t have parties and it is up to you whether you are going to go forward as a candidate.
The trend is even more surprising for local politics and student government. At the highest levels of power, where travel expectations might deter women who do not want to leave their community, the reluctance to run is less surprising.
“It is so puzzling that it is the case for local politics and for young women. Women are the majority in most disciplines now, at least across the university. Women tend to do better in their GPA. They have all the skills and all the ability but there is still something that is keeping women from stepping forward,” said Bird.
CLEAR CUT NOT CUT THROAT
Bird hypothesizes that the nature of the political system might be a culprit for this reluctance.
“Maybe women don’t like the fighting and the power politics or the power plays and just don’t find that kind of working environment healthy or personally rewarding, so there might be ways of shifting the environment or culture of politics to make it more inviting for women.”
Listing student government positions are valuable experiences that can help students get employed after leaving university, so it is not likely that women do not find value in the experience. Instead, Bird thinks that women may be seeing negatives that men are less likely to consider. “[This] perhaps has to do with the culture of politics, [such as] the need to take no compromise positions,” said Bird.
Here Bird sees the opportunity for intervention in the form of increased transparency about what it takes to hold a position in student government.
“If we tell candidates that compromise is actually essential and it is not about the need to take hard and fast positions... I think women would see that. Are elements of culture itself toxic, or is [there a] perception of toxicity? If we knew a bit more about the position we would see it [as less] hostile.”
Misperceptions around what it takes to do the job may also discourage women from applying if they feel they are not fit. Being clear in disseminating information about the skills that student government positions require to the student body may increase female turnout, because women will likely realize they have those skills.
ELECTING FOR NON-ELECTIONS
When looking at the distribution of women in appointed part-time manager positions in comparison to elected positions on the SRA and as MSU President, women are more likely to be in the appointed positions; women outnumber men in Part Time Manager positions but on average, not in SRA positions and certainly not for MSU president positions. In the conversation leading up to the referendum on whether MSU VP positions should become elected at large, the no side expressed concern over the fact that we may see less women running for these positions once they become at-large elections.
Bird has seen a similair phenomenon around the world, where women running in elections tend to dislike feeling responsible for mobilizing the vote singlehandedly, preferring instead to run as a part of a group. “It causes this pause. We tend to think election that is democracy, but we know across countries with different kinds of electoral systems that women are significantly far more likely to have higher seat share when they are proportional representation systems than single member districts,” she said. “Women are happy to be candidates when they are part of a list and when it is a collective effort to go out and mobilize the vote. That, along with data that women are more likely to be in appointed positions, suggests that you will see fewer women if you have exclusively elected positions.”
The University of Western Ontario had a near equal split between female and male representation in student politics when the Silhouette covered the topic two years ago. At Western, presidential and vice-presidential candidates run as a part of a team. Perhaps a similar system would increase female representation in the highest-ranking positions at McMaster.
“Critics will say that women have to learn to singlehandedly mobilize the vote, that is a skill you need to be in this position. [However] that is the skill you need to run for election but may have very little to do with the skills you need to work in that office,” Bird challenges critics to reconsider. “Some of them certainly, like the ability to communicate well, but the ability to work as a team might be better reflected and better assessed through a non-elected position.”
Oliver is a strong supporter of keeping VP elections within the SRA. “I think it could create more barriers for women to run. It is relatively equal for women who have held up positions but there have only been four women MSU presidents ever. I think part of that has to do with running at large. I certainly wouldn’t have run in an at-large election after running in the Health Sciences election, it was not something I wanted to do again.”
ON THE OUTSIDE
One of the goals of MSU Wants You is to have workshops about the barriers that minority groups may face when aspiring to join the MSU. One more surprising barrier is the disparity between the kinds of questions and concerns that are raised against females running in elections processes that you just don’t see with males.
Shaarujaa Nadarajah, vice-president (Administration) of the MSU, comments on this disparity.
“Even within the SRA, certain questions that were asked to women running [for VP positions] were ‘you tend to have a mannerism that is loud and outspoken, is that something that you think is fitting for a vice presidential role?’ If you compare that to a male counterpart, none of the males that ran for a VP position were asked any questions that was related to their personality or that was catered to a certain mannerism.”
These comments are present beyond the election process. Once women are elected and take up their positions, they still face barriers due to their gender.
Oliver is always surprised by comments that have nothing to do with her demeanour rather than her competency at the job. “I have definitely gotten ‘you need to smile more at work’, and that is the stuff that takes me by surprise that I don’t see happening with other men at work.”
MENTORSHIP
In a sense, the lack of women in high-ranking positions within the MSU creates a downstream effect that propagates the gender imbalance. Having female role models in these positions allows women to know that they have equal opportunity for occupying those roles themselves. While females tend to do well when they actually run, the lack of visible representation sends the message that the kind of person that gets those positions is not usually female.
This problem is likely accentuated by the fact that the majority of people come to any single university for only four to five years. This means that if there are no female MSU presidents or vice presidents within those years, women are go through university with the impression that women just don’t occupy those positions, and are consequently less likely to run themselves.
SATISFACTION NOT (YET) GUARANTEED
These barriers further highlight the importance of groups such as MSU Wants You. Zeng says that the majority of the events this year have been focused on popping the bubble.
“We try to create sessions where people can come, ask questions, because the process can be intimidating. Having us and SRA members be accessible is very important... [while also] creating more formalized session for learning about the elections process for people who may feel more intimidated by the MSU circles,” said Zeng.
The group has also taken a look at data collection in the past. “They did focus groups to collect information on how they got involved, what barriers did you see. They also went to PTMs and took descriptions and outlines of jobs from PTMs and turned it into a document so that it is more accessible.”
While they have yet to meet since becoming a committee, Zeng says the group is able to take on whatever form the committee wants.
Oliver thinks that the group is instrumental in helping address some of the barriers that women face in running for governance. She would love to see some critical discourse surrounding the elections process and certain aspects that may create barriers for women. “For example, we don’t see any more people putting up posters on the side of the building that are several feet large. That was something that elections decided it is not something we have to do any more. I would love to talk about why do we have to have a photograph of the person on the poster, why can’t we have a poster that has branding on it, instead of selling someone’s face to the entire student body.”
It is difficult to tell if there has been improvement over the last two years. “In terms of presidential candidates, we haven’t seen much improvement. Last year only one woman ran, the year before none. However, we have seen a more gender-balanced SRA, the year I was elected it was 50/50... It is hard to say without years of tracking it, for example it is back to being more male dominated. It is definitely hard to say. I will say that two of the four women presidents have been in the last six years, so I think that is a positive sign that at least some of these barriers have been broken down,” said Oliver.
Oliver hopes to see some more changes coming from groups like MSU Wants You. “I would like to see groups like MSU Wants You to take on not only a role in education but also in policy, looking at what are the rules and how do they create barriers for women to run.”
Ultimately, and perhaps unfortunately, a large part of the responsibility falls down on groups rallying for equal representation to take a look at some of the systemic problems that lead to barriers for women, and to address them. For women who are already in leadership positions, speaking about their experience may mobilize other women consider running. While a weight of responsibility does fall on groups such as these, it is important for individuals to think critically about changes they want to see on the McMaster campus. While the last two years have seen hints of improvement, it is not time to sit back and be satisfied. We are far from that moment.
