Please note: This is a developing story and this article will be updated as more information arises.

McMaster is requiring students to move out of residence by this Saturday at 4 p.m., as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads and calls for social distancing increase across the province.

In a release sent out the morning of March 17, McMaster announced immediate changes to support social distancing within residences. Until the move-out deadline, guests will not be permitted in residences, and common rooms and game rooms will be closed.

In order to appropriately check-out, students must complete a mandatory online residence status update form through the McMaster Housing Portal. The form asks students to select a move-out time between Tuesday, March 17 and Saturday March 21 at 4 p.m.  

Before this release, the university suspended all in-person classes and exams on Friday, March 13. Many classes are being moved online, and professors are required to contact students by Wednesday to let them know how their courses will proceed for the remainder of the term. 

McMaster’s 12 on-campus residences house almost 3,600 students. It remains to be seen how the university will support students in their transition from residence.

A room in residence costs between $5,800 and $9,000 for a year. The residence contract requires students to move out of residence the day after their last exam, which can be anywhere from April 13 to April 29. 

In the March 17 release, McMaster committed to providing “financial consideration for your shortened stay in residence” to students who check out of residence on or before the designated move-out deadline. It is not yet clear what financial consideration entails. According to the frequently asked questions column on the Residence COVID-19 Updates page, the University does not currently have any information regarding refunds for meal, residence, and parking fees. Food plan budgets will, however, carry over into next year. Information is expected to be updated soon. 

The university may make exceptions for students who are unable to return home due to travel restrictions, however, students need to submit an application through the McMaster Housing Portal in order to be eligible to remain in residence. According to the release, the only students eligible to remain in residence are international students and out-of-province students who need extra time to move out.

The statement did not make note of students who face additional barriers, which may prevent them from being able to complete the remainder of their academic terms, should they be forced to move out from residence. 

Hi Calvin -- students in those circumstances would need to speak with Housing about their specific situation.

— McMaster University (@McMasterU) March 17, 2020

Students may be unable to return to their family homes due to unsafe living situations or unsupportive families. Additionally, students may not have access to wifi and other resources necessary to complete their course work. As the provincial government requires all public libraries in Ontario close under a declaration of emergency, it remains to be seen how the university will support students without access to the resources necessary to engage in online courses.

Update: March 20, 2020: While international students and out-of-province students are pre-approved to stay in residence, students with extenuating circumstances, such as those in unsafe living situations, can apply to extend their stay.

"Students who have extenuating circumstances may request special consideration from the Residence Admissions office to extend their stay.  These are approved on a case-by-case basis," wrote Holly Gibson, manager of marketing and communications for housing and conference services, in an emailed statement.

Gibson also confirmed that all food services except for Centro are now closed.

It is yet to be determined whether students who stay in residence will remain in their current rooms.

"Once we determine the number of students who will need to stay on campus, we will make plans with a focus on student safety, social distancing and in alignment with Public Health recommendations," stated Gibson.

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Graphic by Elisabetta Paiano / Production Editor

On Dec. 5, 2019, a video titled “Cockroaches at Centro (McMaster University)” was uploaded to YouTube. The video compiles several sightings of cockroaches at Centro cafeteria. 

“McMaster University must decide when to address these issues and stop pretending that they don’t exist, like they have been for the last couple years. Just because health inspections are passed does not mean the facility is clean,” reads the description of the video. 

On Dec. 9, 2019 another video, titled “More cockroaches at centro” was uploaded to Youtube. It shows a cockroach sitting on the metal lid of a grill while food was being prepared. 

“Some people were questioning whether the pictures were not from Centro . . . As you can clearly see there is a cockroach at Centre Stage, one of the most popular locations within Centro itself. It doesn’t take that much imagination to foresee a scenario where a cockroach could fall into your food,” reads the description of the video. 

More recently, additional sightings of cockroaches at La Piazza cafeteria were posted to Mac Confessions, one of McMaster’s student confessions Facebook pages.

On Feb. 4, 2020 Mac Confessions published a video titled “The cockroaches from La Piazza would like to say hello” that shows a cockroach sitting on a napkin near baked items at La Piazza.

https://www.facebook.com/spottedat.mac/videos/1726495940814335/

Director of McMaster Hospitality Services Chris Roberts cautions students against students accepting online posts as fact. 

“We cannot control the posting of comments or photos on social media sites, whether they are actual or fictitious,” states Roberts in an email to the Silhouette.

Roberts explains McMaster Hospitality Services has a transparent relationship with the City of Hamilton health department. 

“As soon as [student complaints were] brought to our attention, we notified the [City of Hamilton] health department in early December and asked them to come and inspect our locations and review our pest control plan. They determined that we had an aggressive pest control plan and no food safety/cleanliness issues were identified,” stated Roberts in the email. 

“As soon as [student complaints were] brought to our attention, we notified the [City of Hamilton] health department in early December and asked them to come and inspect our locations and review our pest control plan. They determined that we had an aggressive pest control plan and no food safety/cleanliness issues were identified,” stated Roberts in the email.

Moreover, Roberts explains that McMaster Hospitality Services has already met with Orkin Canada, McMaster University’s pest control provider, to increase pest control efforts throughout the school year. 

“As of December, we have increased our preventative maintenance service from once a month to twice a month and also now schedule ‘blasts’ of all public spaces during breaks when students are away (Christmas, Reading Week, Summer and Fall Break),” added Roberts. 

According to Roberts, pests are not always indicative of food safety issues. 

“As McMaster has many older buildings on campus, pests are not an uncommon site [sic] regardless of the use of the building (academic, administration, facility services or food service)” stated Roberts. 

Cockroaches on campus may have additional impacts on students. According to the World Health Organization, cockroaches may carry germs that spread disease. Additionally, according to Orkin Canada’s website, cockroaches are known to trigger allergic responses in approximately 12 per cent of individuals with no other allergies. 

Roberts adds that McMaster Hospitality Services is continuing to work with the CIty of Hamilton’s health department and Orkin Canada. 

 

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Photo C/O Toques from the Heart Website

Casey Rogan and Matthew Milne, two level III commerce students at McMaster University, are collecting knit hockey socks and repurposing them into toques that they’ve been handing out to help vulnerable community members, particulary those facing challenges of homelessness, stay warm this winter. The duo has co-founded Toques from the Heart, a Hamilton-based non-profit organization that provides an opportunity for hockey players to donate hockey socks to give back to their local communities. According to Rogan, he and Milne came up with the idea on July 30, 2019, while both of them were enrolled in summer school. 

“[Milne] had the initial idea when he was younger, and got the idea to ask his mom to change knit hockey socks into toques just as a fun little thing . . .  and his mom actively sews so she did it for him, [so] we’ve had some of the toques for a while,” explains Rogan. 

Upon further discussion, Rogan and Milne decided to start donating toques by directly handing them out in Hamilton and Toronto and selling others to raise money to support hockey programming for children. “As McMaster students in our third year of commerce, [we] really felt that we wanted to get the most of our university experience . . .  [we] wanted to make things happen for us, and not just wait around to get out of university without having any experience,” said Rogan. 

Four months later, Toques from the Heart officially launched on Nov. 15, 2019, with the goal of collecting 200 knit hockey socks by the end of the year. In 2019, the organization reported that they were able to achieve more than triple their intended goal, receiving approximately 700 knit hockey socks. Each sock donated can be repurposed into two toques. Rogan explains that he was overwhelmed by the amount of support and feedback the program received from the community. 

“In just under two months, we were able to pass our goal and collect 700 knit hockey socks through donations, [this can make] approximately 1400 toques . . .  and have donated many of them [to the] Downtown Hamilton and Toronto areas,” said Rogan. 

Toques from the Heart also sells repurposed toques to community members for $20 to raise money to support children’s hockey programming.

“We have enough money to cover [the] initial costs and all the funds coming in now are going towards this initiative [of supporting hockey programming]. In the future we would love to sponsor our own Toques from the Heart team and have kids who don’t have these opportunities to be able to play hockey,” explains Rogan. 

By the end of 2020, Toques from the Heart has set a goal of raising $5000 and help 500 Canadians stay warm this winter by collecting 2000 knit hockey socks. The organization is also looking for potential sponsors, partnerships and opportunities to expand within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.

By the end of 2020, Toques from the Heart has set a goal of raising $5000 and help 500 Canadians stay warm this winter by collecting 2000 knit hockey socks. The organization is also looking for potential sponsors, partnerships and opportunities to expand within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.

“We are actively contracting Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and Canadian Tire. We’re [also] trying to get donations in local arenas and bigger arenas and work with these bigger companies to get the word out there and get exposed in the hockey community,” Rogan added. 

According to Rogan, the organization has also given them the opportunity to engage with seniors in the Hamilton community. 

“[On Jan. 26], we went out to two retirement homes, and held a [toque-making] session . . .  folks helped to make some toques and in the coming weeks they will take on the production of the toques. They were all super excited about [us] coming and happy that they had a chance to give back to their own communities,” Rogan explained. 

Rogan adds that Toques from the Heart is always looking for additional volunteers. More information about the organization can be found on their website. 

 

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After settling in the dust for a few years, a vacant restaurant space on 631 Barton St. E. has been given a new name and identity. The space now breathes the essence of tiki culture as extravagant drinks are set on fire and music pulsates through its art-covered walls and wooden floors etched in Polynesian-inspired patterns. 

MaiPai is adding to a renewed sense of prosperity on Barton Street East as new businesses open up and historic establishments are restored. It’s also riding on a wave of local tiki bar resurgence. In 2015, The Shameful Tiki Room and The Shore Leave opened in Toronto, reintroducing the concept of a Toronto bar entirely dedicated to tiki culture for the first time in two decades. 

The original tiki movement can be traced back to the early 1930s when the first Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant, Don the Beachcomber, first opened in Hollywood, California following the end of Prohibition— a nationwide ban on manufacturing, transporting and selling alcohol in the United States. 

Ironically, prohibition drove an accelerated production of rum, much of which aged in casks waiting to be discovered by enterprising bar owners, like Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr., who founded Trader Vic, a Polynesian-themed restaurant chain, and claimed to have made the first Mai Tai, a staple tiki bar favourite, in 1944 from 17-year-old rum from Jamaica. 

History then tells the story of a post-war urge for escapism in the 1940s, igniting a tiki bar obsession all across the United States, and eventually Canada, as bargoers imagined themselves escaping the realities of the world they lived in. 

By the 1960s, tiki bars were all over Ontario, and in 1975, the Trader Vic chain arrived to downtown Toronto. Tiki bars continued to provide a sense of escape until the 1970s, when their novelty eventually sizzled out as people began to lose interest. Trader Vic’s Toronto location closed its doors in 1993. 

The resurgence of modern-day tiki bars begs an important question—what are we escaping from? Or perhaps the love of tiki culture is just enough reason to bring back an experience in the past and reinvent it—which is exactly what MaiPai is introducing to Hamilton and Barton Village.  

MaiPai’s menu is dedicated wholeheartedly to tiki culture with a Detroit-inspired pizza twist. This style of pizza originated in the 1940s when Gus Guerro from Buddy’s Pizza made a sicilian dough pizza in a thick rectangular steel pan with cheese going right to the edge—winning over the hearts of Detroiters and Hamilton chef Salar Madadi, who’s known for opening up Pokeh, one of the first restaurants in Canada dedicated to serving poke, a Hawaiian appetizer. 

It all came full circle when Madadi happened to be in Detroit, at a tiki bar, and the idea of MaiPai came to be. 

Madadi then reached out to long-time friend Peter Lazar, Director at UrbanRoom Group, a Hamilton-based event production company, and asked him if he wanted to open a tiki bar. 

Despite shamefully name-dropping Niagara Falls’ Rainforest Café as his closest exposure to tiki culture, Lazar quickly fell in love with the idea and Madadi’s pizzas. MaiPai brings together both their talents of creating memorable and quality experiences with food and space. 

“The more I got into it, the more I fell in love with tiki as a culture . . . We both love creating an experience that really transforms [a space] or moves people into an escape,” said Lazar. 

“I really like the idea of people having somewhere where they can go in and there’s basically just no reminders of the outside world. There’s no TVs, there’s no windows. You just go somewhere and like, you just need to check out and have a good experience and good food,” added Madadi. 

It only takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to MaiPai’s atmosphere and for you to feel transported back in time and into another world. Antique lamps, lights, dozens of tiki mugs and decorations were salvaged from flea markets and tiki restaurants that were open in the 60s. Some interesting finds include a skull-shaped mug covered in what appears to be melted cheese and pepperoni and a matchbook from a long-gone Hamilton tiki bar rumoured to have been the Tiki Trapper.    

While MaiPai Tiki Bar may be a new concept to the Gibson neighbourhood, co-owners Madadi and Lazar are no strangers to this area — in fact, they live just a couple minutes’ walk from each other and the restaurant. It felt very natural for them to be working together on a project so close to home. 

Their neighbours and community have welcomed their new venture with open arms—selling out their first two weeks of reservation-only menu testing in under 12 hours. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B780RnPgUFa/

“Both of us really respect and love opinions. We love hearing. We love the idea that multiple people's voices can come together and make something that's really unique. I think a lot of it just boils down to respect . . . we’re so appreciative of the staff that comes into work and . . .  the fact that people would want to choose to come and eat out here,” said Lazar.

MaiPai’s menu is inspired by Madadi’s travels, Hamilton and responses from the community.  MaiPai also includes a selection of wings, and almost the entire pizza menu can be made vegetarian or plant based. 

One pizza in particular is inspired by Hamilton’s plethora of sub shops. The pizza has a thick, but light and airy crust made with MaiPai’s 48-hour cold fermented dough. It’s cooked with mortadella, salami and hot peppers, and when it comes out of the oven, it’s topped with shredded lettuce, kewpie mayo and sub sauce. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6JdknEF55a/

MaiPai will continue their soft launch hours into February and are hosting feature nights to test out menu items and setting cocktails on fire ahead of their official launch in March. By then, Madadi and Lazar will have opened up the second part to their space by expanding into 629 Barton Street East—tripling their capacity to 80 patrons. 

Much like the passionate revival of tiki culture, there’s a very present dedication to bringing new possibilities to Barton Street East. MaiPai is a story of how Hawaii meets Hamilton in peculiar ways, and the next chapters are looking promising. 

 

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This article has been edited as of Feb. 11, 2019

A previously published version of this article misquoted Ikram Farah. The quote has since been updated.

Students are often at a standoff with the MSU president. A commonly held belief is that the President cannot get things done, while presidents themselves often feel that they are misunderstood by the student body. Looking back at former presidents, we can see the difficult realities of their jobs. However, each MSU president has many opportunities to enact change, and it is their responsibility to work within their limitations.

It’s hard to keep all the eggs in one basket

“When someone is running for president they are running on 12-15 platform points, but that is not your only priority, you are a CEO, you are a manager of the whole institution,” said Ikram Farah, former MSU president for the 2018-2019 school year.

Every MSU president has and will continue to struggle with balancing priorities. Consulting past presidents and critically examining a previous year’s struggles is meant to help incoming presidents plan for the year ahead. New president-elects are given the opportunity to do this during their training period under the current MSU president, which lasts from February to April of each year.

Even with this transition process, neither Marando, Farah nor Monaco-Barnes were prepared for how much time would be taken up by priorities unrelated to their platform points.

“I didn’t realize how much of my time would be taken up with chairing various meetings, SRA, clubs, committees, events, and other things that you don’t really see the president do until you are in the role yourself,” said Marando.

During the transition period, outgoing presidents still have their own responsibilities and incoming presidents have their academics. It is unclear exactly how many hours are spent orienting.

“[After March] you’re out, and the new person’s in, and it’s up to them and their team to carry on their objectives but also carry on ongoing projects to full term,” said Justin Monaco-Barnes, former MSU president for the 2016-2017 school year.

Limitations of the transition period may negatively impact a president’s future ability to establish continuity, balance priorities and prepare for unpredictability. Farah faced the impact of the Ontario Student Assistance Program cuts and the Student Choice Initiative. Responding to these events took up much of her team’s time.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” said Farah.

Continuity is key

Longevity, according to Monaco-Barnes, can be an issue with a one-year term. A president must continue previous presidents’ work while attending to their own platform points and responsibilities. Marando, Farah and Monaco-Barnes highlighted the added pressure that comes from students wanting tangible results.

“. . . A lot of people probably don’t know I sit on groups that improve the university IT plan, or work on mental health support in classrooms. People don’t see all the time and energy that goes into working with our full-time staff and supporting business operations of the MSU. I think that if there isn’t a big promotion of something, people think nothing is happening. In reality things may span over a years — such as our new student space expansion — requiring a lot more resources than one might think,” said Marando.

The student space expansion came from Monaco-Barnes’ platform, whose Pulse expansion plans eventually evolved to include a new student center, the Student Activity Building.

“And then here we are, two years later, and it’s being built which is pretty cool,” said Monaco-Barnes.

Monaco-Barnes took an unpaid leave of absence to run two student-wide referenda and help secure funding for the expansion plans. During the second referendum, Ryan McDonald, the VP (Finance) at the time, also took an unpaid leave.

While the Student Activity and Pulse expansion are underway, future MSU presidents must see them through. Not all projects will survive this process.

At the end of Monaco-Barnes’s term, plastic water bottles were replaced with boxed water in Union Market. Union Market reverted back to plastic water bottles the following year. 

“I don’t know how you control that. You hope that the continuity pieces that remain in the MSU leadership wise, you hope they will continue your original messages and ideas, but once you’re gone you can’t really control those things,” added Monaco-Barnes.

If this is a known problem, incoming and outgoing presidents should prevent it from happening as much as possible. Starting from scratch, as Monaco-Barnes noted, is a waste of time.

Who do you want in the room?

As Farah said, it can be easy to forget the significant impact that an MSU President can have in advocating for students. Advocacy could result in change that students may not link back to MSU, as such changes happen over the long-term.

“We need people with ideas and strategic vision. That’s where the Pulse expansion or student activity building becomes impactful. But we don’t always need that large action. Advocating for policies that enhance student life are incredibly important too; however, policy takes time though,” said Farah.

A president will have several opportunities to advocate for students. But it is not easy to get the job done. Monaco-Barnes said that higher-ups can wait out a president that they disagree with. There is also an intimidation factor at play, as the MSU president will interact with older and more experienced counterparts.

“It’d be very easy for a president to go in and do a lacklustre job if they are not motivated,” said Monaco-Barnes.

MSU presidents will make mistakes and struggle with their jobs. Their role is difficult to fully appreciate from an outside perspective. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t point out their mistakes and challenge them to work around limitations. If we do not hold them accountable, then we may see less work being done. Is being MSU president hard? Yes. Does that mean that they cannot accomplish anything? Absolutely not.

 

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Only 19.1 per cent of McMaster students voted in the 2020 McMaster Student Union’s Presidential election, the lowest voter turnout for an MSU Presidential election since 2009. In total, 4810 students cast their ballots. The 2020 Hamilton Street Railway referendum that took place concurrently saw 5,763 students cast their votes, equivalent to a voter turnout of 22.9 per cent.

On Jan. 30, the MSU Elections Department ratified and released the results of the MSU residential election and  HSR referendum.

President-elect Giancarlo Da-Ré won the 2020 MSU Presidential election with 2,504 votes, a 1,529 vote surplus over the second place candidate, Jackson Tarlin.

Tarlin, the election’s runner-up, garnered 975 votes.

666 students abstained, and Krystina Koc received the lowest number of votes at 665.

Da-Ré will officially take office on May 1, 2019.

Voter turnout this year was the lowest it has been in a while, following a steady decline since 2018. Engagement fell from 41.6 per cent in 2017 to 28.1 per cent in 2018. In the following year, this steep drop appeared to level off, with a 1.2 per cent drop between 2018 and 2019. However, this year, the steep decline returned yet again, with turnout dropping by 7.7 per cent.

In the past five years, the lower the voter turnout, the greater the proportion of votes that went to the candidate who won.

In the past five years, the lower the voter turnout, the greater the proportion of votes that went to the candidate who won.

The MSU elections department investigated the sharp decline in voter turnout that occurred between 2017 and 2018. They concluded that it was likely because a large number of students opted out of receiving emails from SimplyVoting, McMaster’s online voting system. Offering students the choice to opt out is in line with Canada’s anti-spam legislation.

According to chief returning officer Peter Belesiotis, the elections department also emails students independently, regardless of whether they opt out of receiving emails from SimplyVoting.

“This has ensured that we reach all students with the relevant information, even those who may have opted-out from SimplyVoting emails. These email efforts are in addition to the print media, social media, video production and SMS messaging used to inform students of the election,” stated Belesiotis in an email.

Despite these measures, voter turnout was even lower this year, falling 9 points below 2018 levels.

Voter apathy and lack of trust in the student union may have played a role in this decline. A Silhouette article from 2018 speculated that candidates’ campaign strategies play a large role in voter turnout, citing class talks, student engagement and debate performance  as potential factors in determining voter turnout.

Abstentions this year were also significantly higher than they have been in recent years. Between 2016 and 2018, abstentions remained below 7.3 per cent. Last year, they rose to 9.2 per cent, and this year they jumped to 13.8 per cent.

Voters abstain for a variety of reasons. Students may choose abstention as a vote of no confidence, because they feel that none of the candidates are qualified. Alternatively, an abstention could mean that the voter cannot decide between multiple candidates, or they feel that they do not have enough information to make an educated vote.

The majority of students voted to continue the existing bus pass agreement between McMaster University, the MSU and the Hamilton Street Railway. The option for a 12 month bus pass with expanded service on Route 51-University received 2338 votes after the first round of the MSU’s ranked election system.

The second most popular option, an 8-month bus pass from September to April with no expanded Route-51 service, received 1901 votes.

The option for no bus pass received only 494 votes and was eliminated after the first round of the ranked election system.

 

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Photo By Cindy Cui / Photo Editor

It was my second year of university and I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with my studies because I was having traumatic flashbacks every day and night terrors every night. I was seeing a counsellor and a doctor to address my poor health. Despite this, my marks continued to slip.

Luckily, I was able to register with Student Accessibility Services when I realized I needed some extra help with school. This lifted a lot of weight from my shoulders, as I was able to access lecture notes through the SAS website and spread out my tests over a longer period of time. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. 

One of my accommodations under SAS is for instructors to provide an alternative to missed classwork. Knowing this, when I was unable to write a midterm due to my disability, I emailed the instructor to let them know. 

In their reply to my email, I was told, “We do not offer an alternate date to write the midterm. If you are unable to write the midterm today, you will need to use a [McMaster Student Absence Form]. Using an MSAF will move the weight of the midterm to the final exam making the final worth a total of 94%.” 

Despite having SAS accommodations, I was rejected of the accommodations that were supposed to help level the playing ground when it came to succeeding in courses. I remember being upset and frustrated because I’ve always had the impression that educators should be focused on helping their students succeed. Because of my instructor’s response, this situation dragged out for over a month as my assistant dean had to talk to the instructor to advocate for me. Meanwhile, I was constantly studying for a midterm whose date was unknown to me. Since I was having difficulties rescheduling my midterm, I fell behind in class and ended up dropping the course.

According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, educators must accommodate their disabled students. Furthermore, accommodations should be unique and individualized — meaning, “blanket” accommodations that are meant to cover all disabilities often don’t work because disabled students have different needs. Educators should be cognizant that an accommodation, which may seem helpful in their eyes, may not actually be helpful for a student. As a result, they could be putting undue stress on the student who needs the accommodation.

Saying that I can use an MSAF to redistribute the weight of my midterm is not an accommodation. I don’t know about you, but having a 96 per cent exam doesn’t exactly exemplify a good ‘accommodation’. In fact, I’d argue that most non-disabled students would find a 96 per cent exam overwhelming. Maybe someone else might be okay with this accommodation, but it just wasn’t going to work for me. And that’s okay.

The unfortunate thing is that even with SAS, I still faced many barriers in receiving adequate accommodations. However, many disabled students go through their undergraduate career without SAS because registering can be a long process. For example, SAS registration requires medical documentation from a doctor, meaning that a formal diagnosis is necessary even though many conditions can be difficult to diagnose or may be highly stigmatized, which may result in the lack of diagnosis. 

The unfortunate thing is that even with SAS, I still faced many barriers in receiving adequate accommodations. However, many disabled students go through their undergraduate career without SAS because registering can be a long process. For example, SAS registration requires medical documentation from a doctor, meaning that a formal diagnosis is necessary even though many conditions can be difficult to diagnose or may be highly stigmatized, which may result in the lack of diagnosis. 

Instead of focusing on formal diagnoses, instructors should concentrate on providing support to students who need it. Evidently, there can be many complications that prevent someone from receiving disability status at McMaster. As a result, disabled students can fall behind in their coursework just because they cannot provide an accommodation letter from SAS to their instructors.

Even when you do have SAS, advocating for your accommodations can be taxing. Meeting up with your professors to discuss accommodations can make you feel vulnerable. Emailing professors every time you’re absent from class and having to reschedule several midterms after a flare-up can be exhausting. 

Even after all of this, you may still face resistance regarding your accommodations. I have faced the risk of my SAS accommodations expiring even though my disability is permanent. As a result, I had to get medical documentation again to verify that my disability wasn’t going away anytime soon. I’m not the only person who has faced this problem — I’ve heard from many peers that they’ve faced a similar situation where their SAS status expired and they were unable to access accommodations when they needed them most.

The accommodation process is made more complicated by negative perceptions that students who ask for course accommodations are “cheating the system.” Of course, there’s always the possibility that there will be a student who asked for an accommodation they don’t actually need. But, more often than not, it’s because they really need it. A student’s SAS status shouldn’t be the only reason why an instructor should provide course accommodations. If students are reaching out to you about how they might need some extra help in class, consider giving them the support they need to succeed in your course.

Often times, accommodations can be easy to arrange. Providing a student with notes, lecture slides or an extension for an assignment doesn’t usually require extra effort on the instructor’s behalf. However, it’s important to note that even if the accommodation isn’t ‘“convenient’” to provide to a student, they still deserve to be adequately accommodated. To ensure that accommodations are properly handled, there should be a clearer follow-up process of accommodations within each faculty. Students should know who to go to when something isn’t properly handled, as well as be able to access support from their faculty during this process.

Because at the end of the day, educators should be concerned about a student’s success — not their disability status.

 

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What It Is:

Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor (10 James St. North) brings a taste of Toronto’s Union Chicken to Hamilton. While on the Toronto menu, Uncle Ray’s is a section dedicated to fried chicken, the new Hamilton restaurant focuses on and expands this concept, becoming the fourth location to house “Ray’s Famous Fried Chicken”.

Over the last few months on James Street North, you may have noticed the decal of a bunny wearing an eye patch adorning the shopfront asking, “Who the hell is Uncle Ray?”. After our visit, it is safe to say we know exactly who Uncle Ray is.

The name is a metaphor for the passion that you find from all the staff. This not only comes across in service, but also through the quality of food that Uncle Ray’s dishes out to its customers.

How to Get There from

Campus:

Grab the 51 from campus towards Main Street West and James Street North. Head north-east past King Street East and you’ll find the restaurant on the east side of the street.

Alternatively, you can take the 5C or 1A from campus and jump off at Main Street West and MacNab Street South. Walk north-east towards King Street West, then east towards the intersection.

For a quicker trip, you can take the 10 from Main Street West and Emerson Street to Main Street West and MacNab Street South.

The Cost:

Entrees are broken into two categories, plates and fried chicken. Plates range from $17 to $29.50. Fried chicken will cost you $18 or $19 depending if you get the O.G. Plate or Lightning Chicken, respectively. I am warning you now, a to-go box will probably be a good idea as the meals are big, providing you with two great portions. Sides dishes range from $5 to $9. The restaurant also has a large list of snacks and appetizers that run from $6 to $19. If you are looking to share a meal with two to three friends, Ray’s Southern Platter costs $69. Uncle Ray’s is able to split cheques.

As the name boasts, Uncle Ray’s has a wide assortment of beer from domestic to craft, as well as a few draught lines. A variety of wines can also be found on the menu as well as a handful of mixed drinks. If you’re gonna grab a drink, expect to be paying anywhere from $6 to $29.

Craving something sweet? Uncle Ray’s has a small, yet delightful dessert menu ranging from $5 to $8.

What to Get:

The moment of truth —

what should you try? When I went to the restaurant with my housemates, we were immediately greeted by the warm, industrial atmosphere of the space. It is slightly reminiscent of HAMBRGR before their renovations.

To drink, I enjoyed a Piña Colada that looked like it was straight out of a Caribbean resort. If alcohol isn’t your thing, they also feature pop and three types of water — sparkling, bottled and filtered tap.

Looking at the food menu, all of our eyes immediately went to the fried chicken section. Not only is it on the cheaper side of the menu, we figured it would be a mistake not to try their in-house specialty. I ordered the O.G. Plate (which includes gravy, pieces of fried buttermilk, boneless chicken thighs, hot honey and green onions) with a side of triple cooked fries accompanied by a malt vinegar aioli. My housemates ordered the Lightning Chicken (which includes habanero hot sauce, Nashville style fried chicken, hot honey and pickles stacked on a piece of white bread) with a side of fries.

We all exchanged pieces of each other’s chicken, and took a bite at the same time. We were blown away by how the kitchen staff was able to achieve a moist, tender thigh on the inside while being crispy and flavourful on the outside. The O.G. had a savoury, sweet flavour from the gravy and honey mixing on the plate. The Lightning Chicken didn’t taste spicy at first; however, two thighs in and your nose will be running and your eyes will be watering. DO NOT make the mistake of rubbing your eyes like I did!

The magic doesn’t stop there as Uncle Ray’s dessert menu features a few delectable desserts. As I was celebrating an early birthday dinner, I was able to get the carrot cake on the house, while my other housemates had the buttermilk soft serve and pot of chocolate. Uncle Ray’s triple-layered carrot cake with cream cheese icing was by far the winner at our table.

Why It’s Great:

Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor is quickly establishing itself as a go-to Hamilton spot in the downtown core. I know the price really doesn’t conform to the student-budget; however, if you are with a group of friends for a night out on the town and if you’re willing to splurge a little outside of this week’s food budget, Uncle Ray’s provides a great atmosphere to catch up and enjoy some tasty food.

A “life-hack” that my housemate and I learned with Uncle Ray’s leftovers: if you bring home your chicken and fries, pop them in the oven at 400°F for 25-35 minutes depending on the strength of your oven. If you can resist for about 5 minutes, your meal will be almost as crispy as when you first bought it.

 

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Photo C/O Sandy Shaw's Constituency Office 

Sandy Shaw, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas, has returned home from a stint at Queen’s Park. Before the winter break, the Conservatives drove Bill 124 through the House on Nov. 8, a move that has been widely criticized.

“It’s been a long week of fighting for hardworking people in the province of Ontario,” said Shaw.

As a member of the New Democratic Party and the representative for the riding in which McMaster sits, Shaw knows student issues are important for her constituents. According to Shaw, Bill 124 was just the latest in a series of Conservative attacks on students’ funding, freedom and future.

Bill 124, also known as the “Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act,” limits wage increases for public sector employees to one per cent per year, among other things. This does not keep up with inflation in the province, which fluctuates between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent yearly.

In a press release, Ontario Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy explained the rationale behind the Bill.

“The legislation would allow for reasonable wage increases, while protecting the province’s front-line services, restoring the province’s financial position and respecting taxpayer dollars,” he said.

However, the Bill has also been criticized for its effects on workers.

“Bill 124 . . . caps the wages of a million workers of families in the province of Ontario. At the same time, this government is giving themselves promotions and raises,” said Shaw.

“Bill 124 . . . caps the wages of a million workers of families in the province of Ontario. At the same time, this government is giving themselves promotions and raises,” said Shaw.

Despite the pushback from Shaw and the NDP, the Conservative government sought to pass the Bill.

Although Bill 124 was announced in early June, soon after, the provincial government entered an extended summer recess ending in late October. As a result, despite the intense controversy surrounding the Bill, the debate period lasted for less than two weeks. Shaw was concerned the Bill had been passed too quickly.

“I personally did not support this exceptionally long break. I mean, there’s a lot of work that we need to get done in the province. And this is a government that doesn’t take the time to study legislation, to get legislation right,” said Shaw.

Unions across Ontario have launched complaints against the Bill, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Ontario Nurses Association.

According to Shaw, the Act will impact the most vulnerable workers in the province, many of whom are women and marginalized community members. The Act also has specific impacts for McMaster; it caps the wage increases of McMaster teaching and research assistants at one per cent, despite efforts by the Canadian Union of Public Employees 3906, the union representing McMaster teaching and research assistants, to increase wages.

“Students need to be recognized for what they are, which is contributors to the province, contributors to their communities, and that they are struggling under all kinds of burdens imposed by this government … it’s just cruel and heartless,” said Shaw.

“Students need to be recognized for what they are, which is contributors to the province, contributors to their communities, and that they are struggling under all kinds of burdens imposed by this government … it’s just cruel and heartless,” said Shaw.

The provincial government is defending the one per cent wage cap by citing the province’s need to balance its budget. Shaw disagrees.

“Essentially what they’re saying is [that] the deficit is the fault of frontline workers in the province of Ontario, [that] it’s their responsibility to fix the deficit ... And so the reason I think the break was so … wrong [is] because when we came back after five months, the government ran this legislation through the house in two weeks,” said Shaw.

Shaw views the province’s actions as an all-out attack on students. Bill 124 was preceded by budget cuts for schools at both the elementary and post-secondary levels, which include the now unlawful Student Choice Initiative and reduced funding for the Ontario Student Assistance Program.

“In what world does this make sense? In what world does it make sense that students that struggle just to pay this increasing tuition burden, that students [that] struggle with part time, precarious, low-wage, minimum wage jobs, if they can find them at all, now are losing jobs [where] they can earn money on campus,” said Shaw, referring to the SCI and other Conservative education policies that impact education.

Announced on Jan. 17, 2019, the SCI gave post-secondary students the opportunity to opt out of “non-essential” student fees, which included and thereby endangered on-campus organizations and student media. In response, the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario and the York Federation of Students took the directive to court, labeling the SCI as unlawful and criticizing the unjust procedure that led to its passing.

The Divisional Court of Ontario ruled in favour of CFS-O and YFS on Nov. 21, 2019, stating that the bargaining process between autonomous universities and student unions did not fall within the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

But where do we go from here? Shaw says that we all have to play our part. While Shaw is on the house floor holding the government accountable, students can lend their voices too.

“Students have shown, historically, time and time again, that when they mobilize, that when they speak up, that’s powerful. And this is a government that does not want to hear powerful voices. They want to shut down debate. They want to shut down dialogue,” said Shaw.

While mobilization may be possible, McMaster students have diverse political views, as does the rest of the province. Despite differences, there is one thing that all students may have in common.

“Every student I’ve ever met is concerned also about the world in which they’re going to graduate into,” said Shaw.

For Shaw and the NDP, slashing student services isn’t a solution for balancing provincial budgets. As she returns to the legislature, Shaw pledges to fight for student interests, aiming to ensure that the world we graduate into is one where the needs of vulnerable workers are prioritized.

September 2019 marked the first of possibly many registration periods in which students could opt-out of student union fees deemed non-essential. This change, instituted by the Government of Ontario in January 2019, is part of the widely criticised Student Choice Initiative. In the past, McMaster’s student union fees for all clubs and services have been mandatory. Non-essential fees range from a few dollars, like the $1 fee for Mac Farmstands or $2 for Horizons, to $13.72 for CFMU 93.3FM or $17.50 for Campus Events. As early as  January, student groups have feared the worst and prepared for the inevitable cuts.

Nearly two months after the SCI was introduced, the impact on students and the MSU isn’t entirely clear. Despite other universities having already released comprehensive opt-out rates to their university’s student unions, McMaster’s registrar’s office still hasn’t released final numbers. According to Alex Johnston, the MSU’s vice-president (finance), an official breakdown won’t be released until registration is finalized. The final registration numbers have yet to be disclosed by the university. 

As a result of the Student Choice Initiative, many aspects of what the MSU offers to students will become financially optional between September. 12-20. The MSU encourages students to #ChooseStudentLife. Learn more about how your money is spent at: https://t.co/GdcabjjSMF. pic.twitter.com/EOvrhnB3bY

— McMaster Students Union (MSU) (@MSU_McMaster) September 10, 2019

What we do know is that students opted out of services at a rate of roughly 32 per cent of across non-essential fees. These fees include services such as campus events, Shinerama and Mac Farmstand. How this 32 per cent rate translates into absolute dollar losses for the MSU is unclear, and Johnston says it’s difficult to speculate. Throughout the opt-out period, Johnston states that the MSU prioritized transparency. For example, the MSU created a “Choose Student Life” page to encourage undergraduate students to learn about the MSU services and fee breakdown before opting out.

“We did communicate that this could lead to the potential for a pay-for-service model or a reduction of overall services or just reduction in service operations. So those are things we did communicate. Where we actually end up going right now, again I think it’s a little too soon to tell,” said Johnston.

Despite the MSU’s focus on transparency, some felt that the MSU could have done more. 

Ed, a part-time manager of a student service deemed non-essential that asked not to be identified, said that they were displeased with the MSU’s communication leading up to and throughout the SCI implementation.

“Communication has been fraught. Everytime I would bring it up I would receive a ‘we don’t know for sure yet’. And then no follow ups,” said Ed.

Daniel, another PTM who asked not to be identified, felt that work they had previously done to improve their service’s finances hadn’t been taken into consideration. They felt that the MSU should have encourage more discussion about SCI leading before the opt-out period. 

“I knew for the majority of my role finances are important … which is why I made a lot of changes … I don’t want to say they weren’t willing to have that conversation really early, but I kind of wish we had that conversation early,” said Daniel.

As for faculty societies, whose fees were also deemed non-essential, the SCI’s impact is unclear.

Madeleine Raad, the McMaster social sciences society president, said that the society is being careful about spending, although the alumni society has stepped up to fill their funding gaps. 

“From my understanding, the social sciences opt-out was not as high per say maybe other faculties I might have heard of. However our fee is one of the lower fees, our fee is $16,” said Raad.

Although it may be too soon to see the long term impact of the SCI, changes are already being made to non-essential services. 

To prepare for the possibility of high opt-out rates, all MSU services were asked by the executive board to make pre-emptive cuts to their operating budgets for the 2019-2020 school year

“[We] cut back on things most companies cut back on which is promotions … The last thing you want to cut back on are salaries and wages and actual staffing positions,” said Sandeep Bhandari, the campus radio station’s administrative director.  

In the Oct. 20, 2019 SRA meeting, Johnston gave a report on audited statements from the MSU’s 2018-2019 fiscal year. While optimistic, the numbers reflected deficits across the MSU. Johnson mentioned that the Underground, the Silhouette, and 1280 bar and grill all had large deficits and outlined plans for improving finances going forward. Johnston also said that the MSU is soliciting proposals from an external consultant to assist with financial changes the MSU will need to make going forward as the SCI becomes an annual affair. 

“If we continue the way we’re going, we’re going to deplete our operating funds in two years. So that’s obviously not sustainable so we need to make some changes going forward,” said Johnston.

Johnston also reported that the MSU’s executive board, comprised of full-time staff and SRA members, had also made decisions that impact part-time services. The Executive Board has decided to push back the hiring of PTMs for Macycle and Farmstand into 2020, although they are traditionally hired in the fall. Johnston said this decision was made to buy the MSU more time to figure out a financial plan going forward. While this is a temporary push-back, there are still worries that the PTMs will be expected to participate in the hiring process after their terms without pay or be cut out of the important process it entirely. 

“This is a discussion that happened in close session … but we did decide to delay the hiring for Farmstand and Macycle. Typically those part time managers are hired … but due to the fact that we don’t have final opt-in numbers yet we did decide to delay their hiring so we could re-evaluate then move onwards,” said Johnston.

The executive board also made the decision to pause all operations for the Creating Leadership Amongst Youth conference for the 2020 year. Typically CLAY happens in May, but this year will be the exception. 

“We did decide to put a hold on operations for CLAY 2020 just because we couldn’t delay the hiring and then have the part-time manager start later because the conference just couldn’t function,” said Johnston.

Johnston says these decisions are a part of the MSU’s efforts to develop a strategy to make the union more sustainable going forward. The long term impacts of the SCI are unclear, but the MSU is doing what it can to adapt, including expanding The Grind in an attempt to alleviate 1280’s running deficit and hiring a full complement of staff for the Underground so it can operate at full capacity.

A big concern for most non-essential service employees was job security. 

James Tennant, CFMU program director, and Bhandari stressed the importance of student radio, especially for student staff who can’t get these unique experiential learning opportunities elsewhere. 

“We do have a very small staff compared to some other services on campus. But it’s definitely a concern, and it’s the last thing we would want to do … Because they’re valuable to us and the experience they get in the positions is valuable to the students,” said Tennant.

Bhandari said, “It’s been said for many years it’s giving a voice to those who don’t otherwise have access to the airways. And that is the nature of campus community radio across the country.”

Daniel also reflected on the SCI. He expressed dismay that his efforts to improve his service’s financials weren’t headed leading up to the SCI implementation, despite clearly outlining ways the service could improve financially going forward in the wake of the SCI. 

Ed wished that there had been a bigger push over the months leading up to the opt-out period, not just during it. 

“SCI’s really bad but the MSU’s attitude of not talking about it makes everything worse,” said Ed.

Ed also had hoped for solidarity amongst all MSU services, not just advocacy from the ones impacted. He felt like nearly enough people weren’t talking about it. 

Indeed, when Sandy Shaw, MPP for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas, visited campus in February 2019 to talk about the provincial policies impacting students, the MSU gave her a tour of the PCC, Maccess and WGEN—three services deemed essential and therefore not at risk of being impacted by the SCI.

Despite criticism of the SCI’s rollout and MSU advocacy efforts, many PTMs are are just worried for the future of their services. 

Daniel said, “Thats been the biggest impact of SCI: emotionally. The worry for the future of the service.”

Ed said, “If my service doesn’t run its going to affect the people who volunteer for me and it’s going to affect all those people who use my service regularly.”

“I’m sad because I don’t want my service to die,” said Ed.

With the SCI mandated for the next two years, with possibility for renewal, the long-term implications could be dire. Without a clear path forward, part-time student staff, volunteers and services users are left to worry for what is to come. MSU advocacy may have mitigated what could have been worse opt-out numbers, but future efforts will be essential to keep services afloat. 

 

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