MSU's Diversity + Equity Network releases the findings of its research on student perspectives on racism and belonging at McMaster University
On Jan. 31, 2025, the McMaster Students Union’s Diversity + Equity Network announced the release of findings from its research study titled Understanding Student Perspectives: Racism, Belonging and Discrimination in an Ontario University Environment.
The study was conducted in collaboration with DEN’s student research team and professor Jeffrey Denis from the faculty of social sciences. It examined student experiences with racism at McMaster to inform efforts to create a more inclusive campus.
In the fall of 2023, DEN ran an Instagram poll asking followers if they had experienced discrimination on campus. Of the approximately 120 students who responded, 43 per cent reported experiencing racism.
Leilani Xue, a third-year sociology student and assistant director of DEN who worked on the research study, told The Silhouette that first-year students reported the highest instances of racism.
Xue noted that, upon reviewing other research studies on university campuses, the team identified a lack of open discussion and information about racism and discrimination at the undergraduate level. This, combined with the poll results, prompted the development of a larger research study examining how students of diverse backgrounds experience belonging, perceive discrimination and racism, and how these perceptions shape their overall comfort and sense of safety on campus.
From March 1 to 22, 2024, DEN’s research team collected 283 survey responses. The survey explored participants’ demographics, personal experiences with racism or discrimination, instances where they had witnessed racism, and their awareness of and satisfaction with campus services and resources.
The finalized report found that 16 per cent of students reported personal experiences with racism, while 37 per cent reported having witnessed it on campus.
Middle Eastern or West Asian students, followed by Black students, were most likely to report experiences of racism. Black, Middle Eastern, Latin American and South Asian students were most likely to report witnessing it.
Among religious groups, Jewish and Muslim students were the most likely to report experiencing discrimination, followed by Sikh and Hindu students, who reported feeling more affected than Christians or those without religious affiliations.
Most students who experienced racism said it significantly impacted their mental health, while many were unaware of campus resources. Those who knew about them often did not use them or report incidents.
Most students who experienced racism said it significantly impacted their mental health, while many were unaware of campus resources.
The report also provides recommendations for McMaster University to foster a more inclusive campus. These include increasing diversity among faculty, staff and university leadership and encouraging instructors to diversify curriculum content and discuss available resources. The team also suggested evaluating anti-racism and cultural competency training initiatives and raising awareness of the reporting process for racial discrimination.
Now, DEN’s research team is preparing for a second phase of research, set to launch between March and April 2025. This new study will collect qualitative data through focus groups, allowing researchers to engage directly with students, particularly those who identify as Black, Indigenous or as people of colour.
“Our first study helped us get a general understanding of [racism and discrimination on campus] . . . but now we want to actually talk to students and hear about their experiences on a lived experience level,” said Xue.
Our first study helped us get a general understanding of [racism and discrimination on campus] . . . but now we want to actually talk to students and hear about their experiences on a lived experience level.
Leilani Xue, Associate Director
Diversity + Equity Network
Their goal for this second study is to collaborate with students, faculty and staff on campus to inform inclusive, student-centred policy changes.
The full study, published earlier this year, can be read online. For more information about DEN and the work it does, interested students can visit its website and Instagram.
Imposter syndrome is often viewed as a personal struggle, but for BIPOC students it’s deeply intertwined with societal expectations and barriers that influence their academic journey
Imposter syndrome is not a new phenomenon for many. It’s a sentiment that follows you through your academic journey. While imposter syndrome is often dismissed as self-doubt, for BIPOC students, it’s a complex issue shaped by societal barriers and stereotypes that have a life-long impact on their mental health.
For BIPOC students, imposter syndrome is often tied to anxiety over race and ethnicity and how these may affect you as a student. It is the hyper-awareness towards how you present yourself, interact with others and try to balance the burdensome feeling of knowing you are different that makes imposter syndrome uniquely challenging for BIPOC students.
From an early age, many BIPOC individuals feel a pressure to minimize their racial identities to make others feel more comfortable. This can begin with distressing experiences, such as comments being made about one's accent or about different cultural foods they may bring for lunch. For BIPOC students, these experiences lead to a hyper-awareness of how one is perceived and feeling a need to adapt and try to fit in as a means of self-protection against ignorance and intolerance.
From an early age, many BIPOC students become aware of the pressure to minimize their racial identities to make others feel more comfortable.
This feeling is further exacerbated in highly competitive environments like universities, where the feeling of the need to adapt is exacerbated by the pressure to perform. In this context, it’s the feeling that you have to work harder than your non-BIPOC peers to be seen as equally valuable. It’s the feeling of the need to defy the implicit bias of others that groups you with harmful stereotypes.
Constantly being hyper-aware of and adapting your behaviour produces a chronic sense of worry. This seriously impacts the mental health and self-confidence of many BIPOC students. The mental burden causes a heightened sense of imposter syndrome by reinforcing the narrative of race undermining your value. Additionally, the stigma surrounding mental health in many BIPOC communities often leads students to tough it out and endure the struggles that come with their identities.
The stigma surrounding mental health in many BIPOC communities often leads students to tough it out and endure the struggles that come with their identities.
As a BIPOC student, challenging these norms can be even more mentally taxing and isolating. So, surround yourself with friends, mentors and educators who validate your experiences and who help you feel seen, supported, and empowered to stay true to yourself. Such communities gives BIPOC students the courage to integrate racial and ethnic perspectives within academics, helping them to forge their own way. There is no need to justify taking space, or to wait for others to build their tolerance and make a space for you.
Imposter syndrome for BIPOC students is not just a personal battle but a reflection of deep-rooted societal pressures and persisting racial biases. The experiences of many BIPOC students surpass typical self-doubt and become a mental and emotional burden which ultimately impacts their societal views and academic experiences.
Hamilton running organization VR Pro hosts charitable Halloween races in support of Hamilton Food Share and McMaster Children’s Hospital Foundation
VR Pro is a company which facilitates race events for the running community within Hamilton and Burlington. This year’s Halloween races were held on Oct. 26. and started at the Discovery Centre Waterfront Shores.
This year’s race offers runners a one kilometer race, a five kilometer race, and a 10 kilometer race. But while the race offers runners a chance to indulge in the Halloween spirit and compete with others, it also aims to help others. Funds raised from the races this year will be donated to the McMaster Children's Hospital and the Hamilton Food Share.
Amitoz Bhattale is the company's new director of marketing. This year's races were her first Halloween races and she has helped to make this year’s event one to remember.
“It's all about the community in this one. And we are supporting McMaster Children's Hospital in this race and the Hamilton food shelter as well. We've already raised over $3,500 for that [McMaster Children’s Hospital] and $1,500 worth of food for the Hamilton Food Shelter,” said Bhattale.
It's all about the community in this one ... we are supporting McMaster Children's Hospital in this race and the Hamilton food shelter as well. We've already raised over $3,500 for that [McMaster Children’s Hospital] and $1,500 worth of food for the Hamilton Food Shelter.
Amitoz Bhattale, Director of Marketing
VRPro
By signing up for the Halloween race with VRPro, runners were prompted to donate to either the McMaster Children’s Hospital or Hamilton Food Shelter. Additionally, those who signed up for the one kilometer race were asked to donate $25 overall.
Along with numerous individuals donating to these charities before the race, VRPro also had an option for people to bring non-perishable items to donate or to make a monetary donation to Hamilton Food Share.
“[W]e definitely want to make an impact whether it's through the charities that we support or through the community that we bring together. And that's how we measure success as VRPro. And personally for me, if I have done the marketing right, and if we have gotten enough participants and we have exceeded the check that we have for us, that's a personal success for me,” said Bhattale.
If you are a runner and passionate about supporting charitable organizations, VR Pro hosts other holiday themed, charitable races throughout the year. On Dec. 1, 2024 they will host a Santa Parade Race followed by the Santa Hamilton Race on Dec. 15, 2024, the funds from which will support Food for Life and Mission Services.
A podium finish for the women’s team and fifth place for the men’s team rounds off the Marauders’ performance at the Ontario University Athletics competition
On Oct. 29 the McMaster University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the annual Ontario University Athletics championships. This year, the race was hosted by the University of Waterloo at the Columbia Ice Fields.
Both teams ran an eight kilometer race in Waterloo, facing off against 16 other universities within Ontario. The women’s team finished with a bronze medal while the men’s team was able to secure a fifth place spot in the competition.
Running for the women’s team, senior Rosalyn Barrett impressed as she won an individual silver medal in the eight kilometre race following a fantastic second place finish. The team was also aided by Hannah Goodjohn and Victoria Lamb, who helped the Marauders to their bronze medal by finishing in tenth and eleventh place respectively.
For the men’s team, this year marked the first OUA competition for many athletes on the roster, which has experienced high turnover from the previous season. This includes runners such as fourth-year Connor Lashley, who recorded a twelfth place finish, and rookie Kamran Brar who landed the next closest finish for the Marauders at twenty-fourth overall.
The Marauders’ third place finish sees a slight decline from last year’s OUA result of a silver medal.
Next, both teams will head to London, Ont. and Western University, where the U Sports national competition is taking place on Nov. 12.
Last weekend, the McMaster track team headed to Manitoba for the U Sports Track and Field National Championship. Although the team did not return with any hardware or medals, Mac’s Alex Drover finished in fifth place for the 3,000m event. With McMaster not particularly known for their indoor track season and the intense competition he was up against, this accomplishment got Drover recognized by the Marauders Athletic department.
Drover: Second year of integrated biomedical engineering and health sciences.
D: A big part of why I came to Mac was because of [that] program. My year is the first year it's been offered. It's a pretty special program because it's not something that's offered in a lot of places, due to the combination of engineering and health sciences. Then, from the running aspect, the team was quite similar to what I had done in high school, so it was an easy transition. Lastly, [head coach Paula Schnurr] is one of the best coaches around so I really wanted to run for her.
D: It was a really fun experience. I didn't get to run indoor track last year because of an illness, so this was my first time at an indoor track championship in university. It was a little bit daunting because all of the best athletes were there, though it went relatively well. Going into it, I didn't have huge expectations for myself because I'm one of the younger athletes. So, I wanted to do as well as possible, but I knew it was going to be a challenging race. I ended up finishing fifth in the race, which was exactly where I was ranked going into it, so I was very happy with that finish.
Forward Linnaea Harper and distance runner Alex Drover are the @PitaPitCanada Athletes of the Week after their performances at @usportsca Championships. #GoMacGo
READ ⬇️https://t.co/hRO6YZse6e
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) March 12, 2019
D: It was pretty cool, and I was quite honoured because I know volleyball had their OUA Championships that same weekend. I know they have a lot of talent on their team so there were a lot of guys that could have been nominated that are equally as well deserving of that award.
D: Right before races, I like to watch movies. There is one in particular called Prefontaine, it’s a running movie and I've watched it several times before races.
D: Placing fourth really left me with the urge for a little bit more being that close to the podium. I know I have a lot left in me especially with a few more years after school so my goals are to grow and medal in the future.
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By: Donna Nadeem
The Disability Justice Network of Ontario is a Hamilton-based organization launched in September by McMaster alumni Sarah Jama and Eminet Dagnachew and McMaster student Shanthiya Baheerathan.
The co-founders initially got together because of their aligning interests. For instance, Jama was working with the McMaster Students Union Diversity Services as an access coordinator, trying to push the university to create a service for people with disabilities.
“I always think that there is more that could be done, that the institution doesn’t do a good job of supporting people with disabilities in terms of responding to professors who don’t want to accommodate. There is still a lot from what I’m seeing as a person who has graduated,” said Jama.
Last year, the co-founders received an Ontario Trillium grant over 36 months to create and run the organization. The basis of DJNO is to pose questions to the community of people with disabilities to see what it is they want to work on and how DJNO can use their resources to support the community it serves.
One of DJNO’s larger goals is to politically activate and mobilize people with disabilities who consistently get left out of conversations that affect their lives.
“Our goal is to politically activate and mobilize people with disabilities across the city and the province over time and to be able to hold the institutions and places and people accountable for the spaces that they create,” said Jama.
The research committee for DJNO has recently been working on data collection for a study on issues for racialized people with disabilities.
According to Jama, there is a lack of data collection on this subject.
The DJNO also has a youth advisory council that teaches people with disabilities how to politically organize.
In just a few months of being in operation, the DJNO has hosted several events, such as a community conversation event about the Hamilton light rail transit project, a film screening and panel discussion about Justice For Soli, a movement seeking justice for the death of Soleiman Faqiri, who was killed in prison after being beaten by guards.
The film screening and panel discussion was organized alongside McMaster Muslims For Peace and Justice and the McMaster Womanists.
On March 26, the DJNO will be hosting an event called “Race and Disability: Beyond a One Dimensional Framework” in Celebration Hall at McMaster.
This discussion, being organized in collaboration with the MSU Maccess and the MSU Women and Gender Equity Network, will tackle “the intersections of race/racialization, disability, and gender for all McMaster Community Members.”
Next week, the DJNO will also be organizing a rally with Justice for Soli in order to speak out against violence against people with disabilities.
“The Justice for Soli team has been tirelessly advocating for justice, accountability, sounding the alarm of deeply systemic issues in the prison system, namely the violence that it inflicts on racialized peoples, and people with disabilities,” reads part of the event page.
For McMaster students interested in getting involved with the organization, DJNO has some open committees and is looking for individuals to help identify major community issues.
The campaign committee meets at the Hamilton Public Library monthly. Students can email [email protected] for more information.
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By: Nyakoar Wuol
The Black experience at McMaster University is not monolithic. I can and will only be speaking in regard to my experience as a Black woman at McMaster.
Being a political science student, I often find myself being the only Black woman or Black person in a tutorial or sometimes even an entire lecture hall.
Within the political science courses, discussions on race, intersectionality and different waves of feminism do not go as in-depth as I would expect them to. After listening to the opinions of white students in these tutorials and their views, it makes sense why these discussions are so limited.
Discussion on race can only go so far if individuals are not sure what to add to the discussion or do not know enough to engage. In tutorials, I feel that when certain topics arise that I find interesting or am knowledgeable of, my opinion is not understood in the way I want.
A perfect example of this would be in my recent tutorial. The tutorial was set up as a debate with around five of us sitting at the front table. We were meant to briefly discuss the key elements of our paper, then answer any questions or rebuttals. For the sake of context, my paper was speaking about the result of Apartheid and its impact on Black South Africans, namely their struggle to be financially independent.
The white man who made the rebuttal made statements along the lines of, “why can’t they pick themselves up by their bootstraps? why don’t they just buy land or a farm? you don’t need a post-secondary education to make money”. All the statements he made would have been answered had he listened to the points I initially made.
I responded by stating that there are systemic barriers in place which limits Black South Africans from attaining wealth or having any form of mobility in their social class. In the wise words of W. E. B. Du Bois, “a system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect.”
And yet after stating that, he was still not satisfied with my answer. He responded in a condescending tone but before I could defend my position, the teaching assistant moved the conversation to the next topic.
What I found most astounding was that this student was willing to stand in his ignorance than to believe that there are systemic barriers in place against Black folks not only in South Africa, but around the globe.
Another thing I noticed mainly in my sociology class and at a workshop I attended was that whenever there was a presence of Black folks, there was an underlying element of censoring from the white students. It seemed like they would mainly stick to saying socially-acceptable answers.
I feel that in order for anyone to learn they should not hinder themselves. White students seem to have this fear that if they say something that is not “acceptable”, then they will be vilified and have their opinion disregarded.
But choosing to only say what one thinks is acceptable does not result in any form of growth. If you fear that your true opinion or view is problematic, then perhaps ask yourself why that is?
Essentially, I feel that as a Black woman at McMaster there is much more that is needed to be done within academic spaces. This is mainly in regards to the limited discussions on race, and the lack of representation within the institution.
I, and many other Black students reading this, may feel that we are given the unasked role of being an educator of all things Black to white people. They may very well have certain questions or are limited in their knowledge on the Black experience.
However, it is not Black students’ job to inform and educate. As a great friend of mine said, “Google is free and it’s a great research tool.”
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In April, two reports based on racial equity in education involving data from the Toronto District School Board were published. These detailed a number of issues facing Black students including an increased likelihood of being streamed into non-academic programs, a higher likelihood of suspension due to attitude rather than behaviour and higher drop-out rates.
These reports mainly concerned high school policies. These issues of racial equity are hypothesized to continue at a post-secondary level given that the pathways to this level have these concerns.
The influence of high school policies can be observed, but the effects of universities’ policies cannot.
As revealed by a CBC News investigation in March, 63 out of 76 Canadian universities could not provide a breakdown of their student populations by race. The data is not there to draw any conclusions from.
“How can you decide if access programs are working if you have no way of measuring the population that should be most affected by these access policies?” said Karen Robson, head of the Gateway Cities team and the Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Youth.
The Gateway Cities Project, a four year program funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, is centered on examining the determinants of post-secondary pathways for high school students in five cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, New York and London, England. One of the main concerns brought up by Robson is this inability to access pathways from the perspective of Canadian post-secondary institutions.
McMaster is one of the 63 could not provide a breakdown. They do not ask students to provide information about their racial identity.
“How can you decide if access programs are working if you have no way of measuring the population that should be most affected by these access policies?”
Karen Robson
Ontario Research Chair
Educational Advancement and At-Risk Youth
There are a few reasons why there is opposition to this in Canadian universities. The first is that there is misinformation about the legality of collecting the data. Concordia stated it is illegal to ask in Quebec in the CBC investigation, but this is not the case.
Robson mentioned that there is a lot of misinformation that universities have about the legality of asking for data even if they did not state this upfront.
“A lot of administration believes that collecting race data is a violation of human rights when in fact, it is not. I don’t know where this came from, I really don’t, and it’s a total red herring.”
The “Policy and guidelines on racism and racial discrimination” paper created by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, approved in 2005, mentions that the collection of data about race is permissible and recommended.
The second issue is the threat of being seen as racist. The investigation stated Mount Royal University had this worry, and University of Waterloo explained it does not collect the data because the school does not discriminate based on race or any other grounds.
“It’s not so surprising that we’re not collecting race data if we can’t even have conversations about race without feeling like we might be being racist just by talking about it,” said Robson.
There appears to be some progress being made at McMaster towards collecting data.
“McMaster’s not particularly special in that they don’t collect race data. … I’m working with admin on retention strategies. I have brought this up, and they are receptive to collecting this kind of data,” said Robson.
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By: Jezerae Stewart/ Contributor
Very recently, my hair was braided into long box braids, and I have been given countless compliments on it. Despite the fact that I am extremely self-assured I have to admit it feels nice to hear such kind words, especially since I was so apprehensive to get the braids done the first place.
My concerns did not stem from inexperience. My hairstyles have changed over the years and braids have been a reoccurring look for me. They are low-maintenance and help keep my hair from drying out. Last year I wore my hair in braids for the first time in six years — the longest time I had gone without them. Initially I didn’t hide my braids, but I wasn’t showing them off either. I avoided taking pictures when out with my friends because I was afraid that people would judge my tresses before getting to know the person they were attached to. I didn’t want to be seen unkempt, unprofessional or undesirable. Having these ridiculous traits associated with braids, cornrows or dreads is not an uncommon experience for people of colour. A student from Claflin University in South Carolina was told that if she wanted to be successful in her internship that natural Black hairstyles, or “nappy [hair]” isn’t “happy here.”
Most of all I am upset knowing these stereotypes were influencing the way I feel about myself. In some respect, they always have. In the past year I’ve considered the influence of cultural appropriation and assimilation in my life. Dominant races are called ‘trendy’ when wearing cornrows or hoop earrings, whereas people of colour are labeled ‘ratchet.’ This is what cultural appropriation looks like. Kylie Jenner’s ‘boxer braids’ were labeled as a workout hairstyle, which completely disregarded the origin of the hairstyle. Just because the braids are commonly worn amongst female boxers and UFC fighters it does not mean we should call it anything other than what they actually are called — cornrows. I have avoided wearing sneakers, big hoop earrings, headscarves or anything that would signal my “blackness” as if it was a measure of my style. The fact that I feel inferior to White people when I wear braids stems from racism and assimilation. Instead of embracing the natural texture of my hair, I continue to treat (and damage) it to fit in. One could say that my personal experiences alone are not a reflection of societal attitudes towards black hairstyles, but as the Claflin University student can attest, this issue is bigger than myself.
I avoided taking pictures when out with my friends because I was afraid that people would judge my tresses before getting to know the person they were attached to.
Maybe it was Beyoncé’s release of Formation or my recent obsession with Zoe Kravitz, but I am currently rocking box braids, wearing the latest addition to my sneaker collection (Nike Air Max 90’s if you must know) and for the first time in a long time I feel empowered. I am packing up the cultural normalcies that fostered my insecurities and sending them in a box to the left. The culture our society emulates will no longer make me feel like less than myself for embracing a part of my culture. At the end of the day I cannot tell another person how to dress or wear their hair, but hopefully different perspectives will facilitate understanding and respect for all expressions of culture.
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Many months of preparation lie behind the curtain in a performance that soulfully plunges within the heart of African culture. On March 19, the McMaster African Students Association hosted their annual Afrofest theatrical production at the McIntyre Performing Arts Centre at Mohawk College.
This year’s production “Afrofest 2016: The Reckoning” serves as the third independent segment of a trilogy of shows. MacAfricans previously staged The Revolution in 2014 and Resilience in 2015. The story centres around the lives of two brothers from conflicting tribes, yet raised by a single father. With war presiding between the oppressive Brata people and the rebel Tsuli people, a muddled dilemma emanates.
"We want to be a club that gives back to the community and the people who make us who we really are.”
Oluseye Oduyale, Vice-President of MacAfricans and Biochemistry student at McMaster, shares the inspiration behind the performance held on Saturday. “The concept of The Reckoning was to show that there is a balance in the world — chaos and order, good and evil, just two different perspectives on life. Neither of them are necessarily wrong, but they need to co-exist in an [equilibrium].”
The premise of the Reckoning parallels the Rwandan genocide and the xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The themes extrapolated from the performance bring forth commentary on the consequences of terrorism and xenophobia.
In past years, Afrofest has also addressed topics ranging from social injustice, to corruption, to human trafficking. “We really tried to bring up current affairs and get people thinking about issues specifically pertaining to continental Africa and to raise awareness as a whole,” Oduyale added.
Afrofest also aimed to showcase the richness of African culture, done by the exhibition of dancing, singing and poetry weaved into the performance.
The proceeds from the Afrofest show goes into a $25,000 scholarship fund for African students at McMaster University. “We wanted to support African students who are coming into McMaster, and it gives Africans an incentive to come to university,” said MacAfricans club President Akinjisola Akinkugbe. The fund will be used to carry forth an annual $5,000 scholarship.
Primarily executed through the annual Afrofest shows, the McMaster African Students Association reaches out to educate, engage and entertain the McMaster student community in affairs and topics relevant to Africa and Africans in the diaspora.
“[MacAfricans’] number one priority is to educate people about Africa and to break the stereotypes that people have about Africa,” noted Akinkugke. Additionally, there is the concern of the underhand stigmas surrounding international students here at McMaster, for instance the assumption that “African students are unable to speak English.”
Another assumption made by many is the matter of club exclusivity, “People always think that you have to be African in order to be part of the club. That is not true. You just have to be one that appreciates culture and diversity and breaking these barriers,” expressed Oduyale.
“Over the years, we want to be a club that is an empowerment club. We want to be a club that gives back to the community and the people who make us who we really are.”
Photo Credit: Nelson Nwogu
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