The McMaster fast pitch season is in full swing, here is a summary of the team’s results as they’ve progressed throughout the year
The McMaster fast pitch team has kicked off their season, competing in a number of games where they’ve accumulated both losses and wins. In their opening weekend on Sept. 7, the team lost twice against York University, but were able to turn it around as they captured two wins against Queen’s University the following day.
The team went on to face the University of Windsor on Sept. 14 in two back to back games. Despite increasing their roster size to account for the high volume of games, the Marauders were unable to secure a win against the Lancers. The Marauders lost with a score of one to eight in their first game, with the second game seeing the Marauders lose in a one to six scoreline.
Despite increasing their roster size to account for the high volume of games, the Marauders were unable to produce a win against the Lancers.
The following day, the Marauders took on the University of Guelph in another back to back series. The Marauders were able to earn themselves a narrow win in the first match, with a score of eight to seven. The team’s second match would see them lose with a score of three to seven.
The week after, the Marauder's had a packed weekend beginning Sept. 20 when they first faced off against Waterloo, followed by Guelph and Laurier for a total of six games in a three day span.
The first two games against the Waterloo Warrior on Sept. 20 started the weekend off on a high for the Marauders. The team was able to secure two wins against the Waterloo Warriors, first with a score of five to three and the second game finishing with a score of nine to one.
The Marauders then headed to the University of Guelph to face a familiar opponent in another two game series on Sept. 21. The team lost their first game against the Gryphons, but were able to secure a win with a score of five to three during the second game.
To finish their busy weekend on Sept 22, the Mauraders traveled back to Waterloo to face the University of Laurier in a two game series. The Marauders seemingly did not have enough fuel to finish out the weekend on a high, as they lost both games to the Golden Hawks.
The Marauders would seemingly not have enough fuel to finish out the weekend on a high, as they lost in both games to the Golden Hawks.
The Marauders currently sit with a record of six wins and eight losses for this season, an improvement compared to the two wins and 18 losses the team finished with last year. The team will finish their regular season with a two game series against Brock University on Sept. 28 and Sept 29.
By: Ashlynn Labinaz
The results of the recent McMaster Students Union presidential election were released on Jan. 24, with Josh Marando becoming president-elect. Jeffrey Campana came second in the polls, with Madison Wesley and Justin Lee placing third and fourth respectively.
Given our current state of affairs, these results beg the question: did social media impact the outcome of the MSU election?
The simple answer? Yes. When investigating the social media accounts of the candidates, all four individuals created Facebook and Instagram campaign accounts, posting platform content to build a larger following and campaign support.
When comparing the Instagram accounts of all four candidates, the winning Marando had 618 followers, Campana had 512 followers and Lee had 15 followers. Wesley’s deactivated account could not be used in this comparison.
Overall, there appears to be a clear association between the candidates’ social media presence and their election success.
I believe this correlation is attributed to the candidates’ engagement with their followers on social media. Marando, for example, created a new Instagram account dedicated to running his campaign. He posted ten different times over the course of the election, highlighting different events he attended and campaign promises he intended to fulfill.
Conversely, some of Marando’s opponents did not rely as heavily on their social media presence, posting only a handful of times on Instagram.
The MSU Elections Department also acknowledged the importance and presence of social media in the presidential election. On the elections page, there were two appendices: one with candidacy rules and another six-page Appendix A, containing social media regulations that candidates were required to follow.
This appendix was tediously written and included an explanation of how to post on every major social media platform to ensure that no candidate had an unfair advantage.
Clearly, the MSU Elections Department understood the importance of regulating social media during elections in order to avoid potential problems related to digital campaigns.
One increasing problem on the world stage, for example, is the propagation of “fake news” — that is, disseminating information that is intentionally wrong with the goal of swaying thought and opinion. Clearly established social media regulations for candidates is therefore an important step towards addressing election misinformation.
Despite any potential negative consequences, social media platforms have important benefits during elections. Specifically, social media allows voters to make more informed decisions.
In a digital age where information can be retrieved in a matter of seconds, many have become apathetic towards researching electoral candidates. Social media then provides a fast and easy way for voters to learn about candidates’ platforms.
For example, Marando featured an Instagram post highlighting the key points of his campaign. This post took less than a minute to read and provided a basic understanding of his platform, allowing students to easily inform themselves.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0tWePBOU6/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
The easy access to this information also facilitates one’s ability to compare different candidates and their platforms.
Social media in elections also provides a platform for direct dialogue between candidates and voters. Throughout each campaign, the MSU presidential candidates were posting, tweeting and sharing. Every social media platform allowed candidates to receive messages from the public, which ultimately encouraged political discourse.
Overall, I strongly believe that social media acts as a useful campaign tool in elections that future MSU presidential candidates should definitely take seriously.
Although some may argue that his popularity won him the election, I attribute Marando’s success to his effective social media strategies. By consistently posting succinct summaries of his campaign goals, Marando was able to spread his message to students in a simple and accessible manner.
In addition, with the increasingly influential nature of social media in elections, students should become more informed and equipped users of these platforms.
Marando used social media to his advantage to help him win a presidential election. Similarly, students should recognize social media’s extensive and far-reaching value as a necessary election tool in this new digital age.
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On the evening of Jan. 24, Josh Marando was voted in as the next unofficial president-elect of the McMaster Students Union.
Marando, a fourth year arts and science student, garnered over 600 first-choice votes compared to the second-place candidate Jeffrey Campana.
Overall, Marando received 40 per cent of the 2,654 first-place votes.
Marando’s platform consists of 12 pillars, touching on issues like mental health support, sexual violence and education costs.
Marando learned of the news of his victory via a phone call from the current MSU president Ikram Farah at 9:00 p.m. on Jan. 24.
He was surprised by how early he got the call.
“I was not expecting to hear as soon as we did. Last year, I knew that they heard at around 3:10 a.m, so when Ikram called me at 9:00 p.m., I was not really sure. I thought she was joking at first. I really expected her to say, ‘Just kidding,’” Marando said.
Marando was relieved to hear he won, admitting the last few days of the campaign were the most stressful ones. On the last day of polling, he went home in the afternoon to relax on his own before his campaign team gathered to await the results.
“We just invited the core team over because either way we just wanted to be happy because I think we did run a pretty good campaign and I think we are all pretty proud of the work that we did, regardless of what the outcome would have been,” said Marando.
After receiving word of his victory, Marando quickly sent a text to his parents.
“I sent a nice little text in our group chat just saying that I won,” Marando said. “I think my parents still don't fully understand what it is. They do not really know what the MSU does. There are obviously so supportive because they know it's something I have been working on for a very long time and they're just very, very excited.”
Looking ahead to the next few months, Marando said he will begin implementing smaller projects, like creating a student lounge in the McMaster University Student Centre, while continuing to consult different services on bigger projects, like academic accessibility and mental health support.
Marando is also focused on formulating a plan to advocate against the provincial government’s changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program and student fees.
“Something that I am trying to do is fully understand the changes, fully see what impact that will have on students and see what we could do differently than what we were doing before,” Marando said. “We have been advocating to this government for however many months now and we still saw this happen, so clearly something needs to change.”
Reflecting on his campaign, Marando believes he was successful because his message resonated with what students truly wanted.
“Something that we really try to do is just talk to students and see what exactly they wanted, and also some things that they would have wanted when they were in first year,” Marando said. “The people see the MSU president that shirt and jacket and suit and it feels very disconnected from students, but I think the real way that you can create meaningful change is by being one of the students and really connecting with them during this process.”
Slated to begin his term in May, Marando is excited and optimistic about the job in front of him.
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CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, there was a graphic that indicated that Josh Marando answered that he "strongly agreed" with the police presence on campus. However, in our survey, Marando answered that he "strongly disagreed" with the police presence on campus. We apologize for this misconstruction and have changed the graphic since.
The Silhouette recently surveyed the four McMaster Students’ Union 2019 presidential candidates on their opinions on where the MSU and the university are doing well and where they can improve.
The survey consisted of seven statements. Candidates were asked to indicate their level of agreement with each statement on a scale from “strongly agree” to “disagree.”
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="197" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 1"]
The first question asked candidates about their opinions on the statement that “The MSU is committed to equality and inclusiveness.”
The candidates all agreed on the MSU’s commitment to equality and inclusiveness. Jeffrey Campana and Madison Wesley indicated they “strongly agreed” with the statements, whereas Justin Lee and Josh Marando said they “agreed.”
The second question asked candidates whether or not “Increased police presence will promote increased safety of students on and around campus.”
There were a range of opinions on the relationship between McMaster students and the police.
Lee was the only candidate to agree that police presence will promote safety. Campana was neutral, while Wesley disagreed. Marando was the only candidate to strongly disagree.
In September, a string of break-ins in Westdale prompted a greater police presence in the area. During the same month, a video depicting a woman being run over a McMaster police horse was widely shared on social media.
The candidates were mostly in agreement with the statement that the MSU should oppose the provincial government’s free speech mandate requiring Ontario universities to implement a free-speech policy.
Wesley was the only candidate not to agree with the statement, choosing a “neutral” response instead. Campana indicated he agreed, while both Lee and Marando chose “strongly agree.”
In October, the Student Representative Assembly unanimously passed a motion opposing the government mandate.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="201" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 2"]
The next question asked candidates whether or not the MSU should lobby against the government’s changes to tuition, student fees and the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
The survey showed that all the candidates were in stark opposition to the provincial government’s changes to tuition, student fees and OSAP announced on Jan. 17.
Lee, Marando and Wesley all strongly agreed with the statement, while Campana selected the “agree” response.
Regarding McMaster’s accessibility, Wesley and Campana indicated there was room for improvement, as they strongly disagreed and disagreed with the statement that the school is “fairly accessible” for students with various disabilities.
Lee and Marando were neutral on the issue.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="202" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 3"]
The results also show that none of the candidates are satisfied with McMaster’s current efforts to prevent and address sexual violence. When asked if McMaster does a “sufficient job” in this area, Campana and Wesley strongly disagreed, while Lee and Marando disagreed with the statement.
McMaster’s sexual violence policy is up for review this year.
Overall, it appears that while there is a high degree of agreement amongst candidates on topics such as the Ontario government’s recently announced tuition and OSAP changes, candidates differ in their views on issues like the relationship between students and the Hamilton police and McMaster’s response to sexual violence.
The voting period for this year’s MSU presidential election is taking place from Jan. 22 to 5 p.m on Jan. 24. To vote, students can fill out the ballot sent to their McMaster email or login and vote at www.msumcmaster.ca/vote.
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