In his campaign for MSU president, Olami Olalere aims to introduce an MSUTV, create a back-to-school event day and promote housing accessibility
Olami Olalere is a third-year Honours Life Sciences, and one of three students running for the McMaster Students Union 2025 presidential election. The three main pillars of his platform emphasize improving student life, fostering student engagement and promoting student expression.
Olalere refers to these pillars as the "iSee" framework. His campaign slogan is "this is on me, all for you!"
Student Life
The first pillar of Olalere's campaign focuses on improving student life. Olalere highlights four key areas of action under student life: bettering engagement with and access to MSU services by improving advertising, addressing housing accessibility, advocating for better transit and events designed for enrichment and fun.
Olalere proposes increasing access to MSU services through enhancing advertising. Olalere plans to raise awareness of the services and resources the MSU offers, ensuring that students are better informed. To achieve this, in his campaign platform he proposes "partnering more" with MSU affiliated centres, such as the Women and Gender Equity Network, the Pride Community Centre and the Student Health Education Centre, to drive more traffic towards MSU services.
With the goal of improving helping students find housing, Olalere proposes holding a housing fair where landlords would showcase their properties. He also plans to collaborate with the municipal government to uphold student tenant protections and establish a route of direct communication between students and the municipal government. He has indicated an intention to introduce a housing budget to fund these initiatives.
Olalere's next priority is improving transportation on and around campus. He plans to engage with Metrolinx to increase the frequency of GO busses during rush hours. He also wishes to arrange monthly buses for students to attend away Marauder sports games to foster school spirit.
Lastly, Olalere wants to introduce new events that enrich the student experience by planning additional events for homecoming, including a halftime show at the football game and to build on the night concert by including a fair featuring local vendors.
He also proposes a smaller "Back-to-School Day" event on campus, offering entertainment and activities to celebrate the return to campus at the start of the academic year.
Student Engagement
The second pillar of Olalere's campaign focuses on engaging students with campus events that promote inclusivity, empower student voices and encourage civic participation.
Olalere proposes introducing a culture festival or month featuring various cultural events, performances and exhibitions to address what he perceives as a lack of events that represent the diverse student body.
Olalere also proposes creating a "Maroon Wall," a place for students to express themselves and engage with peers. He intends to collaborate with McMaster Athletics to create a McMaster student-only stand for home games.
With the goal of showcasing student creativity, he proposes hosting a gallery and art exhibition where students can display their work, participate in a bidding process and win prizes.
With the goal of fostering engagement with MSU politics, Olalere proposes student town hall meetings in the McMaster University Student Centre atrium to discuss key issues with the MSU. He also proposes collecting the opinions of students through surveys, suggestion boxes and monthly MSU outreach booths in MUSC.
Additionally, Olalere wants to encourage civic participation by educating students on the importance of voting and providing peer support resources to address what he refers to as "election anxiety."
Student Expression
The third pillar of Olalere's campaign focuses on student expression.
In his platform, Olalere proposes hosting a Halloween festival. The festival would feature events for both on and off-campus students, including a haunted house in the Hub.
If elected, he claims he would create "MSUTV", a student-run media outlet dedicated to showcasing the vibrant life of campus. The platform would live-stream sporting events, student governance coverage and highlights of campus events, allowing McMaster students to see their stories come to life.
More information on Olami's campaign can be found via Instagram.
Piper Plavins’ election platform for MSU president is wide ranging, but falls short on details and considering feasibility
Piper Plavins’ platform highlights the need focus on educating students about MSU services, advocating on behalf of students during a food insecurity and housing crisis as well as increasing what the MSU does for students. However, the candidate falls short on considering how to financially make her initiatives happen given the MSU's current fiscal state
Plavins' focus on student experience, especially as most of it relates to expanding old events and creating new ones, is without a concrete plan as to how to fund these events. When asked about this by the Silhouette, she referred to the upcoming Homecoming and Large Events referendum, which is not guaranteed to pass.
Without a clear plan to pay for these events, the current projected deficit in the MSU budget of $415,000 to $500,000 — in part caused by deficit spending on Homecoming 2024 — could be a major obstacle to the further large event spending the platform promises.
According to a December 2024 memo to the Student Representative Assembly from MSU VP Finance Declan Sweeney, the financial situation and deficit of the MSU is unsustainable.
Considering this, Plavins' platform is ambitious. Particularly as it relates to events, Plavins' plans do not align with the recent MSU initiative as outlined by Sweeney in his SRA memo: “considerable discussion about how to better reduce costs through integration of services & potential agreements with partners,” stated Sweeney.
"MSU Week," an event proposed by Plavins to raise awareness about the MSU near the beginning of the academic year, seems particularly fiscally irresponsible.
The first three days, the job fair, services day and advocacy showcase, resemble ClubsFest which nearly all of the MSU’s services already attend. Plavins suggested to the Silhouette that because ClubsFest can be “overwhelming,” having an additional event to promote MSU services would help raise awareness.
The choice of the name "job fair," Plavins admitted, may have been a mistake, as most MSU services hire between the start of the second term and the end of the academic year.
In her platform, Plavins’ promises to “continue the homecoming legacy” and expand the Holiday Market largely lack any details to distinguish her ambitions from current MSU initiatives, a pattern that resonates throughout the rest of the platform.
Plavins’ proposal for an Student Representative Assembly retreat, which she insisted in an interview could not meaningfully be replaced by team building exercises, concludes the first pillar by demonstrating its continued pattern of financial over-ambition.
Plavins’ first campaign pillar, while attempting to accomplish the necessary task of raising student awareness of available MSU services and spaces, risks falling short due to ongoing budget constraints. Considering the event that the Homecoming & Large Events referendum fail, she has not included any specific plans as to how she would otherwise finance her platform promises.
Even if the referendum succeeds, the redundancy of multiple proposals might prove a poor way of managing limited MSU funds.
Improving Student Advocacy
Plavins’ second platform pillar, student advocacy, in attempting to cast a wide net, finds itself lacking specific details in many areas.
When asked, Plavins admitted the lack of detail in some proposals was because she was going to be playing only one part in ongoing initiatives. Plavins’ reasoning here is solid, but in certain instances where the platform hints at larger ideas, her lack of detail is disappointing.
She could not clarify what she meant by “higher level clubs,” nor did she offer details on what advocating for “inherently accessible classrooms” would look like.
Plavins’ most concrete promise, a $5,000 funding increase to the Food Collective Centre, could be one of her most difficult to implement.
Sweeney shed light into how the current budgeting process works for the MSU in an email to the Silhouette: “Any budget adjustments would require careful consideration, as they may involve reorganizing existing allocations, increasing student fees, or making reductions in service operations elsewhere,” stated Sweeney.
The lack of detail about her own advocacy goals, in both her platform and interview answers was disappointing. However her repeated commitment to existing MSU and university level advocacy efforts suggests that Plavins’ could be an effective, if not particularly novel advocate as president.
Plavins’ shortest pillar, MSU excellence, is far less developed than her other two. Her proposal to revamp TwelvEighty was made without consultation with TwelvEighty's manager. Similarly, her parking plans lack the perspective a consultation with Parking Services might have provided.
In an email statement to the Silhouette, Rob Morrallee, director of parking services, confirmed that he had not been consulted by Plavins. He noted that her proposal for a Lot M bus schedule , as the service is already run at consistent intervals, and that her proposed flex passes are already being worked on.
These underdeveloped parking-related plans only serve to draw attention to the platform’s complete silence on assisting transit or cycling commuters.
While Piper Plavins offers students a very long platform full of promises, Plavins’ most developed proposals lack concrete plans to secure funding, while her less detailed statements lack much in terms of substance or consultation.
While Olalere's campaigns aims to address a wide range of student issues, some points lack detailed planning and would benefit from more research and consultation
Olami Olalere's campaign succeeds in highlighting a wide scope of student issues on campus while proposing initiatives to improve the operations of the MSU. However, many of these promises lack clarity, substance and proper consultations with key stakeholders and experts on campus.
In his campaign, Olalere's first pillar focuses on increasing traffic to MSU services by enhancing advertising methods. While Olarere shared with the Silhouette that he consulted full-time MSU staff about student usage of MSU services, his platform fails to include any data or specific details from these consultations to validate the need for this promise.
In his platform point on housing accessibility, Olalere mentioned his intention to create a route of communication between students and the municipal government to improve tenant protections for students. However, this proposal lacks clarity regarding who exactly students would be communicating with or what concrete steps would be taken to implement this communication channel. Olami did not state that he had consulted with any city officials on this point.
Student Engagement
In the second pillar of his campaign, Olalere envisions creating a “Maroon Wall”, a dedicated space for students to express themselves, share stories and engage with peers. Yet, key details about the initiative remain undefined, such as where the wall would be located.
Olalere intends to work with McMaster Athletics to create a student-only stand for sports games on campus to encourage student engagement in sports and to foster school spirit.
“I go to almost all the basketball games, almost all the football games, soccer games, men, women, volleyball games. I support the team, physically in all these aspects. I enjoy watching the team . . . and I go to these [games]. I am seeing the attendance. It is low,” said Olarere.
Olalere did consult with Director of McMaster Athletics and Recreation Keenan Jeppesen, and both agreed this was a worthwhile initiative to explore.
One of Olalere's proposals involves arranging monthly meetings with students in the McMaster University Students Centre, where, if elected as MSU president, he would provide a space for students to voice their concerns.
When speaking to the Silhouette, he was asked how he would handle students raising controversial topics and ensuring that such public discussions are respectful. Olalere acknowledged the potential for these issues but ultimately stated that students' voices should be heard. More consideration into the safety and security of this event could help to strengthen this platform point.
He further suggested that the meetings would be reassessed halfway through, though this response lacked clarity on how potential conflicts would be managed effectively and whether any concrete actions or protocols would be implemented to ensure fair representation and productive dialogue.
Student Expression
The third pillar of Olalere's campaign includes implementing a new MSU service called “MSUTV”. This student-run media outlet would aim to showcase life and events on campus.
However, there are already two existing student-run MSU services. The Silhouette, McMaster's student-led newspaper established in 1930, and 93.3 CFMU, McMaster's campus radio station established in 1963, similarly cover campus events, news and sports.
As of May 1, 2025, both departments will be funded by the CFMU Radio Inc. student fee to enable greater cross-collaboration, including more joint video initiatives.
Olalere's platform does not acknowledge these established services or indicate whether he consulted on the creation of a new campus media outlet. Olalere did not consult with the Silhouette or CFMU about what exactly his "MSUTV" would cover and how the two services might overlap.
When questioned in an interview, Olalere elaborated on his idea, including plans for post-game interviews and opportunities for students to interview athletes, with these segments and games being broadcasted on television. This would bridge the gap between the athletics and student sides of campus life, according to Olalere.
The current campus screen network that the MSU owns were replaced through a capital-expenditure request to the SRA in 2022. They currently run paid advertising and the Silhouette news ticker. There has been no clarification from the candidate if he proposes to still have this remain in addition to the "MSUTV" content.
However, he still did not clarify how his new proposed media service would fit alongside and be distinguished from the two already existing campus media services.
Finally, when being interviewed by the Silhouette, Olalere walked back one of his points in his original campaign platform that he provided. When discussing his proposed housing fair, he admitted he thought the idea was infeasible.
Overall, Olalere's campaign succeeds in presenting himself as a candidate eager to empower student voices.
It is also worth noting that Olalere is the only candidate running for MSU President from outside of the "MSU Bubble," showcasing the want for students to get involved to make a difference on campus.
Nevertheless, it ultimately falls short due to lack of clarity in his proposals and a failure to provide details on how he plans to implement his ideas effectively.
The future of McMaster’s learning environment is at stake as sessional faculty approve a strike mandate and negotiations with the university stall
McMaster sessional faculty represented by CUPE local 3906 are inching closer to a strike as bargaining continues to stall between the union and the university. While last December’s 83 per cent approval for a strike mandate, should negotiations fall through, doesn’t mean a strike is inevitable, students are going to have to consider what the possible labour action on campus might mean for them.
The potential strike, far from just a potential disruption, could be a major turning point for teaching and learning at McMaster.
Sessional faculty, faculty typically paid per class to teach, represent a significant amount of McMaster’s teaching workforce. The use of this poorly compensated and precarious workforce by the university represents a unique challenge to student learning.
The heavy demands placed on sessional faculty and the limited support provided to them by McMaster mean their ability to meet student needs, whether for accessibility, timeliness, or flexible office hours are limited.
The union and the university remain far from agreement on many issues as bargaining is likely to approach conciliation — a non-binding process in which a third party attempts to bring the negotiating parties closer to an agreement.
The disagreement between involved parties is over proposed pay increases and contract length. McMaster’s proposed pay increase would keep sessional faculties pay behind other universities for at least four years according to the union.
CUPE’s proposed 3-year contract is an attempt to align the collective bargaining process of multiple of the union’s contracts, which the union hopes will give them more leverage in future negotiations because of a higher risk of disruption from more employees.
From a student perspective the union’s demands are related to teaching and job security. The union has demanded a minimum of one TA per 50 students to support faculty and a responsibility for McMaster to offer sessional faculty who have taught a given course twice to teach that course again should it be re-run.
For factors largely beyond the control of individual sessional faculty, they are ill-equipped to best meet and exceed student needs. Sessional faculty are faced with heavy demands of their time, including often commuting between multiple schools, being given limited grading support and being forced to teach a larger number of classes in addition to other career requirements.
Students, faculty and administrations recognize the need for career-related mentorship between students and faculty, but without adequate time and compensation, this is a difficult need for sessional faculty to meet.
This divide between sessional faculty and students is replicated at the department level, where sessional faculty struggle to be included in a meaningful way in department operations.
Committing to job security for sessional staff makes both financial and educational sense. McMaster recognizes the need to invest in sessional faculty's teaching skills, which it does through the MacPherson Institute. So why are they unwilling to make a simple policy change to invest in sessional faculty's job security?
McMaster's goals of fostering a better learning environment can only benefit from this security. By allowing for longer term investment in secure sessional faculty's professional development, as well as rewarding sessional faculty's personal investment of time and effort into the university and students, the campus community can only benefit.
As the bargaining process escalates between McMaster and CUPE local 3906, students have more at stake than just a potential disruption to classes. McMaster and CUPE have the chance to strike a deal that benefits both student and sessional faculty, and that can facilitate better educational relationships between them.
McMaster and CUPE have the chance to strike a deal that benefits both student and sessional faculty, and that can facilitate better educational relationships between them.
McMaster’s stated objective to develop a flexible, personalized learning experience requires support be given to its hard working sessional faculty. It's now time for them to step up.
Key promises of Bernardini's platform include a new MSU app, total renovation of TwelvEighty and reforming EDIIA practices in the MSU
Luca Bernardini is a fourth-year student running for president of the McMaster Student Union. Bernardini has coined his platform as “Operation Reframe”, comprising five distinct pillars.
“By gathering various perspectives around the university, many of the MSU practices and services desperately need to be [r]eframed and I intend to be the individual that does so,” Bernardini stated in the opening letter of his platform.
By gathering various perspectives around the university, many of the MSU practices and services desperately need to be [r]eframed and I intend to be the individual that does so.
Luca Bernardini, McMaster Students Union presidential candidate, in his written platform
Enhancing student experiences
Pillar one discusses Bernardini’s plans for enhancing student experiences. Bernardini proposes a total renovation of TwelvEighty Bar and Grill, including new seating, interior design implementations, extended hours and menu changes.
Additionally, Bernardini proposes holding events at the new MSU building, the Hub, which is expected to open before the end of this academic year and he proposes to bring back on-campus homecoming.
MSU app and other technological innovations
Bernardini's second pillar introduces proposals for technological innovations within the MSU. His platform outlines the introduction an MSU app, which will offer rewards, such as cash vouchers for MSU food services, to students in exchange for filling out feedback forms on student union events.
In Bernardini’s third pillar, he discusses more details of the MSU app, proposing a personalized information feed for each student, utilizing artificial intelligence. Bernardini states that each student will be asked 10-15 questions that will train the app’s AI profile and curate a personalized feed.
Equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity and accessibility
The fourth pillar discusses changes to the MSU’s equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity and accessibility policies and practices. Bernardini discusses his experience as president of the McMaster Science Society where he has worked to improve EDIIA practices . Bernardini aims to conduct a full scope review of current EDIIA practices in the MSU and finalize a written Memorandum of Understanding with other on-campus organizations based on his findings.
Pillar four also discusses issues with academic advocacy, suggesting that changes must be made to accommodation services and Student Accessibility Services. Bernardini also advocates for the implementation of universal design in learning.
“Major advocacy work is in order here to open the floor to the discussion of universal design of learning being implemented in more courses at McMaster,” stated Bernardini in his written platform.
Major advocacy work is in order here to open the floor to the discussion of Universal Design of learning being implemented in more courses at McMaster.
Luca Bernardini, McMaster Students Union presidential candidate, in his written platform
Changes to clubs advisory committee
Lastly, Bernardini’s fifth pillar discusses changes to the MSU’s interaction with clubs and faculty societies. Bernardini proposes hiring more members to the clubs advisory committee and posting information in the MSU app to keep students informed.
Additional points: Restructuring the president's council
Bernardini also emphasized the importance of bringing back and restructuring the president’s council.
“Despite my efforts to encourage the current MSU administration to hold the President’s Council this year, not a single meeting has occurred. I am suggesting a full restructuring of this meeting that will work to promote collaboration and rich discussion between these groups, while breaking away from the nature of update based meetings,” stated Bernardini in his written platform.
Voting for the MSU presidential election takes place from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 using the Simply Voting platform. More information about the election can be found on the MSU Elections website.
By: Grace Kuang
McMaster president Patrick Deane is approaching the end of his second five year-term in his role as president at the university. Over the past nine years, Deane oversaw significant changes at McMaster, such as the addition of new infrastructural developments and interdisciplinary programs at the university.
“It will be extremely difficult to leave McMaster,” said Deane. “I was welcomed here nine years ago and from that first day to this, I have been amazed at the ground-breaking work of our researchers, the commitment of our students to making a difference, and the dedication of the staff, alumni and friends of the university to expanding McMaster’s impact on our community and our world.”
In 2011, Deane penned a letter addressing the McMaster community titled “Forward with Integrity: A Letter to the McMaster Community.” In the letter, Deane emphasized that all of McMaster’s continued success will depend on the cultivation of integrity.
The letter advocated for integrity in four key and interconnected areas: student experience, specifically experiential learning, self-directed learning and interdisciplinary education, research, McMaster’s relationship with the surrounding community and the university’s dedication to internationalization.
“At McMaster, the evidence is that in the category of ‘Enriching Educational Experiences,’ which includes experiential activities, we fare a little better than our sister institutions in Ontario, but not as well as comparable U.S. Peers,” reads part of the letter.
Over the last few years, McMaster has focused heavily on experiential learning, most recently developing an innovation minor for students and partnering with Riipen Networks to create a continuing education project-based learning course.
Another one of Deane’s priorities concerned interdisciplinary education. During Deane’s term, interdisciplinary programs such as the justice, political philosophy and law program and the integrated business and humanities program were created.
In his letter, Deane also stressed his goals for internationalization.
“Internationalization of the university by the presence of foreign students, by faculty involvement in a network of research alliances abroad, by faculty and student travel for research and development purposes, and above all by the adoption of an internationalized perspective in curriculum and program design on our campus: this is not only desirable and appropriate to present circumstances, it is urgently needed,” reads part of the letter.
McMaster’s model for global engagement was solidified in 2017. In addition, last year, tuition was reduced for international PhD students.
As such, it appears that some of Deane’s largest and most controversial initiatives were implemented within the last year.
One of these was the smoke and tobacco-free campus policy, which entailed the university becoming the first one in the province to claim to be 100 per cent spoke-free.
While the policy was praised by some, other students and groups, particularly the McMaster Students Union Student Representative Assembly, cautioned against the policy in an effort to prioritize “considerations of student safety, accessibility and comprehensive access to McMaster University when considering implementation.”
This past year, Deane also helped create and implement McMaster’s free expression guidelines, which evoked mixed reactions from the campus community. The guidelines sought to strike a balance between protecting free speech and the right to protest.
However, a number of students, specifically student activists, expressed concern that the guidelines would stifle dissension and silence marginalized voices.
Deane will be departing for Queen’s University in July 2019. Currently, it is uncertain who will replace Deane as McMaster’s next president.
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This fall, more than 1,500 new international students set foot on McMaster University’s campus. In the coming years, the university plans to further increase international student enrolment. As more international students are accepted to McMaster, student and university-led groups are working to identify and address key issues that they face.
McMaster’s 2017-2020 Strategic Mandate identifies international enrolment as a strategic priority. In 2017-2018, there were 2,589 international students studying at McMaster, a 25 per cent increase from the year prior.
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The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development does not limit the number of international students that a post-secondary institution can admit. The ministry estimates that by 2020, international students will make up 20 per cent of all post-secondary enrolments in Ontario.
International students choose to study in Canada for a wide variety of reasons, including the high quality of the Canadian education, the perception of Canada as a tolerant and non-discriminatory country and Canada’s reputation as a safe country.
However, many international students face significant barriers upon arrival, which can lead to problems with mental health, housing, finances and work.
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Tuition
One of the most commonly cited issues for international students across the province is tuition. According to the Ontario Undergraduate Student Association’s 2015 Ontario Post Secondary Student Survey, 49 per cent of international students stated that they had difficulty meeting their annual tuition payments.
At McMaster, a first-year domestic computer science student would pay $8,886 in the 2018-2019 academic year. However, an international student registered in the same program could pay between $25, 514 and $31, 658 per year, depending on their year of enrolment.
Universities across the province rely on international students’ high tuition to offset their operating costs. According to a 2016 Global Affairs Canada study, international students account for 11 per cent of the Ontario undergraduate population but generate 28 per cent of total tuition revenue.
The 2018-2019 McMaster Consolidated budget states, “to increase undergraduate enrolment and ensure our budget remains balanced, we need to shift our efforts to recruit additional international students, up from the current 10 per cent of undergraduate enrolment.”
This is possible because international student tuition rates are unregulated, meaning that there is no limit on how much they can increase year to year. As a result, international students face the burden of sharp, and often unpredictable, increases in tuition rates.
In addition to being an issue on its own, high tuition can also cause other problems for international students. Paula Daidone, a McMaster alumna, remarked that high tuition can put international students in vulnerable housing situations, as they are more likely to be willing to sacrifice quality in exchange for low rent.
Additionally, international students may have limited English skills, and might be searching for accommodations while living outside of Canada. Overall, these factors mean that international students are more likely than domestic students to face predatory landlords or end up in unsafe living situations.
Anant Jain, a second-year computer science student from India, also noted that high tuition means that international students often face a great deal pressure to succeed in school. International students may also face increased mental health issues due to the pressure to meet high tuition payments, problems with housing and academic stress.
Campus Life
International students can find it difficult to participate in campus life, due in large part to prejudice and racism from other students, cultural differences and language barriers.
Jain noted that some international students are nervous about initiating conversations.
“When they don’t talk to people, when they don’t interact with people, they obviously have a close community feeling, they feel like people are not accepting them,” Jain stated.
However, not all international students have trouble integrating to campus life. Jain’s outgoing nature and desire to participate in campus events helped him was integrate easily into the McMaster community.
“I think, if you really want to talk to people, people will talk to you anytime,” he said. “And people are really welcoming here.”
Jain also benefitted from mentorship programs and social events offered through International Student Services. Last year, McMaster Student Affairs conducted focus groups to help identify the needs of the university’s growing international student population. Outcomes from this included a pre-orientation program for international students called Ignite, as well as investment in iCent, an app to provide new international students with information about their move to McMaster.
Other plans for this year include the recruitment of a Student Success Coach and an Immigration consultant. According to Gina Robinson, director of the Student Success Centre and assistant dean, these changes will come in addition to existing programs relating to “life on campus, building connections, getting to know our Hamilton community, and celebrating culture and educating students on life in Canada.”
Additionally, the McMaster International and Exchange Club is a student run-initiative that connects incoming and outgoing international and exchange students. For Tom Johnston, an exchange student from Australia, MIX was a good way to get involved, meet people, and become a part of student life.
Mental Health
While these programs are helpful to some, other international students experience additional barriers that can prevent them from accessing the support available. Daidone, a McMaster alum from Brazil, emphasizes that mental health issues can make it difficult to get involved and seek out support.
Daidone points out that international students lose their support systems when they come to Canada.
“People come here from another country, by themselves. […], at home, you have more support, or family support, and more actual resources,” she said.
The 2017 OUSA Policy Recommendations notes that the rise of mental health issues is of particular concern for international students due to issues with integration and adjustment.
Additionally, while international students are automatically enrolled into the University Health Insurance Plan, they cannot enroll into the Ontario Health Plan. While OHIP covers psychiatric care, UHIP does not, meaning that international students have to pay out of pocket in order to access coverage.
The OUSA Policy Recommendations emphasize the importance of providing “high-quality mental health supports that are culturally appropriate and sensitive to the needs of international students”. Currently, the Student Wellness Centre does not offer mental health support specifically catered to international students.
The experiences of international students can vary drastically. Coming to McMaster can be an exciting way to meet new people, gain new experiences and seek new opportunities. However, many international students still face problems due to immigration policy, tuition deregulation, social prejudice and language limitations.
In the years to come, it remains to be seen how provincial government policy, university administrative decisions, and support services will work together to influence the experiences of the steadily growing international student population.
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Exploring how a “class-free week” and community-based learning could enhance McMaster’s overall student experience
Campus is often viewed as a community of its own. But Forward with Integrity (FWI) urged the campus to look outside McMaster to understand what constitutes our commitment to community.
Campus has been abuzz with various initiatives that seek to enhance our internal, local and global engagement. The Community Engagement (CE) Task Force Report noted the need for reciprocity in community partnership, fostering bilateral and mutually beneficial relationships between McMaster and community agencies.
Specific initiatives mentioned in the report include establishing a community opportunities infoshare database, a network of community champions and a possible CE course.
Student experience in the community through flexible learning
The Student Experience Task Force (discussed in last week’s FWI feature article) also proposed a “class-free week” which would feature community-based learning experiences.
The “class-free week” concept comes on the cusp of recent student interest and concern over the attempt by the MSU to secure a Fall Reading Week for students in 2013.
While the Fall Reading Week was part of Siobhan Stewart’s electoral platform, the Class-Free Week was proposed independently by the CE Task Force as a method to more flexibly approach student learning and ensure opportunities for community-based learning.
Susan Denburg, VP Academic (Health Sciences) and Strategic Advisor to the President, noted that this week would eliminate classes but provide supplementary opportunities for student learning, through seminars, service-learning and other activities.
“We want to increase opportunity for students to expand their horizons, we want the environment to be flexible, people learn in different ways and at different rates. So we want to create that flexibility so students can get to where they want to go, in different ways.”
Denburg mentioned that the goal is to eventually guarantee 100 per cent student participation. She noted that the faculties have been receptive to the idea of a class-free week with supplementary and possibly accredited activities outside of the classroom.
“We want to have this week, want you to step back, think about how could you use a week? What do you want to experience in that week and how would it enhance your learning…and what skills might it enhance?” said Denburg.
Where McMaster Stands
McMaster has been increasingly more involved in the community, with events such as MacServe, providing opportunities for thousands of students and staff. However, long-term exposure and involvement in the community has not been an institutional priority at McMaster.
Mary Koziol, Assistant to the President, Special Community Initiatives, explained that community engagement is a slow-moving and long-term process, because of the need to both protect the University’s brand and to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship.
“Making sure that community engagement is mutually beneficial is at the forefront of the decision-making process. Especially when we ask community partners and consult with them before simply creating things,” she said.
Generally, McMaster has strong elements of short-term service learning and industry partnerships but has lagged behind other universities in community-directed research and community-based education. Most students have limited awareness of Hamilton’s realities.
Huzaifa Saaed, MSU VP Education remarked upon this trend. He stated, “ I don’t feel that…we’ve made a strong commitment to the City of Hamilton, as our city and that’s what we need to go towards. It’s more of a culture shift.”
The CE task force has looked to examples of American schools to model a strong long-term, community-university partnership from.
At the University of Minnesota, the Public Engagement department tracks all the various initiatives and tries to quantify and evaluate the levels of engagement.
McMaster is part of the Canadian Association for Service Learning (Ontario Branch), which has allowed McMaster to exchange ideas with other universities about their best case practices.
McMaster does not stand-alone in its commitment to the community. In the latest Strategic Mandate Agreements submitted to the provincial government, University of Guelph and Queen’s both pledged to incorporate community engagement into their institutional priorities.
While McMaster is still in the brainstorming process, Guelph has pledged to create a certificate in Civic Engagement and establish a School of Civil Society. Queen’s is in the process of developing a Co-Curricular Opportunities Directory to capitalize on student involvement in community and experiential learning opportunities
Other universities such as York and UBC have reallocated resources and received significant funding to create community engagement centres and departments.
What comes first?
A major priority for the CE task force has been finding a channel to share and discuss the various community initiatives. McMaster hosted an “Idea Exchange” day where faculties were invited to share how they were engaging with the community.
The current focus is to familiarize all units of the university with all the ongoing projects. The Task Force report proposed creating an infoshare or database of community opportunities to organize the information for both faculty and students.
The report also proposed both a network of community champions and a community engagement course. However, both of these are fairly intertwined initiatives and on some level may vary faculty to faculty.
The network of community champions could be part of a larger community engagement office. Alternatively, these could be designated individuals within faculties.
A community engagement course would seek to immerse students across the University in community learning and meeting community members. Koziol noted that the University is currently contemplating, “what are the big initiatives which would allow a cascade of ideas.”
Koziol reiterated that it was equally important to ensure meaningful engagement and a certain commitment to the community.
“The crux of community engagement is that you are trying to both create and strengthen a network which can be difficult to measure.”
