Photo by Cindy Cui / Photo Editor
Breast cancer awareness campaigns are common throughout many North American professional and collegiate sports. Joining the ranks of the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and National Collegiate Athletic Association, McMaster Athletes Cares hosts an annual Think Pink initiative. The student group is made up of current athletes and regularly participates in community service and fundraising initiatives within campus and the greater Hamilton community.
McMaster Athletes Care runs several campaigns during the year such as clothing drives, McMaster Children’s hospital visits, Boys and Girls Club of Hamilton and Think Pink, a week-long breast cancer awareness campaign. Highlights from last week’s events include a range of events, from raffle fundraisers giving away McMaster branded gear and exercise classes, to competitions like Spike Ball tournaments.
Think Pink, with support from the Royal Bank of Canada, aims to raise awareness while also raising funds for the Juravinski Cancer Centre and Bright Run, an annual non-competitive walk or run fundraiser supporting breast cancer research at the JCC.
By participating in charitable efforts, McMaster Athletes Cares has shown a soft side complementary to the competitive edge of McMaster athletics. This is a step in the right direction as McMaster’s athletes prioritize creating an impact both on and off the courts.
This grassroots effort was specifically chosen to financially support local causes. McMaster Athletes Care felt it would be more effective to donate to local institutions that would invest the funds back into the Hamilton community.
McMaster Athletes Care felt it would be more effective to donate to local institutions that would invest the funds back into the Hamilton community.
Claudia Continenza, a fifth year defenceman for the women’s soccer team and Think Pink organizer, noted that the group’s decision to support JCC and Bright Run was made to ensure that there was transparency regarding where funds are allocated.
Continenza’s vision for Think Pink goes further than just how the initiative went this year. She would like to see Think Pink include not only the promotion of breast cancer awareness and research but to support other causes, such as other types of cancer.
This past April, McMaster Athletics faced the realities of cancer when Joe Valvasori, the head coach of the women’s soccer team passed away following a long battle with stomach cancer. Following this loss, McMaster Athletes Care reflects on expanding on its initiatives and fundraising efforts to include other areas of cancer research to widen its support to the Hamilton community.
“I think actually one of my hopes, and it might not be the hope of whoever takes over for me next year, but one of my hopes would be that we can expand our horizons beyond just breast cancer research and awareness. Our former head coach Joe [Valvasori] passed from stomach cancer so it’s something that’s really close to our team and we’re putting all this into supporting breast cancer but any progress in cancer is great and a goal of mine is to expand this initiative past just breast cancer,” Continenza said.
In the experience of participating students and community members, Think Pink is a valuable initiative that creates an opportunity for athletes to actively engage in supporting healthcare and charitable causes in the Hamilton community. While breast cancer researcher remained a focus of this year’s Think Pink campaign, there’s interest in expanding the initiative in the coming year to reflect the evolving needs of our local community.
Giancarlo Da-Ré is a Level V chemical biology student at McMaster.
Da-Ré has held several positions within the McMaster Students Union, including Creating Leadership Amongst Youth part-time manager, Spark sessions coordinator and Horizons leadership developer. He is currently the residence orientation advisor for the Peter George Centre for Living and Learning.
Da-Ré’s platform highlights three areas that serve as umbrellas for 14 actionable points: accessibility, climate action and student experience.
Accessibility
To address accessibility concerns at McMaster, Da-Ré proposes six points.
The first point proposes a new MSU website that is both easier to navigate and in line with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
His second point aims to increase the number of McMaster courses that use Echo360, a system that records lecture audio and visuals and stores them online for students to access. The MacPherson institute is one of the partners that Da-Ré would work with to fulfill this initiative.
Da-Ré’s third point calls for an environmental audit of the McMaster University Student Centre. His platform states that the building is currently physically inaccessible and that an audit could be used by future years to inform MUSC improvements.
Citing mental health difficulties as one of the largest concerns for students, Da-Ré’s fourth point plans to advocate for additional Student Wellness Centre counsellors. He would also raise awareness of the Student Assistance Plan, a free online platform that offers psychological counselling to McMaster students among other services.
Da-Ré also aims to address financial barriers to being a Welcome Week Representative by introducing a voluntary “Welcome Week Rep Suit rental program”. Currently, rep suits cost approximately $60, with additional costs for extra decorating supplies. Through this program, Welcome Week Representatives could pay a deposit for a rep suit, which would be reimbursed upon the return of a clean rep suit.
Along with advocating for Ontario Student Assistance Program, Da-Ré plans to simplify McMaster’s scholarship and grant application process by transitioning to a fully online system. This would include collaborating with the Financial Aid office to provide workshops and advice on students’ applications.
Climate Action
Da-Ré’s platform has four points based on climate action.
He plans to collaborate with the McMaster Sustainability Council to work on phasing out the sale of plastic water bottles on campus. He cites 14 other Canadian universities that have banned the sale of plastic water bottles on their campuses.
Da-Ré would introduce a self-serve cleaning station for reusable mugs at The Grind. He would also increase storage space “for-here” mugs, plates and cutlery. The Grind currently uses single-use counterparts, which Da-Ré calls costly and unsustainable.
With his third point, Da-Ré plans to reduce cross-contamination of waste products by developing consistent waste signage and increasing the number of green bins on campus. He claims that cross-contamination of waste streams is one of the largest problems for Facility Services and increases waste sent to landfills.
Da-Ré’s fourth point aims to reduce the use of single-use coffee cups on campus. He suggests a program that would allow students to buy select hot beverages at The Grind or Union Market for $1 on the first Monday of every month, provided they bring a reusable mug.
Student Experience
Da-Ré dedicates five points in his platform to improving the student experience at McMaster.
The first of these points aims to support international students by increasing communication between MSU cultural clubs and the Student Success Centre. Da-Ré also plans to introduce an international student support and resource committee.
Da-Ré aims to create a teaching module about consent culture that outlines services, policies and supports on campus related to sexual violence. He would make this new consent culture module mandatory for all Welcome Week Representatives.
Da-Ré plans to update all MSU Operating Policies and MSU Workplace Documents on his new MSU website to ensure that none of them are outdated.
He also aims to release a survey in Summer 2020 to gauge how students would like to interact with the MSU’s Board of Directors. The BoD currently uses the “President’s Page” in The Silhouette to address the student population; Da-Ré claims that this is not regular enough. He would include more frequent captioned video updates on social media and have the BoD hold “office hours”.
Da-Ré intends to follow the recommendations of third-party consultants hired by the current BoD to create a long-term financial plan for the MSU.
More information can be found on his website gc-2020.com.
By Esra Rakab, Contributor
“University is a learning experience, it’s okay to fail.”
These words that are intended to comfort me echo through my mind at every instance of academic hardship. University is often advertised as a place for learning and self-discovery, but this narrative often only applies to privileged, higher-income students. As an immigrant student from a low-income background and challenges with mental health, I’ve always been perplexed as to how this wasn’t just a privileged oversimplification of the emotional, physical, and financial burdens that often accompany enrollment in university for students of lower income. After all, when students who are well-off fail courses or decide to pursue additional years of education, their families can often support that decision financially. On the contrary, a student struggling similarly with their education would not have that support to fall back on. With little support, low-income students must navigate an education system designed for students without such pressures and financial difficulties, and are thrown into a cycle where there is seemingly no escape.
Even with the Ontario Student Assistance Plan, numerous low-income families struggle to meet the yearly cost of university to invest in their future. OSAP is unforgiving of students who, often for valid reason, fall below their academic standing requirements. OSAP-assisted students often face familial, personal or financial challenges, which can manifest as academic hardship, since students lose the capacity or time to devote to their studies. Rather than supporting students in such extenuating circumstances, the institution punishes them through academic probation and OSAP reductions or cuts. What implication does this have on the well-being of low-income students, who are pressured to excel in university and graduate as soon as possible, only to be thrown into an increasingly competitive job market? While their debt accumulates and while finding employment post-undergraduate becomes increasingly difficult, the pressure to graduate quickly heightens.
As much as I desperately want to advocate that it’s okay to fail and learn from our mistakes, I have experienced whirlwinds of anxiety in thinking that my mental health might set me back a year to prolong my education or increase my loans and costs.
As a result, any effort to keep my grades sufficiently “competitive” came at the cost of my well-being. Despite this, I could not succumb to the exhaustion and anxiety because the consequences of performing poorly in school would be too great to bear. Institutionally, we are thrown into a cycle where we fall thousands of dollars in debt in hopes of finding a job, yet our education may become jeopardized while we try to stay afloat. Low-income students often also work part-time to help pay fees, but the time commitment comes at the cost of their education; students are locked into positions where their ability to meet standards of academic performance is hindered. Paradoxically, we may come out of university even more financially burdened than when we started, and must find a way out. This is a challenge that higher income students usually do not have to consider seriously, often allowing many of them to enjoy and excel in their education with little financial burden.
I cannot advocate that our grades don’t define us without acknowledging my hypocrisy when I criticize myself for falling short. We’re given little guidance on what to do with failure and how to succeed despite it; The only students who share their marks are “straight A” students; the only students who share their work experience share what positions accepted them, rather than what rejected them. The perspective skews towards one of communal success, while students who are struggling are left on the sidelines.
While individuals can seek support services, like by taking loans or seeking therapy (which is also paradoxically expensive), the solution needs to target the system. Changes in the university structure, financial aid, student support and a greater focus on permitting work-life balance may provide us with stepping stones, but these inherent inequities that lead to disparities in students’ well-being and success need to be addressed by institutions, the Ontario Student Assistance Plan and students benefiting from this systemic privilege.
I’m sick of falling prey to this system. For once, I want to be able to say, “It’s okay if we fail, we can learn from this,” and truly, genuinely mean it.
What is a meme? The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a meme as an “idea, image, video etc. that is spread very quickly on the internet.” But is that all? Memes are increasingly becoming a mode of communication and community building, particularly among younger generations. The Hammer Memer, a Hamilton-based meme account with over 6,000 followers, describes it as a “virtual handshake”— a fitting description given handshakes are universally recognized as a sign of greeting or agreement, representing the idea of building friendships and connections between people through the medium of the web.
“You can tell that it can bring a community together … just having these shared experiences, and then laying them out in some sort of comedic visual. It gives people this sense of collective bonding,” explained the creator of the Hammer Memer, who wishes to remain anonymous.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6YbTEqnuPr/
Each post on the account speaks to that shared experience of Hamiltonians, whether it be the loss of the LRT, a love for the arts or the struggle to stay healthy. There are dozens of comments on each post, with followers tagging their friends to talk to them about it. While the content may be silly, the number of people interacting with it shows how relatable it can be, to friends and strangers alike.
There are dozens of comments on each post, with followers tagging their friends to talk to them about it. While the content may be silly, the number of people interacting with it shows how relatable it can be, to friends and strangers alike.
Despite running a relatively successful local meme account, the creator of The Hammer Memer, has had a rocky relationship with social media prior to creating the account.
“My relationship with social media is kind of all over the place, in a way that I don’t really enjoy, but I also know that it can be a lot of fun, and it can be used for a lot of good things. I just kind of got fed up using it to showcase my personal life because I’m not the most public person, I’m a pretty private person. So I decided, ‘You know what, I’ll start making memes’ because I thought it was a really fun but easy way to use social media for good . . . to make people laugh,” explained the creator of The Hammer Memer.
The response to the page has been overwhelmingly positive, with the account even partnering with the local brand O’s Clothes to sell their own merchandise. While much of the online community and social media has been criticized for becoming increasingly toxic, The Hammer Memer has created a predominantly positive space for Hamiltonians to gather.
“You hear a lot about the volatility of the interweb, and I was expecting a lot of persistent haters after some particular memes especially, but nobody was really attached to attacking me or anything like that. Overall, I’ve only received love,” they said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6VjbK1FrHX/
Some of the posts touch on more serious topics, like the Chedoke water crisis and coverup, in order to draw attention to them. The Hammer Memer says that, increasingly, they’ve noticed that younger audiences are turning away from traditional media sources in favour of online content, like memes.
Some of the posts touch on more serious topics, like the Chedoke water crisis and coverup, in order to draw attention to them. The Hammer Memer says that, increasingly, they’ve noticed that younger audiences are turning away from traditional media sources in favour of online content, like memes.
“I do know that a lot of media sources don’t appeal to younger crowds especially. I guess it’s a generational thing, but I think the [former] reliance on getting information from major networks, I feel like some people have lost confidence in them, or trust in them. I know that I do have a younger crowd following me, and when it comes to sharing information to the public about relevant information that affects our community . . . I do get to help certain groups of our community to be informed and stay informed,” they said.
So what is a meme? Is it just an image to be shared? In many ways, that simplicity is what makes memes appealing; they’re easy to access and they’re relatable. At the end of the day, memes are what you get out of them, whether that be a laugh shared with friends, or a slightly forceful exhale as you laugh on your own.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
Jackson Tarlin, a Level V Engineering Physics student at McMaster, has presented a wide-ranging platform that aims to address a range of issues affecting students.
“Our goal is to take every annoyance you’ve grumbled about during your time at McMaster and throw them in the trash. Then set the trash on fire. If we have time left over once we’re done, we’ll use the trash fire to light our pipe and then sit in a muskoka chair and watch the sunset,” the platform overview states.
Tarlin built his platform upon four pillars: Student Life, Clubs and Services, Campus and the Environment.
Student Life
Tarlin’s platform approaches student life with a focus on personal expression, McMaster Student Absence Form extensions, hydration, affordability and accessibility.
Beginning with personal expression, Tarlin aims to address conflicts between personal expression and a need to maintain illusions of harmony on important issues. He would assign zones to different parts of campus, with each one corresponding to a distinct and permissible level of personal expression. Tarlin’s five zones range from Zone 1, which prohibits politics and foul words, to Zone 5, which restricts conversation to swearing and screaming only, prohibiting compassion.
With regards to the MSAF policy, he proposes changing the current allowance period, which currently allows up to three consecutive days of missed work, to allowing up to two months of MSAF use. Tarlin states that this would increase stress during exam time and reduce student retention.
Hydration has its own place in Tarlin’s platform. He plans to shame individual water fountains by putting up a bulletin board dedicated to criticizing the worst water fountains across campus. He believes this will encourage water fountains, although they are inanimate, to better themselves.
Tarlin proposes the replacement of all stairs on campus with ramps. He hopes that the amount of construction required would facilitate a familiar and comfortable ambience for McMaster students.
“It just wouldn’t be McMaster without [all the noise and construction],” Tarlin’s platform explains.
Clubs and Services
Tarlin’s second pillar focuses on The Silhouette, Spotted at Mac and McMaster Confessions. He suggests increasing the tuition of 20 students by $15,000 to hire full-time journalists for The Silhouette and allow the newspaper to release issues every day.
Tarlin’s proposal to give full club status to Spotted at Mac and McMaster Confessions is something he hopes will increase their reach with their respective audiences. Both of these Facebook pages are known for publishing anonymous posts from Mac students.
Campus
Tarlin sees opportunities to change campus in five ways: moving the A.N. Bourns Science Building to Parking Lot I to make Thode more accessible from the John Hodgins Engineering building, replacing a tree near Togo Salmon Hall with a “better tree” and building a monorail between the McMaster University Student Centre and Mills Library.
Due to the very small distance between MUSC and Mills, the monorail would not need to move. Tarlin believes that the costs of constructing the monorail would be saved by the absence of electricity costs needed to run the monorail.
The Environment
Tarlin dedicates the rest of his platform to the environment. He encourages more animal safety awareness in order to stop students from eating cockroaches at Centro. As a tribute to modern music, he wants to rename Cootes Paradise, “Gangsta’s Paradise”. He also points out the moderate nature of geese at McMaster; he believes they could be trained to be as violent as geese from universities such as Waterloo and University of Toronto.
Lastly, Tarlin’s platform delivers one ultimate goal: to solve climate change once and for all.
More information can be found on his Facebook page “Tarlin 2020”. He is also reachable via email through Earthtoned.prezidante@gmail.com
Krystina Koc is a Level IV Commerce student at McMaster.
Koc’s platform consists of eight points of action distributed between her two core initiatives: advocacy and student life enhancement.
Advocacy
Within the advocacy section, Koc focuses on safety, transparency, comfort and internal issues within the McMaster Students Union. Citing reports of break-ins in Westdale and Thorndale areas, Koc claims that student safety is a growing concern among students. Koc aims to improve student safety by increasing lighting in student neighbourhoods and facilitating safety measures with landlords. She also plans to create video modules detailing instructions that might help in potentially unsafe situations.
Her second initiative calls for the improvement of transparency within the MSU by writing bi-annual reports that would disclose the progress of MSU activities.
The third platform point, titled “Be comfortable,” aims to re-open discussions on McMaster’s Department of Athletics and Recreation’s tank-top ban in the Pulse. Koc’s goal is to ensure that everyone can feel comfortable while using McMaster’s athletic facilities.
Koc’s fourth point aims to make the MSU’s internal processes, such as conflict management and review of MSU services, more efficient.
“I plan to take the work that our current President, Josh Marando, has already begun and [continue] his efforts to improve [the MSU’s] internal workings,” she states in her platform.
Student Life Enhancement
Koc’s fifth platform point revolves around MSU Clubs. She plans to review all McMaster clubs that are redundant or have been inactive for six months. She believes this would make room for unique clubs and allow students to choose clubs with more ease.
Koc is open to exploring non-MSU clubs having access to campus resources, such as room bookings, for fundraising purposes.
Koc also advocates for the use of student cards at Union Market and aims to reduce the time that the store takes to restock food items. Koc claims that Union Market shelves are often left empty as the shipments needed to refill them come in too late.
Koc’s seventh point intends to improve access to mental health services on campus by developing strategies to enhance the Student Assistance Plan, a free online platform that offers psychological counselling to McMaster students. She also plans to increase support to Maccess, a peer support outlet for students with disabilities and disabled students.
Koc’s final platform point aims to combat food insecurity on campus by raising awareness for existing services such as the Food Collective Centre. She cites a U.S. study conducted in 2019 that states that 41 per cent of fourth-year students are food insecure.
More information about Koc’s platform can be found on her website krystinakoc2020.com.
On Jan. 12, 2020, McMaster University’s Student Representative Assembly met for the first time in the new year to ratify 15 new clubs and to complete their initial review of non-MSU groups on campus.
Incite Magazine was the final non-MSU group to present their organization’s activities and budget to the SRA. According to Associate Vice-President (Finance) Jess Anderson’s report on Jan. 8, the McMaster Student Union’s Finance Committee has completed their review of all non-MSU groups on campus. These non-MSU groups receive funding from McMaster students but do not fall under the purview of the MSU Club Department.
According to the report, there are currently five non-MSU groups on campus: McMaster Marching Band, Engineering without Borders, McMaster Solar Car, Incite Magazine and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group McMaster.
“While there were a few hiccups regarding communication throughout the reviewing processes, the committee was very pleased with McMaster Marching Band, [and] have provided recommendations to Engineers without Borders, McMaster Solar Car, and Incite Magazine,” states Anderson in the report.
The Finance Committee has yet to come to a decision or provide recommendations for OPIRG McMaster. While a delegation from OPIRG attended the Dec. 8 SRA meeting, the group is still currently discussing salary and administration logistics with their union, Canadian Union of Public Employees 1281.
[pjc_slideshow slide_type="sra-jan-16-2020"]
During the meeting, 15 new clubs were ratified by the SRA after recommendation from Clubs Administrator Aditi Sharma. A list of newly ratified clubs and their mission statements was also provided on Jan. 7. These include cultural clubs such as the Indonesian McMaster Student Association and McMaster Bengali Student Union; social issues clubs such as Blackspace and Glamour Girls; and recreational clubs such as the McMaster Real Estate Society and McMaster Filmmaking Club.
Each semester, potential clubs submit their applications to the Clubs Administrator and Clubs Executive Council. Successful applicants are then interviewed by the Clubs Administrator. Potential clubs are evaluated for their uniqueness, ability to maintain significant student interest and ability to positively impact the McMaster community. Finally, recognition as an official MSU club requires ratification by the SRA.
Last semester, there were two instances that raised concerns about the process of vetting proposed clubs. On Jul. 21, SRA ratified the Dominion Society, triggering an intervention three days later by MSU President Josh Marando due to the club’s alleged connections to people and organizations with white supremacist ties. Similarly, the SRA passed a motion on Sept. 22 to de-ratify The McMaster Chinese Students and Scholars Association for violating section 5.1.3 of the Clubs Operating Policy by endangering student safety.
Discussion regarding club ratification lasted under four minutes. The question of the club recognition appeal process for unsuccessful applicants was also brought up at the meeting.
“One of my constituents wanted to start a club with the purpose of, if I’m remembering correctly, creating a space where the ideas of various faculties (science, humanities, etc.) could be discussed and shared openly together [...] The clubs department did not approve the club for reasons the constituent did not agree with and the constituent claims not [to] have been informed of a formal appeals process in their rejection,” wrote one SRA member wishing to remain anonymous.
According to the SRA member, the applicant was told that the proposed club fit a niche already occupied by the Controversial Texts Discussion Club, which aims to encourage discussion of academic texts and potentially controversial topics in Science, Philosophy and Religion. However, after reaching out to CON-TEXT several times and receiving no response, the applicant told the SRA member that they believe the club to no longer be active.
Section 4.13 of the MSU Clubs Operating Policy states that club applicants can first appeal to the Clubs Administrator. If still unsuccessful, applicants can make a second and final appeal to the CEC.
“In the email that [an unsuccessful club] got, they have an appeal period. They can send their appeal to the clubs administrator and CEC to be reviewed,” added MSU President Josh Marando at the meeting.
Lasting just over 42 minutes, this was the shortest SRA meeting so far in the 2019-2020 school year.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
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.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
Four days, seven shows and one location. For the past five years, the Frost Bites theatre festival has created a space for non-traditional theatre in Hamilton. Frost Bites focuses on site-specific theatre, which means that the shows are created for a particular venue. Therefore, shows can only be performed in one space and at one time.
This year the festival is taking place in and drawing inspiration from the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. Claire Calnan, the Executive Director of Hamilton Fringe, explains that before they begin writing, artists are taken on a tour of this venue and asked to write shows inspired by the space, challenging the typical process of writing the script first and finding the venue second. The festival is run by Hamilton Fringe and was created to add a dash of fun, bite-sized theatre to the cold winter months, and to challenge local artists to create something that transforms a space.
“Site-specific work is really interesting for me because it can transform a location for you, so that whenever you go by that location in the future you will think about it differently, because you’ve seen something happen there, or you’ve thought about it in a different way. It kind of transforms a landscape, and it can transform the landscape of a city,” said Calnan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfUCjvIAxl8/
The festival also works with the Artistic Leadership and Entrepreneurial Training Program, a program run by Hamilton Fringe to develop new artistic leaders in the city. The youth that participate in the program assist with running Frost Bites, whether that be by helping to design the space or running the box office. In this way, Frost Bites not only fosters new theatre in the community, but paves the way for the future of the artistic community in the city.
One of the companies performing is DeVision, a collective of six McMaster Film and Theatre alumni: Adeline Okoyo, Maddie Krusto, Claudia Spadafora, Jamie Milay Kasiama, Brianna Seferiades and Yvonne Lu. Their show, Key Words Include, explores the complicated concept of femme bodies as marginalized and marginalizing. Krusto, now a Master of Arts student at McMaster in the gender studies and feminist program, says that the site-specific nature of the festival creates a unique opportunity to exercise their creativity.
“As an artist, it’s really interesting to not only have this mandate of ‘Make a show,’ but to be able to come in and be inspired by things in the room. For example, when we came in for the venue tour and came into the room, there’s a big glass case, and we walked in and we immediately were like, ‘We could put people in there!’ and, ‘What can we put in there?’ and we were climbing into it, and it’s just really fun to explore what that space offers . . . in some ways it’s very liberating to get to explore first, and to play in this space, and think about what we can do,” said Krusto.
“As an artist, it’s really interesting to not only have this mandate of ‘Make a show,’ but to be able to come in and be inspired by things in the room. For example, when we came in for the venue tour and came into the room, there’s a big glass case, and we walked in and we immediately were like, ‘We could put people in there!’ and, ‘What can we put in there?’ and we were climbing into it, and it’s just really fun to explore what that space offers . . . in some ways it’s very liberating to get to explore first, and to play in this space, and think about what we can do,” said Krusto.
Each group brings their own unique focus and ideas to their performances. DeVision knew that they wanted their work to examine ideas of subjection and consumption, but working in the building helped to mold and shape their ideas, evolving to fit the space that they are performing in.
“We already knew we wanted to do a show that was something about the consumption of femme bodies, and the way that we’re being consumed, and so now the show has evolved into what is our relationship to the land, both when us as subjects and bodies being consumed, but we’re also settlers and consuming the land and contributing to settler colonialism. So what is that relationship when you’re both marginalized, but also marginalizing,” said Krusto.
Photo C/O Kaz Ehara/Verity Creative Inc.
Every show in the festival is performed in or around the same building, the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. But each show is dramatically different, offering different perspectives on the same building. Another performer is Annalee Flint, the creator of Flint and Steel Productions. She says that her show was entirely inspired by the venue.
“I specifically didn’t want to have anything in mind already, I really wanted to take advantage of the site-specific nature of it. So once I found out what the venue was I had kind of a little lightbulb about something that inspired me, and then once I actually got into the space I had that go further . . . So it really has been created solely with Frost Bites in mind and solely with this particular venue in mind,” said Flint.
Flint’s show is entitled amo, amas, amat, and it examines the meaning of love.
“It’s kind of an exploration of love, but using words and language, and maybe almost looking at what happens when you can have all of these beautiful, poetic words and declarations or statements about love, but you maybe can’t actually feel it or realize it for yourself . . . You spend your time focused on the beauty of language and the beauty of how love has been expressed by other people, but then you sort of neglect to figure out how to express it in your own world,” said Flint.
In order to fit multiple pieces into the same evening, shows are capped at 20 minutes, and are performed several times over the course of the evening. Amo, amas, amat has a run time of just 12 minutes. The multi-layered, complex meanings of the show are condensed down into bite-sized pieces, leaving the audience to construct interpretations of their own.
“[The show is] going to have all of [the meaning] behind it, but what actually is presented to the audience I think is something that everybody is going to take away a different meaning, or a different bit of wisdom, or a different emotion,” said Flint.
Frost Bites focuses on fostering relationships between different artists, encouraging artists to collaborate. Each night, audience members will be led into the main space, where there will be a special performance by Indigenous artist Rod Nettagog. On Saturday Feb. 1, choreographer Kyra Jean Green will be doing a dance collaboration with Nettagog. Audience members will not be the only ones seeing this for the first time, however; neither performer has ever met or worked with the other before — it will be an entirely unique and one-of-a-kind performance.
“It’s hard enough to create traditional theatre in the city and make it be successful, so then if you decide to create something a little bit off the beaten track, or a little bit unusual, or you want to put things in unusual places, it gets really hard to find an audience for that. I think that what I like about Frost Bites is that’s exactly what everybody that’s going to Frost Bites wants. They want something that’s a little bit different, a little bit weird perhaps, a little bit non-traditional; they know that that’s what the festival is about,” said Flint.
The Frost Bites festival happens in a new building every year, meaning that each performance is specific to its environment. The unique nature of the festival means that the artists have the opportunity to experiment and explore with different forms of theatre. Like the Hamilton Fringe Festival, artists that participate in Frost Bites are paid for their work. In this way, artists are able to hone their craft while still being supported by the community.
Frost Bites runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at the Hamilton Waterfront Trust (57 Discovery Drive). Adult tickets are $25 and grant you admission to as many shows as you can manage in one night. If that does not work with your budget, it is possible to see a 1-3 of the shows on Jan. 29 as part of the preview, for free. For more information or to pre-book, email info@hamiltonfringe.ca with “preview night RSVP” in the subject line.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
By Kayla Freeman, Contributor
Each year of university can feel like a new beginning, culminating in a gruelling session of final exams. Final exams are customarily used to test students’ comprehension of course material over the course of the semester. However, many students study for exams by cramming as much information as they can the week, or sometimes even the night before the final. This trend has birthed what is commonly dubbed ‘exam culture’. Habits such as pulling all-nighters and drinking excessive amounts of caffeine are shared on social media and amongst friends, sometimes in an attempt to justify these unhealthy behaviours. Promoting these behaviours amongst peers and friends by sharing your poor habits can cause students to believe that these practices are acceptable, or even commendable.
The realistic approach to approaching education, on social media and otherwise, is to understand the repercussions of these exam habits. Rather than shaming friends and followers across Instagram or Twitter, I opt to lead by example. Refusing to contribute or engage with this type of behaviour on the internet may dissuade friends from posting these habits online due to lack of engagement. Also, encouraging positive habits will hopefully have the same impact by influencing others to adopt improved means of coping during exam season.
After I finished my first year, I learned how to study for exams in a way that was not detrimental to my mental or physical well-being. Students are often overwhelmingly stressed during exam season, as due dates for final papers, projects and exams approach. This can lead to issues such as insomnia, anxiety and lower sleep quality. The stress felt during exam season can lead to poor sleep quality and push students to consume excessive amounts of caffeine.
It is easy to see that these habits that are built over the years of undergrad, or even high school, often translate into normalized behaviours that negatively impact both physical and mental health. I believe one of the biggest problems that students face today is that these poor habits are being shared across various social media platforms in an attempt to normalize them. Sharing your unhealthy habits can encourage others to follow these behaviours, which is harmful.
It is easy to see that these habits that are built over the years of undergrad, or even high school, often translate into normalized behaviours that negatively impact both physical and mental health.
Often, I see students compete on social media about who stays up the latest, who drinks the most caffeine or who buys the most snacks. When these mindsets are shared online, they become accessible and may incite a trend, leading others to partake or post similar photos or videos. Along with this, it has become increasingly common to see students indulging in unhealthy foods, easily accessible via UberEats or other delivery methods.
This can be dangerous, especially during exam season when these poor habits often are used as distractions from studying and can lead to a mentally and physically vulnerable state.
Overall, exam season is a time when students are most at risk in terms of their health. Rather than normalizing poor behaviours by posting about your unhealthy habits online, it is more beneficial for these behaviours surrounding studying to be called out and given direction. If we all begin to conform and assimilate to “exam culture,” it will simply lead to more harm for students.
During the upcoming semester, it is essential to address and confront negative habits that cause more harm than good. It is also imperative to understand personal limits, rather than conform to the habits of the crowd. Through knowing and understanding individual capacities, poor habits can be substituted for more healthy ones. Investing time in discovering new and improved coping strategies for stress management may encourage students to prioritize their health alongside studies and education.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
