Dyson Wells

The Silhouette

A new app has been released to burst the campus “bubble.”

MyHamilton, a new community-based app, was released last Thursday at a City Hall event. The app was produced by a collaboration of McMaster University, Mohawk College, Columbia College, the City of Hamilton and Weever Apps.

While still in the growing stages, there are high expectations for the interface, which was named through a contest open to McMaster/Mohawk students.

The MyHamilton app attempts to address the issue of students not being connected with the community by offering students an interactive way to explore Hamilton and explore the culture and spirit of the city.

The McMaster Students Union conducted a survey last year to gauge students’ plans following the completion of their studies. Of the 800 students polled, 40 per cent stated they would not consider living in Hamilton following graduation, 24 per cent said they would not look for a job within the city and 34 per cent said they would only take the job as a last resort.

The app currently focuses on the downtown area, spanning from the escarpment to Bayfront Park, and from Wentworth Street to Dundurn Street.

Kathy Woo, Social Media and Digital Communications manager at the Student Success Centre, explained the app’s use of Twitter, as opposed to other social media platforms like Facebook.

“Hamilton is such a huge Twitter community, and that seems to be where a lot of the students are engaging right now. It’s immediate, it’s real-time, and it’s on the fly,” said Woo.

The app, using Twitter and Google Maps, enables users to explore Hamilton, sharing their finding with friends.

Once a post is made, the tweet, along with picture provided by the user, will appear as a pin on the map that will then be visible to other users.

The app also includes a list of discounts for local events and businesses, as well as directions and methods of transportation to navigate the city.

It is expected to give a leg up to local businesses in Hamilton while helping students find those “hidden gems” throughout the city.

The app’s profiling feature, in which students enter information such as their name, email, faculty and year of study, allows businesses to track their client demographic.

Talks regarding the development of the app have been going on since May. Discussions about the app’s progress and features will take place once feedback regarding the app has been received.
Gisela Oliveira, Employment Services Coordinator at the Student Success Centre, said, “the best part about this app is that it’s a student telling a student, or it’s a young professional telling a student [about local businesses].”

“It’s not necessarily the businesses shoving it down their throat that Hamilton is the place to be,” said Oliveira.

To get the app, students must scan a QR Code.

To join the Twitter conversation with MyHamilton, users must tweet a picture with the geolocation setting on and include the hashtag #MyHamilton.

It’s that time of year again. With a new group of first year students and a fresh team of reps, Welcome Week is once again in full swing. The difference this time is that every first year student has bought a MacPass.

Halfway through the week, MSU President Siobhan Stewart is already happy about the results. “I would say it’s better,” said Stewart of this year’s Welcome Week. “I think it’s too early to say one hundred percent, but my perception at least is that it’s better.”

This positive response comes in the wake of last year’s MacPass policy change. In a campaign run by former MSU president Matthew Dillion-Leitch, quorum was reached at the MSU general assembly, where students voted in favour of a motion to impose a universal Welcome Week levy on first years.

Rather than paying separately for the ticket to Welcome Week events, all incoming students are now charged the $110 though their student accounts with no chance to opt out.

The intentions behind this change were both “financial and philosophical,” explained MSU Vice President of Administration David Campbell.

In previous years, Campbell said, some students who wanted to purchase MacPasses on site were turned away.

“[Dillon-Leitch] saw that this wasn’t right,” he said.

Furthermore, he described the prices of years past as being “artificially low,” due to a subsidy from another university source.

“The problem that we were faced with…was do we want to jack the prices up, or are we going to find another solution? Because we need some sort of sustainable model.”

The new MacPass levy has translated to increased registration for Welcome Week. Although the fee is automatically applied, students were given the opportunity to register online in advance, explained Michele Corbeil, First Year Transition Program Coordinator at the Student Success Centre.

She described the response as “positively overwhelming,” citing an increase of 500 students in registration before the week began.

By Sunday, a total of over 4600 students had picked up MacPasses—roughly 800 more than in previous years and still rising throughout the week.

“The majority of that increase happened in off-campus students, which is really key,” said Campbell. “We were really pleased with that, because that was one of our big targets.”

Though the registration overall was up, it was difficult to say if attendance increased at specific events.

“It’s a growing year for SOCS,” said Stewart. “They’re really motivated and…excited about it.” Both Campbell and Stewart emphasized the expansion of programming for off-campus students, as well as other marginalized groups. “The programming is fairly diverse…and we’re always looking to expand that.”

The no opt-out policy doesn’t appear to be a major issue, for either off-campus or residence students.

Said Stewart, “I haven’t heard any complaints from any first year that I’ve talked to, but that’s just my experience thus far.”

Campbell notes that the no opt-out policy is something the MSU is still working on.

“In my ideal world, it wouldn’t be that we’d introduce an opt-out, but it would just be that every student was getting something out of it,” he said.

And in the end, that’s what Welcome Week is all about, said Stewart. “My sincere hope is that students find something to connect to during this week.”

Dina Fanara

Assistant News Editor

The Student Success Centre (SSC) has been in existence for only a year and a half, but has already made some significant accomplishments. In 2010, for example, the SSC won the President’s Award for outstanding service to the university’s student population.

The creation of the SSC was a collaborative effort on behalf of Career Services, the First Year Experience Office and Service Learning and Civic Engagement offices at McMaster.

Jacquie Hampshire, Events and Marketing Coordinator for the SSC, explained the mission of the organization: “Through our programs, services and community partnerships we inspire students and alumni to engage in learning opportunities to succeed academically, personally and professionally.”

Hampshire added that the “goal is to make sure we are consistently meeting the changing needs of students and offering services and programs that are innovative, connected to the community and tied to the success of our students and alumni.”

The SSC offers “services and programs in the areas of community service learning, civic engagement and leadership, careers and employment, and academic success,” Hampshire stated.

Many new initiatives have been implemented this year, including the Summer Reading Program, which was supported by the Student Services Fund. Students who chose to participate were given the choice between two books to read and discuss with their peers.

This program was geared toward incoming first year students, giving them the opportunity to not only network with other first year students with similar interests, but to engage in academic discussion, which would soon become part of their everyday lives.

The majority of the communication took place via Facebook, with several meetings taking place throughout the summer on the major first-year orientation days.

The highlight of the program was a question and answer period with the authors of the two books.

Another new project of the SSC this year was Career Exploration Month, in partnership with the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences. This program consisted of a networking breakfast, a keynote speech by motivational speaker Stuart Knight and many job shadow opportunities with Hamilton employers.

The Social Media conference, which took place on Nov. 10 and 11, was also a new addition this year, and targeted students in their final year who would soon be in the process of finding permanent employment. One of the focal points of this conference was creating an “online brand” through social media for employers to see.

The Centre has also hosted an array of workshops on topics that include how to write multiple-choice exams, reading strategies, and writing skills.

This year, the SSC has also put much considerable effort into reaching students through social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These resources are being used not only to spread the word of new and ongoing programs, but to connect students with potential employers.

The SSC is excited to implement several new programs in second term, in addition to their ongoing programs, such as their summer job and employment fairs.

Second term will see the re-launch of the Dr. Mary E. Keyes Certificate of Leadership Development program, of which the main message to students is that leadership is attainable for everyone. Any student at any point can complete this new certificate during their time at McMaster, from first to final year.

To round off the year, the SSC is introducing an event called the Hamilton Employment Crawl, which will take place on April 25 and 26. The aim of this program is to allow final-year students who are looking for employment to become informed on the job opportunities that exist in Hamilton.

Farzeen Foda

Senior News Editor

The rise of social networking not only allows you to stay updated on what happened Friday night, but it could also help you begin your career.

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are but a few of the online platforms available for job seekers to advertise themselves to employers.

McMaster’s Student Success Centre held a Social Networking and Job Search Conference on Nov. 10 and 11 at the McMaster Innovation Park. The two-day conference featured employers and Social Media experts, as well as McMaster faculty from the department of Communication Studies.

The conference explored the various aspects of Social Networking and how students can use the evolution of social networking to their benefit. For students, it’s about “building your online footprint,” said Jacqueline Hampshire, Events and Marketing Coordinator for McMaster’s Student Success Centre, explaining that building a profile on a social networking site such as LinkedIn can open new avenues for career exploration that can complement rather than replace traditional job fairs.

With a strong focus on LinkedIn as a key platform for job seekers, it was noted that employers are actively involved in posting job openings and head hunters are also vigilant in seeking talent through social media.

Companies present at the Social Networking and Job Search Conference included Walmart, GE Canada and the AIDS Network, among others.

Hampshire explained that unlike a standard resume, in which a candidate must select key things to condense into a maximum of two pages, there is no limit to the amount of information that can be included on a LinkedIn profile, making it an excellent platform to elaborate on other involvements and marketable skills.

Speakers and discussions at the conference further explored how different social media are used. Hampshire explained, for example, that after company representatives meet a potential employee, “it may not be appropriate to add that person on Facebook the next day, but to invite that person on LinkedIn would be perfectly acceptable,” explaining that unlike Facebook, LinkdIn has been established on the premise of professional networking.

Building an online image is vital in this day and age to better market skills and attract the right kind of attention from employers.

Hampshire stressed this point and encouraged students to verify their online presence. “Google your name and see what comes up. Is what comes up something you would want a potential employer to see?”

Building a professional appearance online is just as important as maintaining your image on a regular basis. Remaining active and vigilant in the social media platform is yet another avenue for students to tap into when exploring career possibilities.