Why our special issues remain so important 

As a news media publication, making space for historically neglected voices and issues is a vital component of reconciliation

For three years now, the Silhouette has been dedicating nearly half of our print issues to covering stories about and the voices of communities that have been historically and continually marginalized. 

Our Love is Love issue, which runs in June, is dedicated to covering people of and issues facing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at McMaster and in Hamilton. Vision, which runs in March, is dedicated to highlighting the stories and voices of Black students and faculty at McMaster. 

This issue, Education and Reconciliation, not only gives platform to the voices of Indigenous students, faculty and community members, but specifically strives to highlight stories and discussion about reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the dark history of the land we occupy.

For those that do not understand or may question the importance of these issues, especially this one, allow me to spell it out for you in the simplest of terms. Despite the appalling history that looms behind us and the resulting systemic issues that continue to face Indigenous people today, the voices of Indigenous people and the serious issues that have and continue to affect them have been sorely underrepresented by the news media industry. 

One way by which we can do our part as a media publication in working towards reconciliation is by making a concerted effort to platform what has historically been neglected. But I must also make clear that our special issues are not the only time for these topics to be platformed and written about. 

On the contrary, working towards reconciliation as a news media publication means reporting on these issues whenever they are pertinent. Nonetheless, we believe specifically dedicating space to talk about and report on reconciliation and what still needs to be done on campus and in our community is also important considering this history of neglect by news media. 

When curating our first iteration of this issue three years ago, the Silhouette collaborated closely with the then Indigenous Studies Program. In curating this year’s iteration of the issue, we collaborated with the now Indigenous Studies Department, as well as a many Indigenous student groups at McMaster. I would like to thank both the department and these student groups for working with us over the summer and early fall to support us in doing our part in reconciliation. 

As this year’s issue hits the stands just ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I hope that along with other initiatives on campus , the content of this issue will serve to be a cause for reflection and contemplation on the part of you, our readership.