The Silhouette - August 9th, 2018

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NEWS: Union Market gets a makeover // PAGE 3 ARTS & CULTURE: Local filmmakers win at Fringe Fest // PAGE 11 SPORTS: Hamilton introduces Forge FC // PAGE 15

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The Silhouette

Volume 89, Issue 3 Thursday, August 9, 2018 McMaster University’s Student Newspaper

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MCMASTER THESIL

LOOKING BACK

September 21, 1959

EDITORIAL BOARD editor-in-chief | thesil@thesil.ca Emily O’Rourke @emily_oro digital media specialist | dms@msu.mcmaster.ca Aaron de Jesus managing editor | managing@thesil.ca Sasha Dhesi production editor | production@thesil.ca Hamza Furmli online editor | online@thesil.ca Yvonne Lu

September 21, 1959

sections

Cassidy Bereskin news reporter Ryan Forrest Tse news@thesil.ca news editor

features reporter

Hannah Walters Vida

features@thesil.ca opinion editor

Ruchika Gothoskar

opinion@thesil.ca

Justin Parker Jessica Carmichael sports@thesil.ca

sports editor sports reporter

arts arts

& culture editor Razan Samara & culture reporter Rya Buckley aandc@thesil.ca media

Kyle West Catherine Goce production coordinator Sukaina Imam production coordinator Sabrina Lin production@thesil.ca photo editor

photo reporter

Sasha Roshan Martin Burwell online@thesil.ca

video editor

social media coordinator

COVER PHOTO [Razan Samara]

CONTACT

LEGAL

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The Silhouette welcomes letters to the editor in person at MUSC B110, or by email at thesil@thesil.ca. Please include name, address and telephone number for verification only. Letters should be 300 words or less.

We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters and opinion articles. Opinions and editorials expressed in the Silhouette are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, the publishers, the McMaster Students Union or the University. The Silhouette is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the McMaster Students Union. The Silhouette Board of Publications acts as an intermediary between the editorial board, the McMaster community and the McMaster Students Union. Grievances regarding the Silhouette may be forwarded in writing to: McMaster Students Union, McMaster University Student Centre, Room 201, L8S 4S4, Attn: The Silhouette Board of Publications.

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INCOMING! 1959 saw an all time high of incoming first years at 400. As of 2017, McMaster sees 28,079 applicants and 5,403 first year registrants!

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

The Silhouette

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News Meet McMaster’s pink orientation crew A new initiative coming out of the MSU Pride Community Centre promises to connect LGBT firstyear students to support systems on campus

JOHNATHAN WHITE/CONTRIBUTOR

Sasha Dhesi Managing Editor

If you are on campus at all during Welcome Week, you might notice a wave of Welcome Week representatives out and about with flamingo patches on their suits.

These patches symbolize the new Pride Representative Network at work, a pet project of Miranda Clayton, the McMaster Students Union Pride Community Centre coordinator.

“This year, when I took over the [PCC], we did this whole thing where we rebranded it, we completely overhauled it and how we conceptualize our LGBT community on campus,” she said.

If a representative has a flamingo patch on their suit, it means that they are knowledgeable about all the services and supports available to McMaster students. These representatives also serve as ambassadors for

the PCC during Welcome Week, as they can offer information to any first-year students who may be interested in learning more.

According to Clayton, the LGBT community at McMaster has felt fractured for many years, partly due to the focus on cisgender, gay men in typically LGBT spaces.

“I started at Mac in 2011, and I’ve been a bisexual on this campus for about 8 years now…

When I got here, and I knew the QSCC existed, but I didn’t feel like it was a place I could go, because it was very much presented itself as a place if you are gay and only gay, which I’m not,” she said.

“I wasn’t in that straight/ gay binary that people seem to think exists, so I was like, “I guess this isn’t a place I can go,” Clayton added. She also pointed to results from her survey, which illustrated that many students on campus felt they were not welcome at the PCC, whether they were trans, non

binary, bisexual or lesbians.

“We are truly for everyone under the LGBT spectrum,” Clayton said.

As a part of her initial assessment of the service, Clayton sent out a community assessment survey for LGBT students to complete, and found

If a representative has a flamingo patch on their suit, it means that they are knowledgeable about all the services and supports available to McMaster students.

that many LGBT students were either unfamiliar or unaware of the PCC’s existence.

Another issue plaguing the service, according to Clayton, is simply its location; unlike other MSU peer support spaces on campus, the PCC’s main space is in a part of the McMaster Student University Centre that does not receive a large amount of foot traffic.

Clayton hopes that the Pride Rep Network will alleviate some of that confusion by offering students information about LGBT spaces on campus the second they enter campus grounds.

At the time of writing, there are currently 192 representatives signed up to be a part of the Pride Rep Network, and Clayton only expects that number to grow as more representatives are given the chance to sign up.

Both the PCC and other faculty societies will post about the initiative during Welcome Week to ensure students are aware

of what the flamingo patches mean.

For Mitchell Bonaccorso, a level III political sciences and public law student, supporting LGBT students comes at a crucial time. Bonaccorso will be a social science representative and is one of the reps a part of the Pride Rep Network.

“When [the MSSS Welcome Week planner] reached out to us about this experience, that’s when I researched roughly some of the communities, I looked up Miranda, and saw some of the movement and the story she was telling and I thought that was very compelling and I thought it was an important initiative that needs to be on campus,” said Bonaccorso.

As the summer winds down and campus is flooded once again, LGBT students attending McMaster can take solace in the flamingos that will quietly attending classes with them. @SashaDhesi

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NEWS

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 | www.thesil.ca

Union Market keeps things fresh

MSU operated Union Market has been going through major changes over recent months Emily O’Rourke Editor-in-Chief

Union Market is stepping up their game with new vibes and affordable options for your between-class cravings.

Operated entirely by MSU members, Union Market has sold bagels, coffee, snacks and cold drinks at the lowest prices on campus since it opened in 2002. Since May 1, the Market has seen some major changes.

From a new paint job, a soon-to-be new front of house vinyl logo and introducing bigger, better bagels, McMaster’s favourite on-campus market is freshening up their look. Jeffrey Campana, Union Market’s Manager, says that the store needed a new vibe to keep up with customers’ interests.

“We were just so outdated,” said Campana. “Our store was retailing to the market that was here in 2012 and we still expect to succeed in doing that

in 2018. Sales go down every single year, but this year I don’t think they will just because of all these things we’re putting forth.”

“Our store was retailing to the market that was here in 2012 and we still expect to succeed in doing that in 2018.”

Jeffrey Campana Manager Union Market These changes seem to be working, as sales have been higher over the past few months

in comparison to previous years. Revenue for May 2018 was up 7.1 per cent since May 2017 and revenue for July 2018 has increased by 18.5 per cent from July 2017.

Campana says that these changes have also come into effect from a pressure to have healthier food options on campus. Union Market has since introduced a real food bar line and will be tracking its progress over the coming months. They have also upgraded their bagels, that were previously met with outrage from customers after their suppliers, the Great Canadian Bagel, had shut down.

“We launched a new campaign called Bigger Better Bagels are Back, supplied by JC’s Hot Bagels just because our bagels actually sucked,” said Campana. “People were just telling us that we needed to do something about it, so we did.”

In addition to all of the major changes the store has

seen since May, UM has also introduced dozens of new products, including 1280 sandwiches, Goldfish crackers, La Croix sparkling water, avocados, filled Cliff Bars and almond milk to ensure a wider range of products for customers.

“These changes are coming because there’s someone that can do it,” said Campana. “A lot of times, people think [Union Market] is a convenience store, but while I’ve worked here, I’ve noticed that nothing really gets done. I’m using the summer to facilitate big changes. There is more that is ongoing, I believe that change is constant.”

Behind the scenes, Union Market’s student opportunity position has switched to a part time manager position. This ultimately reduces labour costs, cutting the full time position and hiring a student into the part-time role.

They have also recently signed a three year contract

with Pepsi, which will take effect on August 3 after this past year of serving both Coca-Cola and Pepsi beverages. This contract will ultimately add more options for cold beverages at Union Market and serves as a more financially viable option for the MSU. With success in their recent changes, Union Market is expecting to keep things fresh with several new features, which will be announced over the next few months. @emily_oro

AARON DE JESUS / DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

The Silhouette

ICYMI

| 5

Emily O’Rourke Editor-in-Chief

A roundup of some of the top stories you may have missed over the past

Bogle Seeds shuts down for photos Bogle Seeds, a sixth-generation grain and seed farm, is the largest grower of sunflowers in Ontario. Located right off of Highway 6 North at Safari Road, the popular desination has been key to the perfect sunflower selfie this summer.

Earlier this month, the

farm opened to the public for people to enjoy the sight of thousands of flowers.

Over the weekend of July 28, hundreds of vehicles caused a traffic jam on Safari Road at Highway 6 North. Visitors were parking along the shoulder of the highway and walking

through traffic to get to the farm.

On that Sunday night, Bogle Seeds announced on their website that the sunflower fields are officially closed for the season. While their seed store will remain open, they ask individuals not to trespass onto the field.

NICOLE RODGER / CONTRIBUTOR

Mac announces Minor in Innovation As of September 2018, a new Minor in Innovation will be available to all McMaster University students.

Designed to give students the tools they need to succeed in today’s fast-paced, innovation-driven marketplace, the program will roll out over the

next three years, starting with two courses offered in the 20182019 academic year.

The program is offered jointly through the Faculty of Engineering and the DeGroote School of Business, in partnership with the Forge, McMaster’s startup incubator. The minor

was designed to help students become successful entrepreneurs. It will also serve to enhance intrapreneurship, which is the ability to innovate within organization.

Pride crosswalks unveiled The city’s public works committee agreed to install rainbow and transgender pride flags at four locations in the city, including at Main Street West and Summers Lane and at Sterling Street and Forsyth Avenue near McMaster.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger introduced a motion in June at

council to have multi-coloured crosswalks painted in front of City Hall, while the Westdale location was requested by Ward 1 Councillor Aidan Johnson.

The project cost an overall $25,000, but the city is looking to get these crosswalks sponsored.

Both rainbow crosswalks have two additional brown and black stripes, which are used to represent the inclusion of people of colour in the LGBT community.

GRANT HOLT / CONTRIBUTOR

West Nile virus found in Hamilton Hamilton’s public health department announced that the West Nile virus has arrived in Hamilton.

Different batches of mosquitoes are trapped and tested for the virus every week.

One batch from July 27 tested positive.

While Hamilton has had West Nile virus positive mosquitos in the past, this week’s batch is the first positive case of the year, prompting the Medical Officer of Health to increase the risk of the virus from low to moderate.

The city is reminding

residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites and to remove standing water from private property to prevent mosquito breeding.

@emily_oro

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EDITORIAL

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

Editorial Popping the bubble

Hamilton is much more than what you’ll experience in Westdale Emily O’Rourke Editor-in-Chief

For most of McMaster’s undergraduate population, Hamilton serves as a second home from anywhere between three to six years. While these three to six years are about expanding personal boundaries, it only makes sense to expand physical boundaries as well.

So, why are so many McMaster students so afraid of Hamilton’s downtown core?

While there are plenty of reasons to stay on campus, from the McMaster Museum of Art to Cootes Paradise, there are more reasons to discover the city you will be calling home.

The imaginary borders surrounding the McMaster community, commonly referred to as the McMaster Bubble, allow students to venture off campus, while staying close enough to their comfort zone.

The Bubble is safe and eventually becomes familiar but there is more to Hamilton than

Westdale and, quite honestly, the Bubble does not do Hamilton justice. I am not suggesting that discovering a new city is not frightening. It can be overwhelming to step outside of your own bubble. But what I am suggesting is that Hamilton, if anywhere, is just the place to do it.

Hamilton’s core is not what it used to be and it seems as though the social stigma surrounding the core, although slowly losing its edge, is to blame as to why students are out of touch with the opportunities and experiences downtown has to offer.

What previously had the reputation as a gritty, working-class steel town has grown and shifted into a prospering city, chock-full of opportunity and things to discover. The city’s focus on the arts, entertainment and professional development has ultimately brought a new sense of vitality to the core, with unemployment rates being at their lowest in over ten years.

Hamilton has also seen an abundance of investing and development opportunities geared toward students and student retention. In fact, the City of Hamilton identifies the attraction and retention of students and young professionals as a priority in their Economic Development Strategy.

In collaboration with the McMaster Student Success Centre, among several other community partners, the city is working to ensure that Hamilton the leading choice for young professionals through job fairs, information sessions and networking opportunities.

The city really does have a way of turning ambition into practice. Between writing term papers in local cafes or taking SoBi rides to Bayfront Park, I would be lying if I said that who I am today has not been shaped by my experiences downtown Hamilton. So, trust me when I say getting out of your comfort zone will be worth it. @emily_oro

to a summer vacation to Chicago, the city and the musical

to summer being almost over to 1-hour jet lag

to bodies of water

to merc retro

to the Lunch Squad

to blood moons

to stonefruit as an accessory

to the week of murphy’s law

to snacks that double as accessories

to finding out you have have a half-sister

to finding out you have a half-sister

to unsoliscited flowers

to summer festivals

to instagram ads keeping better track of your menstrual cycle than you

to momos

to maybes

to Aaron’s tortoise babies

to this weather?

to Esheaga 2018

GAMES Across 1- Separate by a sieve; 5- Boxer Max; 9- Razzle-dazzle; 14- Drop ___ (moon); 15- The King ___; 16- Beethoven dedicatee; 17- Repeating; 19- Mob scenes; 20- Inability to sleep; 21- City in Tuscany; 22- Stony; 23- Type of gun; 24- PIN requester; 25- Small mat;

28- Icon; 31- Reason for a raise; 32- Relay race part; 34- Auntie of Broadway; 35- More wan; 36- Linebacker Junior; 37- Comics bark; 38- Garr and Hatcher; 39- Stalks; 40- Hug; 42- Swiss river; 43- “From ___ according to his abilities…”; 44- European weasel;

48- Swiftly; 50- Convince; 51- Representative; 52- Inferior poet; 53- Refrain in a children’s song; 54- Bit; 55- LAX guesstimates; 56- More tender; 57- Very, in Versailles; 58- Singer Lovett;

Down 1- Divest; 2- “Goodnight” girl; 3- Force upon; 4- Custody; 5- Circus impresario; 6- “Delta of Venus” author; 7- Dame ___ Everage; 8- Mus. slow-up; 9- Most strange; 10- Customer; 11- Large cat; 12- “The Thin Man” dog; 13- Your, to Yves; 18- Chew the scenery;

21- Flight of steps; 23- Sensitive spots; 25- Whoopi’s role in “The Color Purple”; 26- Waiting for the Robert ___; 27- Quantity of paper; 28- “___ Believer” (Monkees hit); 29- Stable female; 30- Kind of radio; 31- Ides month; 33- Astronaut Grissom; 35- Freedom from war; 36- Coffeecake topping; 38- Farm vehicle;

39- Chip dip; 41- Skullcap; 42- Main arteries; 44- Golfer Calvin; 45- Spiteful; 46- Let’s Make ___; 47- Curt; 48- Currency exchange fee; 49- Jury member; 50- Needy; 51- DDE opponent; 52- Casino area;

The Silhouette

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

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Arts & Culture More than a couch Local filmmaker shares own experiences to highlight the opportunities that come out of saying yes

Chesterfield, 2018

Emily O’Rourke Editor-in-Chief

Local filmmakers are making waves with their breakout movie, Chesterfield.

Aptly named, Chesterfield is a movie about a couch. Much more than that, however, it is a movie about friendship, adventure and the opportunities that come out of saying yes.

Chesterfield takes audiences on a trip through Toronto.

Lead character, Lewis, is new to the city and has found a couch on Kijiji to furnish his new apartment. When the only person that Lewis knows in the city is unable to help, he resorts to moving the couch from one end of the city to the other on his own.

From the kindness of strangers, the places he sees and the friends that he makes along the way, Lewis ends up with more than a couch, but a feeling of home in this new city.

The film was derived from a true story. Florence B, Director, says that when they shared an apartment with their brother,

who suffered from a neurological disorder and was unable to walk, they found a perfect couch online.

“I had to figure out a way to carry the couch from downtown Hamilton to our home in the North end of the city,” said B.

Chesterfield is a movie about a couch. Much more than that, however, it is a movie about friendship, adventure and the opportunities that come out of saying yes.

B began imanining all the ways in which transporting their new couch could turn into an adventure.

“I loved the idea of carrying a couch across town. My imagination got away with me

and I thought of all the exciting times that could be had; making pit-stops to visit friends, taking coffee breaks, inviting people to come sit and talk. I could imagine a whole day of good times.”

When B asked their friends for help, however, they weren’t interested in the adventure that could take place.

“I got nothing but negativity and I remember feeling so taken aback by their responses,” said B. “No one saw the adventure that could be had. You really find out who your friends are when you got to move a couch.

That moment really inspired me to tell the story I knew existed.”

The team behind the film, which consists of local filmmakers Christoph Benfey and Gabriel Patti, launched Chesterfield on May 14 at Toronto’s Future of Film Showcase where they won awards for Best Film and Audience Choice. They also won an award for Best Film at Hamilton’s Fringe Festival this past July.

“We really didn’t know how well this film would do,” said B. “We put our hearts into it and

“We put our hearts into it and just hoped that people would connect with our message.

The response we got truly blew us away. People loved our film.”

Florence B Director, Chesterfield just hoped that people would connect with our message. The response we got truly blew us away. People loved our film.

Everything that we hoped to achieve with our film seemed to hit a home run with the audiences we shared it with. People approached us with amazing positivity. The reviews were outstanding.”

The team has submitted the film to other festivals to take place throughout the year, and

will continue to submit the film to various festivals until next summer.

Chesterfield has also been selected for two upcoming festivals, including Toronto Independent Film Festival and the Toronto New Wave Film Festival.

“Having the opportunity to make a film with my best friends has been incredible,” said B. “We’ve grown so much through this project and we’ve made so many amazing connections. I feel like we’ve found our footing and a place in the industry, and I’m so excited to see what we can do next.” @emily_oro

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A&C

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 | www.thesil.ca

Skip the plane, keep it simple How local travelling can be a valuable experience Razan Samara A&C Editor

It was suddenly the day before April and I found myself broken down and tired. With exams around the corner, my savings trickling to their end and a general lack of motivation, I needed something to look forward to as I transgress the final stretch of the academic year.

I began to imagine myself sipping yerba mate at a café in Buenos Aires, Argentina, strolling through the Jalan Surabaya Flea Market in Jakarta, Indonesia, or even getting lost in the painted alleyways of Chefchaouen, the Blue City of Morocco.

But like many students, the commodity of time and money maintained my imagined travels as pieces of fiction. While I hope to fly away to faraway places in the nearby future, I still needed to find a way to get my fix of wanderlust for the summer.

The answer I was looking for happened to be poster-sized and framed in a GO bus shelter.

I’ve passed by the system map and disregarded it several hundred times before realizing all the travel opportunities it presents.

From Hamilton, GO transit lines can take you as far north as Lake Simcoe, west towards the Waterloo region and east to Niagara Falls with dozens of stops in between each direction.

Combined with each city’s independent transit systems, bike share programs and widespread Uber availability, the possibilities seemed endless.

I compiled a list of 20 new places I could visit, almost all of them by public transit and made it my goal to explore each one by the end of the summer.

The plan was simple, everything beyond determining the route to the destination had to be spontaneous.

This meant I had to rely on my natural instincts and the advice of locals for directions to interesting spots and places to eat. I also had to learn to be comfortable with the idea of sometimes not knowing where I’m going and walking for hours on end.

This was in stark contrast to how I was used to travelling in the past. I’m known for planning out meticulous details in hand-drawn itineraries, complete with time estimates, cost calculations, printed maps and screenshots of Instagram photos.

In desperate need to experience things in a new way, I decided to approach my 20 destinations without building any prior expectations. My list included places like Brampton, Burlington, Cambridge, St. Catharines, Waterloo and Kitchener, which are often overlooked cities for travel and entertainment.

I believed that each place was waiting to reveal its charm to those willing to take the time to build an intimate relationship with their surroundings. No matter where I went, by slowing down and taking in every detail, it became possible to have an immersive and valuable experience.

Travelling with this mindset completely changed my perspective and I learned there is so much more to the towns next door.

Suddenly Cambridge’s graffiti-painted alleyways became more than just a common trait of Ontario cityscapes. I discovered that the freshly-painted murals on walls of business establishments were part of a rare project where dozens of graffiti artists showed off their skills to their community earlier in June.

A long day of walking

through Vineland farms and Prudhommes Antique Market in search of sweet peaches and vintage finds ended with crashing at a random café in downtown St. Catharines. I quickly forgot about my aching bones as I lied down on a worn-out couch and listened intently to the atmosphere changing from a quiet coffee shop to a homey concert experience as a band rehearsed next door.

A different couch, this time a little fancier and in a Parisian-inspired macaron shop in Brampton, became the setting of a new found appreciation for a friend. As I stirred sugar into my coffee, I realized that something else was brewing within us, the trip made my friend and I open up our hearts in ways we hadn’t before.

Local travelling forged an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and nature. I hiked the beautiful trails of Don Mills, Milton and Tobermory with friends I hadn’t seen in years.

The astonishing clear waters of Georgian Bay and meaningful conversations while driving back from the Bruce Peninsula are memories I hope to never forget.

Sometimes the commute itself was an experience. I was

A&C

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

stuck on a bus with a handful of passengers for two hours while returning to Hamilton from Burlington the night of the infamous May wind storm. A man who had just finished a shift at a steel plant became our unofficial tour guide as we drove at a maximum speed of 10 km/hr.

He talked about the history of the buildings around us, shared stories of growing up in Hamilton and working as a rigger on oil platforms and mines between occasional sips from a bottle of Disaronno. He had been working for 22 days straight and the wind storm was testing his patience.

I let a stranger be my guide through Greektown in Toronto.

She greeted me with a dried lavender bouquet and basil seeds.

We immediately clicked like long-time friends as she walked me around her neighbourhood garden, showed me photographs from her travels and taught me a few tips on how to live in a more ethical and environmentally conscious way.

While in Kitchener I let hunger guide me through downtown, walking briskly from one street to the next, until the irresistible aroma of wood fired pizza stopped me dead in my tracks. I ordered a Quattro

Fromaggi and patiently watched as David O’Leary from Bread Heads tossed my pizza into the fire.

Mass consumption of pizza is a hallmark of my university experience, yet somehow I managed to develop a deeper connection to my slice when I learned that Bread Heads was a travelling pizzeria. Bread Heads and I have been travelling all summer long throughout Ontario.

David took the time to sit with me and chat about pizza and life as a Celtic musician.

While looking for a wood fired oven for his backyard he came across the idea of a mobile oven and realized it was a brilliant solution to combat drab festival food.

In another sweet shop I met Buba, who kept telling me to dare to dream over and over again as she shared her story with me. Her young family fled Bosnia when the war broke out 25 years ago. She left her aspirations and the little café she owned to start her life over in Canada.

After facing adversity, unpredictable change and constantly putting her children first, she decided to take her own advice and start Lola, a café

and chocolate bar in Burlington named after her first grandchild.

Buba thanked me for listening to her story even though I had accidentally trespassed into her closed café. She bid me farewell with another reminder to dare to dream as I made my way to visit her neighbour, Rayhoon Persian Eatery, in the 19th century inspired Village Square.

I felt like a nomad as I peacefully enjoyed chai with a saffron rock candy. My attention would shift back and forth from the book I was reading to the father of the owner and self-proclaimed big boss. I watched on and learned as he taught his restaurant-goers how to traditionally eat their dishes and get the most out of the flavours.

Perhaps it was my travel backpack or the messy journal I was writing in that gave me away as being from out of town, but the big boss refused to let me pay and wished me luck on my journey. I did not anticipate these moments of kindness and wisdom from strangers, but I’m thankful for how they’ve shaped my experience.

I’ve left every destination with a content heart and excitement for the next trip. I’ve lost count of all the clock towers, bridges, historic buildings,

museums, farmers’ market and bookstores I’ve visited in every single city, but each time I come across yet another bookstore I’m consumed by the thrill of discovering something new for the first time.

Sometimes I found nothing. I’ve even walked kilometres only to realize I’d hit a dead end.

But even those moments were valuable as they presented me with the time for contemplation and reflection while I retraced my steps.

While reflecting on these trips, I learned that we tend take where we live, go to school and work for granted. I was more often than not met with expressions of disbelief when I shared stories of travelling in my friends’ hometowns.

We are surrounded by so many unique and diverse communities yet we rarely recognize them as places worthy of travel and exploration. I didn’t need a plane ticket to sip yerba mate or walk through bustling flea markets and painted alleyways, instead I created my own versions of those experiences by paying more attention to what the cities next door has to offer. @theSilhouette

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10 |

HUMANS

Emily O’Rourke Features Reporter

Introduce yourself.

I’m Jamie Tennant. I work at McMaster as the Program Director at 93.3 CFMU and on the side I’m a burgeoning author.

What’s your first book about?

The captain of Kinnoull Hill is the name of my book and it’s difficult to explain what it’s about. I’ve been told, and I would never be so cocky as to actually use this comparison, but I’ve been told it’s like magical realism by way of Nick Hornby. It’s about a guy named Denis Duckworth who’s a real jerk and he works in Chicago.

He owns an independent record label in Chicago and he goes to New York. When he’s flying home somehow, something weird happens and he ends up on a plane to Scotland inexplicably. He winds up in a town called Perth and he ends up staying there for a bit. While he’s there, he ends up meeting a character who isn’t exactly human. He’s like a 1500 year old goblin named Eddie. He’s a Redcap, which is a type of goblin. So, it takes a hard left about one third of the way through and the rest just just sort of a adventure story/redemption tale I guess. It’s very pop culture oriented and fun.

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 | www.thesil.ca

What inspired you to write it?

Weirdly, so Kinnoull Hill is a place in Scotland that really exists, and we had a picture of it in our house when I was growing up because my dad’s from Perth, Scotland. I came up with this image of a guy in a boat dressed like a captain coming down the Tay River in Scotland.

That doesn’t actually happen in this book, but back then I think I was maybe in high school. I started writing this sort of fish out of water tale about a guy and that would be called the Captain of Kinnoull Hill. So I’ve had that title for decades and decades. Then, later in life I kind of came up with more of a different take on it, and why was this guy dressed like a sea captain and all that stuff. So I put all that in there and that’s what came out.

Take us through your writing process.

Well, the Captain of Kinnoull Hill took a long long time.

It’s kind of an unusual thing because I wrote the story as part of a bigger story and they were two different narratives happening. It was way too complex, I just did not have the skill to make it work. It would have also been like a thousand pages long which was not going to fly. So, basically what I did

was, I took the two stories and pulled them apart, and the one section was what became the Captain of Kinnoull Hill. The other thing is that it actually took me like a decade because I started and stopped and tried one thing and failed and then had to do a bunch of different things. So, that’s hopefully not indicative of how long it takes me to write a novel normally, but in this case it was about a decade. I would just write wherever I could. That’s still my process. It’s not a matter of getting inspired because if you wait for that then you could be waiting weeks. Also, if I wait for that, the problem is too that I could find myself not having enough time. I could sit there and say ‘alright, I’m going to write and am inspired but I’ve only got 30 minutes’ and then you know you wasted that inspiration. So, I just sit down and I do it everyday, make a point.

I’ll take a lunch break or I’ll wake up early in the morning before work. I don’t get a lot of time in that one sitting, but I try to make sure it happens every day. That’s basically my process, and some days are better than others, obviously. There are days when you sit down and it’s just junk coming out of your fingertips. Other days, you do stretch it. You’re like ‘I can be

late for work right? That’s okay?’

Not that I never leave for work, obviously.

Where can we find a copy?

You can find a copy in any independent book store in Hamilton. King West Books, which is replacing Brian Prince on the corner of Sterling and King. You can order it through Titles at the Mac bookstore but they don’t carry it. Epic books on Locke street and a few other places. You can find it randomly in other cities. It’s been spotted that Chapters and things like that. You can also just go to Jamietennant.ca or the Palimpsest website. Just Google it, you’ll find it and you can order it online, and of course Amazon There’s an e-book and there will be an audio book, hopefully

by September, narrated by me which will be weird but should be fun.

If you could go back in time to your undergrad days, what’s the biggest thing that you would change?

You know what’s funny, is it’s a writing thing. If I could go back to my undergrad days I would spend less time, I never would do this for real, but I would probably spend less time just goofing around and going out drinking and stuff. I would have

written more. I think I would’ve started this career a lot earlier than I did. That’s one thing I would definitely change. I went back to my undergrad days but you know, I don’t really regret it because I was living on my own for the first time and really enjoying McMaster, so I can’t really complain too much.

Do you have any Advice for students who want to become an author?

Just do it. It’s hard not to get distracted but just make the time and and do it. It’s terrifying, right, the idea of putting something so deep inside yourself on a page or on a screen or however you’re writing. And then of course to go and seek judgment on that to find out whether people like it or not enough to publish it it’s a very scary thing.

But don’t be scared just just do it. And that a lot of resources now. Like if I had started as an undergrad this is saying how old I am I would have had to go to the library and look up books on publishing. But now there are so many tips online that, I wouldn’t say it’s made easy but you’re guided more now so you can I’d say just sit down write the book. @emily_oro

12 |

The Silhouette

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

Reducing OHIP+ only hurts students

Eliminating free prescriptions for young people with private insurance limits a generation’s bodily autonomy Sasha Dhesi Managing Editor

On June 30, the provincial government, under Doug Ford’s leadership, altered the Ontario Health Insurance Plan so that children and young adults with private health benefits are now no longer able to access OHIP+, the program which offered free prescriptions to those under 25.

There is a lot to be said about the Progressive Conservative Party that was recently elected, and with the speed at which they are changing things, it feels almost silly to focus on one change. But the recent changes to our pharmacare challenges the autonomy people, especially young people, ought to have over their bodies.

If you are a McMaster undergraduate student, you are probably on the McMaster Students Union health plan. It should noted, right away, that the MSU health plan is a fairly

comprehensive one, offering both vision and dental care, coverage for 80 per cent of the cost for a huge selection of prescription drugs and only costs $106.00 for the entire year.

This plan is a good one, but like most private insurance, it only benefits someone in relatively good health. If a person needs multiple medications, dental care and vision care, then they are forced to either pay for multiple medications, opt out and receive the medications they need through OHIP+, or be out of dental and vision care, two types of health young people already neglect on a regular basis. All of these three options require one to compromise on their health in some regard.

For many individuals, it takes some trial and error before they land on the correct prescription drug; this is particularly true for those seeking birth control or antidepressants. It takes birth control

about three months to see how it affects one’s body, and six to twelve weeks before knowing if an antidepressant is working effectively.

Young people already self-medicate all the time, whether it be through other recreational drugs or through health supplements.

With this in mind, it would be hard to convince someone who needs medication to spend money on drugs which may not help until they find the exact

combination that alleviates their pain. Young people already self-medicate all the time, whether it be through other recreational drugs or through health supplements.

Being able to exist with effective pain management is one of the surefire ways to improve student life. It helps young people learn how to take care of their bodies and builds a healthy relationship based on nourishing their body when it hurts. No amount of money saved from ‘cutting corners’ is worth sacrificing a generation of young people with poor mental or physical health.

Young people should not have to do this sort of calculus when it comes to their health.

Ideally, no one would have to.

The PC government is presenting this change as cutting corners, but what it really does is limit one’s ability to successfully navigate medical care.

As we move forward

through the next four years, it is imperative that we keep an eye on what the provincial government is doing and keep critiquing, keep fighting back.

A lot of the cuts that are coming will seem innocuous, but mean cutting necessities for others.

To those entering the school year, consider the pros and cons of opting out of the MSU health plan. For those who advocate on behalf of the student union, it is worth tripling your efforts given the speed at which legislation is occurring. In the meantime, it may be time to reconsider purchasing another order health supplements before the flu season kicks in. @SashaDhesi

OPINION

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug.. 9, 2018

| 13

The holy ghost (between my thighs)

How the 1998 Sex Education curriculum has failed a generation

Content warning: graphic discussion of sexuality and discussion sexuaual dysfunction disorder Anonymous Contributor

2015 was an exciting year: we found liquid water on Mars, I started at McMaster, we had a federal election, and Ontario unveiled its new sexual education and health curriculum.

The new Ontario government is reverting to the previous version which debuted in 1998. I was living my best life back then, but little did I know that I would suffer greatly at the hands of the 1998 sex ed curriculum.

Not to spoil my story but to give some context, I have to actively tell myself that I am worthy of love.

Words like consent, clitoris, sexual dysfunction and gay never came up in my sex ed classes.

Instead, I was told to be afraid, to fear and be ashamed of my body and the consequences that my actions can have on it. The only way to truly love yourself is to be modest, chaste or to be fearful and in awe of the power of God.

The 1998 sex ed curriculum was bad but together, with traditional Catholic views and easily impressionable youth, you’ve got quite the unholy trinity.

It took me too long to acknowledge how harmful and false my formal sex education was. In elementary school, I was told over and over that sex and sexuality are only for straight, married couples. In grade 4, I asked my teacher how babies are made. My class yelled at me, “oh my god why would you ask that?”, or “you just want attention!” My teacher sent us away to collect her thoughts.

After recess she sat us down, took a deep breath, and said that babies are made “through sexual intercourse”.

We giggled, while relief washed over her face. In hindsight, I am certain that she consulted other teachers on how to handle such an inappropriate and controversial question.

The rest of elementary school was filled with poorly labelled drawings and insistence of fear. It worked. If you fear

God and follow His teachings, you won’t hurt yourself or others. This seemed reasonable; I do try to avoid pain where I can.

One such instance of this is my refusal to wear tampons. When I finally found my vagina, with the assistance of my mom at the ripe age of 13, I found it too painful to insert the tampon. Skipping 5 weekly practices once a month really sets you back as an athlete.

Another question my classmates and I had was that if sex before marriage is so bad, then why isn’t it one of the Ten Commandments? How foolish we were to think adultery was only possible in current relationships. By having sex before marriage, you are robbing your future spouse of the chance to share that with you and only you.

In high school, we watched a video of a woman repenting for her premarital sex. She was so ashamed and so sorry, but her darling fiancé forgave her.

He was still excited to share

their marriage, but he is so glad that he doesn’t feel the shame she feels. An ashamed woman and her righteous man, I bet you’ve heard that before.

Masturbation is a sin, birth control causes cancer and you can get pregnant if you’re fooling around in your underwear.

I was educated enough to know how false the birth control claim was but the same can’t be said for the pregnancy claim.

I was 13 when I heard that and about two years later, those were the thoughts on my mind as the cute boy in his underwear laid beside me. My first and only condom demonstration would come years later, courtesy of my neighbour in my first year of university.

Now, back to my discussion of pain.

I am so sorry that you received such poor health education. We deserve so much better.

I am healing but it will take time. The years of fear mongering from my schooling left me with a sexual dysfunction disorder that currently prevents

me from penetrative sex.

A male-identifying friend I made at McMaster once told me that sex was such a vital part of a relationship and that he likely wouldn’t stay in a relationship if, after three weeks, they weren’t having sex. I have hidden from romance and relationships for so long because these experiences, from elementary school to now, have made me feel as though I don’t deserve romantic love.

I’m lucky to have so much love in my life, from family and friends and from myself, but my inability to relate to the media I consume and the “normal experiences” of young women is unsurprisingly difficult.

I have always been grateful for teachers, I still am, but they need the necessary tools to allow us to succeed. We need an updated curriciulum. I needed it 15 years ago and we all need it today.

@theSilhouette

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The Silhouette

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

| 15

Sports Kicking off Forge FC Hamilton’s professional soccer club, Forge FC, will launch their inaugural season in April 2019

Emily O’Rourke Editor-in-Chief

The Canadian Premier League is the first division league of soccer in Canada, kicking off their inaugural season in April 2019.

Hamilton’s Forge FC will be one of the CPL’s founding clubs, joining Cavalry FC (Calgary), FC Edmonton, HFX Wanderers FC (Halifax), Valour FC (Winnipeg) and York 9 FC in York Region. A Port City team in British Columbia and another in Ottawa are expected to join.

Hamilton’s team, aptly titled Forge FC, will play home games out of Tim Hortons Field, keeping the upper bowls closed and keep capacity at an initial 14,000, allowing attendees to have a more intimate viewing experience.

Hamilton has been linked to a professional soccer team as early as June 2013, when reports of a potential professional soccer league launching in Canada

first emerged.

In February 2016, the ownership group, including Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young and investors from the Canadian Football League sought permission from city councillors to place a dome over Tim Hortons Field in order to allow year-long activity for a soccer league.

May 2017 saw Hamilton as one of two cities accepted by the

Forge FC will play home games out of Tim Hortons Field, keeping the upper bowls closed and keep capacity at an initial 14,000, allowing attendees to have a more intimate viewing experience.

Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership when the Canadian Premier League was unanimously approved.

Forge FC was officially unveiled on July 12 as the sixth team to join the Canadian Premier League. The name was chosen to represent Hamilton’s past as an industrial city while complimenting the city’s effort to forge ahead and build its future. Their team colours will include ‘spark orange, platinum steel and waterfall white.’

Greg Dunnett, the Senior Director of Business Operations at Forge FC says that the name pays homage to Hamilton’s heritage.

“We picked the name Forge FC because we think it really ties into the brand of the city,” said Dunnett. “It ties back to the heritage of the steel mills and the manufacturing industries but really talks about how we believe Hamilton is a city forging ahead, forging forward.

Club memberships will be going on sale in the fall, but

“[The name] ties back to the heritage of the steel mills and the manufacturing industries but really talks about how we believe Hamilton is a city forging ahead, forging forward.”

Greg Dunnett Senior Director of Business Operations - Forge FC

the club is currently hosting a deposit drive which will allow members to hold their spot in the queue once memberships go on sale.

With the $50 deposit, fans can reserve their spot in line to select their seats at Tim Hortons Field at the membership level that best meets their needs.

Further, exclusive benefits that include a personalized Forge FC scarf, co-founder board membership, exclusive Tim Hortons Field experiences and discounts on Forge FC merchandise.

“We’re going to come in at a price point that you can you can go and not blow your wallet, so the need for it is that as a young person,” said Dunnett.

“What’s really exciting about the first year is you get to make that connection from the start; the Bulldogs have been around for 20 years, the TiCats have been around for [60] years and [Forge FC] isn’t even 150 days old, so it’s something to connect to.”

Over the next six months, Forge FC will be holding tryouts around the country, keeping a quota for Canadian players on the field. @emily_oro

POSTHUMMOUS Death by chick pea, tahini and garlic salt C12

THURSDAY

THE

HAMILTON SPECULATOR MEAN, BOSSY AND STRESSED OUT SINCE 1934

August 9, 2018

NOTSPEC.COM

McMaster’s arts programs ranked amongst world’s best It can be satire because, well, you know

How does it feel Science????

HILDA O’HOOLIHAN Before you @ me, I graduated with a B.A.

A number McMaster’s arts programs have been ranked amongst such programs at other universities by some company that ranks universities on a global scale, can’t remember what it’s called.

Several of McMaster’s Humanities programs, including art history, english and communication studies in addition to programs within the Social Sciences, such as anthropology and social psychology, were all ranked amongst the top 100 of such programs in the world.

Students in the natural sciences are not entirely happy about the outcome of these rankings, according to third year Life Sciences student Cee Louette, who says that the funding that arts programs get is unfair in comparison to the sciences.

“I’m not sure where we fit into this as science students,” said Louette, whose degree will literally spell out B.S. “I wasn’t expecting McMaster to be focused so strongly on the arts, and I know that a lot of science students are finding it difficult to fit in here when arts students keep telling us that our work doesn’t matter.”

POLL: BEST ARTS PROGRAM AT MAC? We have an arts program?

Fine arts

No really, we have an arts program?

Music

Art history

The one English class I had to take when I was in Eng

Arts and Sciences

All of the above

McMaster is continuously ranked highly on a global scale due to the immersive and practical nature of the arts courses that the University offers. These programs, according to Datrick Peane, University President, continuously set students up for success.

“There’s a reason we’re among the best,” said Peane.

“We’ve grown this program into a kind of superpower over the past few decades, and we’ll continue to invest in it for years to come, with no funding going to the sciences.”

Not all is lost when it comes to the sciences, however.

The university recently enact-

ed a whole week dedicated to the sciences, titled “Sciences Matter” where the University hs to accept that these weenies are doing anything important for a whole week. “‘Science Matters’ will allow students in the sciences to finally share the work they’re doing with the rest of the school,” said Gill Pie, the SRA Science guy.

The next few months, the faculty of Humanities will be receiving a brand new work-study space on campus. The building in question had been promised to the faculty of Sciences over the past four years, but they’re not the ones winning Mac the awards so... sorry!

Tweets to the Editor At least I’ll get a job someday!!!!!

- Jason, 19, History Level II

Disclaimer: The Hamilton Speculator is a work of satire and fiction and should not under any circumstances be taken seriously. I was once an arts student.

All programs should be treated equally. We are all here as one big family.

- Jessica, 21, Nursing Level IV

INSIDE I FEEL LIKE I’M TALKING TO MYSELF WHEN I WRITE THESE AND OTHER QUIRKS A4 MEN TELLING ME I’M BOSSY B4 I HAD SOMETHING REALLY FUNNY TO PUT HERE BUT I’VE LOST IT C1 TRUE STORY, HAPPENED TO A FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF MINE D3 DO YOU REMEMBER THAT SHOW ABOUT TEEN PARAMEDICS? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? E4 THE BASEMENT STILL SUCKS F5 PER ISSUE: I’m just bitter because this one guy I dated who was in Eng always told me I’d never get a job because of my arts degree now look where I am sucker