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NEWS MARAUDERS NEST Would you like a café on campus? Big changes are coming to TwelvEighty Page 3
ARTS & CULTURE WESTDALE THEATRE The local venue will be revitalized with a community driven effort Page 11
SPORTS THE RUNDOWN Changes and news with programs big and small across campus Page 14-15
The Silhouette Thursday, July 6, 2017
Hatch centre
SOON We sat down with the Dean of Engineering to talk about the multi-million dollar project set to open in the next few months and the faculty’s direction Page 4
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Volume 88, Issue 2 Thursday, July 6, 2017 McMaster University’s Student Newspaper
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EDITORIAL BOARD editor-in-chief | thesil@thesil.ca Shane Madill @shanemadill digital media specialist | production@thesil.ca Aaron de Jesus managing editor | managing@thesil.ca Rachel Katz production editor | production@thesil.ca Catherine Tarasyuk online editor | online@thesil.ca Haley Greene sections
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COVER PHOTO Shane Madill
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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. The Board will consider all submissions and make recommendations accordingly.
Editor-in-Chief (905) 525-9140, ext 22052 Main Office (905) 525-9140, ext 27117 Advertising (905) 920-1605 italim@mcmaster.ca 8,000 circulation published by the
This cover from the first issue of 1968, released on Aug. 30, consists of hard hitting real talk. The headline of the first article was, “Professors as Chickenshits.”
CONTINUING ON FOR THE SUMMER This is the second issue of Volume 88. Our next summer issue will be on Aug. 3, and will resume a weekly schedule starting on Sept. 7. We also accept submissions throughout the summer and academic year. Any story pitches can be directed to thesil@thesil.ca.
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
The Silhouette
| 3
News The TwelvEighty Café Affordability and choice are coming soon to campus
MADELINE NEUMANN/PHOTO EDITOR
Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
On June 18, the Student Representative Assembly of the McMaster Students Union met to discuss a number of points. One of the most substantial points to come out of this meeting was the unanimous vote in favour of, “1280 Café Capital Allocation (Marauders Nest Project).” There are two main phases this. Daniel D’Souza, vice-president (Finance), explained the perspective that the MSU took to start these projects. “Our mindset is being able to provide the best value to students. Not necessarily the most fancy options, but the most affordable options.” The first phase deals with preparation space and the café, and will cost $99 000. This preparation space will be a created area in the back storage room of Union Market to provide items in house for the café, detailed in the second phase, and to expand Union
Market’s food offerings. “The idea is that sandwiches can be made in TwelvEighty, but they can be packaged in Union Market,” said D’Souza. D’Souza stated that the plan for this may change over the next few months, but currently stands as a way to reduce expenses. As detailed in the proposal, sandwiches from TwelvEighty are better quality and less expensive, $1.60 at cost, than the alternative, but are unable to produce during the year due to how busy they are with their own operations. Taro, the supplier for the academic year, provides the quantity at a $2.25 price point. The proposal also mentions that sandwiches are one of their top selling items in the summer due to their affordable price and quality. The expected immediate savings during the school year from making them in house is calculated to be $8060, and the profit increase during the school year is calculated to be $45 384. The café itself will be
located where the side bar and current unused lounge space in TwelvEighty currently is with a lot of promises based on student feedback. “Some of the reoccurring themes that we see are, one, price. That food is way too expensive on campus. Two is when it comes down to the cheaper foods, there aren’t many healthy options. And three was dietary restrictions and culturally appropriate foods,” said D’Souza. He expanded on the last point by stating how there were a limited amount of healthy halal options available and a large lack of kosher food on campus. He also highlighted the lack of choice that can come with using a meal card plan. The intended purpose of the café is to satisfy a lot of the middle ground that currently exists with food options on campus. Its target price level will be between Union Market and TwelvEighty as is, will be ideal for hour or two hour long breaks between classes and for students that want the flexibility to sit down
and study or get a grab and go hot lunch at that lower price. “There are a couple of areas around campus that are quite successful at that. When you look at My Dog Joe or Brown Dog Café, but there’s no feeling like that on campus. I think that’s the niche that this fills,” said D’Souza. When it comes to the financials, a lot of it will be dependent
“There are a couple of areas around campus that are successful at that. When you look at My Dog Joe or Brown Dog Café, but there’s no feeling like that on campus. Daniel D’Souza Vice president (Finance) McMaster Students Union
on how successful the café is and what the demand will be for a relatively unknown entity. However, the break-even point is projected to be one-third of Union Market’s sales numbers during the school year. In addition to this preparation space and the café, a longer term plan for online ordering is expected to roll out next year. “The idea is that students will be able to order either through a website or an app for pickup,” said D’Souza. While details are unclear this early in the process, there has been progress towards selecting the company that will design this system. The second phase of all of this is to eventually expand the lounge space if the café is successful. This will be determined once the café has been completed and demand can be sufficiently measured, but it is a possibility down the line.
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NEWS
Thursday, July 6, 2017 | www.thesil.ca
It’s almost Hatch’d The new building offers benefits for multiple faculties, and is close to completion Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
After multiple delays and high anticipation, the multi-million dollar Gerald Hatch Centre for Engineering Experiential Learning is almost complete. With the referendum by the faculty’s students years ago to raise money for the new space, it only grew in function and scope as interest and funding increased for this central hub of student-focused experiential learning initiatives. The building is separated with each floor serving a particular function. The basement and penthouse serve as a separately funded space on sustainable energy. Despite dedicated sections, Dr. Ishwar Puri, Dean of Engineering, mentioned the importance of sustainability throughout the building and the priority towards it. “It’s not only a building that was designed with sustainability in mind, but it was also designed as a living laboratory because there will be panels and other readouts that will be accessible to students so that they will actually be able to see how sustainability works in a technical sense.” The first floor, known as the build floor, will be primarily focused on workshops and a large build space for clubs and teams to work on large format projects in addition to housing the David Wilkinson Lounge and the relocation of The Drain, a store run by the McMaster Engineering Society. The second floor, known as the meet floor, will feature the offices for the MES, clubs and teams in addition to meeting rooms and an open social space called The Junction. The third floor, known as the support floor, will feature academic counseling, Engineering Co-op and Career Services and a collaborative learning room. Despite these functions that would be more commonly associated with engineering students, one of the things that Puri hopes is achieved with the new space is increased integration between the faculty and other disciplines around
SHANE MADILL / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
campus. “When we build these spaces, we expect them to be collision spaces. It’s an extension of our philosophy — how we built a collision space outside of the John Hodgins Engineering Building, the lobby of the engineering building. You don’t have to have an engineering student ID to be there.” These collision spaces have the benefit of allowing additional faculties to use the area in a way that benefits both non-engineering students and engineering students. “It’s a recognition that no one discipline will solve the problems of the world. The world creates issues, problems and requires solutions. Engi-
neers, by themselves, are not going to solve all of the world’s problems. They will need to work with others,” said Puri. One of the other indirect benefits of the building was the student feedback on the project. With the previously mentioned referendum and funds put by students towards the building, they continue to have a large deal of influence when it comes to the building’s function and design. Puri considers them to be equal stakeholders. This student feedback and influence allowed them to work through a largescale project, have the ability to receive the benefits and make difficult choices along the way, which is an experience that
cannot be understated. “Not all of the faculties’ suggestions were incorporated into the final design, and not all of the students’ because you have a wish list, but once you have a wish list, then you have to prioritize. … It’s very easy to put in. It’s very painful to take out,” said Puri. He also mentioned that he reminds all of his staff workers and faculty members that it is all about the students. Their feedback, experience and learning are always the top priority for the faculty and will continue to be a top priority. One of the issues that has come with this, however, is the demand for space in the building.
“We now realize that, because there is such a strong culture for experiential learning and just the example of the building encouraged others to form clubs, teams and extracurricular experiential learning opportunities, the number of requests the MES is getting for occupancy far exceeds the capacity of the building. What we need is another Hatch centre.” Moving forward, these priorities on sustainability, collision spaces and students will continue to be important for Puri and the rest of the faculty. The hope is that the centre will be fully completed by the time students arrive in September.
NEWS
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
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High gypsy moth populations in Dundas Seeing more of them around? Here’s what you need to know Elizabeth Ivanecky Contributor
Hamilton Conservation Authority staff have noted that the Dundas and Ancaster regions in Hamilton are expected to experience a high degree of defoliation this summer due to the high levels of the European gypsy moth populations. Noticeable defoliation will occur in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area east of the Hermitage Parking lot and south of the Hydro cut where HCA staff recorded 275 to 4580 egg masses of the gypsy moth. Comparable to the last spike in the gypsy moth population in 2008, when staff recorded 2600 to 10 000 egg masses. The DVCA south of Little John Road is expected to bear the brunt of the defoliation with a count of approximately 7150 egg masses of the gypsy moth. In 2008, staff recorded 26 000 to 40 000 egg masses. Other areas such as Spencer Gorge, Iroquoia Heights and other locations in the DVCA have been monitored for 25 to 600 egg masses per HA comparing to 500 to 15,000 that staff counted in 2008. Originally introduced into the United States in 1869 as an attempt to begin a silk industry, the gypsy moth spread into Canada in Quebec in 1924 and gradually expanded into Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is considered the most significant tree defoliator in North America. Gypsy moth larvae chew holes in or consume leaves thereby hindering a tree’s ability to produce new crop of leaves over the summer. In their caterpillar stage, gypsy moths produce a large amount of caterpillar frass, or fecal matter, which becomes a bother to clean up on property owners’ driveways, patios, picnic tables and homes. Lesley McDonell, a terrestrial ecologist for the HCA, prepared an update of the Gypsy Moth surveys in the Dundas and Ancaster regions to the Conservation Authority Board alongside Mike Stone, a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and registered professional planner, which included proposed solutions to the defoliation issue. HCA staff veer away from
C/O JEN LLEWELLYN
an aerial spray of the biological insecticide Btk since it kills more organisms than simply the gypsy moths. In 2008, the Dundas and Ancaster tree regions experienced a much more severe level of defoliation due to the Gypsy moth as compared to this year and were treated with an aerial spray. “Gypsy moths develop in the same way a lot of our moths and butterfly species do, [with] the same sets of stages at the same time, so Btk kills every moth and butterfly at the same stage of development as the gypsy moths,” said McDonell Instead, McDonell and staff advocate for an organic solution rather than a chemical one. She
said gypsy moth populations can be kept in check with the fungus Entomophaga maimaiga and Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus among other things. The Entomophaga maimaiga fungus is most successful in wet weather during the spring showing a stark decline in gypsy moth caterpillars than in drier springs. Caterpillars killed by this fungus appear withered and hang in a vertical position. A strain of NPV that enters a gypsy moth produces and reproduces in the nucleus of cells causing the host to become visibly swollen with fluid of the virus — thereby contributing to its decay. Human mediation is also
possible by scraping egg masses and placing sticky bands around infected tree trunks to catch and kill the moths in their caterpillar life stage. HCA staff have already employed sticky tape to catch hatching gypsy moths before they begin to defoliate trees and began scraping trees for egg masses. Staff also considered the use of pheromone traps which lure adult male gypsy moths in a lethal trap through the guise of sex pheromones. The moderately high level of gypsy moth populations in the Dundas and Ancaster regions especially concerns HCA staff about tree health and
mortality since the Fall Canker worm defoliation that occurred last spring, the summer drought which followed and the possibility of a second defoliation looming this summer. Staff remark that this will further stress the trees within these regions’ forests. “The trees are stressed, so we will be watching some of these severe areas closely to see how they react and then to see how the gypsy moth population levels change over time,” McDonell claims.
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EDITORIAL
Thursday, July 6, 2017 | www.thesil.ca
Editorial Bill S-231 and anonymous sources Are we considered journalists? Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
In November of last year, a small act to amend the Canada Evidence Act and the Criminal Code was introduced to the Senate. The purpose of this was to help protect the confidentiality of journalistic sources. There are two, main situations this would apply in. The first is allowing a journalist testifying in court to refuse to disclose information, except if the information cannot be obtained otherwise and if public interest in justice outweighs public interest in the source’s confidentiality. The second is that search warrants and court orders may only be issued for that information if there is no other way to obtain it or if the
tradeoff for public interest in the first case applies. There are a few other protections and contingencies, but those are the big ones. It is a decent start that has been long overdue. Gord Johns, an MP for the NDP, noted, “We need to follow the examples of countries such as Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in developing a shield law.” While student newspapers across the country have largely been exempt from major controversy, there is a problem with this bill. How do you define what a journalist is? This has changed over the months from being too broad to being too narrow. As of June 20, the definition of those protected with this bill is limited to only those whose main occupation is
journalism. Freelancers and student journalists are not covered as a result. While it is unlikely we would need to use anonymous sources in any circumstance in the near future, the inability to do so and the knowledge this is the case continues to put a barrier on what we can cover. If we cannot legally protect a source, why would a source ever come to us with a big story? It is a rough situation caught up in semantics. My main fear is that we will be unable to be the check and balance McMaster deserves when the students most need it. The only saving grace is that I, as Editor-in-Chief, should be allowed to take these stories on if these definitions persist. No one else on the Sil-
houette’s staff could be involved as this definition loophole may require them to reveal your identity. Until these definitions change, please talk directly to
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to death obsessed squirrels
to the mid summer malaise
to Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
to no Russian thumbs
to eccentric lesbian goals to that three flavour sorbet to a rowdy match of Bingo to two hamsters
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me in-person or through shane. madill@thesil.ca if you have a story that warrants anonymity.
to my eyes still hurting after leaving the basement to not having three flavour sorbet in the house to getting mixed up by FRINGE
to DBFZ
to chesse stuffed hamburgers
to Future Trunks
to photography errors
to finally getting hiring done
to wasted time
to guilty parties to royalty free music to Dempster Fire to rediscovering old passions to mid 2000s emo music always being there for you even when you don’t want it to be to the Timberbulls to getting a good night’s sleep to the underappreciated niances of Limp Bizkit to being fueled by poutine to the people’s champ to you, the fans
to eight frames to possibly being too old to break into eat sports to random, distracting nostalgia to a lack of merchandise to email issues to the Celtics to running out of things to thumbs down because it was a pretty good month tbh
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
HUMANS | 7 best of online learning technology with the best of face-to-face class time. So all that nitty-gritty ground level education information is on the web modules. The web modules, there’s a lot of thought that goes into designing them. The first web module sucked.
Dr. Joe Kim Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour
What was it like? They’re brutal. Basically, I had three months to really do everything. I was making web modules like one week ahead of the course. I think we put in the valiant effort. I was working probably 15 hours a day for a year. It was crazy. I think I probably lost 15 pounds because I was non-stop working. I learned a lot, and the course evaluations, by the way, were brutal, but brutally accurate in the first year. I think it was like a 5.5 out of 10. But they were helpful?
KYLE WEST / PHOTO REPORTER
How were the original methods you used for teaching? My job was to overhaul the introductory psychology course, and it needed overhauling. The way it was before, there’s no lecture, there’s no web module. You actually go into a room with up to 50 people and you watch a video tape of a recorded lecture. And then at the end, there’s a TA there, and at the end the TA says, “Does anyone have any questions?” No. People leave. ... So we’re part of the faculty of science, and it’s a prerequisite for upper year courses so we really wanted to update the material and update how it was being taught. So I could’ve gone to a classic lecture format and just said, “Let’s do what everyone else does — have three lectures a week.” And this is a long story about why do we have that format. Tradition. This is the classic model from a medieval university, and it was very useful. It was
the most efficient thing to do because books were rare. Books were very expensive. Only the instructor had a real book. They stood at what was called a lectern, that’s where lecture comes from, they read the book, and the people in the audience, the students, transcribed verbatim what was being said. So this actually very efficient when you don’t have access to information. We don’t live in that time anymore, but we carry on this tradition, and it’s what you associate with university education. But there’s so much research that demonstrates that’s not necessarily the best way for people to learn. Especially if you get into a mode where a professor doesn’t even want to give out their slides, or they’re very hesitant to. “That’s why they come to my lecture.” And then, when you’re in your lecture, students are just transcribing and copying down the bullet points on the slide. They’re not even listening. They’re just acting like a court
transcriber getting things down as quickly as possible. And the instructor, they have this pressure, they got to get through this set material so it’s almost like a race against time. It’s not a learning environment. It’s like a net transfer environment. And everyone knows active learning is good. Do you do things that involve students, demonstrate, do experiments, do discussions, do problem-based learning? But how can anyone have time to do that? How can you actually do that because you have all this set material to do? So the thing is, of course there’s stuff you have to know. There’s facts and theories and terms. There’s things you have to memorize. You have to know what dorsal is. You have to know what ventral is. You have to know fundamental things to have a conversation in any disciple including psychology. None of that is changed. The model that we came up with is called blended learning. So blend the
Very helpful. I believe in evidence based practice. ... I believe in data, and I believe in informed decisions. Those first web modules — there were a lot of things wrong with it. At first I actually thought, interestingly enough, that maybe we never need textbooks again because we can just put everything into the web modules. And then the web modules, some of them, were like two hours long. And I thought, “Well, then they don’t need to buy a textbook! This is amazing!” I didn’t quite understand the medium. A book is different from the movie. So when you read Game of Thrones, there’s a lot more information in there, a lot more backstories. The show is amazing, but it’s an adaptation of the book. There are editorial choices that are made. I think that if you really like the TV show, you should read the books too because you get even more insight, more richness. So at first, I just thought we could just get rid of the book, and then I had everything stuffed into the web modules. That was one mistake. Then later I realized, no, it’s a different medium. This is the book. The web module is the movie version of the book. So that’s a relationship that
ended up with, and that helped me refine the web modules to understand what should really go to the web modules. So the web modules at this point — really happy with them. Students rate them very highly. I think we have them on a seven point scale and the mean score is a six or a 6.5. It’s really high. It’s near peak because no matter what you do, there’s a population that just hates everything. So really happy with that. There’s a lot of thought that goes into it. So it’s divided up into units so each module has, say, eight units. I used to have video shots of me talking on most of the slides, and then, if you do eye tracking studies, people are focused on me and not paying attention to the important visual information here. So a good penological decision would be, well, let’s get rid of the video headshots so that people are just focusing on the important information. So one year, we did that. Otherwise, nothing else was changed. It’s the same audio track, the same jokes, the same presentation. But that year, students said, “I don’t know. It feels like I don’t even know a Dr. Kim. It doesn’t seem...” The jokes weren’t as funny, nothing. It’s really interesting. The content was solid, everything was good, the presentation was the same. The only thing was that the video shots were missing. So there was a disconnect. So here’s an interesting problem. I don’t want to have these video headshots in every slide, but not having them depersonalizes it. So here’s a solution. So I said there’s units, about eight units, there’s an intro and conclusion, a bookend to each unit, that’s where we put back in the headshots. Kyle West Photo Reporter
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Thursday, July 6, 2017 | www.thesil.ca
The Silhouette
Opinion The ying and yang of style and substance The open letter from the President of the MSU is redeemed by the yearlong plan Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
Chukky Ibe, President of the McMaster Student Union, shared an open letter to the McMaster community entitled, “Trust Your Dopeness.” It is three pages long, but does not say much. At best, it is a motivational speech for you to keep doing your work. The first page starts with a quote from “Blessings” by Chance The Rapper. “I don’t make songs for free, I make ‘em for freedom. Don’t believe in kings, believe in the kingdom.” The second part of this helps set up the rest of the letter well. A lot of Ibe’s points relate to this with bravado about what the student leadership throughout the extensive amount of clubs already do, the influence of McMaster and its students in the city and the want for you to reach out and tell the union what support and resources you need. It would be difficult to argue against his respect for those who are involved in the community. The issue becomes when student leadership alone is what is on display. When you look at all the pieces and praise presented, the only point that exists is what you can continue to do for the university. There is nothing about what he can do for you or what vision he has besides you continuing efforts. He has four points mentioned in the letter: - Building on Student Assets - Localization and Customization of Services - Making New Connections - Balanced Advocacy None of these have a quantifiable goal or measurable end result. All them have plenty of responsibilities for you. The first mentions, “By drawing on the strengths of student societies, the power of associations, and the supportive functions of student clubs, we
can build stronger communities,” but fails to mention how he will help you do that. The second mentions, “Students should not simply be passive recipients of programs, but should be engaged in the creation, development, and delivery of said programs,” which is just telling you to do more things with programs. The third features lines like, “Through consolidation and flexibility of resources, we can continue to meet the needs of our student body,” but it is unknown how he would do this, what he feels needs consolidation or what he thinks the needs of our student body are. There is no vision here. The letter fails to explain what his purpose is or how he can help you with anything. The fourth has a different focus than only student leadership and initatives. “We will rely on the multitude of perspectives from communities across our beautifully diverse campus, and seek external perspectives where there is a lack of clarity on any given issue,” but mentions immediate-
ly after that the MSU should not play a role in the public sphere. It is unknown what he deems to be the public sphere, but this is awkward considering all the clubs that work on public advocacy and larger issues in general and his boasting about the effectiveness of clubs, “… who will raise funds, awareness, and volunteers for local and global initiatives.” The only justification is if these do not count as examples of student leadership throughout our campus. The fact that he and his vice-presidents have participated in initiatives such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes within the last month and the dramatic shift this has to last year’s active participation in advocating for the LRT also make this want to not play a role in the public sphere odd. However, the yearlong plan is promising. At a substantial 4229 words and 14 pages, it details an extensive amount of goals, a rough timeline of what is a priority broken down by the summer, fall and winter terms and details the objectives, descriptions, benefits, difficul-
Annotations by Rachel Katz / Managing Editor C/O CHUKKY IBE / MCMASTER STUDENTS UNION
ties, long-term goals, how they would be done and the partners needed for collaboration in a logical and systematic way. It is great. You could always ask for more objectivity in the timeline and end results, but it is impressive nevertheless. Where the letter fails to inspire confidence with minimal substance, a lot of tasks for you specifically instead of leadership from him and plenty of lip service, the plan should make you want to work towards those goals. The letter is a failure without the plan, and even then
does a poor job of communicating its intended message. It does not make sense why the letter has been the emphasis to promote to McMaster students instead of the plan that takes up little more than a footnote on their website. Give us substance and how you will lead us before asking us to take up the legwork. Complimenting what we have already been doing, then demanding we do more leaves a poor impression compared to a comprehensive package of how you are on the students’ side.
OPINION
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
| 9
The Friendship Bench and improving services A good demonstration that needs the follow-up it deserves
SHANE MADILL / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SHANE MADILL / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
Article contains mentions of suicide Year after year, mental health is a consistent topic of discussion that sometimes gives a catalyst forward. The Student Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy, released back in 2015, is one example of this where the foundation of how the university approaches the subject radically changes. The results came shortly afterwards as McMaster topped the list of Maclean’s magazine as the top ranked university in Canada for mental health services based on their Student Satisfaction Survey. There were a few problems with the survey itself, but it was a good sign. Then nothing happened. The work was done. The Mental Illness Awareness Week continues to persist from before the
strategy, you get a few sound bites from McMaster Student Union presidential hopefuls about what they would do to help improve our services and that is about it. On June 26, a new bright yellow bench was introduced to the lobby of the Health Sciences Library. It was donated by the family and friends of Dr. Robert Chu, a graduate of our School of Medicine, after he committed suicide in 2016. The Friendship Bench program was co-founded by Sam Fiorella in honour of his son, Lucas, who committed suicide in 2014. At the time of writing, there are 33 benches across Canadian secondary and post-secondary schools with 40 more in queue for fundraising. They are meant as a constant, visual reminder, to encourage peer-to-peer discussion and to connect students to available mental health resources. It works in collaboration with existing services.
It has put mental health back into the conversation that McMaster should always be having, and does it effectively with respect and purpose. My main concern is that the effort for the foreseeable future will stop there. It is not that the inspiration does not seem to be there. As mentioned previously, presidential hopefuls bring it up all the time because it is, unfortunately, such as prominent issue. There are a few inhibiting factors that get in the way. One of the things our original critique of Ehima Osazuwa’s platform during his campaign trail, later the 2015-16 MSU president, included was a point to his want to lobby for mandatory training for TAs in accommodating students with disabilities. The MSU vice-president (Education) at the time stated that he had resistance in implementing mental health-specific training for TAs, so it was arguable whether further training
could be mandated for the entire university. Despite this, the idea of training specifically related to mental health came up again in three different platforms in the campaign for the 2016-17 presidency including the victor’s,
It has put mental health back into the conversation that McMaster should always be having, and does it effectively with respect and purpose. My main concern is that the effort for the foreseeable future will stop there.
Justin Monaco-Barnes, and on two platforms in the 2017-18 presidency race. Our current president, Chukky Ibe, had a platform that mentioned, “…providing funds for student groups who create independent programming in regards to the welcome week strategic themes,” including mental health, but it remains to be seen if he can follow through with that promise. Let us hold those in charge more accountable for improving our services. While talking about it is important and the benefits of discussion guided by things such as The Friendship Bench and Mental Illness Awareness Week cannot be understated, we should continue to strive for more than empty promises or promises that cannot be followed through. It should not take circumstances like this or a presidential campaign to start caring about the problem again.
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Thursday, July 6, 2017 | www.thesil.ca
OPINION
McMaster Unibersity With alternative options available, settling for awkward font is not good enough
C/O BRENDA MAY
Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
Two fonts are used for graduation degrees. No one has a problem with Goudy Text Std. It is clean, efficient and has a decent enough backstory as far as fonts go as it is a modification from 1928 that was adapted and changed from the Gutenberg Bible. This is a fine enough connection considering McMaster’s origins if you care enough about where your diploma font came from. However, a lot of people have issues with the second font called Linotext STD. The problem is that the “v” in “University” looks like a “b”
There are enough alternative options out there after a brief skim that I am sure you would be able to find even more if you put additional time and effort into it. instead. While it certainly was a popular font for its time when it was created in 1901, it does
not make a lot of sense to put it front and center on a large portion of diplomas of those graduating. It makes even less that they would differentiate the degrees to one that has less clarity in its presentation. Their reasoning for why there are two templates was, “Due to availability…” which is a weak excuse. While there are issues with some alternatives, for example, the “U” in “University” not being as sensible as I would like it to be in Gutenberg, it is not difficult to find plenty of other fonts that may have worked better. The one used on the other template works well enough despite the “v” being a bit too
rounded like a “u” for my tastes. If you want to stick with the same designer as Linotext, Morris Fuller Benton, then Linoscript would be fine enough though a bit too modern. Engravers Old English BT Std Regular, another by Benton, also plays on the same style while being inspired by a classic design called Caslon Black, created by William Caslon in 1760. There are enough alternative options out there after a brief skim that I am sure you would be able to find even more if you put additional time and effort into it. It is simply awkward and confusing why they would settle on a two template system and have one of those be legibly in-
ferior. It should not be that hard to come up with a font mimicking the style they want without looking like a typo or joke. While stating, “The Registrar’s Office meticulously hand checks every diploma not only for spelling but for any possible quality issue such as marks, smudges, misalignments or anything which might mar the diploma, or in any way diminish its presentation or the pride with which it is regarded by its recipient,” is nice, it would have been better to see that attention to deal come forward in the big picture. It was simply a poor choice.
The Silhouette | 11
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
Arts & Culture
Building magic in Westdale A full community effort will help revitalize the Westdale Theatre
SHANE MADILL / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
In December of 2016, Westdale’s iconic movie theatre was put on the market. Opening in 1935, the 495 seat, 6630-square-foot, single-screen avenue was a staple of the Hamilton community. At the time, Ward 1 councillor and longtime theatregoer Aidan Johnson had been working for over a year to designate the theatre as property of Cultural Heritage to help protect it under the Ontario Heritage Act. “The cinema is an integral part of the original heritage landscape of Westdale Village. It is inseparable from Westdale itself. It needs to be protected,” said Johnson The Westdale Cinema Group, a non-profit, was formed
to purchase the theatre shortly after, and their offer was accepted in February. A group of individuals and organizations alike, they are continuing to find the donations needed to restore the theatre. The planned renovations promise new washrooms, an expanded snack bar, new theatre seats, state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment, and an expanded stage to host theatre, music and lecture series. Films remain a priority, but it is apparent that they wish to expand the functions of the area to make a multi-purpose venue. “Through our Board of Directors, our goal is to create Hamilton’s premier cinema screening experience for art and independent films and a stateof-the-art exhibition space for
music, readings, lecture, video streaming and public meetings,” said the group. Despite these additions and changes, they also promise that the heritage and historic atmosphere of the theatre will remain intact with a restored 1935 façade, restored architectural detailing, a restored auditorium and the consistency of the front lobby snack bar and back lobby lounge. While restoration of the theatre begins this month, the group still needs $1.5 million. They are accepting grants from all levels of government, but they need additional funds. Their method is a public fundraising campaign called, “Building Magic,” with reward levels similar to a Kickstarter with products and services from local
“As we build the new Westdale, we want the tradition of presenting magic to continue — whether visiting Westdale, for film, music, theatre, or to hear an author.” The Westdale Cinema Group companies and people featured. The lowest starts at $19.35 with a custom designed pin by local designer Rachelle Letain.
The mid levels include a special screening of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with the film’s producer, multiple options for limited-edition prints, the ability to name a seat and the ability to have your message on the marquee for a week. The maximum level is $10 000, which offers the full theatre for the night with unlimited popcorn and soft drinks for all attendees. They are also accepting volunteers if you would like to contribute with time instead of money. “As we build the new Westdale, we want the tradition of presenting magic to continue — whether visiting the Westdale, for film, music, theatre, or to hear an author.”
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A&C
Thursday, July 6, 2017 | www.thesil.ca
Barton Village Festival The third year of events continue to establish the street’s identity
C/O BARTON VILLAGE FESTIVAL
Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
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On June 24, Barton Street East was closed off for an afternoon for festivities to bring awareness to the area and celebrate the potential of its local scene. It was complete with live artists, sports tournaments, plenty of green space provided by rolling out grass, 4600 square feet of it, for the first year at its Green Street Challenge and a couple breweries were on hand too. In a city where McMaster and Mohawk continue to have a significant amount of influence from the more obvious areas
such as Westdale to the core areas of downtown and beyond, Barton Street represents a part of Hamilton that has relied on itself to evolve past its former struggles. A community effort from top to bottom, the festival continues to grow from its humble origins in a single park in a way that successfully mirrors its upwards trend. A family festival by design, it featured over 25 000 attendants and over 70 vendors divided between four different sections: community, shopping, service and good eats.
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GAMES
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
Across 1. Trod the boards 6. ____ boy! 10. ____ want for Christmas... 14. Role for Valerie 15. Double 16. ____ of faith 17. Study of communicative attitudes 20. One ____ million 21. Facet 22. Oceans 26. Under discussion 30. Permeate 34. Small flower 35. Decoration at the top of a chair leg 36. Windup 38. Aromatic herb
39. S.A. country 40. “Inferno” writer 42. Biol. or chem. 43. They appear before U 44. Capital of Eritrea 45. Churchly 49. Collection of books 50 Calendar abbr. 51. Lieu 54. Ball holder 56. Make urban 64. Plains Native 65. Hullabaloos 66. Wash lightly 67. Fellow 68. It may be feathered 69. Bicycle part
Down 1. Dada pioneer 2. Half a dance 3. Rocky hill 4. Author LeShan 5. Spanish surrealist 6. Congenitally attached 7. Yank 8. 19th letter of the Greek alphabet 9. Clay, today 10. Gibson of tennis 11. Prisoner of Jabba the Hutt 12. Resinous substances 13. ____ dixit 18. Ill-suited 19. Goad 22. Uses a sieve 23. Intertwine 24. Not accented 25. Sun. speeches 27. Sluggishness 28. Linebacker Junior 29. Orch. section 31. Actor Fernando
32. Bridge holding 33. Catch 37. Passed out 39. The Beatles’ “Back in the ____” 40. “Spring ahead” abbr. 41. French friends 43. Confederate soldier 44. Up to now 46. Dry red wine 47. Adriatic resort 48. Painter, e.g. 51. Air pollution 52. Beret’s place 53. Thames town 55. Tombstone name 57. Bad review 58. Keats creation 59. ____ Alamos 60. Never, to Nietzsche 61. Not Rep. or Dem. 62. Eva’s half-sister? 63. Moray, e.g.
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Thursday, July 6, 2017 | www.thesil.ca
The Silhouette
Sports The last month and a day The end of May and June brought lots of news and changes related to McMaster’s programs
C/O YOUSIF HADDAD Shane Madill Editor-in-Chief
May 31 Women’s lacrosse Brandan Sweeney, who served as an assistant coach with the McMaster men’s lacrosse team since 2011, was named the head coach of the women’s lacrosse team. He formerly served as the head coach of Queen’s team starting in 2004 while completing his master’s degree. Winning the OUA Coach of the Year award in 2005, the first Gaels coach to win the honour, his success continued for multiple years there and for a season with the University of Washington. After obtaining his PhD from Queen’s in 2010, he returned to McMaster in 2011. “It’s been a decade since my last head coaching post at
the OUA level, and I’m looking forward to the unique challenge that it brings,” said Sweeney. His priority and mindset seems to be centered on creating a positive student-athlete environment for his team to succeed in no matter what success might mean to them. “For some, it’s winning, and winning is ideal. But why do many people play? They play for the team-building and to learn and develop, and for many, that’s part of their learning alongside their studies. We want to build a successful program where we learn how to be competitive and how to work hard, but also how to work as a team and develop those relationships and leadership capabilities.” He will also serve as the head coach of the Hamilton Bengals U19 girls field program.
June 12 Men’s volleyball The men’s volleyball team, defending OUA champions, added two new names to their staff. The first is Ian Eibbitt, who has served twice as the head coach of the Team Ontario U18 program and returns to the provincial staff in 2017 for the Canada Games. The second is Aytac Kilic, former Turkish national team player, who has nearly two decades of experience as a player and a coach. “We continue to provide tremendous resources to help develop our student-athletes and help them reach their potential,” said head coach Dave Preston.
June 19 Women’s basketball It was announced that the women’s basketball team would be participating in the Buddha Light International Association Cup tournament from July 25 to 30 at the Kaoshiung Arena in Taiwan. Organized by the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the tournament features eight women’s teams and eight men’s teams with representatives from the USA, Australia, France, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and China. “Being exposed to very different styles of play from all the different countries will be exciting. I believe that as much as they will gain from the on-court experience, our team will also gain so much from the
trip itself and being exposed to a different culture,” said head coach Theresa Burns. This comes one year after the men’s basketball team participated in the men’s tournament there and achieved first place.
“I believe that as much as they will gain from the oncourt experience, our team will also gain so much from the trip itself and being exposed to a different culture.” Theresa Burns Head coach Women’s basketball
SPORTS | 15
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, July 6, 2017
SHANE MADILL / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
June 23 Nike
June 27 Men’s volleyball
Glen Grunwald, the Director of Athletics and Recreation, announced a new partnership agreement for McMaster athletics with Nike. This comes after the five year exclusivity deal signed in 2012 that made McMaster the first Nike school in Canada. Local distributor T. Litzen Sports in Dundas will continue to be the main servicer of the agreement. “It is crucial that we have the support of great corporate partners, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Nike. We have done some amazing things over the life of this partnership, and I am confident even more is on the horizon,” said Grunwald. In addition, T. Litzen Sports is donating a new scoreboard with video capability for the Burridge Gymnasium. It will be installed in the fall in time for the start of the 2017-18 varsity sports season.
It was announced that the men’s volleyball team would welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes team for two matches on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22. The last time they played was in Burridge Gym on Dec. 30, 2016 where the Marauders won the single match 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 32-30). Ohio State has won the last two NCAA national championships, and the Marauders have won the last five OUA titles. Since McMaster’s first trip to Columbus in 2014, they have won three of the five matches played. “I can’t think of a better way to help prepare ourselves to compete for a National Championship in our own gym next March,” said head coach Dave Preston. Special thanks to Fraser Caldwell, Sports Information Director, Bill Malley, Media Coordinator, and the rest of the staff at the Department of Athletics and Recreation for the information and quotes for all of the dates featured.
“We have done some amazing things over the life of this partnership, and I am confident even more is on the horizon.”
“I can’t think of a better way to help prepare ourselves to compete for a National Championship in our own gym next March.”
Glen Grunwald Director Athletics and Recreation
Dave Preston Head coach Men’s volleyball
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THURSDAY
THE
HAMILTON SPECULATOR We’ve been Vegeta instead of Goku since 1934
July 6, 2017
NOTSPEC.COM
Intergalatic league of supervillains infiltrate student union
Eventually thwarted as they were too obvious with their high levels of productivity SAINT PETER VEGAS “Party hard.” – Vegas 4:20
There was something a bit off with the newest addition to the team, Mex Muthor. He got all of his work done on time, ran quick and efficient meetings and was willing to work overtime, on weekends and on holidays. It only took a month to peg him as a supervillain. Joe McGreen, general manager, had his suspicions during the hiring process of the Middler for a management position. “Mex outdid himself that time. The entire process only took a week instead of the six months it usually takes. He even helped in the transition process by seeing what he was passionate in and adjusting his responsibilities. It was really suspicious.” During this transition period, Middler also contributed to the student newspaper’s games page and helped deal with the bats in the student centre. His worker satisfaction and effort were immeasurable by the scale the union usually uses. When asked why he was so eager to participate, his response left our reporter baffled and confused. They have taken a leave of absence to ponder Middler’s answer. More members would join the team, Captain Mold, Marecrow and Gorilla Mrodd being the most notable additions, as productivity continued to rise to unsustainable levels. There simply was nothing left for the union to procrastinate on. However, it took much longer for the rest of the union to will themselves into getting rid of the supervillains. One of the
An artist’s rendition of their design for the Student Activity Building and Pulse expansion. Under this plan, everything would be relocated to Lake McMaster and all students would be given floaties, “Just in case.”
members stated that the benefits outweighed the negatives. “Yeah, they were pretty evil. So what? I could just put my feet up, let them do the work and focus on getting likes and retweets on Twitter. Branding is really important these days, you know.” However, when threatened with the loss of their positions due to the supervillains taking over their responsibilities, the union banded together to vote
POLL: Help, I’m trapped in my office This isn’t a question
You deserve it, wage slave
Wow, me too!
Pssh, nothing personal, kid
Can you at least play the “Emo Forever” playlist fine?
I haven’t seen the sun in over thirty years
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME? I’VE MADE MY MISTAKES
All of the above
them out. This still took a few weeks of pre-planning meetings, planning meetings, regular meetings, debrief meetings and revision meetings, but they eventually got around to it between vacation days and going to events in Hamilton. Moving forward, the union will take the lessons learned and attempt to communicate better with the student body to receive better feedback. Only three students not already working for
the union have shown interest in giving feedback for their regular meetings, but they remain important as a vocal minority. Mean Moblin, the newest hire for the union’s public relations team, promises an alternative approach. “In spite of everything you’ve done for them, eventually they will hate you. Why bother?” The union appreciates his brevity and honesty.
Tweets to the Editor I stumbed my toe today. Can you do a story on me? Send tweet.
What the h*ck? These ruffians are up to no good again! Why are stealing my litter?
- Ol’ friendly Joe, 87, Walmart greeter
- Jason, 34, Westdale resident
INSIDE URANIUM NO LONGER IN STOCK AT CAMPUS STORE A2 MAN BREAKS COMPUTER WHILE ATTEMPTING TO JUMP INTO ANIME WORLD B4 WEEKLY APPRECIATION FOR HOT FUSS BY THE KILLERS C1
PER ISSUE: Someone you know replying to a YouTube music video with lyrics from the song
Disclaimer: The Hamilton Speculator is a work of satire and fiction and should not under any circumstances be taken seriously. I do not care if you are a Marvel or DC fan, just please stop messaging me. Image Comics fans are OK though. You can DM me anytime.