The Silhouette - March 2, 2017

NEWS ANTI-RACISM How are student groups countering racism on campus?

Page 3

Thursday, March 2, 2017

A&C ORCHESTRA Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra shares its origin story Page 15

SPORTS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Previewing Mac's trip to the OUA Final Four Page 19

Looking to launch McMaster alumnus talks about Canada's role in space exploration and why he has what it takes to be an astronaut Pages 6-7

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News Fighting racism on campus In the wake of rising racist and Islamophobic acts in Hamilton, what are student groups doing in response to hatred at McMaster?

Sasha Dhesi News Editor

In each of the past three months, at least one racially charged event has made local headlines, from the ‘alt-right’ posters in November to the swastikas spray painted onto the escarpment Rail Trail earlier in February. With that said, student groups on campus have made it their prerogative to combat harmful rhetoric through research, consultations and education.

On Feb. 22, the McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office published a report called “Challenging Islamophobia on Campus Initiative Report”.

Written in response to the violent backlash against Muslims following the 2015 Paris attacks, this report outlines the research carried out by the office and their recommendations from their findings.

“The backlash created a climate of fear within the Canadian Muslim community including here at McMaster,” said Raihanna Hirji-Khalfan and Khadijeh Rakie, the staff members tasked with the initiative, alongside the release of the report.

Through roundtable discussions with Muslim students and faculty, the report found Islamophobia exists on campus and intersects with other identities and poses a unique experience for racialized students on campus.The report noted jokes equating Islam to terrorism, discomfort surrounding the portrayals of Muslims in media and the silencing of voices when speaking against Islamophobia as some key issues.

The report also discussed the unique experience of Black Muslims on campus.

“During the roundtable discussion, a Black, visibly Muslim student shared that following deadly attacks attributed to Muslims and Islam, there was an expectation for her to speak

up in class and denounce the attacks,” the report noted.

The report recommended creating better resources for marginalized students as a way to limit the percolation of Islamophobia on campus, as well as recognizing the threat of Islamophobia. It made note of the Islamophobia they received while conducting their research, particularly from professors emeriti who circulated a newsletter denying the existence of Islamophobia while the researchers ran workshops.

The report also discussed the need for institutional mechanisms to address Islamophobia on campus. The report argued for the implementation of clear punitive measures in the face of hate crimes in order to create a safer campus.

Many groups on campus have echoed the points made by the report in their past work.

The McMaster Womanists, in collaboration with the McMaster Indigenous Student Community Alliance, McMaster Muslims for Justice and Peace and Solidarity For Palestinian Rights (McMaster) held an anti-racism action initiative in November.

This meeting asked students and Hamiltonians to discuss what steps the community should take in order to combat racism both on campus and within the city.

The meeting’s executive summary made many points, most notably arguing for more accountability of those who commit hate crimes and allowing marginalized groups to participate in decision making to ensure their voices and concerns are heard.

Other activist groups are currently working to bring injustices to light, such as the aforementioned MMJP. MMJP is currently advocating on behalf of the deceased Soleiman Faqiri, a Muslim man with well-documented schizophrenia, who died in police custody

NICK BOMMARITO / PRODUCTION EDITOR

under suspicious circumstances.

They have created a campaign called #JusticeforSoli, and ask the public to not only ask questions about the suspicious death but also question the treatment of racialized individuals and those with mental illness within the prison system. Their work has created a dialogue around his death and has been discussed in other media outlets such as CHCH. While their work has received positive attention, student activists are often met with safety concerns, from having their personal information shared to receiving death threats.

Lina Assi, a Palestinian student activist, has had her information shared online without her consent and regularly receives death threats in response to her activism work.

“The issue of security is that there’s no protection for student activists, there’s no outreach for us with respect to

legal matters to protect ourselves from harassment from the community,” said Assi.

Within the McMaster Students Union, anti-racism work is often facilitated through Diversity Services, a service meant to support racialized students on campus. Diversity Services currently offers Anti-Oppression Practices training, which is meant to introduce students in leadership positions to concepts relating to race and inequality, and how to maneuver these concepts in their roles within the union. Currently, only other services which request AOP training receive it.

“Through the training, people engage in thoughtful discussions about complex topics relevant to their positions. The goal, then, is for them to bring the ideals they’ve learned and employ them in their job, volunteer positions, and everyday lives,” said Ryan Deshpande, director of Diversity Services.

Deshpande uses AOP train-

ing as a way to better educate students on issues pertaining to race and each session proves to be a different experience.

“Facilitating [AOP training] is not easy – it’s emotionally draining, and many times me and my co-facilitators find our identities and experiences under attack when challenging people’s notions of oppression,” he said.

Desphande hopes to see AOP training become more formalized to increase the number of facilitators and make it more accessible to the student body.

While xenophobic acts have occurred on campus, it is clear that many groups on campus are working together to educate and create a more inclusive future. For anyone who has experienced or seen bigotry on campus, contact the Equity and Inclusion Office, whose office is located in the McMaster University Student Centre, room 212. @SashaDhesi

4 |

NEWS

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017 | www.thesil.ca

Mac grads make surgery safer Local start-up company uses their McMaster education to innovate surgery for the better Steven Chen News Reporter

One start-up, with help from McMaster community, is making surgery a little bit safer.

Mariner Endosurgery, previously known as Virtual Possibilities, won the $20,000 cash prize at last year’s Forge@ Mac start-up competition, and received entry into one of The Forge’s incubator workspaces on James Street North.

The start-up targets over 1,400 operating rooms in North America, with the goal of enhancing the patient safety profile of minimally invasive procedures. The company developed a patented, prototyped medical device for minimally invasive surgery called LaparoGuard.

LaparoGuard is a soft-tissue surgical navigation platform that augments visualization by tracking and recording the fine movements of tools during surgery. It alerts medical teams when instruments approach the boundaries of an established safe zone, similar to the popular board game Operation, to prevent and decrease the risk of injury during surgery.

Since the competition, the group has progressed forward in their successes having recently completed an investment round featuring prominent medical device investors and renowned surgeons from the local area.

McMaster has been intertwined several times in the career journey of Mitch Wilson, president and chief operating officer of Mariner Endosurgery.

Wilson completed a four-year life sciences degree at McMaster and worked as a teacher before starting his Master of Business Administration at the DeGroote School of Business. It was there where he met one of his future business partners, Dr. David Langlois.

When speaking about his formal education at McMaster, he noted that completing his MBA presented him with opportunities that propelled him in the right direction as a future entrepreneur.

“Being a student was an advantage — there is less risk signalled when meetings and opportunities are framed as a student looking to learn more.

DeGroote’s MBA program with

Management of Innovation and New Technologies specialization provided ample opportunities to both learn current best management practices regarding new ventures, and the supportive ecosystem ensured plenty of opportunities to apply that learning to Mariner,” said Wilson.

“You cannot be a master of all trades.

Understand and embrace your key competencies, and address deficiencies by surrounding yourself with the right people who possess skill sets you lack.”

Mariner Endosurgery aims to enhance patient safety.

C/O MARINER ENDOSURGERY

Hey,

Mitch Wilson President and Chief Operating Officer of Mariner Endosurgery Wilson’s unique education background led him to connect with the right people and carve out a unique role in his start-up. “[Our product] LaparoGuard is the brain child of Dr. David Langlois. Dave built early prototypes, connected with me at the Synapse Life Science Competition [at DeGroote], and together we began building out the company,” Wilson said.

Considering the surging popularity for science students to later become entrepreneurs, and noting the induction of programs such as Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization, Wilson offers potent advice for current students concerning interdisciplinary learning.

“You cannot be a master of all trades. Understand and embrace your key competencies, and address deficiencies by surrounding yourself with the right people who possess skill sets you lack.”

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NEWS

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NICOLE VASAREVIC / PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Westdale’s potential new student housing upgrade Talk of a new multi-storey residence will address solve the lack of oncampus living accomodation issue

Emily O'Rourke News Reporter

Working towards a goal of providing further residence space for first-year students, McMaster University has purchased a group of nine houses surrounding campus for $9.5 million with a plan to develop a multi-storey, student residence building.

McMaster purchased a cluster of houses that are located adjacent to the university between Forsyth and Dalewood Avenue from Scholar Properties, an investor group that specializes in off-campus properties throughout Hamilton, London and Waterloo. The group owns several other properties within the neighbourhood and had been planning to demolish the nine houses in order to develop student residences before the sale to McMaster.

The lot provides a total of

1.45 acres of land for McMaster to develop into a multi-storey student residence complex.

Working in partnership with Knightstone, a Toronto-based development company experienced in building student residences, the project is expected to be comprised of 800 beds.

There has been an incredibly high demand for on-campus student residence space in recent years. The 12 current on-campus residences are only able to house nearly 3,700 of 6,170 incoming first year students, leaving upwards of 40 per cent of first year students to look for housing alternatives.

“McMaster is at a disadvantage because it is one of the only universities in Ontario that cannot provide a first year on campus housing guarantee,” said Gord Arbeau, McMaster’s director of communications and public affairs. “This means some students coming to McMaster

are left to find housing off campus, while other highly skilled and qualified applicants may choose another university.”

The project’s plan show the structure to have its highest point facing Main Street West, then to be tiered back towards Traymore Avenue, eliminating shadows on area homes while creating interesting architectural elements.

Once complete, this development will be managed under the McMaster residence system and allow incoming students another housing option with the same codes of conduct, services and benefits as the other residences on campus.

Another project in the works is the McMaster Living and Learning Centre. Currently under construction where temporary buildings T28 and T29 once stood, the new building will be compromised of 12 storeys, eight of which will be stu-

Once complete, this development will be managed under the McMaster residence system and allow incoming students another housing option with the same codes of conduct, services and benefits as the other residences on campus. dent residences. The remaining floors will consist of classrooms and student services, including the Student Wellness Centre, Student Accessibility Services

and the Children’s Centre daycare.

The LLC sees a total of 500 new suite and traditional style spaces to house first year students, contributing to the ongoing demand for further residence space on campus. The project is set to be completed by September 2019. “[The Living and Learning building and the Main Street residence] are required to meet existing demand. There is a shortfall in terms of campus housing for first-year students.

With these two new residences online, well be able to better meet the current demand of first year students,” said Arbeau.

The university is currently beginning the planning stages of this new development and a completion date has not yet been determined.

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FEATURE

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017 | www.thesil.ca

Thomas Karakolis, a McMaster alumnus, is one of the 72 remaining Canadians being considered by the Canadian Space Agency to become an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. He talks about his dreams of becoming an astronaut and Canada’s role in space exploration

Alexandra Florescu Features Reporter

Space travel began with the launch of Sputnik 1, the first satellite. The first human to orbit the Earth was Russian, but the Americans made it to the moon first. Since then, Russia and North America have dominated space travel. The Canadian Space Agency was first established in 1989, with its first major contribution being Canadarm, a robotic arm capable of satellite manipulation. The success of Canadarm prompted the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to work with the CSA to train Canadian astronauts and send them to space. Several years later, Chris Hadfield became a household name

when he became the first Canadian to command the International Space Station. Since then, the CSA has started to rely on Russian capsules to get them to low-earth orbit, limiting the number of trips that Canadian astronauts can make and therefore limiting the need for astronauts. At the moment, the CSA only has two active astronauts, David SaintJacques and Jeremy Hansen.

This is the smallest that the Canadian astronaut corps has ever been.

Last year the CSA put out a job posting for two more astronauts. Now, the remaining candidates will undergo a series of selection events geared at determining their ability to work in a team and cope with physical and mental stress. The final two will be relocated to Houston, Texas in August of 2017 to begin their official training as astronauts for the CSA. The recruitment campaign will reinforce Canadian contribution to the exploration of the new frontier. The rigorous selection criteria means that the CSA has their pick among the most qualified Canadians, and the two who will be chosen to represent the country on a global scale.

Among those who applied was Thomas Karakolis. He is one of 72 remaining Canadians, and two McMaster alumni, who are vying for one of two positions.

Self-Sufficiency Karakolis completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and pursued a

master’s degree under the supervision of Greg Whol looking at biomechanics and bone adaptation to mechanical loading.

After finishing two degrees at McMaster, Karakolis moved to Waterloo to complete a PhD in applied health sciences in the department of kinesiology.

Karakolis credits much of his education at McMaster for the fact that he has made it this far into the selection process.

“It is tough to tell exactly what the CSA is looking for.

I think it is someone who has a diverse background,” said Karakolis.

The CSA website says that among the key factors for consideration is excellent health, a university education in science, engineering or medicine and extensive knowledge and experience. The wide breadth of requirements for becoming an astronaut ensures that those who are sent to space are capable of dealing with a multitude of problems thrown their way.

“There are only a few astronauts on the International Space Station so they have to be the scientists conducting scientific experimentation on animals, on plants, on themselves. But they also have to be people that maintain the space station so they have to be mechanics, plumbers, and electricians that take care of the space station,” said Karakolis. Three people typically inhabit the ISS at a time. They alone are responsible for the integrity of the orbiting structure and the discoveries that come from its use. If something breaks, they are the ones to fix it. The astronauts on the ISS also do any unloading and reloading of re-supply vehicles and equipment maintenance.

Their purpose in space is to run experiments geared at understanding more about the biological and physical world, the universe and how being in space affects the human body.

Karakolis hopes that his background in biomechanics and experience with experimentation makes him a good fit to contribute to one of the

“

The ultimate goal of science is discovery and to progress our knowledge as a civilization and a species of not only ourselves but the world around us.

Thomas Karakolis Canadian Space Agency applicant

goals of space travel: discovery.

“The ultimate goal of science is discovery and to progress our knowledge as a civilization and a species of not only ourselves but the world around us,” said Karakolis.

He is currently working as a defence scientist with Defence Research and Development Canada, an agency of the Department of National Defence. His research focuses on human performance and injury prevention in members of the Canadian Armed Forces. His educational background allows him to apply biomechanics to physiological functioning.

“Astronauts are scientists in space and a lot of the experimentation they do is on themselves as well as their crewmates,” said Karakolis.

Independence Day According to Karakolis, the current most exciting occurrence in space travel is the progress NASA has made in gaining the independence to send astronauts to space themselves. Currently, Canadian and American astronauts rely on Russia’s Soyuz rocket to take them to the ISS, at the price of $80 million per person. This means that the CSA currently has

FEATURE

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

| 7

C/O NICK BOMMARITO / PRODUCTION EDITOR

only one way to get to space, via the Soyuz, and only one destination, the ISS. Taken together, the CSA only gets a space flight on average of once every four to five years. Up until now, the CSA has not had a need for more than two active astronauts.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program asked companies to design the next generation of space systems that will carry astronauts into low-Earth orbit.

NASA awarded SpaceX and Boeing a contract to complete the design of their capsules that will carry astronauts to the ISS. While the first manned test flights were set for 2018, safety delays and challenges have set the progress back and NASA will likely not certify the capsules until much later. Karakolis does believe that the CSA will be playing a role in the development of these capsules, although the best way to contribute has yet to be decided.

“The anticipation is with these new vehicles, and missions, there will be more frequent opportunities for the CSA to send Canadian astronauts to space in the near future,” said Karakolis. These up and coming opportunities for space travel lead the CSA to launch the 2016 astronaut recruitment campaign.

Karakolis believes that it is integral that Canada reinforces its contribution to space travel in order to continue giving our astronauts access to the sky. The CSA’s close relationship with NASA means that a NASA victory is a victory the CSA as well.

“Right now, we don’t have a capability to get Canadians to space on our own, so we need to deal with access through either the Russian technology or the new American technology so I think instead of… just buying tickets essentially, contributing makes us more a part of the journey, the adventure, the discovery,” said Karakolis.

“

Astronauts are scientists in space and a lot of the experimentation they do is on themselves as well as their crewmates.

Thomas Karakolis Canadian Space Agency applicant

The Right Timing Karakolis says that he always wanted to be an astronaut. “I don’t think I am unique in that way; a lot of kids dream about being astronauts,” he said.

While he encourages those who dream of space travel to pursue their dreams, it is not a career that you can bank on.

“One thing that I was never quite sure of was if I would get an opportunity as good as the opportunity I have now,” he said. “It is one of those things that you dream about and you hope for but you can nev-

er really plan on being an astronaut because there are so few opportunities and some of it has to do with just being able to go for it when they do make a call like they did last year.”

The last time the CSA made a job posting for astronauts was in 2008. The 2016 recruitment campaign was the fourth ever for the CSA. The yearlong selection process is not only gruelling and stressful, but also has a low success rate; from the thousands of

initial applicants, only two are going to be chosen this year. At a rate of about two new Canadians becoming astronauts every 10 years, there is an element of luck that plays into the job. The right opportu-

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nity has to present itself at the right time, when the person is ready. Despite this, Karakolis still encourages those who look to the sky to work hard and look out for opportunities to apply.

The candidates will find out who is chosen before Aug. 2017. After getting chosen, the two astronauts will be trained in Houston, Texas at the Johnson Space Centre for about two years. Once on the ISS, the Canadian astronaut will be working with the Americans and Russians and potentially astronauts from another space agency such as Europe or Japan.

Karakolis hopes to be the newest Canadian to explore the new frontier. “It is really the idea of being able to explore, being on the cutting edge of human discovery and at the same time being able to inspire people and to encourage people to pursue their dreams,” said Karakolis. For the CSA, the 2017 recruitment campaign will help Canadian space travel pick up speed once again. @alexxflorescu

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PRESIDENT’S PAGE

March 2, 2017 | thesil.ca

that are running for faculty seats on the Student Representative Assembly (SRA).

It is crucial that you elect representatives that listen to your voice and represent your interests.

SHAARUJAA NADARAJAH

Vice President (Administration) vpadmin@msu.mcmaster.ca 905.525.9140 x23250

Over the next week, you will see hundreds of posters on the walls as you walk through the Student Centre. These posters will showcase various candidates

The SRA is the governing body of the MSU, composed of 35 undergraduate students who are elected by their peers.

The SRA has biweekly meetings that happen in Council Chambers (GH 111) where members discuss various student issues surrounding service provision, academic quality, finances, programming, etc.. The SRA also elects your three Vice Presidents (Administration, Education, Fi-

nance) in April.

Some notable discussions were had by the SRA this year.

They included: the allocation of more funds for a larger Homecoming, sending the student space expansion proposal to referendum, and debating the value of eliminating the Marmor fee for students.

One of the most challenging aspects of being an SRA member is balancing the perspectives of all the students you represent with your own views. It takes an incredible amount of commitment, critical thinking, and judgment to make such important decisions on behalf of students. Hence, it is crucial that you elect representatives that listen to your voice and represent your interests at SRA meetings.

This year, there are a total of 41 people running for the 31 available SRA seats. The caucus

seats for SRA Kinesiology and SRA Health Sciences were acclaimed. In addition, one caucus seat was acclaimed for SRA Humanities and SRA Commerce. The campaign period for the election is seven days, from March 2-9. Voting for your faculty specific seat(s) will take place online via your McMaster email.

You will see candidates engaging with students through many different forums such as class talks, social media, and in-person discussions. I encourage you to get to know the candidates and ask questions about their individual platforms, so you can vote for the person that best represents your interests.

Don’t forget to vote for the SRA Generals from March 7March 9. For more information about the SRA elections, check out msumcmaster.ca/elections.

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The President’s Page is a space sponsored and used by the McMaster Students Union (MSU) Board of Directors (BoD) to communicate with the student body. It functions to highlight the Board’s projects, goals, and agenda for the year, as well as the general happenings of the MSU.

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

EDITORIAL

| 9

Editorial Sifting through the spin The university’s $10 million contribution is more about them than the students Scott Hastie Editor-in-Chief

Students will be heading back to the polls for Student Representative Assembly elections, and for the third time this year, they will be met with a referendum question.

The Pulse expansion and Student Activity Building are back on the ballot because the university has committed to spend $10 million on the project.

Via email, dean of students Sean Van Koughnett explained that the funding is coming from money that “exist[s] for strategic priorities.” Originally, the university was spending $1.1 million for the operating costs of the building.

Provost and vice-president (Academic) David Wilkinson wrote a memo to the SRA about the increased funding. There are a few parts that have me scratching my head.

Wilkinson writes “[w]e also understand from student feedback that cost is a concern.”

Uh, yeah. Cost is at the heart of every student issue because post-secondary costs continue to rise and employment prospects are only getting worse for many students. The university obviously knows this because it has been a talking point for at least the six years I have been at Mac. It is disingenuous for them

to issue this memo because they had to know that the doubling of a fee is going to be the reason this project doesn’t happen.

McMaster students have voted down cost increases when given the chance in recent years.

The memo also states “the results of the failed referendum points to strong student support for space expansion.”

The need for more space has been documented for years, and for the university to pretend that this referendum result does more to cement that is an insult to both research done by the university and students who took the time to submit feedback.

As we wrote in a news piece in the Feb. 2 issue, a 2011 campus capacity study cited data from 2008-2009 that classified the need for more student “lounge and service space” as a top-five priority.

According to the presentation made to the SRA in Nov. 2016, 80 per cent of students identified student space as their top priority.

That number comes from a 2015 McMaster Students Union space survey. 90 per cent of students identified unprogrammed space in their “top ten student space wishlist” in student focus groups run by the MSU in 2016. The McMaster University Student Affairs logo is on the front of this presentation, so they know about these numbers.

BETA-H STUDY

The optics are not good. In the span of a month, McMaster has decided to spend $10 million to contribute when this project has been in the works since the summer of 2016 and the need for the expansion and new building have been apparent for much longer.

Prior to the failed referendum, the university was comfortable with saddling the students with a near doubling of a student fee. Was this the plan all along? Highball students with the full price, drop in with a cheaper rate if it fails and see if they will take that?

On the other hand, the politics of this are fantastic.

The university can say they spent $10 million on a student building that is completely controlled by the students. That contribution could carry into future negotiations about who should bear the cost for certain projects. And the university will get something they really need: a new student building to put in their marketing materials.

This $10 million is not free; students just don’t know what the cost down the line will be. The money should have always been on the table as the need and want for the building has existed for years. Students should not celebrate that the university is contributing the money, they should ask why it was not there in the first place. @Scott1Hastie

to club strep. to a new nephew. to Gary Michael Walters’s Twitter activity. to Big Dungeon Wednesdays. to Sil shoes in Montreal. to marathon private investigators. to mistaking bus calls for booty calls. to breaking the Instagram bubble. to punching Jimmy Kimmel’s dumb mouth. to Ocean Man karaoke. to Maddy’s strong personal branding.

APOLOGY

In the Feb. 16 issue of the Silhouette, an inappropriate remark was made in the Speculator on page 14. The “joke” in the

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to Big Media. One speech does not make someone “presidential” after weeks of racism and bigotry. to fuckbois. to those GO bus ads becoming all too real. to knee injuries. to councillors who oppose street hockey. to people who fear students living near middle schools. to promoted tweets. to cancelled radio apperances. Next time, J.C. to March. It’s a bad month and everyone knows it.

Feature section of the table of contents made light of gaslighting. This is sexist and should not have been printed.

I sincerely apologize for the comment.

10 |

HUMANS

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017 | www.thesil.ca

from my family in an off-campus residence through the past three years of nursing school has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding decisions of my life.

McMaster University and the nursing family have been fundamental in my growth as a person and a student. I can’t wait to graduate from Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program from McMaster University in June. Also, I discovered that I love baking since I came to Canada.

Tsewang Dhargyal Nursing IV

What do you expect to do when you graduate?

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

People ask me if I am Filipino,

Chinese, or Japanese but I am actually Tibetan. I am Tibetan

but have never been to Tibet.

My grandparents escaped Tibet during the 1959 invasion by the Chinese government.

I am Tibetan but I was born in

Nepal. I grew up in a beautiful valley called Pokhara. In 2010, I came into Canada and became a Tibetan Canadian citizen in 2015. Six years in Canada have been a whirlwind. Living away

Applying for jobs, passing NCLEX, applying for more jobs, working as a registered nurse and paying off my OSAP would be the first thing to check off in my to-do list.

I currently do, and will continue to volunteer in the Tibetan community in and out of Canada. My ultimate goal

in life would be to travel to Tibet and Tibetan communities around the world and utilize my nursing education and hope to address health care related issues and challenges.

facebook.com/ HumansOfMcMaster

Yung Lee Photo Reporter

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www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

The Silhouette | 11

Opinion The benefits of safe spaces Positive work by the McMaster Womanists helps frame conversations on race and gender

MADELINE NEUMANN / PHOTO EDITOR Emile Shen WGEN Contributor

The annual occurrence of Black History Month in the United States and Canada is something that most of us have been aware of since elementary school. Not officially recognized in Canada until 2008, it still served as an important reminder of the contributions and legacy of Black Canadians.

In my memory, however, the root causes of oppression were never explained well enough when I was younger.

The intolerance was displaced, and I did not understand the full history and effects of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. I did not understand the continued prevalence of racism and how it is still manifested everywhere in microaggressions, stereotypes and institutionalized racism.

Black History Month is over, but it is important to continue to strive against forms

of racism still present in today’s society. The McMaster Womanists, a group established in 2014 by Kayonne Christy and Kermeisha Williams to address issues affecting women of colour, is one of the organizations that demonstrates how and why the fight continues, and the importance of safe spaces in these efforts.

The Womanists focus on grassroots activism and education at McMaster and in the broader Hamilton community.

The demand for justice is vital, but strenuous and emotionally taxing in a currently divisive political climate. The safe space for Black women and other women of colour allows the McMaster Womanists to create an inclusive area for those affected by the issues, and regather their thoughts.

One commonly discussed criticism about safe spaces is its contention to the freedom of speech. After all, it is difficult to hear opposing ideas or opinions

in such a place, and there seem to be fears of spaces turning into echo chambers.

This is a misconception of the purpose of safe spaces. This assumption is dangerous because they serve not to self-segregate or censor, but to provide a structured time and place to cope with the toxic effects of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.

Lilian Obeng, a secondyear Arts and Science student speaking on behalf of the group, explained, “closed spaces connect those who face the same struggles and allow oppressed people to share their experiences.”

There are experiences that folks who are not women of colour may sympathize with, but cannot fundamentally empathize with because they lack the lived experience. That is okay, but that is why safe or closed spaces exist – for similar individuals to lean on one another.

The heart of the McMaster

Womanists, however, is not that of safe spaces. These help frame the courses of action for their public efforts. The Anti-Racism Action Initiative, hosted in late Nov. 2016, is a prime example of the community-based and intersectional nature of the McMaster Womanists’ work. It involved discussion on how racism is a problem in Hamilton with topics regarding housing inequality, carding, police brutality and anti-Indigenous attitudes.

Broad-based community solutions were discussed to address these concerns, and the common thread between different concerns was the necessity of education from holistic sensitivity training for more appropriate responses by police officers to the development of curriculum surrounding racism and hate crimes for the public education system.

The event was hosted in collaboration with the Presidents Advisory Community

Alliance, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (McMaster), McMaster Indigenous Student Community Alliance, The Anti-Oppressive Committee of the School of Social Work and the NGen Youth Centre.

Despite the Womanists’ focus on the issues that racialized women face, Obeng reminds us that identity politics scarcely exists in a bubble.

“The positive, individual and easy to identify iterations of oppression prevent us from clearly addressing the massive, systemic nature of institutionalized oppression. It also blocks us from seeing how our unique struggles are intrinsically connected.”

It is this awareness that oppression never happens in isolation that will allow for more empathy, more meaningful collaboration and more freedom in the gloomy political climate that surrounds us. @MSU_WGEN

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OPINION

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017 | www.thesil.ca

Survey bias and student feedback A poorly-conducted survey may alter feedback on referenda

Shane Madill Opinion Editor

On Jan. 25, the McMaster Students Union added a new survey to their website as part of a recommendation by the Student Representative Assembly Standing Committee on Bylaws & Procedures. While there are a few different parts to this, including the minimum per cent of population needed to launch a referendum and to reach quorum for a referendum, the focus is on if there should be a minimum time limit before similar questions can be asked at referendum again.

There are a few problems with this survey. The first response to this question is, “One academic year, September through August (including the remainder of the year in which the question was asked)” with options for two or three academic years as well.

This could easily be interpreted as there being no clear option for only the remainder of the academic year. It is unknown at this point whether the remainder of the year is included as one academic year or if it is included seperately in the total time limit. Wording such as, “The rest of the academic year,” and “The rest of the academic year and one additional academic year,” would have helped clear up any ambiguity.

The survey also mentions the 2016 referendum that was conducted twice in the calendar year, but in different academic years. The questionnaire does not mention that this is the MSU Constitutional Referendum about electing vice-presidents at large. The assumption that everyone taking the survey either already knows this or that it is not important to the survey

Retries shortly after these close calls would be impossible if term limits are introduced, and would limit your ability to advocate on the affirmative side for topics you think would benefit McMaster students. is odd considering that firstyear students would be unlikely to know what referendum was conducted twice and upper-year students can easily miss out due to a turnout of 44.5 per cent in the 2016 MSU presidential election when it was first voted on.

The only reason for including as little context as possible would be to bias voters towards time limits by emphasizing voter fatigue, de-emphasizing anything that may remind people how close the referendum was and reducing the incentive for responders to do external research. It gives off a fearful impression that attempts to guide people away from how bizarre it would have been to wait a significant amount of time for another round of voting after the first failed by so little in 2016.

This doesn’t even get into the fourth response to this question that reads, “I already said, no.” Not only is this redundant when “No time limit” would have made more sense to the question being asked, but the wording could be interpreted as a more aggressive

tone than what is necessary.

Second guessing yourself over not wanting to seem hostile is a real possibility, and introduces even more response bias to the survey in favour of time limits.

This survey sucks. It is understandable why there’s bias though. If I were part of the SRA, I wouldn’t want to talk about the vice-president referendum for a while too after dealing with it two times in 12 months, especially after taking

neutral and negative stances for the first and second times respectively. A pro-time limit response could allow an extended break if implemented immediately and would guarantee the same status quo internally for years to come.

However, the willingness of the SRA to put a changed version of the Athletics and Recreation Space referendum back up for voting March 28 after failing on Jan. 26 by 10

votes in the second round of voting, one day after publication of the survey, represents a want to change policy based on good feedback without time limits. Retries shortly after these close calls would be impossible if term limits are introduced, and would limit your ability to advocate on the affirmative side for topics you think would benefit McMaster students.

Don’t let survey bias dampen the voice of the people.

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EVENTS CALENDAR McMaster Dance Marathon When: March 03, 2017 at 07:00PM until March 04, 2017 at 01:00AM Where: TwelvEighty Dance Marathon is an international movement involving college and high school students at more than 300 schools across North America, all raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in their community. During the event, participants will be asked to be on their feet for six hours straight, dancing, exercising, and participating in various other physical activities - all in order to help improve the lives of patients and families staying at McMaster Children’s Hospital.

Come join McMaster Synchronized Swimming team for a pool party! Learn how to do synchro, jump off the blob, and swim recreationally with our team! You can also get thrown in the air by our senior team members!

We will be accepting a small donation to help fundraise sending our teams to Nationals in Montreal this year.

Questions? Conatact Daniella at synchro@ mcmaster.ca

March GFB pick-up

Order forms can be found on the MAC Bread Bin services site on the McMaster Student Union site. Payments can be made online or in person at the McMaster Student Union Accounting Office between 9:00am-4:45pm Monday to Friday (MUSC 201).

Bridges - MSU Maroons Paint Night When: March 07, 2017 from 08:00PM until 11:00PM

When: March 07, 2017 from 10:00AM until 04:00PM

Where: Bridges Café

Where: MUSC tables

McMaster Synchro Pool Party!

Pick up your pre-ordered Good Food Box from the MUSC tables near starbucks.

When: March 04, 2017 from 07:30PM until 09:30PM

The Good Food Box is a non-profit project run by MAC Bread Bin in partnership with Grace Lutheran Church to provide local,

Where: Ivory Wynne Center Pool

affordable, seasonal produce to the McMaster Community.

Come join the Maroons for a paint night! We will be providing supplies and you will be led by an experienced instructor. You can destress, socialize, and create a masterpiece!

DID YOU KNOW? The David Braley Sport Medicine & Rehabilitation Centre is OPEN to ALL McMaster Students and the services are COVERED under the MSU Health Insurance Plan PHYSIOTHERAPY DAVIDBRALEYSPORTSMED (905) 525- 9140 ext. 23575

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The Silhouette | 15

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

Arts & Culture

Orchestra begins historic duet with Mac History students work to collect stories of local orchestra members Abeera Shahid Contributor

The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra has been bringing orchestral music to the city since its humble beginnings in the late eighteenth century. As it approaches key milestones, the HPO is collaborating with McMaster’s history department to discover its legacy through the eyes of its community.

Carol Kehoe, the former executive director, started the HPO Legacy Project because at the heart of HPO’s success lies individuals who have tirelessly advocated for its existence.

Their stories are missing from the musical records, and the project seeks to rediscover their experiences and contributions to the orchestra.

The five-year project is in its infancy and will culminate in 2019 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the HPO’s designation as a semi-professional ensemble.

In addition to a permanent archive of the oral history, the final product may include a commemorative book, short videos and events.

Edin Duranovic, an Honours History and Political Science student, was part of the first of nine cohorts from McMaster to participate in the HPO Legacy Project through a historical practicum course last semester.

His cohort captured oral history through interviews with 15 community members.

Future students will be

digging through Hamilton’s archives for further insight on the earliest members of the orchestra.

As a student unaware of the HPO’s presence before the project, Duranovic now fondly shares the conversations he had with community members about their involvement with the orchestra. One such experience was with Glen Malorey, the force behind children’s programming.

“He said that everything he wanted to do in his life, he was able to. His main passion was to teach children the wonders of concert music, and he got to spend 50 years of his life doing that by being the conductor of the youth orchestra. Glenn represents what it means to give back to the community without expecting anything in return,” explained Duranovic.

He even met musicians like Darcy Hepner, who started his journey playing cello with the youth orchestra, then switched to the flute while attending McMaster in 1975, but his true passion lies with the saxophone and jazz music.

Hepner then spent 30 years playing in cities including Miami, Boston and New York. He returned to Hamilton in 2005 and came full circle by performing with his jazz band at the HPO in 2011.

Hepner’s musical journey is intimately connected to his experiences in Hamilton and he even remembers some amusing times with the orchestra.

“I was a shy guy who sat

in the back, impressed by all the musicians that surrounded me [and] when I was principal cellist, we were supposed to show up to a concert in black and white, but because it was the 70s, I wore platform heels.

About 6 inches high... People in the audience told me how they couldn’t take their eyes off my shoes,” said Hepner.

Duranovic was inspired by the stories he heard because of his own love for playing music, adding that since working on the HPO Legacy Project, he has been inspired to try playing the double bass.

Diana Weir, the new executive director and an alumna of McMaster strives to continue the narratives being showcased through the HPO Legacy Project by fostering new collaborations with the community. Most notably, the HPO has partnered with local indie bands to reimagine orchestral music.

Electronic rock band Illitry was one of the first music groups they experimented with, where the HPO’s composer and musicians worked with band members over the span of a few months. They rearranged the band’s music, brought in orchestral elements, and created a unique cross-genre set.

Tory Witherow, the lead singer of Illitry began to see his own music differently.

“It opened my eyes a little bit to the music I write and normally listen to, maybe the music that I am coming up with isn’t as interesting as it could be,” said Witherow.

The HPO’s willingness to evolve and engage with people has created their place as an anchor arts organization in Hamilton.

The HPO recognizes that orchestral music has different meaning for each individual.

For some it is associated with the orchestra coming to their school when they were young, while for others they are proud that their community supports musicians.

“I really believe in the power of [an] orchestra’s music and its power to touch a person’s life [and] to offer solace in a hectic lifestyle. It [has] power to make people see the world in a different way and to offer a sense of belonging for people,” said Weir.

The hope of the project is to assure that the efforts of everyone involved will not go forgotten.

HPO’s exploration of the past showcases how they want to recognize and value the individuals whose contributions allow the orchestra to continue to touch the lives of Hamiltonians.

GRAPHIC: NICK BOMMARITO/PHOTO EDITOR PHOTO: C/O HAMILTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

16 |

A&C

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017 | www.thesil.ca

Students sing their hearts out this spring

Here is your quick guide to a packed line up of spring McMaster spring productions

Pippin is loosely based on historic figures Prince Pepin and King Charlemagne.

C/O McMaster Musical Theatre Michelle Yeung A&C Reporter

While you may be confronted with all the coursework you neglected over reading week, the rest of this term promises more than just late nights at the library.

Spring is nearly upon us, and with the fairer weather comes show season at McMaster for many arts-based initiatives.

Students involved in performance arts events, from musicals to a capella spectacles, have spent hundreds of hours rehearsing since September. As the end of the school year nears, many of these projects are coming to fruition.

Take a break from essays,

assignments, and quizzes, check out some of the upcoming events on Mac’s calendar.

McMaster Musical Theatre’s Pippin This year, McMaster Musical Theatre is putting on Pippin, the beloved Broadway classic about a performance troupe telling the story of a youthful prince in search for his place in the world.

MMT’s rendition of the Tony award winning musical Pippin features an abundance of dark humour, dazzling choreography by Bob Fosse, circus tricks, as well as various surprises that only audiences will have the opportunity to experience.

Pippin quickly racked up

Absolute Pitch presents “It’s… A Musical!”

Since its inception in 2011, McMaster University’s show choir, Absolute Pitch, has put on a slew of memorable performances. The latest offering they have is called “It’s… A Musical!” and will be staged at downtown Hamilton’s Lincoln Alexander Centre on March 10 (7:30 p.m.)

and 11 (1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.).

The night promises a ton of fun for everyone involved, with plenty of Broadway and Disney songs to be performed. Whether you’re hoping for a fun night out with friends or even a chill thing to do by yourself, you’ll find loads of chances to sing along and dance in your chair at Absolute Pitch’s annual show.

Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults if you buy early; prices at the door are $12 for students and $18 for adults.

Faculty Musicals While McMaster Musical Theatre may have the edge when it comes to pure experience and technical expertise, many fac-

ulties make up for this gap with exuberant passion and talent.

The musicals that these students put on are always chockfull of faculty-specific jokes that will have those familiar laughing, while expanding the perspective of those outside of the respective faculty.

Mac Engineering Musical will be putting on Dr. Wonka from March 16-18. The Health Sciences program will be putting on HSM: The (Unofficial) Origin Story from March 16-18.

The faculty of Science will be putting on Outside In from March 10-11. Keep an eye out for the chance to support your fellow Marauders in their artistic pursuits. @mich_yeung

STUDENT ELECTIONS TO McMASTER GOVERNING BODIES VOTE ONLINE @ MACVOTE MARCH 7-8, 2017

Write for us!

No experience necessary.

Contact aandc@thesil.ca to find out how you can join our team!

rave reviews, with shows selling out before MMT even began its run.

Although each performance between March 2 and March 4 is technically sold out, you can be added to a wait list by emailing mmt.tickets@gmail. com, or try your luck at the door.

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March 9 Fi rstO nta r i o Co n c ert H a ll BUY TICKETS AT LIVENATION.COM, TICKETMASTER.CA AND THE FIRSTONTARIO CENTRE BOX OFFICE. DOORS 7PM SHOW 8PM ALL AGES

new album “no culture” in stores now!

All dates, acts and ticket prices subject to change without notice. Ticket prices subject to applicable fees.

Board of Governors – Undergraduate Representative Essma Alfanous Mitchell Hajnal Tevin Heath Alex Koschate Daniel Morrison Hajer Nakua Sergio Ráez Villanueva Senate: Faculty of Health Sciences Undergraduate Representative: Imaan Kherani Rina Patel Faculty of Humanities Undergraduate Representative: Jason Chestney Katilyn Laslo Faculty of Science Graduate Representative: Anita Acai Alex Nielsen

For the results of the other Senate elections and all candidate résumés: www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/elections/index

Questions? Contact the University Secretariat, 905.525.9140 ext. 24337, or email unielec@mcmaster.ca

A&C

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

| 17

Pious Youth Hamilton native devotes last two years to composing alt-rock and neopsychidelica in his DIY studio Vanessa Polojac Contributor

Pious Youth is the heavy, dreary experimental music passion project of Hamilton native, Jack Walker. Since 2015, the electronic shoegaze artist has constructed his own home studio, released four EPs and one full-length project titled Bouquet.

After breaking off from group projects, Walker decided to strike out on his own, incorporating his musical idols, favourite movies and personal poems into his haunting production.

“I had been making music before Pious Youth but it was mainly instrumental. I had been trying to form a band but then I realized that the musical direction I wanted to go in was individual. What stopped me from pursuing music before was that I never thought I could be a vocalist. I came to realize that imperfections in vocals make an artist unique,” said Walker.

Walker’s introduction to experimental music began while he was still in high school.

Shoegaze was one of the new genres that he had discovered at the time.

The discovery of the genre sparked his interest in starting a band of his own and to experiment with distorted instrumentals.

“What got me interested in the shoegaze genre were bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and particularly the album Souvlaki. This was my first introduction to alternative psychedelic rock music,” explained Walker.

Walker then went on to release his first EP as Pious Youth titled Transcendence, where he combined his prior influences with the popular sound of the underground European electronic music scene.

He then incorporated aggressive punk-rock vocals and instrumentation to his most recent EP Altar Boy to further individualize his sound.

“The British musician called Genesis P-Orridge has been the biggest influence when creating music for Pious Youth.

During the late 1970s, he was one of the first musicians to begin creating experimental electronic music that was revolt and rebellious without using a guitar, bass or drums.”

Pious Youth uses samples from films by Jean Luc Godard and David Lynch, as well as sampled fills from his favourite electronic music tracks.

Recently he has created a home recording studio and a platform for whenever he is inspired to write music.

Using Ableton Live along with analog synths and Virtual Studio Technology, he created the singles “Bloom” and “Cherry Blossom”.

The DIY home studio project was just another crucial step in which Walker devote himself to this single musical project. It is a kind of devotion that Walker considers to be religious, hence the name Pious Youth.

“I saw people who seemed to have everything figured out in their life and that were so devoted to their craft. This inspired me to become committed to the interests that I had and Pious Youth represented this new chapter in my life,” explained Walker.

Having grown up in Hamilton, Walker has spent many of his years in youth immersing himself within local bands and performing in venues such as the Casbah and Baltimore House.

“Hamilton is an awesome city if you are looking for content… It is very accepting for all different genres of music. The city even has a noise scene and is a great place to find yourself as an artist. The music scene is underrated,” said Walker.

In just two years, Walker has created a deeply personal outlet of self-expression and released a tremendous amount of creative content.

In 2017, he will be taking a break from playing live shows and will be heading back to the studio to create a new aesthetic and explore a more danceable, EDM-inspired approach to Pious Youth. @theSilhouette

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Call For Nominations McMaster University invites nominations for the President's Award of Excellence (Student Leadership) This annual award recognizes deserving undergraduate students who have made a significant contribution in improving and developing the intellectual, social, cultural and/or athletic fabric of the McMaster community.

Nominations are open to undergraduate students who are in their graduating year. Nominations may be made by faculty, staff and students.

For more information on the award, or to obtain a Nomination Form, visit http://studentaffairs.mcmaster.ca/president_award_student.html

THE DEADLINE FOR RETURN OF NOMINATION FORMS IS FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

OUA VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY, MARCH 4TH, BURRIDGE GYM

VS.YORK LIONS 1 PM

VS. QUEEN’S GAELS 3 PM

TICKETS: $8 FOR ADULTS - $5 FOR NON-MAC STUDENTS MCMASTER STUDENTS WEARING MAROON GET FREE ADMISSION WTH VALID STUDENT ID

SPORTS | 19

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

Sports The Final Four

Two wins stand between McMaster and an OUA basketball championship, and the team has a veteran-heavy roster leading the way Lauren Beals Sports Reporter

It all comes down to this.

Five months of relentless hustle and hard work all to earn one shot, one opportunity to be the last team standing. The wins no longer matter, even if there were seventeen in all. The buzzer-beaters, the number one U Sports national ranking, and the six-game win streak all just means to an end as the Marauders stare down their closing obstacle, Final Four weekend.

And is it ever shaping up to be a good one. There were no Cinderella stories in this year’s playoff run, with the final four comprised of the respective number one seeds from each Ontario University Athletics division. But in the end the fans will get what every basketball fanatic dreams of, the undisputed four best teams in the OUA going head-to-head for playoff glory.

Leading the way for the Marauders will be senior guard Danielle Boiago, who was named both the OUA Player of the Year — the first Marauder since Emily Degroot in 2007/2008 — and the OUA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming only the fourth woman to win both awards in the same year. Boiago led the OUA in points per game (25.5) and third in total assists (81), while shooting a career high from the field and from beyond the arc.

She also made the All-OUA First Team alongside teammate Linnaea Harper.

For Mac, their first test will come in a much-anticipated rematch against the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semi-final game. When these two teams met in December the Marauders suffered their first and largest loss of the season, falling 77-51. Struggling to find their rhythm offensively, Mac shot

just 31 per cent from the floor and 20 per cent from three.

They were also on the tail end of back-to-back games in Ottawa, and were playing without sharp-shooter Vanessa Pickard, who received the Tracey McLeod award recognizing determination and perserverance.

If there is one thing Mac can do it is find a way to score. If Carleton tries to slow the pace by sitting in a zone, Mac can look to their ball movement to create open looks and knock down shots from the perimeter.

The Ravens are an interesting match-up stylistically for the Marauders. Mac tends to play best in the open floor and when dictating the pace with their fast style of play. The Marauders had the highest number of possessions per game in the OUA. They enter the playoffs with the no.1 ranked offence in the OUA, leading the league in in points per game with 78.6 and an offensive rating of 102.8. Carleton will counter with one of league’s best defenses. Through the regular season, they allowed the fewest points per game and had the second-best defensive rating at 74.3.

Expect the Ravens to try and slow the game down early as they play the lowest pace of teams remaining in the Final Four. Carleton’s use of guards Jenjen Abella and Nicole Gilmore will also be interesting, as they both have the quickness to

run with Mac’s speedy backcourt, but not necessarily the ability to counter their efficient shot-making.

On the defensive end of the floor, Mac will have to contest with a big frontcourt from Carleton, who average 40.4 points per game and are responsible for most of the Raven’s production on offense. Senior forward Heather Lindsay is especially dangerous, averaging just over 14 points a game with a frighteningly efficient 55.8 per cent from the field. The last time these two teams met Lindsay had 25 points, three steals and three blocks on the night.

Fifth-year forward Clare Kenney will need to have a big game defensively for Mac to try and slow the inside game of Lindsay, and make Carleton earn their scoring opportunities down low. She will also have to partner up with forward Linnaea Harper to compete with Carleton on the glass, capitalizing on missed shots to limit second chance opportunities.

But if there is one thing Mac can do it is find a way to score. If Carleton tries to slow the pace by sitting in a zone, Mac can look to their ball movement to create open looks and knock down shots from the perimeter. If they change their look to include more man coverage, Mac will look to their speed and individual play-making ability.

And momentum is on their side. If their opening playoff match against Western is any indication the Marauders are as fine-tuned as ever, flying off to a 21-8 start before putting up 82 points on the night.

Mac also boasts a gritty defensive backbone, relying on hustle plays, ball pressure and steals rather than just rebounding and shot-blocking. Playing to those strengths could limit how easily Carleton’s backcourt

Danielle Boiago (top) and Linnaea Harper (bottom) earned All-OUA First Team honours, and will play a large role in Mac’s playoff run.

C/O KYLE WEST

is able to get the ball into their scorer’s hands and give Mac the chance to focus on helping their bigs contest down low.

In the end, fans will be in for a wild ride that is nothing else will feature the team of phenomenal athletes leaving ev-

erything they have ever played for on the court. The wins, the losses. The heartbreaking defeats, and the triumphs no one saw coming, they all come down to this.

And the Mac women are ready.

20 |

SPORTS

Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017 | www.thesil.ca

Practice makes perfect

Coming off an undefeated regular season, the McMaster men’s volleyball team look to continue their winning trend in the OUA playoffs Lauren Beals Sports Reporter

Perfection is tough; the longer a team goes without losing, the less victories feel like achievements and the more they feel like expectations.

With a perfect 17-0 Ontario University Athletics regular season, no one knows the weight of expectations better than the McMaster men’s volleyball team. Dropping only five sets over the course of the season, Mac has had another dominant year on the court, earning a number three U Sports national ranking and the only Ontario team to crack the top ten.

So with the OUA playoffs kicking off in March, it is not surprising that the Mac men are being labelled as the early favorites. Not only are they predicted to play for their fifth straight OUA championship, fans are already holding out hope for another shot at U Sports glory.

Coming off a heartbreaking loss in the national championship final at home last season, you might assume the players cannot help but look ahead either, but head coach Dave Preston insists they are taking it one step at a time.

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or where we are playing,” said Preston. “We are training at this level to compete every game... and that’s how we [approach it], and that’s how we are going to give ourselves that chance.”

The first step to punching their U Sports ticket is a quarterfinal matchup against Queen’s, which finished with a 10-8 record in conference play, struggling late in the season with losses against York and Nipissing. Their last matchup with McMaster was a late season sweep that saw Mac take all three sets by a margin of nine points or more. Fifth-year middle Jayson McCarthy lead the way with 12 of Mac’s 38 kills on the night, and will look to kick off his OUA run in a similar

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or where we are playing. We are training at a level to compete every game.”

Dave Preston Head coach McMaster men’s volleyball fashion.

Heavily favored heading into the match, the Mac men may also look to fine tune their offense before potentially matching up with other OUA contenders such as Guelph or York. From a fan’s perspective, early playoff games may seem like trivial preparation for tougher competition, although coach Preston insists it is not their opponent that determines team performance.

“One of the things we really try to focus on is making sure our Mondays to Thursdays are extremely productive,” said Preston. “I don’t know how other teams in other conferences, play and train and perform… what I do know is that we focus on our training during the week. We work really hard… and where we make our gains is in our own practice gyms. That is how we have to focus on it.”

Regardless of who advances on the other side of the bracket, Mac will have a target on their back as the only undefeated team in the league. Their opponents have the benefit of playing with nothing to lose, and staying focused to avoid any upsets will be critical.

Maintaining perfection is tough, there is no question about it. It challenges the player’s mentality and ability to perform under pressure. But it is also tough to beat, something the Marauders will look to prove in the coming weeks. @theSilhouette

Expectations are high for the men’s volleyball team, who enters the OUA playoffs as the number one seed.

C/O ALISTAIR BOULBY

Research Project: Call for Participants Undergraduate Youth Observations of Racism in Ontario Do you identify as white / Caucasian?

Were your born in Ontario?

Are you an undergraduate between the ages of 19−25 enrolled at McMaster University?

Have you personally observed a racist / discriminatory / prejudicial event / act in Ontario?

If you answered YES to ALL of these questions, then Dr. James Baker, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, McMaster University, is interested in interviewing you.

Dr. Baker is looking for individuals who have personally witnessed (not experienced) racism in Ontario – it should not be a story told to you by a friend/family member; not something you saw on television/in a movie; not read in a book, magazine or newspaper; not experienced or witnessed in another province/country, etc. The research is related to your personal observations of racism in Ontario only. The interview should take no more than 40-50 minutes, and, for your time, you will received a $25 gift card.

The project is funded by grants from the Leslie Harris Centre for Regional Policy and Development at Memorial University and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

If you are interested in participating in this study, have questions, or would like more information, please contact Dr. James Baker at bakerj12@mcmaster.ca. If you know anyone who may be interested in participating in this study, please pass along the email.

McMaster Research Ethics Secretariat

This study has been reviewed by the McMaster University Research Ethics Board and received ethics clearance. If you have concerns or questions about your rights as a participant or about the way the study is conducted, please contact:

Telephone: 905.525.9140 ext. 23142 Email: ethicsoffice@mcmaster.ca c/o Research Office for Administrative Development and Support

SPORTS | 21

www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Mar. 2, 2017

Bring it on

Thanks to a strong end to the season, the McMaster women’s volleyball team is set up for a long playoff run Cullum Brownbridge Sports Editor

It is that time of the year again.

As schoolwork ramps up for students, so too does the competition come playoff time.

With a three set sweep over the Royal Military College of Canada coupled with a Western loss over the weekend, the McMaster women’s volleyball team managed to capture first place in the Ontario University Athletics West division.

Already guaranteed a toptwo seed heading into the final game of the regular season, head coach Tim Louks decided to give his senior players some rest, allowing the younger players to step into their shoes.

One player who took advantage of the opportunity was second-year hitter Rachel Woock, who led the team with ten points in the sweep over RMC, and didn’t let the extra playing

Second-year hitter Rachel Woock made the most of her extra playing time, recording 10 kills in Mac’s win over RMC. C/O ALISTAIR BOULBY

“I would describe our team’s atmosphere as very excited and determined.

We’ve put ourselves in the best possible situation to get through the playoffs.”

Rachel Woock Second-year McMaster women’s volleyball

time get to her nerves.

“It was really exciting for me that I got to play a lot in the game against RMC,” Woock said. “I wasn’t nervous because I’ve made a lot of entrances into games off the bench this season, which prepared me pretty well for the bigger role on Saturday.”

The Marauders finished the season 16-3 and head into the OUA playoffs as the second overall seed and rank eighth in the U Sports top ten rankings. The only OUA team ranked ahead of the Marauders is the undefeated Toronto Varsity Blues, who posted a 19-0 regular season record and rank as the number one team in the country. A higher seed typically correlates to an easier path through the playoffs, and a better opportunity to advance to the U Sports Championships, which will take place at Ryerson University from March 17 – 19.

“I would describe our team’s atmosphere as very excited and determined,” Woock said. “We’ve put ourselves in the best possible position to get through the playoffs. Everyone is ready to step up into whatever role they are needed in.”

The strength of the team comes from the shared leadership amongst the team, thanks in large part to the number of seniors on the team. Veterans such as Rebecca Steckle, Alicia Jack and Joanna Jedrzejewska have plenty of playoff experience, where the atmosphere tends to be tenser and there is more meaning behind every point made or missed.

“I think that come playoff time, Rebecca Steckle will make a huge impact on the court,”

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Woock said. “Although she is playing with an injury, her experience as a fifth-year player and her calm presence on the court will be a big factor for us in the most important part of the season.”

Two other players to look for come postseason play are fourth-year libero Carly Heath and fourth-year setter Caitlin Genovy. As the libero, Heath has been a playmaker for the Marauders on defence, finishing second overall in the OUA in digs (317) and digs per set (4.80). As the competition ramps up and the hits get harder, fans should pay attention to Heath’s defensive presence.

Meanwhile, Genovy finished third in the OUA in assists per set (8.82), and will be a huge factor in getting hitters such as Steckle and Jedrzejewska into the mix early and often.

The Marauders begin their playoff campaign on March 4 at 1 p.m., where they will host the OUA seventh-seeded York Lions. The Lions finished the season with a 10-9 record in the OUA East division. In their lone regular season matchup on Nov. 5, the Marauders dispatched the Lions in straight sets, with Jedrzejewska and Steckle leading the way with 11 kills each.

Playoff matches tend to be unpredictable; with more adrenaline and intensity in the air, the room for error for both teams is a lot smaller than usual. But as a team made up of savvy veterans and tremendous depth, the Marauders are ready to embark on a deep playoff run. @Curtains1310

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Westdale community mad about some shit again

McMaster plans new residence off campus, to some residents’ dismay SHIT HASTINGS Has his rubber boots on

McMaster University has purchased a group of homes near campus and plans to build another residence. Despite asking for more residences, local residents are upset with the purchase.

Mac has purchased homes on Traymore Avenue in order to build a residence for firstyear students. The building is desperately needed as students that did not get a residence spot have had to move into random homes in the community, some infested with possums and Axe body spray.

Even some students that get residence have to live in weird buildings, like Matthews Hall.

Yeah, Matthews Hall! What a sin.

The new building, which should be named Peane Hall after our boy/university president Datrick Peane, is drawing the ire of some Westdale residents.

“We asked for future student residences to be built on Main Street, not in the Westdale community,” said some dude who lives in Westdale and complains about pretty much anything related to students.

“This residence would be built on Main Street and we are absolutely pissed about it.

Why the university would listen to our demands and attempt to foster a good relationship between the students and the community is beyond us.”

One specific concern about the residence is that it is close to Dalewood Middle School.

These concerns are, of course, totally legitimate. Students have

Traymore Avenue, a future student crime scene, is idyllic.

lived in homes near the school for years and totally wreaked havoc. Most notably (and this is all serious, it is worth a Google) McMaster students have created a program called “Mathstronauts.”

This after-school program puts university students in classrooms with Dalewood students and guides them through different math and science projects. It is unclear if or how the Dalewood community will recover from this.

Not all Westdale residents are against the new building. Many are in support of it because it addresses an issue they have been concerned with for years. This is the logical response.

McMaster students are hap-

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py with the addition but there are worries about the location.

“Answer me this: what quad does this residence associate with during Welcome Week?

There’s the west quad and the north quad. This is neither west or north. In fact, I would argue it is south east. Will students feel alienated in this residence?

Will it ruin the manufactured ‘alliances’ that people totally forget about as soon as the week is over? Why is no one talking about this?” said Brad Sanchez, who has somehow been a Welcome Week rep six times.

Construction plans for the building have not been announced, but it doesn’t matter.

If history is any indication, the building won’t open on time anyways.

“This residence would be built on Main Street and we are absolutely pissed about it.

Why the university would listen to our demands and attempt to foster a good relationship between the students and the community is beyond us.”

Random Westdale guy

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