LABS is working to improve virtual safety measures and support fellow future Black lawyers
C/O The Silhouette Photo Archives
The Law Aspiring Black Students group at McMaster University is creating space for Black and other racialized students to learn about the legal profession, find mentorships and grow their networks. LABS is an McMaster Students Union club and an affiliate of the University of Toronto’s Black Future Lawyers program.
Throughout the 2020-2021 school year, LABS has hosted a range of events and have seen increased interest and enthusiasm within their organization.
The LABS presidential team is composed of three fourth-year justice, politics, philosophy and law students. Brianna Fable-Watson and Elizabeth Oyegunle are the club’s co-presidents and Nicole Anozie is the vice-president.
“[LABS] was intended to be a space where People of Colour, Black-focused but not Black-exclusive, but People of Colour on the spectrum could find a community and establish some kind of space where they could really talk about their experiences, one in which we felt was necessary, especially in the field of law,” said Oyegunle.
“[LABS] was intended to be a space where People of Colour, Black-focused but not Black-exclusive, but People of Colour on the spectrum could find a community and establish some kind of space where they could really talk about their experiences, one in which we felt was necessary, especially in the field of law,” said Oyegunle.
Fable-Watson explained that she and the other presidents are three of five Black students in their majority white class cohort.
“That’s very minute in comparison to the amount of white counterparts that we have in our classes and so we all found each other and realized that we all had the same struggles and issues. It’s this constant feeling of being out of the loop that we wanted to change for incoming Black students and minority students,” Fable-Watson said.
LABS has changed that feeling and has seen increased interest and engagement with their programming throughout the year.
“This is an initiative that people want to be seeing because it's catering to their needs, at least right now,” said Anozie.
This is an initiative that people want to be seeing because it's catering to their needs, at least right now,” said Anozie.
Throughout the year they have seen increased interest and engagement with their programming.
“Not a lot of people knew what LABS was, who we were [last year] and I feel like this year we’re really making our footprints in the McMaster community,” said Fable-Watson.
In November 2020, the club hosted LABS Chat on Zoom to discuss racialized students’ experiences with the pandemic, the ongoing #BlackLivesMatter movement, diversity in the workplace and more.
The event was intended to be a safe space for students to share, to be introduced to the club and for LABS to share plans for the school year. However, in the midst of introductions, multiple participants began saying and typing racial slurs and sexual profanities. One participant changed their Zoom name to Brianna Fable-Watson and used a mirror effect so that there were two screens of her in the call.
The perpetrators of this attack on the event added and re-added each other but the LABS team was ultimately able to remove each of them. In the process, a genuine attendee was accidentally removed and denied access from the event. Another attendee felt too uncomfortable and took a step back, though they did rejoin.
The event continued and according to the executives, they were not going to let the attack affect the rest of the meeting.
“Honestly, I think it added to the chat because it just made it more apparent [that] that's why we need events like this because things like this happen all the time,” said Fable-Watson.
Fable-Watson, whose computer appeared to be hacked, reached out to the Hamilton Police Services about the incident but was only told to have her computer checked out.
“You would hope that something can be done, an investigation can be done, to see who these people are. Even tracing an IP address or something, you have resources at your disposal. It’s a matter of using them,” said Anozie.
“What made it even more concerning and worrisome to me was that it literally could be anybody. It could be somebody that’s in my tutorial or in my lectures and that we'd have no idea,” said Fable-Watson.
The identity of the perpetrators are still unknown as of publication of this article. A lot of students have reached out to share that these hateful ideologies are present at McMaster.
“What made it even more concerning and worrisome to me was that it literally could be anybody. It could be somebody that’s in my tutorial or in my lectures and that we'd have no idea,” said Fable-Watson.
“I was completely distraught cause I was like, if this were to be even more severe or if someone was actually harmed where would I go? Who will actually listen to me because I know that the dean of [students] McMaster would not be listening to me. Who will I be able to actually tell my problems to and would they actually be concerned for me?” said Oyegunle.
The LABS team is focused on moving forward and ensuring that this does not happen to other students. Oyegunle noted how McMaster’s Equity and Inclusion Office has resources but that a lot of students are unaware of them.
“We really want to use our platform now to really allow people to know about and really learn about [these resources],” said Oyegunle.
“We really want to use our platform now to really allow people to know about and really learn about [these resources],” said Oyegunle.
“I feel like now moving forward it’s a matter of assessing and seeing what can we put into place to ensure that security measures are there so that things like this don't happen,” said Anozie.
The team described the attack as a learning opportunity to implement increased measures and to continue to create safe spaces for racialized students to network and build community.
“We are still going to move forward. We're still going to be here and it's not going to stop us. It's not going to deter us from holding future events,” said Anozie.
“We are still going to move forward. We're still going to be here and it's not going to stop us. It's not going to deter us from holding future events,” said Anozie.
“As students of colour, especially Black people and Black women in general, we face so much more hardship and barriers in our lives that something as simple as a zoom infiltration, obviously it’s horrible, but that’s literally not going to stop us. The whole point of LABS is that we’re so focused on success that it doesn’t matter what you do. We’re all here for each other. We’re all united,” said Fable-Watson.
The whole point of LABS is that we’re so focused on success that it doesn’t matter what you do. We’re all here for each other. We’re all united,” said Fable-Watson.
Since then the LABS team has worked with Tolulope Ojo, from inclusion and anti-racism programming in the EIO and Faith Ogunkoya, a student services team lead, to learn more about navigating Zoom safely and to share these resources with other clubs on campus. LABS has successfully implemented these measures in other events, such as a career panel in January 2021.
Goodbodyfeel’s new initiative is making teacher training more accessible for BIPOC applicants
Representation matters. It’s an absolutely essential part of reclaiming and decolonizing spaces for the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour community. Goodbodyfeel’s new initiative, Fueling Reclamation, is bolstering the fight for representation, by making their teacher training more accessible for BIPOC applicants. By doing this, they are helping to decolonize the wellness industry.
Robin Lacambra had already been working in the movement and wellness industry for many years when she moved to Hamilton. As she began to practice in studios in her new city, she recognized the lack of representation of the BIPOC community in studios not only in Hamilton but also in Toronto where she grew up.
“It just sparked this awareness that I was asleep, to the political nature ever-present in studio spaces or just in spaces in general when you've got a space of bodies because our bodies are political. So it was in trying to find a movement community here in Hamilton that I woke up to a need of mine, which is to have a space that felt safe for me to be in my full expression as a queer woman of colour,” explained Lacambra.
"It just sparked this awareness that I was asleep, to the political nature ever-present in studio spaces or just in spaces in general when you've got a space of bodies because our bodies are political."
Robin Lacambra
This realization prompted Lacambra to create the space that she needed. She started teaching pop-ups in 2018 and then that same year ran her first teacher training. Many of the graduates from the course went on to be the teaching staff for Goodbodyfeel when it officially opened in 2019.
While Goodbodyfeel is a Pilates, yoga and mindfulness studio, at its core it’s a place of inclusion, healing, empowerment and representation.
“[It’s] a place where all bodies can come home to their bodies without shame and with compassion,” said Lacambra.
[It’s] a place where all bodies can come home to their bodies without shame and with compassion.
Robin Lacambra
This philosophy is at the heart of Goodbodyfeel and everything they do, from the classes they offer to the individuals they employ.
“We really centre values of equity and representation, equity and accessibility. I don't ignore the hard realities of systemic oppression and the studio works to challenge systems of oppression, both in the way that we run our business and the way that we share our offerings to the broader public, in the folks that I employ . . . and we do our offerings, don't shy away from creating exclusive spaces for safer spaces. So we have classes that are exclusively for folks of colour, we have classes that are exclusively for queer, trans and non-binary folks, we have classes that are exclusively for folks in bigger bodies. And so yeah, we believe in creating these inclusive spaces for healing,” said Lacambra.
Goodbodyfeel’s teaching staff is mostly made up of BIPOC women, with 10 of 14 teachers being BIPOC and of these 10, seven are Black. Lacambra continues to offer a teacher training program at Goodbodyfeel and also offers scholarships for BIPOC individuals in an effort to make the training more financially accessible.
In February, Goodbodyfeel launched a crowdfunding campaign, Fueling Reclamation, to offer the teacher training program free of charge this year to the 15 individuals who applied for BIPOC scholarships and to help finance a BIPOC specific edition of the teacher training in 2022.
“For me, it is the way to radically shift representation of leaders in wellness. Many wellness practices are from brown and black cultures of origin and why isn’t our mainstream leadership reflective of that . . . It started off as just scholarships or subsidies that I could afford to give and seeing that the folks who would apply for the scholarship and subsidies were growing every year. I imagined what would be possible if I could say yes to everybody, what would be possible if I could give a fully free training? Wouldn't that be so amazing? Wouldn't that be one of the things to really help decolonize wellness and push back on these capitalistic ideas of leadership training, of teacher training?” explained Lacambra.
I imagined what would be possible if I could say yes to everybody, what would be possible if I could give a fully free training? Wouldn't that be so amazing? Wouldn't that be one of the things to really help decolonize wellness and push back on these capitalistic ideas of leadership training, of teacher training?
Robin Lacambra
This campaign is an example of an easy, concrete way the larger Hamilton community can support the BIPOC community and contribute to decolonization.
“It's overdue. This kind of investment into BIPOC leadership is overdue [and] it's easy reparations for the folks who are like, “Oh, I'm so overwhelmed. How I can contribute to anti-racist work?” Here you go, here's a really easy way to do it. Just help fund it, help spread the word, help empower our future changemakers. If we're fully fueling BIPOC leadership, we are fueling an equitable future,” emphasized Lacambra.
McMaster alumna Elizabeth Ivanecky’s first book tackles questions of happiness
C/O Elizabeth Ivanecky
Happiness is a guiding light in our lives. It’s something we all aspire to but rarely, if ever, do we actually ask people if they’re happy. McMaster alumna Elizabeth Ivanecky is asking this question. Her new book The Child in Us: A Collection of Stories about Happiness explores her own search for happiness through the stories of influential people in her life.
Growing up in Dundas, Ontario, stories were always an important part of Ivanecky’s life. Her father initially inspired her love of stories by sharing stories with her and siblings before bed. It had always been Ivanecky’s dream to be an author.
Ivanecky completed two bachelors of arts at McMaster University: one as a double major in English & cultural studies and history, the other in French studies. After graduating in 2018, she entered the job market and worked mostly freelance jobs, doing translation work.
“After I finished university in 2018, I knew I needed to enter the job market quickly and so I just applied for whatever job I could get. But my brother was confused because he knew that I always wanted to be a writer and I'm applying for translation jobs, but those are the ones that I could get at the time. During my conversation I had with him he really pushed me to pursue my dream of being a writer, so that was the first thing that inspired this book,” explained Ivanecky.
Combined with this conversation with her brother, there were two other things that inspired her book. First was the song “The Child in Us” by Enigma, which really moved Ivanecky. Second was a quote from the late actor, Heath Ledger: “Everyone you meet always asks you if you have a career, are married or own a house as if life was some kind of grocery list. But no one ever asks if you’re happy.”
“I took that quote really literally and I thought I want to be that person that asked about people's happiness because I myself was going through moments after university where I realized I really need to do the things that make me happy,” said Ivanecky.
I took that quote really literally and I thought I want to be that person that asked about people's happiness because I myself was going through moments after university where I realized I really need to do the things that make me happy,
Elizabeth Ivanecky
She started the process of writing her book in 2019. First, she interviewed many of the influential people in her life and asked them what happiness meant to them. From there she refined her writing style, ultimately opting to use creative nonfiction to fully do justice to the stories she was sharing.
The thread that unites these stories is the importance of channelling your inner child in order to find and remember happiness.
“My goal was that people reflect more on their happiness. I think after you read my book you really get a sense that there's no one right way to be happy in life and there's no one right path. We each have different paths toward our happiness and it's really just a matter of being intentional about your choices so that you can find happiness along the way in your journey . . . I include lessons at the end of each of my chapters so you learn different ways to find and remember your happiness and to channel the inner child within,” explained Ivanecky.
My goal was that people reflect more on their happiness. I think after you read my book you really get a sense that there's no one right way to be happy in life and there's no one right path.
Elizabeth Ivanecky
The Child in Us was published in December 2020 and is available on Amazon and through many local bookstores. The response so far has been very heartwarming and Ivanecky hopes that it encourages people to continue reflecting on their lives and their happiness.
“[Reflecting on happiness] allows you to experience joy more in your life and while you're never going to completely avoid sadness or these negative moments, it's just how you deal with these moments that really define you. I think when you also think about your happiness more part of that is thinking about how you cope with the negative in life which is also actually a big part of my books, is showing how people have coped with their unhappiness,” explained Ivanecky.
Ivanecky thinks her book might be a good read for students in particular.
“I think in today's day and age we just want things so fast and we think they come so quickly as well but even just thinking about my own life and all the people who I've interviewed, things take time. It takes hard work, dedication, passion, effort, all these things. It takes time for things to happen in your life, to achieve your goals and dreams. So I think this is a good read for students because it puts things in perspective for them so that they don't feel like they need to get everything all at once. They don't need to rush through life,” said Ivanecky.
It takes time for things to happen in your life, to achieve your goals and dreams. So I think this is a good read for students because it puts things in perspective for them so that they don't feel like they need to get everything all at once. They don't need to rush through life.
Elizabeth Ivanecky
More than that, she hopes that it will also remind readers to have hope.
“It's always important to have hope and I think that's always the tone of my book. It's a tone of optimism and hopefulness, so I wanted to make sure the reader felt they can like they can handle whatever life throws at them. I think it's good for students in that sense as well,” added Ivanecky.
Reflecting on our own happiness can give us direction in our lives as well as the strength to persevere in trying times. Books like Ivanecky’s The Child In Us offer insight into how others have found happiness and coped with unhappiness, helping us on our own journeys.
McMaster students are gathering virtually for the university's first climate strike with the call for divestment as its primary goal
C/O Ronan Furuta
As more people have come to recognize the threat of climate change, climate advocacy movements have grown around the world. At McMaster University, there are many student organizations that aim to protect the environment, such as Zero Waste McMaster, Mac Climate Advocates, McMaster Divest and others.
On Friday, March 19, students will gather on Zoom for McMaster University’s first virtual climate strike. According to Grace Kuang, a representative from the McMaster Climate Strike Team, the strike is aligned with Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement and is being organized by representatives from 13 different environmental activist groups on campus. Its primary goal is divestment from fossil fuels.
As Mymoon Bhuiyan, a representative from McMaster Divest, explained, students are advocating for divestment for a variety of reasons.
“It's important for environmental reasons, but not only that. There are also humanitarian reasons; fossil fuel companies are notoriously bad in terms of human [rights]. There are also financial reasons; McMaster is going to lose money if they continue to stay invested in these companies,” said Bhuiyan.
“It's important for environmental reasons, but not only that. There are also humanitarian reasons; fossil fuel companies are notoriously bad in terms of human [rights]. There are also financial reasons; McMaster is going to lose money if they continue to stay invested in these companies,”
Mymoon Bhuiyan
According to Adeola Egbeyemi, a representative from McMaster Divest, the conversation about divestment between the McMaster administration and climate activist groups on campus has been ongoing for years.
“We are not the first ones on the divestment scene. This has been a longstanding movement since 2015,” said Egbeyemi.
Over the course of this semester, the conversation has progressed significantly. On Feb. 24 the McMaster Climate Strike Team sent a letter to President David Farrar, calling for divestment. In an email to the Silhouette, the McMaster Climate Strike Team explained that they expected McMaster to address this call for divestment at the Investments and Infrastructure Town Hall the following day.
Members of the McMaster Climate Strike Team expressed that the town hall did not provide the opportunities for engagement that they had expected. According to Kuang, the question and answer period was filtered, giving moderators the ability to choose questions without participants knowing what other questions had been asked. Further, there were no opportunities for students to show their video or unmute themselves.
“I think we came away feeling really silenced and really disappointed,” explained Kuang.
“I think we came away feeling really silenced and really disappointed,”
Grace Kuang
“It's not clear what the university's intention was, but it doesn't really matter what the university’s intention was. Universities are places of open discussion and free thought, so there should have been a method for students to voice their thoughts,” said Bhuiyan.
Farrar said that the intention of the town hall was not to silence student voices.
“I think that the people who organized it were honestly trying to have a dialogue and that this technology doesn't allow the kind of dialogue that needed to happen,” said Farrar.
Following the event, Farrar asked the Board of Governors to put a strategy in place for divestment.
“I think we need to take the added step of divesting from fossil fuel companies and I've asked the board to look into it,” emphasized Farar.
“I think we need to take the added step of divesting from fossil fuel companies and I've asked the board to look into it,”
David Farrar
The McMaster Climate Strike Team expressed that they were aware and appreciate the university’s recent commitment to divestment, but that they were hoping to push the university towards releasing a more concrete plan.
“There were no steps, there were no timelines and there was nothing concrete that they wanted to move forward with; it's just talk,” said Egbeyemi.
“There were no steps, there were no timelines and there was nothing concrete that they wanted to move forward with; it's just talk,”
Adeola Egbeyemi
“We need to convince the rest of the board of governors to be on our side, so there's definitely still work to do and that's what the strike is hoping to accomplish,” added Kuang, emphasizing the importance of the upcoming climate strike in the divestment movement at McMaster.
Egbeyemi highlighted the accessibility of the strike.
“You don't have to be 100 per cent vegan and go thrifting every weekend. Calling for institutional change is something that we can all do and it is an important part of improving society, in addition to individual change,” said Egbeyemi.
“You don't have to be 100 per cent vegan and go thrifting every weekend. Calling for institutional change is something that we can all do and it is an important part of improving society, in addition to individual change,”
ADEOLA EGBEYEMI
“I am striking to show the strength we have when we stand together. We stand in support of McMaster divesting from fossil fuels; we stand in solidarity with those experiencing the devastating effects of climate change; and we stand as a symbol of unity and strength,” said Gabriel Lonuzzo, a representative from the McMaster Climate Strike Team, in an email to the Silhouette.
David Bradley Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Centre transition to provide a hybrid model of patient care under the current government restrictions
Graphic by Esra Rakab
We have reached the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. In March 2020, the Ontario provincial government issued a state of emergency, ordering several businesses to close down. This included the David Braley Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre, managed by Gloria Kiefer Preston, where she oversaw the functions of the centre while adjusting operations due to the pandemic.
It was not until July 2020 when the clinic was allowed to re-open, while adhering to social distancing guidelines and health and safety measures implemented by authorities. Despite re-opening, there were still restrictions on surgeries, both outpatient and elective.
Preston also noticed a rapid decline in patient registration, leading to decreased operating hours and fewer staff members. Even with fewer patients, appointment slots were still spread out to allow for further sanitation of the clinic spaces.
As instructed, staff and health practitioners have conducted screening required by authorities, alongside wearing adequate personal protective equipment and documenting all visitors.
“Physiotherapists have done a fantastic job at accommodating and have been doing more than [okay],” said Preston.
“Physiotherapists have done a fantastic job at accommodating and have been doing more than [okay],”
Gloria Kiefer Preston
Now, as the clinic reduced their operating hours, they have adopted an unconventional method of patient check-ups: telemedicine. As telemedicine is not as prominent in sports, due to the frequency of hands-on assessments, closures due to the pandemic have enabled practitioners with consultations to guide patients to online resources and give medical advice over the phone.
The clinic’s experiential education program — a mandatory component of medical training in a variety of healthcare specialties — had to undergo closures and changes in their operation guidelines, such that the number of student placements had to be reduced. As in-person learning was temporarily put on hold, the transition to online clinical education became a learning curve, adapting to the use of technology for placements for medical residents and physiotherapy students.
Undergraduate kinesiology students were also severely affected, as when the city of Hamilton went into the grey level of lockdown, student therapy placements were not allowed on site until the lockdown level was lifted to red. Student placements predominantly assisted with the screening of athletes.
As part of the clinic’s volunteer program, they transitioned it to online learning but were still able to enroll 75 students. These students had to complete online modules and submit project-based work, such as looking at case studies.
As the government is still aiming to reduce its daily COVID-19 cases and continues with its vaccine rollout program, people are slowly returning to their normal lives with freer schedules as the lockdown has been lifted in their regions.
The clinic’s schedule is now becoming more booked. With that being said, while Preston emphasized there’s still a sense of difficulty in the air, the clinic still aims to continue a hybrid model of patient care and synchronous learning of on-site and online education.
“There was never a “Pandemic 101” course on how to get through a pandemic and it forced us to take a step back and appreciate things,” said Preston.
“There was never a “Pandemic 101” course on how to get through a pandemic and it forced us to take a step back and appreciate things,”
GLORIA KIEFER PRESTON
Alex Moore-Gibson is raising money and awareness for breast cancer through her lifestyle brand
C/O Honey and Glow
When Alex Moore-Gibson opened Honey and Glow to sell her handmade and sustainable bath, body and home products seven years ago, it mainly served as an outlet to unleash her creative energy. Today, it has turned into something greater than just health and beauty. It encompasses messages of women empowerment, community and breast cancer awareness.
Growing up with problematic and sensitive skin, Moore-Gibson had trouble finding products that were both gentle and effective enough to meet her skin’s needs. To address this problem, she began making her own bath and body products using DIY kits her mother bought her. She continued this hobby all throughout high school and university.
After much encouragement from family and friends who received her handmade products as gifts, she opened Honey and Glow as a passion project aside from her regular day job as a teacher. She currently sells lip balm, sugar scrubs, loose-leaf teas and beeswax food wraps.
In 2019, Moore-Gibson temporarily closed the shop to welcome her second son. As Honey and Glow was growing rapidly, it became overwhelming to balance her day job and raise her two sons all the while maintaining Honey and Glow. During her break, at the age of 34, she was also diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.
Last year, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she underwent a mastectomy and began chemotherapy and radiation. Although these were some of the most brutal and darkest times, once she regained her energy, she needed Honey and Glow to relieve her suppressed creative spirit and find new direction and purpose as she finished up her treatment journey.
“Once I got through the really dark days and I started to have more energy, I was finding that I had this real energy, creative energy building up inside of me and I didn’t really know how to use it, especially during a pandemic,” said Moore-Gibson.
Honey and Glow recently reopened and is currently offering curbside pick up, online orders and delivery.
Moore-Gibson also started to donate a portion of the sales to Rethink Breast Cancer, a Toronto-based foundation focused on empowering women and families living with and affected by breast cancer. The donation is used for breast cancer awareness programs and events, research, resources and community work.
Moore-Gibson chose Rethink Breast Cancer because the stories of other breast cancer patients, survivors and families shared by the foundation served as a source of inspiration and comfort during her most difficult times.
Integrating her personal story in her work for Honey and Glow became very important for Moore-Gibson. Sharing her breast cancer journey has allowed her to connect with customers and supporters at a deeper level and engage in conversations with others affected by breast cancer.
“Even something as simple as the amount of women that have reached out to me being like, “Today is such a dark day and seeing your face and seeing your hair in a headband is giving me hope” makes it feel so worth it. It makes me want to keep going,” explained Moore-Gibson.
However, sharing her story online wasn’t easy. It took much courage and trust to post her vulnerable side on the internet.
“I’ve always had a very private social media account . . . so I was worried about being vulnerable. But I would say the response has been nothing but supportive,” said Moore-Gibson. “Sharing my breast cancer story has given me even more courage to share more and be more involved and to just keep going.”
The brand has become more meaningful and healing in ways that she could have never imagined. Her favourite part of running and growing her business has been being empowered and inspired by other young female entrepreneurs and building new friendships. Her love for her local community of supporters and like-minded small business owners has led her to do many collaborations and giveaway events with local makers and artisans.
From seven years of running Honey and Glow, Moore-Gibson has learned to believe in herself and to take a chance. She encourages others who may be hesitant to pursue their dreams to take their leap of faith.
Aeris Körper is showing the community how to dance as smooth as butter and sharp as a knife
C/O @aeriskorper
Imagine that you had a space in the center of your chest in the place of your heart, like an egg yolk, and you can shift and move the egg yolk around in the cavity of your chest. Now, the yolk begins to evolve and ooze throughout your entire body. How would this sensation translate into movement?
This is how Aeris Körper, a dance company based in Hamilton, brings a unique spirit and energy to contemporary dance. What does it feel like to dance with the fluidity of runny egg yolk? To dance as if you have an itch on your neck that you can’t scratch? To move as if there is a pinball machine ricocheting in your body?
What does it feel like to dance with the fluidity of runny egg yolk? To dance as if you have an itch on your neck that you can’t scratch? To move as if there is a pinball machine ricocheting in your body?
Aeris Körper was founded by Lisa Emmons in 2014 and currently consists of three core performers. Emmons received their bachelor of fine arts in dance from York University and founded Aeris Körper after having worked with numerous dance companies and choreographers, in addition to starting a family.
The company name roughly means “light body.” “Aeris” means to channel the light and energy of the human spirit, while “körper” is a German word meaning body. Altogether, Aeris Körper signifies the company’s vision of creating dance and movement through channelling each dancer’s intrinsic energy and physicality.
Aeris Körper roots its style in contemporary and modern dance. Above all, their intention is to portray bodily movement as opposed to simply dancing, with a mindfulness of the individuality of movement. Emmons takes a particular interest in dynamics — much like one varies their articulation and gestures in speech, Emmons experiments with varied texture in their movements.
Emmons elaborated on their thought process throughout choreography, as they try to focus on the dancer’s quality of movement.
“As opposed to saying, “we're going to do a pirouette,” it could be, “can you slice your leg through the air, and see what happens.” I think it creates really rich and interesting physicality,” explained Emmons.
“As opposed to saying, “we're going to do a pirouette,” it could be, “can you slice your leg through the air, and see what happens.” I think it creates really rich and interesting physicality,”
lisa emmons
With such a heavy focus on creating movement, Emmons utilizes an intuitive approach to creating choreography for the company. Sometimes they create choreography before it is set to music so that the atmosphere of the music dictates the piece’s dynamics.
“I'll usually pick a texture and follow my intuition or my gut. If an idea comes, like I think I should move with my elbow or my hand moves, then I'll do it to let go without judging or pre-editing. Just generate the material and then that can be honed and refined,” they said.
“I'll usually pick a texture and follow my intuition or my gut. If an idea comes, like I think I should move with my elbow or my hand moves, then I'll do it to let go without judging or pre-editing. Just generate the material and then that can be honed and refined,”
Lisa Emmons
Aeris Körper collaborates with numerous local artists, with a large amount of their choreography set to original commissioned music. Emmons makes an effort to work with Hamilton-based artists whenever possible.
The company is constantly trying to redefine what it means to be a dance group through integrating projection, props and audience interaction into their work. Many of their pieces are immersive, allowing audience members to be involved in the dance and break the fourth wall.
The performing arts have seen an enormous shift due to COVID-19 and Aeris Körper is adapting and rising to the challenge. Since audience interaction normally plays such an important role in the group’s creations, the company has taken to experimentation with videography.
“If we're doing something live on Zoom, we’re controlling how much the audience can see and how and where. I think that's really interesting in terms of our interest in creating immersive works because we get to decide their angles. It’s a really powerful and compelling way of doing things, and it's really like a beautiful set of limitations that causes us to be creative,” said Emmons.
“If we're doing something live on Zoom, we’re controlling how much the audience can see and how and where. I think that's really interesting in terms of our interest in creating immersive works because we get to decide their angles."
Lisa emmons
As opposed to viewing the online nature of their current performances as a hindrance, Aeris Körper has begun to view the screen as a portal to the viewer — as if it were a vessel to transfer their art’s energy.
As performers-in-residence at Hamilton Artists Inc., the company recently did a socially-distanced immersive performance, where the audience was placed on the street in regulation with COVID-19 guidelines looking into the gallery. A number of online videos and performances were also produced, as Aeris Körper shifts its efforts to researching and creating new digital works.
Aeris Körper will be holding their eighth works-in-progress showcase entitled PROSPECTS on Thursday, March 25 at 8 p.m. over Zoom. The show was curated with the intent to spotlight artists from the Hamilton and Burlington communities, featuring numerous performances from local artists and choreographers.
The evening takes an innovative approach to dance performance, as each work presented will be accompanied by choreographer-led discussion and opportunities for audience interaction through questions, feedback and interpretation.
For students looking to get involved, Aeris Körper has mindfulness workshops available on their Instagram page and is looking forward to hosting summer intensives as well as in-person classes in the near future following all COVID-19 regulations. They emphasize that no experience is necessary to be able to create movement, welcoming dancers of all skill levels.
Theses aren’t beneficial for students who aren’t interested in research
C/O Ousa Chea on Unsplash
With the winter term wrapping up, many students in their final year are also wrapping up their thesis projects. Thesis projects are multi-unit courses that can range from six units to as large as 15 units. It’s a large research project that many students spend several hours on throughout their final year.
While not all programs are required to do a thesis project, some programs do require one, including health sciences, integrated science and arts and science. However, a year-long thesis is a big undertaking for most students. Although thesis projects have faculty supervisors, most of the research you done independently.
While not all programs are required to do a thesis project, some programs do require one, including health sciences, integrated science and arts and science. However, a year-long thesis is a big undertaking for most students.
For example, I’m doing a thesis this year. As part of my project, I’m doing a literature review, which involves looking at academic articles on my topics and analyzing current methods, findings and theories in the existing literature. Most of my work involves sitting at a computer, looking at articles by myself. I do have a meeting with my supervisor every week, but even that is mostly self-conducted: I ask my supervisor questions regarding my thesis and outline what I’ve done so far.
I enjoy my thesis topic and I think what I’m doing is important. Yet, even I run into issues and struggle with completing my thesis. I’m sure it’s even more difficult for those that don’t enjoy doing a thesis project. Thus, doing a thesis should be something that is optional for students to partake in.
For one, not everyone wants to pursue research in the future. A thesis can be very valuable when it comes to developing your research skills, but not everyone is interested in doing research after their final year. Some students who finish their undergraduate degree go directly into the workforce, some students complete further studies but opt for a course-based graduate or professional program and some students just simply don’t like research.
If you don’t like research, it can be hard to write a research-based thesis. Even if you do like research, thesis projects typically require you to come up with a new spin on an idea or a theory and not everyone has the capacity to do that. You may like researching topics, but only things that already exist in the literature, such as researching for a project or presentation in a molecular mechanism.
If you don’t like research, it can be hard to write a research-based thesis. Even if you do like research, thesis projects typically require you to come up with a new spin on an idea or a theory and not everyone has the capacity to do that.
Furthermore, some students gain more from doing course-based work. Maybe taking a presentation-based course, an inquiry course or a lecture-based course is something that is really up their alley. Since we’re paying for our education, shouldn’t we have a say on how we want to learn? Having requirements for certain courses makes sense because, at the end of the day, we’re getting a degree in a specific field.
However, we should have the option to choose the way we learn our required content. If we need to learn about molecular biology, we should have the option to do a thesis, but also have the option to do a project, paper or presentation on it instead.
The need for optional thesis projects is further exacerbated by this year being online. Many students are facing burnout. As we hit the one-year anniversary of the pandemic, it’s important to acknowledge the higher levels of stress that students may be experiencing as well as the decreased motivation that has afflicted us by storm.
Being motivated enough to do self-directed research on top of the pandemic can be incredibly difficult; thus, it is important to consider making thesis courses optional — and especially so this year.
By making thesis projects optional, students will have the opportunity to choose whether a thesis is the best choice for their learning. Some degrees, such as programs under the department of health, aging and society as well as the English and cultural studies program already have optional theses. If optional thesis projects are doable in these programs, they should be doable for every other program, too.
By: Esther Liu, Contributor
Photo C/O Tiffany Tse
The Silhouette: When did you get into piano?
Tiffany Tse: I started when I was five years old. It wasn't an amazing story, it was just my mom. One day she asked me if I'm interested in playing the piano. I said “yeah” and I didn't really know what I was doing, I just wanted to say yes to things. It's actually a pretty interesting story because I stuck with the same teacher the whole time. Even now, once in a while I go to visit the teacher that I've known since I was five years old.
I was just incredibly lucky to be able to be with this teacher. They're a couple — husband and wife. They've just been very, very good teachers . . . Then, I think they threw me in to compete when I was six. That's when I started performing. As a kid, I didn't really know what I was doing, but I did like it and that's how I grew up loving the stage and loving the idea of sharing this music that I'm making with other people.
What inspired you to create your Instagram account?
I think my first post was in 2014. I just decided one day, why not upload something? But then, when I got to university (I started my first year in 2016), because I was in engineering I actually didn't have time to play anymore. I was accepted to [the University of Toronto]'s piano performance program and they gave me a full ride but I was like "Oh, what am I gonna do with a music degree?" so I ended up choosing engineering.
I had a huge regret, almost, because I didn't get to do what I love to do and when you don't practice, your skills fully go away. So that's what I found during my university years: I was so focused on school and engineering that I kind of forgot about this thing that was really important to me. It got to a point where I would have so much regret that if I saw a piano in public I would almost want to run away from it because I was so scared of hearing myself play or if someone told me to play something and I sound terrible because I haven't been practicing. Eventually, I forgot about how much I loved it so I deactivated my account . . . around 2017 because I didn't want to look at it anymore, I just wanna move on with life.
And then quarantine happened and one of my friends has an account similar to this where she posts her practice and her music and she posted consistently. I saw how much she was improving and it was really inspiring. I was like: "Wow, she's gotten really good over the past few years since I last heard her play." And so it's quarantine, I'm really bored, maybe this is something I should pick up. So I reactivated my account and that's how I started.
I started again around late June of 2020 and I just became obsessed again. I basically worked through all the skills I lost and I just sat and listened to myself sound really bad in the beginning and then picked up new pieces to learn and then just went at it. I started practicing five hours a day because I just loved it so much. It was almost like rediscovering a lost part of myself. Now, I've kind of fixed the whole regret thing. I don't hold those regrets in my heart anymore because I got to do this while doing school. Right now I'm in my final year and I am balancing these two things and I plan on continuing to balance this side of me along with my career moving forward.
I basically worked through all the skills I lost and I just sat and listened to myself sound really bad in the beginning and then picked up new pieces to learn and then just went at it. I started practicing five hours a day because I just loved it so much. It was almost like rediscovering a lost part of myself. Now, I've kind of fixed the whole regret thing.
What encourages you to keep running your account?
Definitely the community of people there. I've met a lot of friends, they're pianists as well, and because I play classical music, I find that it's really hard to find people who love it nowadays. It's rare, but it's something I'm really passionate about. So being able to have this platform and meet other classical pianists and being able to talk about this was so good for me. I haven't been able to just fan-girl about classical music in a long time.
Also, when I was competing in person as a kid, there was always a lot of competition between people. That's also one reason why I didn't go into music — I just didn't like the way people were fighting. Because not everyone "makes it" in music, right? It's very hard to truly "make it" as a performer, so there's a lot of competition between people, there's a lot of rumours and gossip. With this Instagram community, I can freely talk about myself and the pieces I want to play and the music without having to worry about someone spreading rumours or something. So it's a community where you can be yourself and be open.
With a growing following, I just didn't know so many people were still into classical music. I want to go back into performing in person but, because I haven't done it in about five years, I would need to build up that confidence again, so having this platform is really good. I'm not only posting videos, but I've done Instagram lives before where I just played through my piece and it's really good practice for me to be able to eventually make it back into the stage.
Are you still taking lessons then?
Not formally . . . I just learn the piece myself and polish it to the best of my ability and bring it to him. I find that because I've grown so much since I was a kid and last taking lessons seriously, I really like coming up with my own interpretation and knowing the music by myself first and then going to him and then he can pick out some details and what I should fix. That to me is better because I don't really need him to sit me down and read with me anymore so it's more time-effective that way. Honestly, he's the sweetest thing ever. He doesn't charge me, he won't tell me how much he charges. Last time, I wanted to pay for the lesson because he spends two hours with me every time. He just opened his arms and told me to come here, gave me a hug and told me that I paid. I guess that's one of the things about sticking with the same teacher for so long — they're like my second parents. They watched me grow up since I was five and now I'm 22.
Do you have any songs that you really enjoy playing?
I think anything by [Frédéric] Chopin is so near and dear to me. The interesting thing about classical is that there are no lyrics. So people will listen to a song and will really relate to the song because of the lyrics. For some reason, Chopin's pieces, even without lyrics, I resonate so much with it. There's just something about it. I think it's because Chopin really missed his homeland. So in his music, there's sometimes a nostalgic feeling and it kind of reminds me of some great old memories. Even when you're completely heartbroken, there's going to be something for it.
It's also cool because I haven't played in five years. I came back to it and, because so many things have happened in these five years that I've grown as a person throughout my university career, the music that I play would come out differently because of the experiences I've had. The technical stuff is trainable but then I feel that all the emotions and maturity come with time.
What is your favourite part of competitions and being on the stage?
When I can communicate with the audience without saying anything. When you're playing a note and you take a pause and everyone is silent. It's almost like everyone is anticipating the next part with you. I think that's really cool. And there's obviously nerves when you're performing. Being in front of people, there are always worries about “what if I mess up?” or “what if I forget?” I think that these are fears that every musician and every performer has. So my heart's always racing before but then once I sit down at the piano and start playing, I find that the racing heartbeat goes away. It just becomes me and the instrument.
Mac and Weeneebayko Area Health Authority work to increase access to eye care for children in Indigenous communities
Indigenous health issues are rampant in Canada, finding their roots deeply embedded within systemic racism and the colonial history of our country. From inequitable access to primary and preventative care services to instances of racism in the hospital room, Indigenous communities have long faced detrimental inequities in Canada’s healthcare system.
Among these many issues is the reduced access to eye health and vision care within many Indigenous communities, especially ones that are removed from urban centres. This problem has not received adequate attention from Canadian authorities, resulting in a lack of action to address it.
To address this inequity in Northern Ontario, McMaster University has partnered with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority to create the Indigenous Children Eye Examination. The partnership aims to provide immediate access to vision screenings and eye examinations for children and youth aged between six months and 18 years. The ultimate goal of the project is to ensure sustainable access to eye examinations and eye health services.
The project is being led by Dr. Kourosh Sabri, associate professor of surgery at McMaster and a pediatric ophthalmologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital. The project also involves many others at McMaster, including McMaster computer department graduates who helped design the initiative.
Currently, the partnership between McMaster and WAHA is making childhood eye health services accessible to seven communities along the James and Hudson Bays, including Attawapiskat First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation and Moose Cree First Nation in Moose Factory.
ICEE would not have been possible without the support from Indigenous communities and leaders from the seven communities involved along the James and Hudson Bay areas. Indigenous leadership and initiative have been a key aspect and pillar of this project.
The first eye clinic was held in Moose Factory in June 2020. The program has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing remote tests that are performed virtually via telemedicine. McMaster and WAHA are also using the opportunity to train local healthcare practitioners along the James and Hudson bays.
“We have committed to developing a program where we train local nurses, local healthcare workers in how to carry out a vision screening test,” explained Sabri.
Better access to eye examination and vision care services for children in Northern Ontario will benefit the health of those in these Indigenous communities in many, far-reaching ways. Many children in these communities have never before had an eye exam in their life, which makes this project a much-needed relief.
However, in addition to improving the vision of these children, the partnership will also allow screening of undiagnosed eye diseases, allowing healthcare practitioners to preemptively treat any conditions they may find.
“So the benefit is that you can start screening lots and lots of children for undiagnosed disease which if it goes undiagnosed for much longer, it can lead to chronic irreversible vision loss,” said Sabri.
The hope for the project is that it can be used in the future to mitigate the more widespread effects of systemic racism and/or lack of healthcare access across Indigenous communities in Canada. By using evidence gained from the ICEE project, those involved with the partnership hope to apply similar methods of care delivery in different areas of healthcare to other communities in need.
“My hope is that the model that we're developing with ICEE — after a year or two or more of this project — we will be able to show a large body of evidence of how you can develop a sustainable healthcare model for at least eye care for the children, which can be then transplanted . . . in other parts of the country,” explained Sabri.
“My hope is that the model that we're developing with ICEE — after a year or two or more of this project — we will be able to show a large body of evidence of how you can develop a sustainable healthcare model for at least eye care for the children, which can be then transplanted . . . in other parts of the country,” explained Sabri.
The benefits of this project experienced by the Indigenous communities and families in the James and Hudson Bay areas are important to note. The ICEE project has allowed their experience of eye care to change completely for the better.
Dr. Elaine Innes and her family are of the Moose Cree First Nation from Moose Factory. Innes is a family physician, and has witnessed, experienced and enjoyed the benefits of this project.
“This project has been a great benefit for our communities along the James Bay. Currently, we do not have access to vision care within our communities and must travel south. For our most remote community, it would mean at least three and a half hours by plane to Timmins to access any optometry services, for ophthalmology then the travel would go as far as Kingston, Ontario,” said Innes.
