During the pandemic, athletes never stopped training, so the recruiting process had to adjust to a new normal amid the restricitions
Graphic by Esra Rakab, production Coordinator
Throughout the pandemic, many students had to go through many new experiences in their everyday school life, from remote learning to digital club experiences and much more. Above all else, student-athletes have possibly seen the most change in their school lives, as not only was their regular season cancelled, but their practices had to become something completely new to make sure they continued training and got better.
One of the biggest adjustments that new athletes have seen during the pandemic is the altered recruitment process. In typical years, coaches would have meetings with potential recruits, show them the campus, have them join the team for practice and whatever else they feel is necessary to help improve their odds of landing more talent.
However, this year, the recruitment process bore no resemblance to the past.
Matthew Rugosi — a new commit to the McMaster men’s volleyball team — discussed the process that he experienced and some major differences from what he originally expected.
“It was definitely different than what I was expecting . . . My brother went through the same recruitment process [years earlier] and he got to visit the McMaster campus and talk to the coach and practice with the team,” said Rugosi.
As Rugosi discussed the experiences and interactions he had and the recruitment process he was put through, the student-athlete expressed that he originally expected a campus tour with the head coach and an opportunity to practice with the team — but unfortunately received none of the above.
“I had to figure it out on my own and see how I like the campus. Before COVID, I was talking to [head coach] Dave Preston and he had me come to one of the games so I could see the game live. That was probably the most interaction I got in person with them,” explained Rugosi.
Rugosi missed out on many typical aspects of the recruitment process. For many athletes, it is a once-in-a-lifetime event to be recruited by university teams. To miss out on all the enjoyable parts of the process is devastating. From understanding what a typical practice looks like, to exploring the campus and figuring out the general vibe that a school holds, all these aspects play a big role in the recruitment of an athlete.
Rugosi was fortunate to have some level of familiarity with the team given that he had an older brother who was rostered, but even then the interactions he had were limited, forcing him a difficult time selecting a school. For Rugosi, it came down to head coach Preston.
Rugosi remarks that Preston being a main factor on why he chose McMaster was because he really cares about his players and appreciated his coaching style.
“Another reason why I chose McMaster is because Dave Preston went out of the box and wished me a happy birthday, which none of the other coaches did. I thought that was something really cool and unique,” said Rugosi.
In a year with limited interactions, anything personable can go a long way, and clearly, in this instance, it made a big difference. Recruitment processes are very different than ever before, so every move is vital for schools in their efforts to get the best talent on their team rosters.
Multi-talented artist is learning from and giving back to the Hamilton community
C/O @clairitytarot
Clairandean Humphrey is a jack of all trades, but far from a master of none. The oracle card reader, artist and movement instructor reads tarot cards, draws, paints, makes video art, sings, writes songs, teaches yoga, Pilates and much more.
Throughout their life, Humphrey picked up and refined these different practices. In all their work, Humphrey is guided by the principle of affirming that they’re here.
“[T]here's so many stereotypes and tropes that see past a person's existence. We don't really get to know people because of prejudices and our biases. And so a lot of my work now is exploring and investigating anti-oppression and gender-inclusive language and understanding that it's always changing,” said Humphrey.
Humphrey added that it is important for them to stay in conversation with others, adjust to the various nuances and be aware of the ways they are impacting others.
Awareness of this impact is especially important because of the multiple avenues through which Humphrey has interacted with the Hamilton community since moving to the city in 2019.
One of these avenues is through singing and songwriting. They grew up in a musical household and began writing songs in their early 20s. During the summer of 2019, they put together an extended play record, recording in it in a kitchen and an attic. In April 2020, they released the finished project called Moving in the Dark.
“[The process of making the EP was] very scary and I didn't want to do it. But for some reason, I need to record this EP. It's sitting inside and it wants to get out, so it feels like a restlessness . . . [I recorded it] and then I sat on it. And then 2020 happened . . . I did a mini-concert online when it was big and hot on the internet. And it was just fun, even though I was nervous and felt terrified. It was just fun to express that and to put that in the world. And I feel like that was a part of my healing from going from Toronto to Hamilton and allowing myself to learn here,” said Humphrey.
However, music wasn’t the only practice that Humphrey grew in Hamilton. Much of their time has been devoted to their involvement with Pilates, yoga, and mindfulness studio, Goodbodyfeel.
While Humphrey has always been an active person, it was in their 20s that they began practising yoga. After getting out of a toxic relationship, they re-entered a movement practice more seriously. They joined Goodbodyfeel in 2018 and completed training with the studio in late 2019.
Through Goodbodyfeel, Humphrey was introduced to trauma-informed movement and anti-oppressive wellness spaces. As an instructor with the studio, they teach a class exclusively for queer, trans and nonbinary folks and a Saturday morning class called Mantra + Movement + Mindfulness.
In this class, Humphrey pulls an oracle or tarot card at the beginning and then creates a mantra throughout this class. This class incorporates their role as a tarot card reader.
Humphrey was introduced to tarot through a partner who was also interested in the occult world. While living in Quebec for four years and learning French, they had the time to study the mythology and meanings of the cards. During this time, they also discovered they were a witch through understanding the uses of medicinal plants.
Now, through Clarity Tarot, Humphrey reads tarot for others. As with their movement practice, their tarot readings are trauma-informed, anti-oppressive and gender-inclusive. They are currently offering readings online through Zoom. In the past, they have also done readings at Hamilton store The Witch’s Fix.
“[T]arot has done a lot for me, but it's kind of hard to put it in all in words in one shot. When you're talking about the intuitive arts, it can sound really like up there. I think what I do is try to make it more practical. It's in your mundane world. It's how you make your tea. It's having a conversation with a friend. There's spiritual moments in that, even just connecting with someone else. I think people think the spiritual is very far away [but] it's right where you're at. You don't have to look far and it's a lot simpler than you think,” explained Humphrey.
Currently, Humphrey is working on a number of projects. They are doing a number of trainings to deepen their understanding of trauma-informed movement, teaching movement to youth, anatomy, physiology and merging justice work with yoga.
They are also working on a number of art projects. They are organizing their works so they can begin sharing them with the public. They are also part of an art collective that is trying to get grants to create movement pieces.
As they have in their own life, Humphrey encourages students to go after the things that they want.
“If you are truly passionate about something or you're feeling intrigued by something, don't let anyone stop you. And don't let your doubts stop you. And it's not to say you're not going to have fears or doubts, but don't let it stop you from expressing what you need to express,” Humphrey said.
Racially discriminatory healthcare, anyone? It’s free!
C/O Ashkan Forouzani
By: Hadeeqa Aziz, Contributor
Throughout school, we’ve been taught about all the ways Canada’s healthcare system is perfect. We’ve got free healthcare, for goodness’ sake!
It seems as though this phrase has made itself quite comfortable in our heads. Even now, while engaging in friendly conversation with our American counterparts, we don’t leave without mentioning: “we’ve got free healthcare”.
What our education systems have failed to teach us, however, is the masked reality of healthcare services in Canada. Various healthcare disparities most definitely exist here and remain persistent.
Indigenous, immigrant, refugee and racialized groups are at a greater risk for the negative health outcomes that result from health inequalities. These inequalities arise from poverty, socioeconomic status, race, identity and other social determinants.
Why is this the case? Although Canada promises free health care to all its citizens, we need to take a second to examine how accessible and adequate such services are to different groups of Canadians.
Don’t believe that racism can exist in a healthcare setting? Think again. When ideas of superiority and inferiority come to life in such a way that it interferes with an individual’s health and their access to health resources, you’re staring right at racism.
Did you know that Black, Indigenous and People of Colour communities, as well as those of lower educational attainment levels, are at greater risk for things such as diabetes, mental health illnesses, suicide rates and heart disease?
Racial discrimination has earned its title as the leading health issue affecting racialized communities. When these communities are trapped in a system where they are consistently oppressed, how can you not expect them to be at a greater risk of chronic diseases?
For example, with Indigenous communities, the experience of colonization and the permanent effects of it has resulted in large disparities between their health status — including physical, mental and social health — compared to non-Indigenous peoples.
Approximately 50 per cent of Canadian First Nations live on reserves, where poor housing conditions also lead to several health issues. These issues include increased prevalence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, influenza and more recently, COVID-19.
Of course, a conversation about racism and discrimination isn’t complete without a discussion about how whiteness and Eurocentric ideologies have made themselves embedded within modern health care practices and processes.
Eurocentric ideas have become normalized in health care assessments, diagnosis and treatment plans. They are often used as yardsticks by which non-white groups are judged. How does that make sense when these groups have drastically unique experiences and lifestyles? Mainstream healthcare services are unequipped to adequately meet the needs of these communities.
It is also not surprising that these groups, especially immigrants, refugees and those living on Indigenous reserves do not have the same accessibility to health education. This often results from the intersections that those who identify as BIPOC have with lower socioeconomic status.
In Hamilton, 43 per cent of BIPOC live in low-income households, while only 15 per cent of white residents find themselves in the same category. See how the two determinants are often coupled with each other? Being a victim of both these health determinants inevitably puts an individual at risk of another: access to education.
Having access to health education means knowing what is beneficial and what is harmful to our bodies. When there are disparities with education attainment, these lines become blurry, leaving detrimental effects on an individual’s health.
Hamiltonians of lower-income class, which often consists of BIPOC communities, account for 27 per cent of COVID-19 cases, despite making up only 19 per cent of the population. Some determinants of contracting COVID-19 include education and money.
Being an immigrant or refugee already makes a person less likely to have access to an adequate education. Without one, a person may be less likely to know, or fully comprehend COVID-19 guidelines.
Let’s pretend that the person is fully educated on COVID-19 matters. Being of a lower socioeconomic class limits their access to resources, such as face masks and forces them into dangerous situations such as taking public transportation and living in crowded homes.
Even if they had funds to avoid all these things, racial discrimination remains the leading cause of health issues in these communities. See the trap? See how these intersections build upon each other?
Increased access to healthcare services by racialized groups must begin with first determining how these representations are manifested in our healthcare system as well as in “everyday interactions with clients”. We have to not only recognize but appreciate how multiple social identities operate in the lives of racialized communities and have a willingness to tackle issues from an intersectional perspective. Canada proudly identifies itself as a racially and culturally diverse nation — perhaps it’s time our healthcare system recognizes that.
Standard lease laws meant for working adults aren’t suitable for students
C/O NIcolas J Leclercq
By: Ardena Bašić, Contributor
Students are subject to the same laws as anyone else who signs a lease: there is a specified time period, strict periodic payment dates and very little opportunity to terminate a lease if the need arises. However, even with a guarantor that is required by most student leases, adhering to some of these guidelines can cause potent pressure on students. With the university lifestyle already bearing intense stress, students should be allowed specialized lease laws.
Firstly, students should be allowed to rent for more flexible time periods. This could include monthly or semiannual leases, break periods and other dynamic arrangements.
While landlords could be initially skeptical of this proposal in that they could see low demand for some months of the year, students would be more content with landlords who allow them to save money for the months that they do not need housing.
This could transmit into higher renewal rates and more loyalty to a landlord overall. More so, break periods could allow landlords to flexibly advertise places through their own means, which is likely more successful than students trying to advertise subletting places through their own methods and busy schedules. Overall, higher flexibility with renting dates would actually benefit both students and landlords.
Secondly, students should not face consequences if they fail to adhere to the usual “first of every month” payment plan. While this offers regularity for the landlord and tenant, tuition payments, living costs and other fees can make it difficult to always pay on time.
Rent should be treated like a credit card payment: on-time payment is rewarded with no interest, while failure to do so will build an interest expense over time.
As a result, students would have some more freedom with regard to sorting payment dates for their multiple expenses, yet will still be motivated to pay on time due to interest. Landlords might receive their money later but would still benefit from the extra interest revenue. This would also take pressure off of lease guarantors, who usually have their own expenses to worry about, albeit the ones for their children or peers.
Lastly, students should be able to terminate their lease — with due notice — if they wish to do so. COVID-19 makes a particularly profound argument for this option. Many students wanted to move back home to their families for a variety of reasons but still had to pay rent for their residences that they may have already signed for up to a year.
This could cause feelings of guilt, as you are paying for something that you aren’t using. However, landlords would lose quite a bit of revenue if many students left their rentals. Nonetheless, some landlords still have several houses that they can gain revenue from alongside potential day jobs, while most students already have debt and need to prioritize saving.
This last recommendation is most certainly the most abstract and could be detrimental to landlords, but would still contribute to higher satisfaction from renters and potentially loyalty and a good reputation for the landlord in the future.
Student life is full of the unknown, challenges, opportunities and not many constants. Having more flexibility when it comes to finding accommodation close to where one is studying can take a profound amount of stress and pressure off of students and their guarantors.
With student housing being a market with relatively stable demand, landlords should certainly consider these recommendations and how they could positively impact their reputation and relationship with current and future students.