Yoohyun Park/Production Coordinator
It’s time to kick the arbitrary four-year timeline to the curb
By: Ardena Bašić, Contributor
Post-secondary educational programs are often presented as allotted timelines that correspond to annual requirements. For example, a four-year bachelor's degree assumes five courses a semester, or 10 a year in Ontario. Yet, these are only guidelines and are not set in stone.
There are benefits to both shortening and prolonging a degree, along with costs. Unfortunately, the latter is often met with criticism in our increasingly workaholic society. This stigma needs to be reevaluated so that students can achieve success at their own pace without undue pressure.
Firstly, it is worth noting that there are multiple benefits to extending the time one takes to complete a degree. For one, with fewer courses at one moment in time, there are more opportunities to pursue extracurriculars, work and social activities. The former two are highly valuable in adding to one’s resume and expanding future job prospects, but the latter is also important in encouraging a strong life balance.
It is worth noting that there are multiple benefits to extending the time one takes to complete a degree.
With the unfortunate increase in mental health disorders today, striving for such a balance is even more crucial. Additionally, focusing on fewer courses means there is a greater chance of savouring course content, as opposed to working only to meet deadlines. Given the exorbitant time, energy and money that education demands, one should take every chance to get the most out of their education.
One should also consider that there is a positive correlation between time spent completing a degree and the graduation rate. For instance, Harvard’s four-year graduation rate is approximately 85% whereas the five-year graduation rate is almost 95%. To put it into perspective, this 10% increase represents about 700 students at Harvard and 3000 students at McMaster.
If extra time spent on your degree makes such a significant difference, then why haven’t we yet accepted taking your time? Especially in a society where degrees are progressively becoming more valuable. Overall, there are a myriad of benefits to slowing down one’s education instead of trying to relentlessly pursue the socially-accepted completion time.
These benefits are met with only a few consequences. Firstly, prolonging one’s studies could eventually dispel motivation. One may start eager to learn, but eventually become apathetic and neglect coursework by the end of the study period. Moreover, the jobs one may obtain in their extra time, or even school guidelines, may lower the amount of scholarships available. This is most distressing for those who have high financial need, but not as much for those who already obtained sufficient scholarship funds at the beginning of their education. Individuals considering a longer study time should reflect on the benefits and costs to decide the right course of action for them.
In our increasingly competitive world, part-time studies — or any form of studying that takes longer than what is outlined — seems to be frowned upon. Individuals might believe that such a person lacks the time management, productivity skills or even basic intellect to finish a degree at the same time as others.
However, this is far from the truth. It takes a high level of honesty to commit to putting oneself first in a time where there is a binary between an actual person and their work. Taking the time off to focus on self-development and maintaining balance in one’s life will pay off more than attempting to fit in with the status quo. In this way, such individuals should be revered for their courage as opposed to being discriminated against.
It takes a high level of honesty to commit to putting oneself first in a time where there is a binary between an actual person and their work.
Everyone is incredibly unique and one’s education should follow suit. There is no reward in joining the same race as everyone else if one would be better off running to the beat of their own heart. So, instead of discouraging the truth in our manipulated and photoshopped society, let’s reward those with the courage to defy it.
C/O Kyle Head
Clubs reflect on the previous year and prepare for a new year as students are welcomed back on campus
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and conditions rapidly change, students have also been doing their best to adapt their extracurricular activities. Starting Sept. 9, 2021, McMaster Students Union clubs are to follow a new set of guidelines tailored to in-person events.
Although in-person events are permitted, events are limited to 100 people outdoors or 25 people indoors. Students must always adhere to any physical distancing or room capacity limits as well.
Following the same format as the year before, MSU Clubsfest took place online. For the virtual Clubsfest, MSU Clubs features a variety of clubs from the five divisions—academic, cultural, recreational, religious and social issues — across their social media.
With over 300 clubs under the MSU, many clubs do not require students to gather in person. On the other hand, there are also clubs that operate heavily with in-person events.
Absolute Pitch, McMaster’s show choir, is one such club. As a show choir, the club involves singing and dancing for live performances. This year, Hayleigh Wallace, Absolute Pitch’s president, said that all auditions and rehearsals will be done in person.
However, the club will still be following all protocols and thus, the cast may be smaller than usual in order to abide by the 25 person gathering limit.
For performances where the club can’t have a live audience, such as their annual coffee house performance in November, those will be recorded beforehand.
Looking back on how the previous year went for the club when everyone had to be done online, Wallace said the club learned a lot about being flexible.
“I think we also just learned a lot about flexibility and we’re going to try not to enforce really hard deadlines this year, or like, we need to have this number perfected by this day. We understand that it’s okay to be flexible,” said Wallace.
“I think we also just learned a lot about flexibility and we’re going to try not to enforce really hard deadlines this year, or like, we need to have this number perfected by this day. We understand that it’s okay to be flexible.”
Hayleigh Wallace, Absolute Pitch President
Auditions for Absolute Pitch are being held Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 for both the vocal and dance cast. The club is also currently recruiting band members.
Similar to Absolute Pitch, the McMaster Musical Theatre is another club that bases its operations heavily on in-person gatherings. This year, the MMT will also be having their rehearsals in person and will be recording any performances that cannot have a live audience.
Due to the fact that MMT’s cast and crew will likely be over the 25 person limit, Isabel Diavolitsis, MMT’s president, expressed that the club plans to split up the cast and crew for rehearsals in order to follow the protocols.
Last year, with everything being done online, MMT asked club members to record individual videos of themselves reimagining and reenacting songs or scenes that they love.
Although there were some challenges, Diavolitsis said the club was able to learn from the experience.
“[There] definitely was a learning curve I'm sure like at the beginning of the year just sort of getting into it how are we going to do this and I’m sure lots of clubs had that sort of awakening. But then, after that, things started to run a bit more smoothly. I think folks have now learned that there are some things you can teach virtually which is kind of cool and maybe will reduce the amount of time we have to spend in person, especially if we want to keep limiting contact,” said Diavolitsis.
"I think folks have now learned that there are some things you can teach virtually which is kind of cool and maybe will reduce the amount of time we have to spend in person, especially if we want to keep limiting contact.”
Isabel Diavolitsis, Mcmaster Musical Theatre President
Mac One Act, a club that offers students the opportunity to participate in a variety of short plays, is also planning on incorporating in-person performances this year.
Toluwalase Awonuga, president of Mac One Act, said that the club plans to do in-person plays, but will also have some virtual plays to allow those who can’t make it in person to join.
Each play involves a group of typically no larger than six, so Awonuga believes the club should have no difficulty adhering to the COVID-19 protocols during rehearsals.
The club is looking to include both virtual and in-person plays in their final showcase in the Winter semester. Awonuga expressed that their hope is to offer the showcase to a live audience, but also online as well.
Currently, the club is reviewing scripts for their plays this year and auditions will begin at the end of October.
Aside from performance-based clubs, other clubs such as the Mac Soup Kitchen, also involve in-person activities.
Mac Soup Kitchen is a club that advocates food security, fundraises for various food accessibility programs and helps organize volunteers for local food banks and soup kitchens.
Vanessa Wong, one of MSK’s co-presidents, said that last year, the club shifted from volunteering and fundraising to more advocacy-related activities. This included online events such as a games night and coordinating a virtual food drive.
“Asking students to provide monetary donations is kind of [something] we didn't feel like was the right thing to do, knowing that everyone was you know going through hardship last year, so we wanted to just shift our focus to spreading awareness of food insecurity,” said Wong.
“Asking students to provide monetary donations is kind of [something] we didn't feel like was the right thing to do, knowing that everyone was you know going through hardship last year, so we wanted to just shift our focus to spreading awareness of food insecurity.”
Vanessa Wong, Mac Soup Kitchen Co-President
Arushi Wadhwa, MSK’s other co-president, said that a positive from last year was being able to reach out to a wide range of people through social media. However, conducting synchronous online events posed a challenge at times as the club is used to advertising for events on campus through posters or drop-ins to classrooms.
“[T]here were definitely some drawbacks, but given all of that we've definitely learned a lot [from] hosting like completely online events last year and we're really excited to implement new changes and see where MSK goes this year,” said Wadhwa.
This year, due to the difficulty of contact tracing, Wong and Wadhwa said they plan to remain mostly online.
“Keeping everyone safe is our number one priority, so we are going to remain mainly online, explained Wadhwa.
However, the club will be facilitating some in-person volunteering at food banks and soup kitchens if any club members express interest in doing so. MSK will not be heavily involved in the entire volunteering process but will help inform volunteers of when food banks or soup kitchens need volunteers.
Travis Nguyen/Photo Editor
After over a year of inactivity, the pulse is making a comeback and all are welcome!
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus was relatively inactive. For the fall and winter semester in 2020-2021 academic year, facilities such as the David Braley Athletic Centre were not used by regular students due to the provincial guidelines. However, after over a year of inactivity within the Mac campus, the Pulse is finally reopening, albeit with a slight twist.
Since Sept. 7, the Pulse has been open at three different locations on campus. The gym will be running under an “open gym” system, in which the members who sign up can access the equipment on a first come, first served basis. However, students will be limited solely to the specific location that they have booked.
The general rules associated with the Pulse will be presented to students before they sign up, but include mandatory provincial guidelines, such as mask wearing. However, the students will not be required to wear their masks in designated stations, but will have to maintain physical distance at all times.
Although the Pulse has reopened for the whole student body, it will be divided into three locations to ensure social distancing and avoid overcrowding. When signing up for a gym session, Pulse members must sign up for a one and half hour time slot in one of the three locations.
The first location is the Sport Hall Pulse. The Thérèse Quigley Sport Hall is located within DBAC and has an area of 16,000 square feet. Additionally, the Quigley Sport Hall is equipped with bikes, stair climbers, ellipticals, manual treadmills, dumbbells, benches, cable machines, squat racks and heavy duty platforms.
The second location is the Pop-Up Pulse. The East Auxiliary gym is a temporary gym created for fitness activity until the Student Activity and Fitness Expansion Project — a multi-faceted project featuring the addition of a 3-story fitness addition, a 4-story student activity building and renovations to DBAC — is complete. This 7,500 square foot gym is located in the Ivor Wynne Centre. The gym is also beneficial for students when the main centre of the Pulse gets too busy, or just for students who are seeking new space. The Pop-Up Pulse also offers a wide variety of equipment including free weights, squat racks, machine resistance equipment, cardio equipment and more. Additionally, the East Auxiliary Gym offers a private womens-only section.
The third location is the Track Pulse, located at DBAC. Just like the Pop-Up Pulse, this gym offers a women's only area, as well as a co-ed Area. The women's area is equipped with open floor space, fitness studio equipment, bikes, stair climbers, ellipticals, dumbbells, cable machines and a section of pin selectorized machines.
A regular Pulse membership (included in tuition costs) includes access to all equipment within any of the three gyms, drop-in fitness classes and the Feather Family Climbing Wall. Additionally, there are personal trainers monitoring the floor at all times for anyone requiring general assistance.
Students who have begun to attend the Pulse for the first time have expressed their general opinions on the new gym concept that is applied for the year. Emil Soleymani, a second-year studying software engineering who was eager to visit the Pulse, expressed his discontent regarding the Pop-Up Pulse.
“I registered about two days before my slot and the whole system went smoothly. However, I was somewhat disappointed when I arrived at one of the sites offered on the forms. It had outdated equipment and it generally seemed like it was small,” explained Soleymani.
“I registered about two days before my slot and the whole system went smoothly. However, I was somewhat disappointed when I arrived at one of the sites offered on the forms. It had outdated equipment and it generally seemed like it was small.”
Emil Soleymani, Second-Year Student
Although dismayed by the site itself, Soleymani did not hesitate to acknowledge the efforts of the gym instructors.
“They were extremely helpful in showing me around, where I can wear and where I don't have to wear a mask. They were very considerate and deserve all due credit,” explained Soleymani.
“They were extremely helpful in showing me around, where I can wear and where I don't have to wear a mask. They were very considerate and deserve all due credit."
Emil Soleymani, Second Year Student
When coming to the gym, the students should also be fully aware of the rules and regulations that are in place. These include restrictions on what can be worn inside the gym, which objects can be brought to the gym and which resources the students should bring along when entering the gym, such as their key card. The full rules and regulations can be found here.
C/O Green Venture
Green Venture’s Backyard Garden program is helping to turn Hamilton into a greener, more sustainable community
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, many turned to gardening, as seen by the tomatoes, lettuce and beans which have become a popular find in people’s backyards. Additionally, with discussions of the climate crisis taking greater precedence in the media, climate anxiety has been on the rise. In recognition of this and to support urban and community gardening in Hamilton, Green Venture, a not-for-profit environmental education and outreach organization, launched the Hamilton Seed Library project last summer.
“As the community continued to cope with the COVID-19 crisis, we were really inspired by the local community, how the resilient movement was taking place and the more need for backyard gardens,” explained Sheila Gutierrez, the garden program coordinator at Green Venture.
“As the community continued to cope with the COVID-19 crisis, we were really inspired by the local community, how the resilient movement was taking place and the more need for backyard gardens.”
Sheila Gutierrez, Green Venture Garden Program Coordinator
The Hamilton Seed Library was a joint project created in partnership with the Little Free Library, a not-for-profit book-exchange organization. It was created in keeping with their goal of maintaining biodiversity in Hamilton and helping the local community to become more self-reliant.
The rules and conditions of the Seed Library operate the same as the Little Free Library’s book-sharing boxes. Open 24/7, the seed library offers free fruit and vegetable seeds for anyone to take. There are no membership fees involved, nor set limits on how many seeds one can take, although users of the library should be mindful this is a shared resource for the benefit of the larger community.
Those who borrow the seeds are encouraged to save any remaining or harvested seeds and return them to the library at the end of the season. Just like any community resource, the seed library relies heavily on honest and fair use to maintain its supply. Other ways to support include monetary donations to Green Venture.
Currently, the seed libraries can be found outside of the Green Venture EcoHouse and six Little Free Library’s box locations across Hamilton. These include the libraries on Cannon Street, Wexford Avenue South, Jackson Street West, London Street, Salem Avenue and Kensington Avenue North. More information about each library can be found on their website.
Although the kinds of available seeds change every season, this fall users can expect to find native pollinator plants, such as black-eyed Susan and blazing star, and other veggies such as spinach and radishes.
More than ever, access to fresh food became important as people attempted to reduce outside trips, including grocery shopping trips. So, it came as no surprise that the introduction of the Hamilton Seed Library was met with so much positivity and praise.
“We know that the community is keen because when we put out the seeds, they are gone quickly. The community’s uptake [has been] very responsive,” Gutierrez said.
Additionally, alongside the Seed Library Green Venture started the Grow a Row program to better support the cultivation of a healthier, greener community in Hamilton. It was launched as part of its Backyard Garden Project, the organization’s COVID-19 resilience project. More broadly, the Backyard Garden Project strives to help Hamiltonians “build a greener, more sustainable and climate friendly future”.
“We were inspired at Green Venture to keep connecting our community and connecting them with more nature. [We are] giving them access to those skills and what they need to continue to learning their skills….So we took that, and then we came up with the Backyard Garden Project to support the urban growing and community gardening, to facilitate the sharing and knowledge of local growing and garden maintenance,” said Gutierrez.
“We were inspired at Green Venture to keep connecting our community and connecting them with more nature. [We are] giving them access to those skills and what they need to continue to learning their skills….So we took that, and then we came up with the Backyard Garden Project to support the urban growing and community gardening, to facilitate the sharing and knowledge of local growing and garden maintenance.”
Sheila Gutierrez, Green Venture Garden Program Coordinator
The Grow a Row program is for home gardeners who have excess land in their backyard to commit a row of produce to share and donate. The harvested produce is then transferred to community fridges and Neighbour to Neighbour Hamilton, an organization aimed to address food insecurity in communities. The centre currently supports 3,500 individuals in Hamilton every month.
This year, in just 10 weeks, Green Venture received over 445 pounds of produce donations through the Grow a Row program. The donations will help to ensure more people have access to fresh and healthy food, especially during these challenging times.
Aside from the Hamilton Seed Library and Grow a Row project, Seedy Saturday is another event supporting local gardening. Green Venture’s Seedy Saturday is an annual seed exchange and workshop event. Different gardeners and farmers are invited to host the workshops on seed saving, history of seeds in Hamilton and garden designing each year. In past years, Green Venture has collaborated with Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm, McQuesten Urban Farm and Dundurn castle. Although this year’s event has already passed, those who are interested can look forward to the next one coming up in early 2022.
In the meantime, Green Venture still has many more exciting upcoming projects and events. Few examples include Depave Paradise in which volunteers take a piece of land covered in asphalt concrete and replace it with green infrastructure and regular volunteering Tuesday at EcoHouse.
The opportunities to get involved in climate and environment action are endless at Green Venture. From sharing seeds to planting trees, Green Venture offers programs to spread messages of environmental accountability and activism and teach how to live more sustainably.
“Start where you are—there is so much information out there. And it can be overwhelming because climate anxiety is really real, it is our reality. But just take a step back and start where you are and do what you can do. Whether it’s using a reusable mug or volunteering with us at Green Venture, small steps and small action really do end up making a big impact,” said Gutierrez.
C/O Zula Presents
With a mix of music, improvisation and film, the Something Else! festival has something for everyone this fall
By: Sarah Lopes Sadafi, Contributor
At the foot of Harbourfront Drive, the Something Else! festival is bringing live performance back to the Hamilton area at Bayfront Park this fall. The festival is a not-for-profit initiative highlighting diverse, marginalized and unique voices in the arts, in an effort to fill the gaps in Hamilton’s arts scene.
Cem Zafir, the director of Something Else! festival, began presenting music as a passion project in the early 2000s while also working as a postal worker. At the time, he focused on jazz, improvised music and the avant garde. After being transferred to a post office location in Hamilton in 2012, Zafir started writing grants for the Something Else! festival in 2014. Seeing the prominent rock music scene at the time, he seized the opportunity to fill the lack of diverse and unique voices in the Hamilton music scene.
“As [my partner and I] spent time in Hamilton, we felt like there were so many [styles of music] that weren’t being covered . . . For a local scene to grow, we need to be open to new ideas — from poetry to spoken word, to various forms of music. Anything that’s more adventurous and generally falls through the cracks,” said Zafir.
Seven years later, the festival has expanded from jazz and improvisation to include film, dance and mixed and multimedia arts. Zafir’s not-for-profit organization, Zula Music & Arts Collective Hamilton, has now grown to a group of 15 people working to organize the Something Else! festival and associated arts series, Watch it Burn!
The name Something Else! was inspired by an Ornette Coleman album of the same name. Additionally, the name is reminiscent of the common saying ‘that was something else’, referring in particular to something off-center and apart from the norm—exactly what the festival strives to showcase.
Hungry for local acts, the Something Else! festival emphasises the importance of highlighting Hamiltonian voices in the arts. In order to feed Hamilton’s cultural fabric, Zafir holds that we need to amplify the unique talents that we have right here at home.
Ronley Teper and The Lipliners is a multi-genre local Hamilton music act that has participated in the festival since its conception in 2014, with a focus on improvisation and collaboration in musical expression.
Teper described feeling nervous prior to her performance at the festival on Sept. 11 for the first time in 18 months, followed by the joy of finally being back in front of an audience in a space with COVID-19 measures in place. She hopes the audience felt that range of emotions from her day at Bayfront Park.
“Joy and laughter are some things that I love to emit, but I also try to tempt the other emotions,” Said Teper. “People tell me that they love me or hate me, because you can’t hate without love. I always want people to feel something when they leave —i ndifference is dangerous.”
As the end of September approached, there are still a few performances left to see before the end of Something Else! festival.
Brass Knuckle Sandwich is an improvisational duo of Nicole Rampersaud and Marilyn Lerner, with an upcoming performance at the festival on Oct. 8. They hope people walk into their set with an openness to experience.
“When being in front of audiences, being in the same space, learning and having an open mind opens up new connections and points of commonality. In an age of divide, divide, divide, we could all use some of that connection and an open mind can help make that happen,” said Rampersaud.
"When being in front of audiences, being in the same space, learning and having an open mind opens up new and points of commonality. In an age of divide, divide, divide, we could all use some of that connection and an open mind can help make that happen.”
Nicole Rampersaud, Brass Knuckle Sandwich Improvisional Duo Member
The festival operates in accordance with all provincial COVID-19 guidelines currently in place. It is run entirely outdoors with contact tracing for the limited capacity and staff and volunteers are masked at all times. Sanitizer, wipes and extra masks are also available at the venue.
Admission to the festival is granted on a pay what you can basis, in an effort to increase accessibility and ensure all arts-lovers have access to live performance. The suggested donation of $15-25 includes several diverse artistic acts, as well as a provided dinner.
Zafir emphasised the importance of coming to the festival with an open mind.
“The choices we make are entertaining, intellectually stimulating and emotionally moving. If you come in without judgement, if you just let it wash over you and be present, you’ll walk away with something. Coming with an open mind and being present will lead to getting turned on to new things, new ideas,” explained Zafir.
The festival will be running every Saturday until Oct. 9 at Bayfront Park Pavilion.
“It’s just music. It’s not precious, but it’s sacred,” said Zafir.
C/O Georgia Kirkos
After a year of online school, McMaster gives professors the opportunity to teach courses in-person once again
For the past year, McMaster University has been completely online, with libraries and residences closed and classes taking place on Zoom and Microsoft Teams. However, as of this fall, not only has McMaster’s campus opened up, but many students now also have the opportunity to take classes in person once again.
“It was really left up to the instructors to decide how they wanted to offer their classes in the fall because we wanted to make sure that they felt comfortable,” said Associate Dean of Social Sciences Tracy Prowse.
Prowse explained that, in the faculty of social sciences, professors were first given the option to choose between online and in-person learning in February of this year, amidst the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who did choose to offer their classes in person were given the option in August to switch to a virtual platform instead, depending on their level of comfort with the current situation.
“There were a very small number of courses that were originally scheduled to be in person that were shifting online,” explained Prowse.
Prowse added that decisions to shift courses back online were made in August, so that course outlines could still be posted by mid-August, allowing students to prepare for the year.
Maureen MacDonald, dean of sciences, offered perspective on how decisions about in-person learning were made within the faculty of science.
“We did, of course, consult with the professors about their preference and we took that tremendously into account, but it was a larger conversation about the learning outcomes and the learning experience and we did try to construct it so that every science student would have the potential to have at least one in-person learning component this term,” explained MacDonald.
“We did, of course, consult with the professors about their preference and we took that tremendously into account, but it was a larger conversation about the learning outcomes and the learning experience and we did try to construct it so that every science student would have the potential to have at least one in-person learning component this term.”
Maureen MacDonald, Dean of Sciences
For courses that are taking place in person this year, numerous safety measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As MacDonald explained, along with public health measures such as masks, McMaster Facility Services ensured that all McMaster buildings had appropriate ventilation.
Further, as Prowse explained, any course that is a degree requirement must be accessible online as well. This means that, for these required courses, lectures must be recorded and uploaded to Echo 360 and assessments must take place virtually as well.
“[With] any in-person class that is required for a degree, the instructor also has to ensure that a student could take that [class] virtually,” said Prowse.
“[With] any in-person class that is required for a degree, the instructor also has to ensure that a student could take that [class] virtually."
Tracy Prowse, Associate Dean of Social Sciences
MacDonald stated that the return to some level of in-person learning will hopefully benefit students at McMaster, citing the importance of personal connection with peers and instructors.
MacDonald also highlighted the unique significance of in-person learning for the sciences.
“For science, we really believe the tactile component of experimentation, of physically trying to conduct an experiment or manipulate something in a discovery-based format, does lead to an enhanced learning,” said MacDonald.
“For science, we really believe the tactile component of experimentation, of physically trying to conduct an experiment or manipulate something in a discovery-based format, does lead to an enhanced learning.”
Maureen MacDonald, Dean of Sciences
Although the plan for the winter semester is contingent on COVID-19 restrictions, Prowse stated that students should expect a return to in-person classes.
“It's just been really nice to see students on campus. Even if a lot of their courses are still virtual or online, it's still nice to see people,” said Prowse.
C/O McMaster University Concert Band
The McMaster University Concert Band looks forward to bringing the band together in person as COVID restrictions ease
Under the School of the Arts, the McMaster University Concert Band offers students the opportunity to practice music in an ensemble setting, engage with the Hamilton community through performances and meet other students interested in music while doing so.
No matter which discipline or program you belong to, all McMaster University students are welcome to audition for the band.
Students can choose to join the concert band as a course for credit if they would like. Regardless of whether students are receiving credit or not, all players complete the same band activities.
Typically, the MCB gathers together for rehearsals once a week and holds three regular performances. Additional performances and engagements with the community also occur throughout the year.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensemble conducted all rehearsals and performances online in the 2020-2021 academic year.
Speaking to last year’s experience, President of the MCB, Duncan McCallum, said that although doing everything online was not an ideal experience, the band was able to learn a lot from the challenges they overcame.
“It was a much more collaborative process. We were all trying to figure it out together so that was I think rewarding and certainly something new that was cool to experience,” said McCallum.
“It was a much more collaborative process. We were all trying to figure it out together so that was I think rewarding and certainly something new that was cool to experience.”
Duncan McCallum, President of the McMaster University Concert Band
Doing everything online taught the band that there are benefits to working in smaller groups and that virtual participation opens up opportunities for more guest speakers or musicians to engage with the band.
Now, for the 2021-2022 academic year, McMaster has announced that students are welcome to come back to campus. However, many COVID-19 protocols are still in place. If the band wishes to incorporate in-person components within their rehearsals, they must adhere to the protocols.
Thus, McCallum said that exact plans for how the school year will play out are still undetermined. For now, meetings will be conducted virtually.
McCallum explained that having to consider the different instrumental needs of the band introduces an added level of difficulty for meeting in person. Different mask procedures would also have to be adapted to accommodate the players.
In addition, social distancing poses another barrier for the band. Students have to remain six feet apart. In a typical year, the band is comprised of about 70 students, so finding enough space for the band to meet would be difficult.
Despite all these challenges, McCallum looks forward to bringing the band together in person.
“There’s a lot of barriers to [meeting] in-person, but I think everyone’s so eager to do so that we’re just going to jump on it any chance we get, [even if] that means playing outside in a parking lot [or] being spaced out in the bleachers of the concert hall so that we’re all far away [enough] from each other,” said McCallum.
“There’s a lot of barriers to [meeting] in-person, but I think everyone’s so eager to do so that we’re just going to jump on it any chance we get, [even if] that means playing outside in a parking lot [or] being spaced out in the bleachers of the concert hall so that we’re all far away [enough] from each other.”
Duncan McCallum, President of the McMaster University Concert Band
Wendy Tang, vice-president of the MCB, said that on top of practicing music, building a community is also an essential part of the band’s culture.
“Apart from rehearsals, as execs we also ran a lot of events so students can also feel that community because honestly, a big part of our concert band aside from it being a band is also the community that we’ve built,” said Tang.
“Apart from rehearsals, as execs we also ran a lot of events so students can also feel that community because honestly, a big part of our concert band aside from it being a band is also the community that we’ve built.”
Wendy tang, Vice-President of the McMaster University concert Band
Having events where students can socialize and get to know each other is something that the executives of the band aim to do every year.
McCallum also emphasized that despite still having to do things online, learning from experiences from the previous year greatly benefits the new year.
“[Not just the band, but] a lot of classes and clubs, they [also] felt like they adapted because they had to, not because [it was] the best circumstance. This year, we want to make it the most rewarding experience we can with whatever is thrown at us, whether that means being online for part of the semester or being in-person as much as we can,” said McCallum.
This year, we want to make it the most rewarding experience we can with whatever is thrown at us, whether that means being online for part of the semester or being in-person as much as we can.”
Duncan McCallum, President of the McMaster University Concert Band
C/O Tony Sebastian, Unsplash
While we may perceive ourselves as worlds away, we’re much closer than we think
Let’s set this story during Welcome Week of 2019. Surrounded by other 2023s, I ventured into the thick swarm of students on the field outside Burke Science Building. Before I could take a breath, I was asked a question that all of us had heard countless times during that week.
“What program are you in? Like, are you a science kid or an English kid?”
I’d answer with “science kid” and move on with my life. No big deal, right? Well, not exactly. As I went through two more years of university, I discovered there was a greater divide in the sciences and humanities than I had first realized. Science kids were the kind that would rather solve complex chemistry problems than go near an essay. Humanities kids could write 20-page essays but god forbid they took a physics class.
As far from the truth as these generalizations may be, they do exist and they do persist. The general public’s perception of students who pursue science and students who pursue the humanities are closer to these reductive statements than we may think.
This issue has been discussed at length, not only by students like us, but also by renowned professors across the world. In 2018, the University of King’s College in Halifax held a roundtable discussion on this exact topic. These scholars, particularly Evelyn Fox Keller, talked about the territorial criticism they felt as an expert in history, physics and biology. The roundtable came to the conclusion that the sciences and humanities are often presented with the same problems, such as climate change, but rarely work together to solve them.
Not only does this divide affect worldly problems, but it also affects us all on a smaller scale of interests and extracurricular activities. Why are only science students expected to take on research positions? This rush to get involved in research activities is a constant discussion in the echo chamber of undergraduate science students, often with no mention of research efforts in the social sciences and humanities.
With such a binary in expected extracurriculars, this frame of thinking has also found its way into job interviews. Mahnoor Malik, a third-year health sciences student, reflected on her experience of this phenomenon.
With such a binary in expected extracurriculars, this frame of thinking has also found its way into job interviews.
“I was in an interview, hoping to get a position writing for this website I’m really fond of. The interview was going great, but they did comment on how my writing experience was largely scientific. I understand where they were coming from, but it was also shocking to see how my scientific writing experience wasn’t valued as much as other writing experiences were,” explained Malik.
This experience isn’t unique to one individual. The separation between these two fields has led to a lack of understanding of each other from both sides. By allowing this distance to exist, we inevitably divide ourselves into different social and professional groups.
By allowing this distance to exist, we inevitably divide ourselves into different social and professional groups.
We allow these preconceived notions to affect our judgement of each other. From a STEM perspective especially, we’re all somewhat guilty of assuming that non-STEM programs have fewer career opportunities. However, graduates of social sciences programs not only have similar employment rates to STEM graduates, but are also valued by employers for their critical thinking, emotional intelligence and ethical reasoning.
On a personal level, I have had a passion for writing for as long as I can remember. However, I assumed that once I chose my path of health sciences, writing could be nothing more than a hobby. My label was now to be science and science alone.
Imagine my surprise when I joined the Silhouette and found just as many science kids as humanities kids as arts kids on our staff. In a short couple of months, this team has opened my eyes to the fact that these insurmountable obstacles that we created are largely imaginative.
As students, we need to take it upon ourselves to throw this arbitrary barrier to the wind. By doing so, we gain the chance to learn more about ourselves, each other, and the plethora of opportunities available to not just X or Y students, but to all of us.
C/O Matthew Ball, Unsplash
How our thirties will be the new twenties
By: Ana Mamula, Contributor
I remember being a kid and daydreaming of what it would be like being able to drive, have my own place, have kids and attend university. From such a young age, I was envious of those older women who seemed so much more independent than I was.
I remember saying to myself, “In my early twenties, I will definitely be married and by my mid-twenties, I’ll definitely have kids. Three exactly.”
Looking back, I laugh to myself. I’m currently a twenty-year old full-time university student and I am no way in hell getting married or having kids soon. Life moved so much faster than I expected, leaving me envious of that little girl who had no troubles in the world. While she longed for her twenties, she never had to deal with the stress of work, school, relationships, paying taxes and so much more. It’s as if we progressed from being driven to school in the backseat of our parents’ cars to driving our own in the blink of an eye.
Despite life moving so fast, leaving us with less than seconds to breathe, it carries many substantial events that form who we are. However, I believe one decade in particular holds the most importance for us. Our twenties.
Our twenties truly capture everything about who we are and who we are going to be. It is during our twenties that the most life-changing events in our lives occur. The start of this decade is a transformational moment, what with coming out of one’s teen years in the beginning and ending as a fully grown adult. Our twenties are when we make those friends we carry with us for the rest of our lives. They’re when we could meet our significant other, when we could receive that job we have always wanted and when we buy our first home.
Our twenties truly capture everything about who we are and who we are going to be.
Due to all of these life-changing events that society tells us we have to go through in our twenties, the pressure is beyond difficult to carry. Individuals often consider graduating from university and achieving financial stability as adult life’s most important milestones, according to a report from The Atlantic. Carrying the weight of both these monumental events only furthers the narrative of what everyone should be accomplishing in their twenties.
So how do you get through your twenties? How can you be successful at getting through these important years?
So how do you get through your twenties? How can you be successful at getting through these important years?
As cheesy as it is, my advice is to stop trying to meet society's deadlines of where you should be and how you should act in your twenties. Our twenties are the years we look back on as we age to realize how much we grow in life. And you do not have to get married or have kids to do that.
In fact, an article by The New York Times makes the comparison that your twenties are similar to stem cells, with a million possibilities and outcomes of what your life could be.
We are capable of doing whatever we please. As long as the path we are choosing to take is the one we want to take, not the one our parents or friends want us to take, not the one society wants us to take; that is when we are truly successful.
C/O Olivia Brouwer
Hamilton artist Olivia Brouwer creates accessible artwork to bridge the gap between individuals of varying visual abilities
By: Serena Habib, Contributor
One of the major changes brought about by the current COVID-19 pandemic has been the shift away from physical contact touch in an effort to prevent transmission of the virus from surfaces. This shift, however, has also become a barrier for those who use braille to communicate.
Olivia Brouwer is a local Hamilton artist and the 2021 recipient of the City of Hamilton’s creator award. She has been creating art that expresses her experiences with blindness and is accessible to those with visual impairments. The pandemic has amplified the challenges visual impairment can bring and highlighted the importance of her work.
“Blind people cannot communicate as they did before,” said Brouwer.
Brouwer was raised in Mount Hope, Hamilton by a family filled with creativity. She has always loved art and when she entered the joint program in Art and Art History offered by University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College in 2012, she knew she wanted to focus on painting. Focusing on oil painting, acrylics and watercolours with a specialization in printmaking, Brouwer realized during her third-year that her artwork revolved around a common theme: blindness.
For as long as she can remember, Brouwer has been partially blind in one eye. She wanted to produce work that responded to the questions her blindness implored her to ask.
“Especially in high school, it was hard to kind of talk about and I was just very self-conscious about it,” said Brouwer. “I just thought I'd make art about it . . . as a way to talk about my disability.”
“Especially in high school, it was hard to kind of talk about and I was just very self-conscious about it. I just thought I'd make art about it . . . as a way to talk about my disability.”
Olivia Brouwer, Artist
Brouwer was also drawn to the idea of how people perceive the unknown and over time, her work has also become more spiritual. After graduating, Brouwer realized she needed to analyze blindness for herself. In her work stitching braille Bible passages relating to parables about spiritual blindness, visual blindness is used as a metaphor for faith and spirituality. To Brouwer, this was about looking into herself to determine whether she was being spiritually aware and spiritually seen.
“It kind of reminds me of looking back on my life . . . looking back on all of these stories and trying to spiritually see what needs to change,” explained Brouwer.
As we emerge from the pandemic and begin to return to our previous routines, Brouwer’s collection can encourage us to look at ourselves and our lifestyles in an attempt to decipher what brings meaning into our lives. However, Brouwer’s current Contact Kits remind us to look beyond ourselves and explore with different senses as we return to routine and interact with our environment.
Each kit comes in a silkscreen-printed cardboard box. Inside the box is a painting; different mediums and tactile surfaces are incorporated into every painting. The painting is covered by a removable sheet of frosted mylar with a smooth, plastic texture. Brouwer cuts teardrop shapes out of the mylar and then embosses them in braille by carving templates on Lino blocks and punching them through the tabs. With 42 tabs in total, each tab has a word embossed in Braille.
Included in the kit is also a silkscreen-printed booklet with designated spaces for the tabs and a corresponding chart to decode the braille; people can interact with the piece by removing the tabs and writing out the message. At the end of the booklet, there is a section for individuals to journal about their experience with the painting. Mirroring the concept of the Rorschach inkblot test, a psychological test by Hermann Rorschach in which participants have different perceptions of inkblots based on their mental state, this is an opportunity to personally perceive an abstract conception.
With the artist’s statement and biography also included in the booklet and embossed in braille, these Contact Kits are accessible to those who are blind and sighted.
“[Both people who are sighted and blind] are kind of on an equal level; one’s not ones not experiencing it better than the other,” explained Brouwer. “I wanted to make it fun too, so people who are sighted can learn braille and just kind of have a respect for learning that from a blind person's perspective . . . just open their eyes about how they communicate and other ways of communicating.”
“[Both people who are sighted and blind] are kind of on an equal level; one’s not ones not experiencing it better than the other. I wanted to make it fun too, so people who are sighted can learn braille and just kind of have a respect for learning that from a blind person's perspective . . . just open their eyes about how they communicate and other ways of communicating.”
Olivia Brouwer, Artist
Looking forward, Brouwer is presently developing artwork that combines sight, sound and touch to share interviews she has conducted with individuals who are visually impaired. She translates the interviews into braille and then paints in braille on canvases that are paired with an audio soundtrack of the interview.
Through her work, Brower hopes to break down barriers and open our eyes to different methods of communication, providing us an opportunity to venture on an artistic and personal journey as we interact with artwork, braille and ourselves.
