Putting an end to vaping on campus Vaping regulations at McMaster have gone up in a puff of smoke
Photo from Silhouette Photo Archives By: Lauren Olsen Last January, McMaster University’s president Patrick Deane took a stand and banned all forms of smoking on school grounds, making McMaster Ontario’s first 100 per cent tobacco and smoke free campus. This included banning the on-campus use of cigarettes, cigars, hookah, pot and most importantly, the ever-popular vape pens. The ban on campus was a welcome sight for those...
Enforcing deadlines for submission of final grades McMaster University should create and enforce deadlines for instructors to submit final grades
Photo by Kyle West By: Justin Temple Waiting for final grades to be posted is a terrible experience defined by an abundance of anxiety coupled with the constant refreshing of Mosaic. Usually, this biannual waiting game ends before the new year for fall term grades and before the beginning of May for winter term. At that point, the “grade anxiety” faced by so many students, myself included, has subdued. This time around,...
Ontario tenancy rules risk student safety Ontario landlords being allowed to enter student-rented property without giving 24 hours’ notice is a violation of privacy and a risk to students’ safety
Photo C/O Catherine Goce It’s that time of the year where everyone is looking for a place to rent. Searching for off-campus housing is a source of headache for many students. But what students shouldn’t have to worry about is invasions of their privacy. As of now, my landlord could text me saying he has a viewing for the house within the next hour and he’d be allowed to enter the property. Why? According to Ontario’s Residential...
Transparency is more than just a talking point The Student Representative Assembly needs to work harder at ensuring their meeting minutes and documents are accessible
Photo by Kyle West One of the biggest talking points that most candidates make when running for a seat on the Student Representative Assembly is transparency. The word has been tossed around so much that it has basically become a buzzword. But transparency is more than just a talking point; it’s an incredibly important behaviour that the SRA needs to adopt. During the SRA meeting on Jan. 20, the SRA discussed how they can make their...
The cost of financial independence Government financial aid programs should be expanded to benefit the larger public
Photo by Kyle West Disclaimer: This piece was written prior to the changes made on Jan. 17 by the Ford provincial government regarding tuition for postsecondary education. Changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program include increasing the length of time students must have graduated high school to qualify as an independent student from four to six years, removal of the grace period for repayment of loans upon graduation, and...
Shifting the focus from merit-based to needs-based scholarships McMaster should funnel more of its money into creating needs-based scholarships
Photo C/O Madeline Neumann It’s scholarship season. If you’re like me, you probably spent a few days scouring Mosaic to find a list of awards to apply to, in hopes of receiving a subsidization of your degree, no matter how small. Many of McMaster University’s largest scholarships are merit-based, which strike me as odd; would it not be more beneficial to assist students demonstrating financial need? A good example of such a...
