C/O Felix Wong
Lessons learned at the end of my first year with the Silhouette
“Make some noise for your . . . McMaster . . . Marauders!”
These are the words I’ve heard countless times this year. In my time as the sports staff writer for the Silhouette, event staff for varsity games and an executive on the McMaster Women’s Football team, I’ve become more immersed in the McMaster sports scene than I expected at the beginning of the year.
I’ve gotten to meet so many people with such interesting stories and it’s been an honour to cover them. I’ve watched the basketball teams struggle and succeed, gained an appreciation for football and volleyball and learned about less-covered sports such as curling, wrestling and Nordic skiing.
I’ve gotten to meet so many people with such interesting stories and it’s been an honour to cover them. I’ve watched the basketball teams struggle and succeed, gained an appreciation for football and volleyball and learned about less-covered sports such as curling, wrestling and Nordic skiing.
Writing for the Silhouette hasn’t been smooth sailing the whole time. Speaking of which, Mac has a sailing team that you should check out if you’re interested. I applied for the position on a whim because I was interested in sports and interested in writing. However, by the end of first semester, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue.
I reflected and ultimately decided to remain in the position. I started writing articles about what I was interested in, one of my favourites being “Body neutrality within dance,” and pulled from all I had learned about interviewing and writing. I focused my attention on the personal side of sports, wanting to hear about the highs and lows from everyone.
My favourite part of the position was meeting so many incredible people. I’ve talked to McMaster’s first two female football coaches, members of the Black Student Athlete Council, an Olympic gold medalist, a McMaster Sports Hall of Famer, McMaster Sports’ Associate Director of High Performance, some good friends and the rest of the Sil staff. I’ve taken away lessons from my conversations with every individual and I never would have had the opportunity without the Silhouette.
What I’ve taken away from this experience is that without these conversations and without giving these teams and issues the spotlights they deserve, we can never notice the small victories that each team gains. By learning more about them, we can celebrate, mourn and learn with them, helping the teams feel seen as representatives of McMaster and helping us maintain positive school spirit.
What I’ve taken away from this experience is that without these conversations and without giving these teams and issues the spotlights they deserve, we can never notice the small victories that each team gains. By learning more about them, we can celebrate, mourn and learn with them, helping the teams feel seen as representatives of McMaster and helping us maintain positive school spirit.
While I don’t know what I’ll be doing for the rest of my time here at Mac, I hope I can still be involved with the sports scene and the Silhouette.
C/O Yoohyun Park
The newest safe space and friendly face for McMaster’s Black student-athletes
By: Acacia Lio, Staff Writer
In October 2020, a systematic review of the Black student-athlete experience within McMaster’s department of athletics was conducted due to reports of anti-Black racism from student-athlete alumni. A recommendation of this report was to increase representation among leadership. In addition to other beginning initiatives, the Black Student-Athlete Council was established to represent and advocate for McMaster’s Black student-athletes.
The mission of the council is as follows: to establish a safe learning environment for BIPoC student athletes, and students at McMaster University, to foster a culture of equity and inclusion at McMaster University, to educate others on anti-racism and allyship, and to establish a platform of outreach.
All student-athletes who identify as Black are automatically members of this council, but it is headed by a team of executive members, such as Internal and External Relations Director, Marissa Dillon.
“[We] attended a lot of [equity diversity and inclusion] discussions, giving our input as student-athletes as to how we feel the department could work better to promote more culture and inclusion [and] address the existence of anti-Black racism,” said Dillon.
Many of the executive members have a similar motivation for joining the council—helping to point the future of McMaster’s Black student-athletes in a positive direction. One member who was particularly passionate of this vision was External Relations Director, Brandon Bernard.
“[I want to] create a better future for a lot of the incoming Black students [at] McMaster. The past is the past, so we can’t dwell on it too much, but we can still learn from it. And in doing so, we can create a better future,” said Bernard
In addition, the executive members hope this council can become a safe space for Black student-athletes. Administrative Director, Enoch Penney-Laryea spoke to the motivation of the board members, stressing the importance of having a safe space.
“Part of the motivation for joining is just that we can make a difference and create a safe space where student-athletes could go if they’re having trouble with such things and have a group of people they can trust to help them navigate the spaces at McMaster,” commented Penney-Laryea.
Renelle Briggs, one of BSAC’s Marketing Directors, echoed the statement from Penney-Laryea, further stressing how critical a safe space is.
“One of the things I would love to see is [BSAC growing] into a safe space and community for people to come to. With everything on social media and with more awareness of this coming up, I think it’s good to have a space for people to come to where they can feel safe and know the people there are there to support them and help them,” said Briggs
Members of the BSACeach have personal goals they would like to achieve with their time on the council such as Penney-Laryea, who is striving to set a high standard for the future of the council.
“Because this is our first year I would like to establish a groundwork for documentation for what the club should look like. I think it’s a really good opportunity to set the standard high and to have concrete documentation that will last for years down the line,” explained Penney-Laryea.
Briggs also commented on the importance of the council’s future, explaining that she is proud to be a part of this team.
“I’m excited for all the leadership opportunities that have come up. I think that when I leave, when I graduate this year, it’s gonna be a great thing to look back on and something that I'm proud to have been a part of,” said Briggs
Additionally, BSAC has many initiatives planned for the year, including their launch event. This is something students can get excited for in the coming weeks.
“As of right now, the [event] that’s nearest would be our launch event. We’re hoping to do that some time mid-October. But we also have a plethora of other events that we have in the works,” said Bernard.
Some of the other upcoming events include alumni outreach and coordinating with different teams within the athletics department. In addition to these exciting events, BSAC should be something Mac students are on the lookout for in general this year as the much needed initiative establishes its roots and creates a more inclusive future.
