McMaster Film Production Club co-presidents, Amanda Dam and Hala Jaber, discuss what their new club has to offer students

Breaking into the film industry can be an uphill battle, especially as students, who often have little to no connections within show biz and lack any previous experience to qualify for opportunities in the present. Upon realizing this collective struggle among their peers, two McMaster University students, Amanda Dam and Hala Jaber, looked for a way to bridge this gap between theory and practice. Now the co-presidents of the newly ratified McMaster Film Production Club, Dam and Jaber sat down to talk with the Silhouette about how the club came to be, the production for the club’s first short film, what students can look forward to and the importance of fostering young filmmakers.  

Before we start, could you tell me a little bit about yourselves and what you were doing before MFPC? 

Amanda Dam: I’m currently a fourth-year student enrolled in the Arts and Science program combined with Media Arts program. 

Hala Jaber: I’m in my fourth-year pursuing an honours degree in Media Arts. Amanda and I first met during our second year of university as coworkers and instantly bonded over our mutual passion for film and media production. 

Why did you start MFPC and when did it go from idea to conception? 

Jaber: After our second year, we felt that McMaster lacked a community for students interested and passionate about film production. We shared this vision of having a film or media production club that could unite students interested in film and provide a platform for collaborative projects. The idea had always been there, but we started taking it seriously during the summer of 2022 while we were sitting in a dessert restaurant. 

Dam : And when we presented the proposal in December 2022, the response was incredible. We had around 100 students sign up, and that’s when we knew that our idea was becoming a reality. Since then, MFPC has been a club that works towards bringing together passionate students and fostering a vibrant creative community on campus. 

That’s amazing to hear. For students who may still be hesitating, what can they expect from joining? 

Jaber: Joining MFPC as a team member means gaining hands-on film production experience and collaborating with other McMaster students on the creation of a film throughout the academic year. Students are given the chance to be involved in various film production stages, including script writing, cinematography, sound design, and post-production. 

Dam: The club also aims to give members the chance to contribute to all of these stages. It provides an excellent opportunity for students interested in the film industry to gain resume-worthy experience while also connecting with others who share similar interests.  

Why do you think it’s important to support young filmmakers and creatives? 

Jaber : We believe it is important to support independent and student-made films and creatives, as it gives the opportunity to promote diversity, different perspectives and representation of various issues.  

Dam : It is also important to support fellow students and to listen to what they have to say. Student-made films foster a supportive community of those who share the same passion. 

To become a MFPC member, check out a club membership here and visit the club’s Instagram page @McMasterFilm for the latest updates. 

McMaster’s Terry Fox Club is hosting their first run since the start of the pandemic on Sept. 21 at McMaster Track Field 

McMaster University has been hosting a Terry Fox run since the tradition began in 1984. In 2020 and 2021, the event had to be conducted virtually  due to COVID-19, but this year, on Sep. 21 at 10:30 a.m., the Terry Fox Club is bringing the tradition back to campus. 

The Terry Fox Club at McMaster raises money for the Terry Fox Foundation, who donates the funds for cancer research. The club also hosts several fundraisers throughout the year, though their most notable is still the annual Terry Fox Run.  

Despite limitations during the peak of the pandemic, the Terry Fox Club continued to host events over the past two years year. The club hosted one event last year where they sold T-shirts and bracelets and raised $700. With their in person events this year, they hope they can surpass that record. 

The Terry Fox Run will take place on the McMaster Track Field and will begin with speeches, followed by the self-paced run.  Towards the end of the event, there will also be closing speeches. 

Kristine Braun, vice president of the Terry Fox Club, along with the rest of the team are very excited to be bringing the run back to McMaster for the first time since the start of the pandemic.  

“I'd say a lot of people are coming to campus right now for the first time. And I think one thing that they can bring from high school is Terry Fox, in a sense, because he's always around, like through our childhood, through high school. And this is one way that we can get out there and then also support a good cause like cancer research,” said Braun. 

"I think one thing that they can bring from high school is Terry Fox, in a sense, because he's always around, like through our childhood, through high school."

Kristine Braun, vice president, Terry Fox Club

The Terry Fox Club hopes that students participating in their event also have the opportunite to meet other students 

Braun explained the club will also be hosting a fundraising competition for students living on residence. Each residence is encouraged to raise between $500-$1000 and the residence that can raise the most will receive a prize. 

“That's a way that the residences can also connect during September since they're all meeting each other for the first time. It all adds a little bit of fun to the whole event,” said Braun. 

For more information visit the Terry Fox Club via their Instagram @TerryFoxMcMaster

C/O Kevin Patrick Robbins

MSU clubs that had to improvise during online school reflect on their first year back in person as they look forward to fall 2022 

Last September, many McMaster Students Union clubs restarted in-person meetings after a school year spent online. During the pandemic, some MSU clubs found it difficult to maintain their numbers and had unique challenges to work around because of the nature of online connections. 

With online school, Mac Improv did their best to continue the spirit of improvisation over Zoom calls and shows. Vice President of outreach and soon to be Co-President of Mac Improv, Dabeer Abdul-Azeez, spoke about how online meetings may have hindered improv, but also allowed the team to try new things using technology.  

“[We] held online practices still. They were held over Zoom, so it was very awkward because a lot of improv has to do with being onstage and body language. [It’s] very awkward when you're just sitting [and] the camera can only see so much of your person. But we tried, nonetheless, and still held practices,” said Abdul-Azeez. 

Despite the added challenges, Mac Improv still put on a few virtual shows during the year using new types of online games they wouldn’t usually get to use to improvise with such as Among Us. 

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“There were some digital games that we tried that we normally wouldn't have done in person. [We used] technology to help provide suggestions for the scenes or things like that,” said Abdul-Azeez.  

This year, Mac Improv was almost back to pre-COVID practices, with exceptions for McMaster’s COVID safety rules. After meeting together twice a week this school year, Mac Improv is working on putting together an in-person show on April 14 at the Westdale Theatre. 

Absolute Pitch, McMaster’s official show choir, also felt a hit to their club during online school. Unfortunately, their 2020 annual show was scheduled just one week after McMaster closed. Club President Haleigh Wallace expressed that having a year’s worth of work not end up on stage was frustrating, but that the club was able to adapt using individual recordings and mixing them together virtually. 

“Our vocal directors ended up getting really good at audio mixing and we all would sit alone in our rooms and record our own vocal lines and then they would all get mixed together so that we sounded like one in person choir,” said Wallace. 

Wallace also mentioned that there were fewer new faces during the online year, but is hopeful that with in-person meetings coming back, first-years will be excited to join new clubs. Their show this year, Retro Rewind, took place on April 3 in person live at Kenneth Taylor Hall. 

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“I think the two main things we're really excited about are hopefully an in-person clubs fest or some sort of similar event where we can recruit a lot more new members because our cast is very small this year,” said Wallace. 

The McMaster Musical Theatre opted to keep their show online this year. Carly Black, Vice President External of McMaster Musical Theatre, spoke about keeping members during their year online.  

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“Our plan and our hope was to be back in person . . . We got to go back into a few rehearsals in-person, but by that time, we lost so much rehearsal time already because of McMaster pushing back its opening day to February. It was just going to be so difficult to pull together the show when we lost so much time,” said Black. 

The Musical Theatre also saw a drop in students auditioning during the online school year similar to Mac Improv and Absolute Pitch. 

“I definitely think there were less people that auditioned when it was online. Just because, you know, lots of people want to do an in-person show. It's just very different online . . . [For] a lot of people, things changed in their lives during the pandemic. So, a lot of people just didn't do as many things [or] join as many clubs, which is completely understandable,” said Black. 

A consensus across clubs was that recruitment dropped significantly throughout the pandemic, as it was difficult to predict whether we would be online or in person or what the clubs would look like.  

However, with McMaster soon to drop mask mandates campus-wide, MSU clubs may look very different come this upcoming fall. Hopefully, more in-person engagement and connections are to come.  

C/O Effective Altruism McMaster

McMaster students get involved with the Effective Altruism movement to discover the career paths that enable them to do the most good

Effective Altruism is a social and philosophical movement focused on helping people have positive impacts on the world, both in their careers and in their lives generally. This movement began at Oxford University and has since amassed a number of chapters around the world.  

Wim Howson Creutzberg, a second-year student at McMaster and co-president of the Effective Altruism McMaster chapter, explained that Effective Altruism attempts to use logic and reason to discover the most impactful ways to help others.  

“We try to question conventional understandings of what the best ways to do good are, or even what good is. And, as it turns out, some ways of helping other people are way more impactful than others and so we do them,” said Creutzberg. 

“We try to question conventional understandings of what the best ways to do good are, or even what good is. And, as it turns out, some ways of helping other people are way more impactful than others and so we do them."

Wim Howson Creutzberg, Co-president of Effective Altruism McMaster

For example, according to Creutzberg, the Effective Altruism movement has been advocating for increased resource allocation towards pandemic prevention and mitigation since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.  

More generally, Creutzberg also explained how the movement has investigated what makes charities most effective at helping people. Thinkers in the movement have analyzed numerous charities and determined which ones are most effective, so that people donating to charities can consider how to have the greatest impact with their donations.   

Thinkers in the movement have analyzed numerous charities and determined which ones are most effective, so that people donating to charities can consider how to have the greatest impact with their donations.  

Effective Altruism is a relatively new movement, with Giving What We Can, the first international Effective Altruism movement, launching in 2009. According to Creutzberg, the McMaster chapter of Effective Altruism is even newer.  

“We're really excited about this stuff because what we’ve realized is that, even as university students, our potential to do good is kind of crazy,” said Creutzberg. 

While the Effective Altruism group at McMaster is not currently ratified as a club, they are hoping to achieve this status in the future. They have other future ambitions as well, such as potentially developing a small course for McMaster students who are interested in the movement.  

“There's a lot of ground to cover when you start [introducing a] movement and sometimes a self-directed approach is better for some people, [whereas] sometimes being systematically introduced to ideas can be really helpful,” said Creutzberg.  

Creutzberg described the Effective Altruism group at McMaster as a small but rapidly growing group of students who meet to discuss how they can have the most positive impact on the world.  

“I think it could help ambitious students find meaningful careers and interesting and genuinely valuable ways to spend their time and money. And I think that could, at the very least, enrich the discussion around trying to create a better world,” said Creutzberg.  

“I think it could help ambitious students find meaningful careers and interesting and genuinely valuable ways to spend their time and money. And I think that could, at the very least, enrich the discussion around trying to create a better world."

Wim Howson Creutzberg, Co-president of Effective Altruism McMaster

Emphasizing the potential of the Effective Altruism chapter at McMaster, Creutzberg said that the movement can impact the lives of students by helping them decide where to direct their energy for meaningful action. 

C/O Yoohyun Park

Stringent restrictions on clubs and gathering spaces have changed student nightlife 

Nights on the town replaced by Netflix parties, social gatherings constrained to a Zoom screen — those have been the realities of the university social scene for the last year. The spaces once meant for dancing and screaming at the top of your lungs just to find your voice gone the next day have disappeared over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hole left by where these social spaces once stood is felt not only by students, but also by business owners and the greater Hamilton community. 

Restrictions and guidelines for nightclubs, music venues and entertainment establishments have been especially stringent over the course of the pandemic, largely due to concerns over the ability to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing. As a result, a number of local nightlife hotspots have had to creatively rethink the way they operate and do business within the Hamilton community. 

“Nightclubs weren't even able to open up — we're lucky because we had seating and an in-house food menu. If you didn't have seats, you weren't able to open until July 2021, so we removed all our couches from the VIP area and moved bottle service onto the dance floor. It turned into a seated party,” said Dash Majithia, manager of Zen Lounge

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Brodie Schwendiman, owner and operator of The Casbah, a live music venue on King Street West, echoed similar sentiments in regards to the ways they’ve adapted their business to meet demands of ever-changing restrictions. 

“From an operational standpoint, the main way we have changed how we interact with the community would be that we have a patio now . . . People know Casbah as a place to go to see music bands or listen to a DJ. Most people wouldn’t go to The Casbah for dinner so it required a lot of extra promotional energy,” explained Schwendiman. 

Though the transformation of these spaces into mainly food establishments has allowed them to continue operating given the less stringent restrictions on restaurants, there’s been a disappearance of the floors once meant for dance, crowding and heat islands of energy.  

The limited operations of these gathering spaces has negative ramifications on the student social scene and larger Hamilton nightlife.  

“Why do people want to go to the nightclub? To talk to other people, to dance — all of the things that were not allowed. [At Zen Lounge] you had to sit in your group that you came with. There was a max of six or eight people per table. You weren't allowed to dance. You weren't allowed to walk around and mingle,” said Majithia. 

There finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of McMaster students’ return to campus. However, having been away from campus for so long, there is now an entire generation of undergrads who have never had a ‘normal’ undergraduate social experience. And, those social experiences aren’t always easy to find — especially right now.  

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Schwendiman went on to describe that, even before the pandemic, there were difficulties for small music venues like his in reaching a student audience. Non-campus-affiliated groups had a more difficult time advertising events geared towards students in the areas around campus and the variable commute to off-campus venues added a barrier to access for many.  

However, nightlife establishments have now almost completely lost their student client base. In a niche market where business owners often came to know their regular student visitors on a first-name basis, the undergrad and student crowds have been especially sparse as of late. 

“I feel like we've lost touch with all these groups in the last few years because the people that were coming to us to do their parties and stuff moved on. The kids never came back,” said Majithia. 

On the brink of a full return to campus for the Winter 2022 semester, students back in the Hamilton area can slowly find their way into the hustle and bustle of student life and with it, the nightlife of the surrounding areas. 

“Finding the time is sometimes challenging, but what I would say to students is that I encourage them to carve out time to do their own research about Hamilton's cultural scene. Online, there's all kinds of places to learn about what's going on. Social media is such an important thing now, so it's very easy to access what's going on just by surfing around,” said Schwendiman. 

Despite the difficulties posed by restrictions that nightlife establishments have dealt with in the face of the pandemic, business owners and the Hamilton community are excited to welcome students back to the area. Take a night off and see what it means to experience the vibrant social spheres of the Hamilton community. 

The Silhouette: Please introduce yourselves.

HL: I'm Hannah Laycock and I am President of Mac Crafters.

KD: I'm Kelly Deeth and I'm the Vice President Finance for Mac Crafters.

AS: I'm Amr Saleh and I'm the VP Finance of Senior with Skills.

ZA: I'm Zoe Ang and I'm one of the VP Events for Senior with Skills.

Can you elaborate on your Holiday Letters event?

ZA: We wanted to host a collaborative event where we could make holiday cards for seniors and then eventually donate them to senior homes. We were in a Zoom call making the cards together. We have a drop-off box on campus so whoever made cards can drop them off and then we'll send them out to a senior home. We're going to be scanning some of the physical cards and making them into a book so we can reach more homes as well.

AS: From the point of view of Seniors with Skills, one of our main missions is to combat senior isolation, especially during the pandemic. When Mac Crafters reached out to us, we thought this opportunity just perfectly aligned with our missions and goals. 

What were your goals for this event?

AS: We just recognized that during this time, especially during the pandemic, a lot of seniors can feel quite lonely, especially due to things like COVID restrictions; maybe they might not have the same number of guests [or] maybe they just can't see their family as often. Hopefully, through these cards, we can say that people are thinking of them and we hope they can feel a little bit more included in the community.

HL: We really also notice that the holidays don't really feel the same on campus, especially with the restrictions. We really wanted to do something that could unite the fellow crafters.

Do you have a favorite memory from your club experiences?

AS: This event has been my most memorable experience so far just because our mission is all about trying to tackle the senior isolation that many in Hamilton might be facing. Putting together an event and seeing a tangible end outcome of the cards that we can then give to the seniors was something I found really, really rewarding.

KD: This event was so fun. It was a great chance to meet people from other clubs and meet general club members, seeing that even in an event that seems rather simplistic such as making holiday cards, everybody really does bring something different to the table. People can show that by doing something virtually or being good at art or hand lettering, as Zoe mentioned. It just showcases that even with something that seems simple and straightforward, everyone brings something different.

Do you have any big takeaways from this event in particular?

HL: For Mac Crafters, it's definitely the importance of giving back to the community. Really being able to see that in action was great, especially since we haven't been able to do that much from an online environment for such a long time. It's really an impactful thing. It's just such a warming feeling — it brings people together and, especially at this time of year, it's a wonderful thing to do.

ZA: I think that this event has opened my eyes up to more volunteering opportunities. Even though we haven't given the cards to the seniors yet, just the event itself and people coming together for the reason of helping others made it really nice to be in that call with everyone. It was amazing to be with everyone working together and taking time out of their days to help out. Hopefully, when the seniors get the cards, we can also see what they think and see their reactions.

AS: Just how much of a difference small actions can make. Taking an hour out of your day to make cards [for] seniors who might be feeling socially isolated can make a really, really big difference. I'm really looking forward to seeing the reaction from seniors once they do eventually get the cards.

KD: A lot of times with Mac Crafters, a lot of our focus can be on our own students, our own club members and mental health. That's such an amazing and really important cause in and of itself. But it was really nice for this event to shift the focus to something outside of the McMaster community and to the senior community, which is also so important.

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. 

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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.

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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. 

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“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. 

Black and Indigenous speakers were invited to share their work maintaining health and building resilience within their communities

By: Natalie Chen, Contributor

C/O Georgia Krikos

A virtual panel discussion titled Celebrating Black & Indigenous Health was hosted by McMaster Indigenous Health Movement, Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster and McMaster Students Union Diversity Services on March 15. The panel featured four speakers from Black and Indigenous communities, including Professor Juliet Daniel, Dr. Amy Montour, Andréa Williams and Chantal Phillips. The event also held a question-and-answer discussion for all participants.

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Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster is a youth organization that aims to increase diversity within the Canadian healthcare system by empowering Black students who are interested in medicine. MSU Diversity Services works to unite and promote student groups on campus by celebrating diverse races, ethnicities, cultures, faiths and Indigenous affairs.

McMaster Indigenous Health Movement is a student-run organization that focuses on educating and raising awareness about Indigenous health, with the hope of initiating reconciliation within healthcare.

Abarnaa Illango, a health science faculty liaison of McMaster IHM, explained why the Celebrating Black & Indigenous Health panel was created.

While one aspect of the event focused on discussing healthcare disparities affecting Black and Indigenous peoples, the planning organizations also worked together to foster important conversations surrounding unity, perseverance and moving forward.

“Recently, there’s been a focus on solidarity and resilience within both of these communities, so we thought it would be really important to have a conversation with both groups involved and combine our audiences,” said Illango.

“Recently, there’s been a focus on solidarity and resilience within both of these communities, so we thought it would be really important to have a conversation with both groups involved and combine our audiences."

Abarnaa Illango, health science faculty liaison of McMaster IHM

The panel featured Black and Indigenous speakers from various backgrounds and communities.  One panellist was Professor Juliet Daniel, a prominent cancer researcher and the acting associate dean of research and external relations at McMaster University.

Known for her work in cancer biology, Daniel was inspired to pursue this field because of her own experiences.

“My next-door neighbour in Barbados died of breast cancer. I had known she had cancer, but she died in October of 1986. Then, about a month after she died, my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Then, the same semester or a few months after, one of my professors Dr. Leda Raptis came to class excited about a type of gene called oncogenes,” said Daniel.

Oncogenes are a type of gene that when mutated can lead to the development of cancer. Their discovery allowed scientists to better understand the biology of cancer and create targeted treatments.

“Being very raw with the death of my neighbour and the diagnosis of my mother, I decided I should do cancer research,” Daniel explained.

“Being very raw with the death of my neighbour and the diagnosis of my mother, I decided I should do cancer research.”

Professor Juliet Daniel, McMaster University

Daniel’s research exploring triple-negative breast cancer, a disease that disproportionately affects young women of African ancestry and Hispanic women at a higher rate, was inspired by her desire to give back to communities within the Caribbean and her interest in addressing health disparities affecting marginalized populations.

The opportunity to learn about these experiences and listen to unique perspectives from all the speakers was a highlight of the event for many participants.

“There were so many great moments and each of the speakers talked about very different topics, but they all were very connected, which was great. A lot of [the speakers] shared their personal stories, which was very impactful,” explained Illango.

In addition to expressing her gratitude for hearing others’ stories of resilience, Daniel also shared her desire for more individuals to attend these events and for similar panels to be held in the future.

“I wish more people had been there to understand how Black, Indigenous and racialized people are impacted by these colonial systems in healthcare, in particular, and how people are so traumatized. But we still keep on working, we keep on doing what we do as best as we can, despite the trauma,” said Daniel.

Correction: April 13, 2021

An earlier version of this article misstated an explanation of oncogenes. This has now been corrected.

McMaster Lifeline club de-ratified after student petition receives over 3000 signatures 

C/O Silhouette Archives

McMaster Lifeline has been an active and often controversial anti-abortion group on campus, over the past few years. Recently, their Instagram account began to circulate widely on social media and prompted criticisms from students.

Upon learning about McMaster Lifeline and their Instagram page, McMaster student Adriana Hutchins started a petition for the de-ratification of McMaster Lifeline.

“I made sure to include in the petition statement that we are not against free speech by any means, but hateful messages have no place on campus,” said Hutchins.

“I made sure to include in the petition statement that we are not against free speech by any means, but hateful messages have no place on campus."

Adriana Hutchins

Hutchins wrote in the petition description that Lifeline is spreading propaganda and misinformation about reproductive rights. Section 5.1.1.3.2. of the MSU clubs operating policy includes spreading false information as a class A offence, where an action interferes with the abilities of individuals to enjoy the McMaster community.

“5.1.1.3.2. Dissemination of false information with the intent to mislead the general public.”

The McMaster Lifeline Instagram page currently contains a post that reads: “abortion is never medically necessary.” According to the website for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “there are situations where pregnancy termination in the form of an abortion is the only medical intervention that can preserve a patient’s health or save their life.”

Hutchins’ petition gained a lot of student attention.

“[There] was an overwhelmingly good response [to the petition] . . . Within the first 24 hours, [there were] over 1600 signatures,” said Hutchins.

As of publication, the petition has over 3000 signatures. Along with signing Hutchins’ petition, many students also reached out to the MSU Clubs Department directly with their concerns. 

As of publication, the petition has over 3000 signatures.

“The content shared led the Clubs Department to believe that Lifeline had possibly violated Clubs’ policy,” said MSU Vice-President (Finance) Jessica Anderson in an email to The Silhouette. The students’ emails led to a meeting of the Clubs Advisory council.

Shelby Seymour of SRA Social Sciences and a member of CAC, noted that Lifeline has previously violated club policies and faced consequences as a result. 

Seymour explained that in the 2019-2020 school year, Lifeline had tabling events on campus without getting MSU approval. This violation of policy placed them on probation.

Under section 4.1.2. of clubs operating policy, probationary clubs are required to notify the club's administrator about all events. However, according to Seymour, Lifeline was holding events without the permission of the club's administrator. These events were promoted on their Instagram.

Seymour stressed that the decision to recommend Lifeline for de-ratification was entirely on the basis of policy violations.

“We need[ed] to base this [decision] off of policy and not our own political and moral opinions . . . They violated their probation and they were also spreading misinformation,” said Seymour.

"They violated their probation and they were also spreading misinformation."

Shelby Seymour

Anderson was able to shed more light as to why specifically the CAC de-ratified the club.

“Ultimately, CAC found Lifeline in violation of several policies, including the dissemination of false information with intent to mislead the general public, as well as numerous instances in which the group failed to comply with McMaster University Risk Management policy,” said Anderson.

Failure to comply with the McMaster University risk management policy is a class C offence. Under the clubs operating policy, class C offences will always result in a punitive sanction.

“Ultimately, CAC found Lifeline in violation of several policies, including the dissemination of false information with intent to mislead the general public, as well as numerous instances in which the group failed to comply with McMaster University Risk Management policy."

Jessica Anderson

On March 21, the SRA held a meeting in which they formally de-ratified McMaster Lifeline, upon the recommendation of the CAC. Disbandment, or de-ratification, is under sections 5.4.2 and 5.4.2.1. of clubs policy. 

“5.4.2.1. Disbandment: If, in the opinion of the CAC, a Club is either incapable of or unwilling to correct its behaviour and/or the interests of the MSU and student body would be best served by the disbandment of a Club, the Clubs Administrator has the right to recommend that the SRA rescind the MSU’s recognition of the Club.”

The sanction will remain in effect for at least one full calendar year. For the club to be re-ratified, McMaster Lifeline must present sufficient evidence that they have changed.

Update:

According to numerous MSU documents, Lifeline has violated multiple Clubs policies on multiple occasions in the 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. However, the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 policy violations were only recently exposed.

In 2018-2019, Lifeline hosted eight tabling events without submitting the necessary documentation and therefore without approval. At the time, failure to abide by MSU or McMaster policy was a Class B offence rather than Class C.

“Since McMaster Lifeline has submitted all their re-ratification documents in a timely manner and are only in violation of the lack of event forms for their tabling, the Clubs Department concluded that a probationary period would be a more appropriate course of action,” wrote Aditi Sharma and Maddison Hampel in the Lifeline Probation Letter. This letter was dated Sept. 24, 2019.

“The club has been made aware of their infractions, and the concerns regarding their tabling behaviour. Because of the EOHSS approval infractions, it is the Clubs department’s recommendation that this club be ratified contingent on them being on a close-watch probationary period for the 2019-2020 year. Any infraction during this period may warrant the club being de-ratified,” wrote Sharma in the clubs ratification memo.

Their probation also required that the Clubs Administrator be made aware of the time and place of all club tables, events and executive meetings at least two weeks prior to the event via email. The SRA ratified Lifeline and their probation in July 2019.

Yet, despite the close-watch probationary period, Lifeline managed to run at least two unapproved events during the 2019-2020 probation year undetected until March 2021. As a result, Lifeline was ratified for the 2020-2021 school year without incident.

The current Clubs Administrator Jenna Courage sent a memo to the Clubs Advisory Council on March 20, 2021 to recommend that CAC recommend the SRA immediately de-ratify Lifeline due to a number of policy violations from their probationary year in 2019-2020 and this year.

Courage identified that Lifeline did not submit any events through the McMaster Student Events Management Portal after Feb. 28, 2020. However, Lifeline was found to have hosted events on March 4, March 6 and May 15, 2020, as well as on March 4 and March 18, 2021.

On March 21, 2021 Seymour and the rest of CAC submitted a letter to the SRA with the evidence and description of the violations. According to the letter, CAC voted unanimously to immediately de-ratify Lifeline after discussion of their policy violations. The SRA officially de-ratified Lifeline that day.

“While we acknowledge concerns brought forth from the student population regarding the content of McMaster Lifeline’s, the CAC’s opinion on their Clubs Status is solely related to violations of MSU and McMaster University Policies,” wrote CAC in the letter to the SRA.

Both Courage and CAC’s letters included the appeal procedures. The disbandment can be appealed to the Clubs Advisory Board. “A member of the club’s proposed Executive shall notify the Clubs Administrator of their intent to appeal within one (1) week of sanctions,” per section 5.7.1 of the Clubs Status policy.

Lifeline has not responded to our question on if they intend to appeal.

One of their offences was spreading false information to mislead the public. Abortions are covered by provincial and territorial health insurance plans through the Canada Health Act, which requires medically necessary procedures are publicly insured. All provinces and territories have designated abortions as essential services throughout the pandemic.

In an interview with The Silhouette, Elizabeth* shared her experience with a medically necessary abortion. Last year, Elizabeth had excessive pain and bleeding which her doctor initially thought might be due to her intrauterine device being out of place. After typical medical tests, her doctor discovered that Elizabeth was pregnant and sent her to urgent care for an ultrasound.

IUDs are a highly effective form of contraception, with a failure rate of less than one out of 100 users in the first year of insertion. In the case of pregnancy, a doctor will advise that the IUD be removed as it can cause preterm birth or miscarriage.

At the urgent care centre, they found that Elizabeth had a hemorrhaging cyst and sent her to the McMaster Women’s Clinic to speak with a gynecologist. The gynecologist thought that the pain and the bleeding were primarily from the hemorrhaging cyst, in addition to the uterine pregnancy and the IUD. The gynecologist suggested that Elizabeth check back in three days because it was possible that her body was taking care of the cyst on its own.

“That was terrifying. The thought of just sitting at home and knowing that I had no idea or control of what was happening to my body, that could potentially, it could kill me. It could change my entire future and I just would have to sit in that anxiety for three days,” said Elizabeth.

Instead of the waiting option, the gynecologist proposed an exploratory surgery. Elizabeth explained how, while at the urgent care centre, she instinctively knew something was wrong and thought it may be an ectopic pregnancy. She opted for the exploratory surgery and described being lucky because the McMaster Children’s Hospital surgery waiting rooms are decorated with stickers and moons. “Adorable,” she said.

When Elizabeth woke up from the surgery, the doctors told her that they found both a cyst and an ectopic pregnancy growing on her fallopian tube.

Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg attaches to someplace other than the uterus and are life-threatening if left untreated. The embryo is nonviable and cannot be saved or turned into a uterine pregnancy. If the egg continues to grow in the fallopian tube, or anywhere outside the uterus, it could cause serious damage and heavy bleeding that could be deadly. Further, damage to the reproductive organs could cause problems getting pregnant in the future.

For Elizabeth, the surgeons performed a medically necessary abortion and had to remove the fallopian tube.

“The whole situation was almost like a dream because it had kind of felt like my entire existence had stopped in 18 hours and resumed again but flipped on its head,” said Elizabeth.

Elizabeth said she had a lot of support from her family and partner… “When I look at the messages that Lifeline has put out I can’t help but think about people who have been in a situation like mine who did their best to prevent it from happening — it was not my fault it wouldn’t be their fault — and they didn’t have any other option than to get surgery and have the fallopian tube, including the embryo removed,” said Elizabeth.

“I personally am someone who is very pro-choice, I believe that everybody should have the right to decide what they want to do with their body but, I can imagine for someone that doesn’t feel the same way, or at least doesn’t feel that way for themselves and wouldn’t choose to have an abortion themselves. If they see a message like the one that Lifeline has put out saying that “abortion is never medically necessary”, that could cause serious, serious harm for that person who might already be struggling with that experience of medical trauma and may now have to think to themselves, “So, I had a choice in this? If it wasn’t necessary then I just did this because I wanted to, this is somehow my fault.” It can really end up being harmful,” said Elizabeth.

Elizabeth added that Lifeline’s messaging also teaches people how to react to situations like hers.

*Name was changed to preserve identity

This article was updated April 13, 2021

Correction: April 13, 2021

An earlier version of this article included an incorrect quote that Lifeline was on probation in 2020-2021. They were on probation in 2019-2020.

Seven clubs that are leading the foundation for change at McMaster

C/O @bapmac

In response to the resurgence of Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, new clubs focused on Black, Indigenous and People of Colour were introduced to McMaster University. They have tried to foster community, break down barriers and create space for important conversations. 

These clubs, run by BIPOC students for BIPOC students, are working tirelessly toward fulfilling student needs and establish spaces necessary for students to flourish, receive support and form valuable relationships.

“The reason why I am part of these clubs is because I want to do whatever I can to best support the Black community. Because oftentimes a major issue is just lack of information. People aren't aware of these opportunities. In being in these roles, we're able to share different opportunities with the people who are part of our club . . . and just keeping them tapped in because that's really important. Overall, [I am] just looking for ways to support the community in whatever capacity that I can. That's why I'm involved in these clubs,” said Anu Popoola, a second-year student involved in the Black Student Mentorship Program and Black Aspiring Physicians McMaster.

“The reason why I am part of these clubs is because I want to do whatever I can to best support the Black community. Because oftentimes a major issue is just lack of information. People aren't aware of these opportunities."

Executives and members of these groups have already made a significant change, however, this is just the beginning, as Sammi Yahya explained, a second-year student who is part of the McMaster Muslim Students’ Association’s Anti-Racism Racism Committee and Black BHSc Student Association. They will continue to set far-reaching goals and advocate for their community. 

“This can't be this can be the end, we can't just fall off the wagon once all this buzz dies down.  I just really hope that even as time passes and the impact of the BLM movement and all of that becomes distant, hopefully the passion never dies out, and we continue to make steps towards equity, inclusion and diversity, not only within [health sciences], but within the McMaster community and beyond,” said Yahya.

Whether you are a Black Muslim student, Black first-year student seeking mentorship or 2STLGBQIA+ BIPOC student looking for a community with similar intersectional experiences, there may be a community waiting for you. Here are seven new and existing BIPOC-focused clubs and the work they are currently doing to promote change.

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Canadian Black Nurses Alliance McMaster

A McMaster chapter of Canadian Black Nurses Alliance (CBNA) was introduced this year to promote community within Black nursing students and inspire Black students with an interest in healthcare and nursing leadership. However, the club is also open to other students of colour.

Previously, the group has hosted events such as Black voices in healthcare institutions, new graduate nursing student panels and resources night for exams. They also run an anonymous online forum where students can share their experiences of microaggressions or discrimination and receive advice and support from other Black nursing students.

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Queer and Trans Colour Club

The Queer and Trans Colour Club is a club dedicated to fostering community building within LGBTQ+ identifying BIPOC students at McMaster. They host 2SLGBTQIA+ identifying BIPOC exclusive socials, discussion panels and other events, including collaboration projects with other clubs on campus, such as a poetry slam night. From Feb. 21 to 27, they are holding an aromantic spectrum awareness week to debunk stereotypes and myths and spark conversation on being aromantic.

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McMaster Muslim Students’ Association: Anti-Black Racism Committee

The Anti-Black Racism Committee of McMaster Muslim Students’ Association is a new committee of the club. The committee primarily focuses on welcoming Black students into the group and promoting a sense of community within Black Muslim students on campus through various events.

In the past, the group has hosted socials such as Black Muslim Jeopardy night and Speed Friending. Currently, they are working with the Equity and Inclusion Office to make reporting incidents of discrimination more accessible.

“It’s really easy to just brush off [experiences of discrmination] or microaggression, and a lot of people think they can’t report this stuff when you can,” explained Yahya, one of the executives on the Anti-Black Racism Committee. 

Yahya hopes that through the committee’s work, more students will know about the tools and resources they can use to speak up against racial discrimination.

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Black Student Mentorship Program

The Black Student Mentorship Program is a new initiative in which Black first-year students are paired with a Black upper-year student, Black upper-year students are paired with a Black graduate student and Black graduate students are paired with a Black faculty member.

A pilot version of this program ran last year with about 10 first-year students, but it has now expanded to over 60 first-year students in the program. It currently offers both one-to-one and group mentoring. 

The mentors provide guidance and advice on academics, navigating school and finding opportunities and resources for professional pursuits. Most of the events this year have been geared towards first-year students to help them connect during times of online and at-home learning.

However, they are also planning events with the African Caribbean Faculty Association of McMaster to help both mentees and mentors of the program socialize and develop themselves professionally.

Popoola, a second-year student who was part of the pilot program last year as a mentee, is now currently an executive member of the program.

“We've really created a space in which the first years are able to share their experiences and bring up concerns about things that happened in their classrooms. It's been really rewarding just seeing that we're able to impact them, even if it's in the smallest way,” said Popoola.

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Black BHSc Association

Following the death of George Floyd, Black health sciences students came together to support each other and share experiences of microaggressions and racism. They also discussed changes they wanted to see within the program and McMaster. These discussions led to the formation of Black BHSc Association with the aim to increase equity, inclusion and diversity in the health sciences program.

One of the most exciting changes brought on by the club is Equitable Admissions for Black Applicants. It is an optional application stream for Black applicants which allows their supplementary applications to get reviewed by other Black students, alumni and faculty of the program in order to eliminate conscious and unconscious bias in the application review process. Currently, Black identifying students make up less than two per cent of the bachelor of health sciences population.

“It's not going to be easier to get [into the program] which is very, very important for people to understand, but it just pushes down or breaks down some of the boundaries that might stand in the way of Black students coming in,” said Yahya, president of BBA.

Another goal of BBA is to reach out to Black high school students who have an interest in the program and show them pathways in academia, healthcare and medicine. They have already received great response and excitement from their application info nights. 

“It's not only about helping current Black BHSc students or prospective Black BHSc students, it's about going all the way to the roots . . . . [Black students might not be getting in] maybe because not as many people are applying, but it’s also because maybe they're not getting the opportunities to even go to university . . . or not knowing what university is about and just opting for college,” explained Yahya.

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Blackspace 

The main objective of Blackspace is to empower Black women in the classroom and the Hamilton community and enable them to collaborate and gain access to opportunities both at and outside of McMaster. The club was founded because there weren’t many spaces for Black women students to connect on campus.

This year, the club has focused on professional development with events and workshops featuring professionals from humanities, business, sciences, math and other fields. They spoke on the experiences of breaking into these fields as Black women and shared advice. Every Monday, the club also hosts an Instagram live series called Moscato Monday where they discuss current events. 

On March 6, they are organizing an event with different Black companies and small businesses from McMaster and Hamilton who will speak about entrepreneurship and what it means to be a Black entrepreneur. There will also be more networking events coming up in March.

“I’ve never really interacted with many of the clubs on campus, let alone a Black club. I wasn’t even aware of half of their existences until I got to third year, which was last year . . . [Through Blackspace I have had] not only the opportunity to help people with what I couldn’t do, but also help myself while learning about all of these opportunities that I would’ve had to dig for otherwise,” explained Makena Githinji, the current co-president of Blackspace.

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Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster

Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster aim to support Black students in their pursuits to enter a career in healthcare. They host events such as MCAT and MMI prep nights, research info nights and the iRise conference. In March, they are planning an event with the Indigenous Health Movement at McMaster which will feature healthcare leaders and BIPOC student advocates in a panel discussion.

Outside of events, they also have a YouTube channel where you find webinars on topics related to healthcare and interviews with guest speakers. Additionally, the club has a mentorship program to pair students interested in medicine with a medical student.

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