How well do you know your professors outside of class? After Office Hours is a student-produced video series aimed at demystifying academia. Over the summer, a group of four undergraduate McMaster students interviewed professors from different faculties about who they are and why they do what they do.
In addition to the project's website, videos from the series will be posted on www.thesil.ca/videos every Tuesday beginning Oct. 22, 2013.
Ana Qarri
The Silhouette
Queer and trans* topics rarely come up in my class discussions (which is an issue for another day), but often when they do, I find that I voluntarily take on the role of makeshift educator.
Just recently in one of my tutorials, someone brought up the Belgian man who was granted permission for euthanasia after an unsatisfactory sex change surgery. What followed could be described as a very awkward, uncomfortable silence and a few unpleasant reactions.
A lot of people aren’t necessarily as exposed to discussions surrounding topics of gender and sexual diversity as I am, which is why I will often reluctantly excuse and overlook these signs of prejudice and ignorance.
While rude and offensive, these moments serve as reminders that there’s still work to do, awareness to raise and people to educate.
I know that a lot of people in the Queer community and other marginalized groups don’t hold the same view about the process of educating privileged folks. I completely understand this perspective; having to constantly repeat your story, the same information; the same facts that are easily accessible online can become frustrating. Sometimes you wish people would take the time to learn about issues that don’t directly affect them.
Unfortunately, as we all probably know, this isn’t the case for most individuals who are privileged in one way or another (myself included with respect to certain privileges I hold).
Becoming an ally to a group is an extensive process – one that never really ends. As someone who isn’t experiencing what the people you’re supporting are experiencing, your activism looks different from theirs.
The process will definitely consist of a lot of mistakes, especially at the start. However, everyone has to start somewhere, and for some people it may be that time they spent five seconds listening to the uncomfortable silence of their tutorial room.
I like to give people the benefit of the doubt during the first few moments of this “process.” Even if I was offended by the reactions, the eye-rolls and the sounds of confusion, I don’t like to point fingers or start yelling (at least not right away).
Privileged people have spent their whole life in a society that has taught them that things are a certain way, and I think expecting a two-second paradigm shift to take place isn’t realistic.
That’s why I like to begin the process by educating. Some people are very receptive, and others not so much.
And I think it’s at this point, after I’ve attempted to educate someone on issues they aren’t familiar with, that I can begin to make the distinction between those who have good intentions and are trying to be allies, and those who don’t. The latter, of course, can be incredibly unnerving, and it can be another reason why members of marginalized communities don’t like having the burden of educating privileged people placed on them.
However, I think it’s important to recognize the difference between well-intentioned folks who might be asking ignorant questions in the process of learning, and those are intentionally offending and refusing to learn/unlearn.
That’s not to say that members of marginalized groups owe anyone any sort of education. In the end, it’s up to the person and not the entire community. Everyone has different experiences with oppression, activism and advocacy, and educating should never be an individual responsibility.
So when someone is talking about a group of people you’re not very familiar with, listen. When you hear terms you’ve never heard before, try to remember them. If someone is getting up the courage to educate a room full of strangers on a topic they’re intimately familiar with, respect them.
These aren’t hard rules to follow, and can make the discussion have a positive tone, while also making the burden of the educating that a lot of marginalized people feel obligated to provide much more bearable.
Nicole Jedrzejko
The Silhouette
Whether you’re having it or not, everyone has strong opinions about sex. What it really is, who should be having it, good vs. bad, fears, fantasies, successes and shames. We have left high school, often the first environment where sex becomes a factor in interpersonal communication, and entered the big, new world of university. Suddenly surrounded by thousands of peers with dramatically differing backgrounds and lifestyles, you start to notice changes. For many of us, university is the first time we are granted full autonomy in decision-making, without the usual parental (or other authoritative figure) supervision. Are we prepared to start making these decisions, especially when it comes to sex?
It is tough to summarize sex’s influence in the lives of people within the McMaster community. Unlike University of Toronto or Queen’s, McMaster does not have a sexual health-specific resource and education centre. Our beloved SHEC combines physical, emotional, mental and psychological health issues along with a dedication to sexual health promotion. Unfortunately, SHEC’s association with sex ed has overshadowed many of its other focuses on nutrition, stress, fatigue, body image concerns and more. It is a major concern that many of SHEC’s services are underutilized based on some students’ perception of SHEC as the “sex ed place.” This begs the question: why are many of us so uncomfortable being associated with sex?
The stigmas and judgments surrounding sex are nothing new to us. It is still quite challenging to navigate conversations on sex with our peers in a candid and open manner, especially when our preferences, experiences and knowledge on sex are completely unique and often not discussed. This awkwardness is perpetuated by society’s narrow view that male + female + nothing freaky = the right kind of sex, anything that strays from that = wrong. Then you start realizing the people who are vocal about sex come from a wide spectrum of those who are very active, very opinionated, or even very immature. That leaves the rest to believe their views on sex don’t belong anywhere.
Most of us have been involved in sexual health education for years, ever since that memorable day when we brought home a parental permission form for next week’s reproductive health unit in elementary school. But now that most of us have finished our formal sex ed curriculum from high school health class, our sex questions are often answered via anecdotal evidence from peers or the “trustworthy” World Wide Web. We know we can’t simply organize an info session or discussion group to eliminate the stigmas on sex preventing some of us from accessing accurate sex ed sources. So what can we do to create an environment where peers can view discussions on sex ed as positive, inclusive, non-judgmental and fun? As university students, we represent much of society’s hopes of an open-minded future prepared for change. Personally, I felt the right thing to do was write about it.
Too many people that you know, that you walk by on the way to class, that you sit next to in lecture or on the HSR have struggled with questions and fears regarding sex. It is up to all of us to not only initiate these discussions, but to lead an accepting lifestyle where opening conversation about sex will be met with sensitivity and respect. We all know the stigmas exist, but it takes an effort from all of us to overcome them.
From STIs, birth control, questioning sexuality, virginity, pregnancy, navigating safe sex options, sexual abuse and manipulation, fertility issues, sex ed curriculum changes and more, we’ll be here to provide new information and perspectives on the wild, weird and wonderful world of sex ed. Start thinking.
Left: Sandra Pupatello (campaign photo), Right: Kathleen Wynne (Silhouette file photo)
Post-secondary education has flown under the radar in the Ontario Liberal leadership race, to be decided next weekend.
While all of the candidates have identified paying down the deficit and creating jobs as economic priorities for Ontario, it’s not as clear how each plans to tackle the education sector, especially at the post-secondary level.
Of the six candidates who entered the race, only two released a separate statement on post-secondary education, and one of them has dropped out of the race.
After last weekend’s polling, Sandra Pupatello leads Kathleen Wynne among delegates, 504 to 463. The race is expected to end in a push to the end between the two.
Pupatello, a former Windsor MPP and education minister who chose not to run for re-election last year, is focusing on four issues: Northern Ontario, jobs and the economy, rural Ontario and social policy.
Like many other candidates, Pupatello has not directly addressed post-secondary education, but expressed that she wants to return to collective bargaining with teachers at the primary and secondary level.
Wynne, a Toronto MPP and former education minister, released her platform on post-secondary education last week.
Wynne wants to set up a youth advisory council similar to the one she established when she was the Minister of Education. The council would comprise representatives from student associations, Aboriginal youth, as well as those who have not pursued a post-secondary education.
On her promise to create more work and internship opportunities for students, Wynne said, “the labour force and the labour market don’t match.”
Gerard Kennedy, Harinder Takhar and Eric Hoskins have also responded to rising levels of youth unemployment, promising to create incentives for businesses to hire youth. However, they did not address quality of education in their platforms.
Regarding tuition, which has become particularly contentious in Ontario following the student protests in Quebec, Wynne said a sustained funding model with no cuts would be more realistic than tuition freezes or reductions.
“We have sustained funding set aside for education. What we won’t necessarily be able to do is increase funding,” said Wynne.
“I worry about loss of access if the government has to subsidize certain groups and not others,” said Wynne.
Glen Murray, former Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities who was first to enter the race, withdrew his bid last Thursday to endorse Wynne.
Before leaving the race, Murray proposed a radical ‘no money down tuition’ plan that would require payment based on income levels after graduation.
CFS-Ontario has repeatedly lobbied for province-wide tuition cuts, and expressed dissent for Murray’s plan. OUSA, an undergraduate student alliance representing McMaster, does not intend to take a stance on the candidates.
Given the heated debates that have arisen over youth unemployment and tuition hikes, why aren’t more candidates talking about post-secondary education?
Alex Sevigny, a McMaster communications professor who has worked as an advisor in three Liberal campaigns in Hamilton, says post-secondary education hasn’t been a salient issue in the provincial race because “it hasn’t been made a big issue.”
Teachers at the primary and secondary level, on the other hand, have elicited more of a response. They are also a big force in the delegates who will be voting, noted Sevigny.
“College and university professors have a less cohesive presence in the voting body within delegates,” he added.
Sevigny, who has worked with Liberal MPPs Judy Marsales, Ted McMeekin and Gerard Kennedy, now endorses Kennedy for Ontario Premier.
“Party renewal is a major concern of this leadership race, and so is the economy,” said Sevigny. “So far it’s been a very collaborative race. Whoever wins will be using portions of other candidates’ ideas.”
“We’re all Liberals but we have different priorities,” said Wynne, who has been vocal about her willingness to collaborate. “Investment in education has to be part of our policy.”
The question is how much investment will be made, how funds will be used, and to what extent post-secondary education will become a priority in the shadow of economic concerns.
Taylor Dysart
The Silhouette
“Well how is that going to get you a job?” This is one of the many responses I received when I added History as a second major to my degree this past November, which turned my Honours B.Sc. in Psychology to a Combined Honours B.A. in History and Psychology. This particular response came from a family friend we have known for years - let’s call him Rodger. Rodger is one of those family friends you see once a year (only once) and you wish to spend your limited time with him catching up on exciting personal events. You don’t want to spend this time being bullied into believing that your education has become worthless.
As open-minded as our society claims to be, there exists a narrow-mindedness in terms of our education. This tunnel vision is focused on one aspect of education: choose your major based on your prospects of getting a job. Many articles have recently been published comparing the “worst” and “best” majors, based on rates of employment and median salary for graduates, and which majors are most likely to get university graduates a job. Can students really benefit from these articles? Maybe, if you would like to spend four years of your life studying a subject that makes you cringe, followed by a life of boredom and regret.
While some place a lesser value on the education of students who choose to study fine arts or philosophy or drama or peace studies I applaud it. I applaud the choice they’ve made to study something they love. I applaud their authenticity. Finding a job after graduation may not be the easiest for them, but the journey that took them to graduation will have been one they genuinely enjoyed and will cherish for years. For the people who are fortunate enough to turn what they love into a career, everything else is a bonus. Having said that, almost everyone will have to suffer through a job they don’t like in order to get to where they want to be (I have spent enough time working at a golf course to know this first hand). But enduring a painful job shouldn’t be a lifestyle choice.
Some people will disagree, and say that if everyone studied what they loved then there would be no one else available to take on the positions that need to be filled. There is not one ounce of truth in that. For example, my friend could never see himself studying language for four years in order to work with children and their speech impediments. Another friend, on the other hand, cannot fathom the idea of receiving an undergraduate degree in math that would lead her to deal with abstract numbers for the rest of her life. Not everyone has a desire to be a performer or an artist - believe it or not some people really do like chemistry and engineering, and to them I give my sincerest congratulations. To each their own.
Regardless of program, undergraduates should emerge with a number of invaluable skills. Although content is specific to a major, an array of abilities are waiting to be developed and refined by each student. There is no other place like university to learn to think critically, to problem solve and to communicate through various mediums. Students practice these skills for the duration of their studies, along with learning to balance their time. This versatile set of tools should be capable of merging seamlessly from one position to the next, be it graduate school or a job, and be accessible to all undergraduates. How much more likely are we to work harder at these skills and spend more time on them when we enjoy what we’re doing as opposed to when we don’t?
So before anyone else feels the need to tell a student that what they’re taking in school will fail to get them what they want, I ask you to please consider what is most important in terms of gains from education. Is it really receiving a degree that will land you an adequate but dull job? Spending four years in lectures that are so uninteresting that they are really just scheduled naptime?
Or, should your education have the ability to turn you into a keener who sits in the front row and bounces with anticipation before lecture? Give you the opportunity to harvest skills that you can take with you to pursue what you leave? That’s where the tunnel vision should be.
To Rodger, and those who doubt our pursuits as students, consider this.
By Julieta Rodriguez
Recently, I have started filling out my Master’s applications, and it made me think about how little contact I’ve had with professors in my four and a half years of university. I was asked for two references to enter graduate school, and quickly realized that my choices were very limited—after all, the people I’ve had the most contact with have been my TAs. They’re the ones who know my work and my writing style, my strengths and weaknesses, and my grades.
So I thought, how can I ask a professor for a good recommendation letter if most of them barely know who I am?
I don’t mean to say that professors are to blame for this—I mean, they do hold office hours, and most of them try to encourage students to meet with them and email them with any questions or concerns.
However, most professors hold one or two office hours per week, and when they do encourage us to meet with them, only have time to do so for about half an hour. While it’s understandable that they’re busy, I think this is the reason why most students don’t care about their educations. We all know that we have to go through the system to get a piece of paper that shows we’re qualified for whatever job we’re after, but few people actually go to school to learn.
I only decided that I actually care about doing well in school sometime in the last year. With classrooms being so huge, I always felt completely anonymous—no doubt, a feeling that almost all (if not all) students have in their first few years of university. This meant that I was too nervous to participate during lectures, and even more so to meet with my professors one-on-one. It’s easy to feel like your education doesn’t matter when you stop being ‘Julieta’ and you start being ‘0861562’ in a class of 300.
Further, it is rare for students to seek out real help with their writing or coursework. In English and Philosophy, we’re constantly expected to improve our writing, but it’s often difficult to discern exactly what it is that we must improve; no doubt this is true of other programs. The problem is the lack of attention to the needs of individual students’ strengths and weaknesses.
I think that in my first few years of university, a lot of my hesitation in visiting professors during their office hours or meeting with them about improving my writing came from the fact that somewhere in my mind I knew that if I was a number without a face or name, at least I wouldn’t feel so embarrassed if I did poorly on an essay or assignment—after all, I didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of people with PhDs.
This brings me back to the unapproachability of professors. I think a lot of us are so intimidated by the person teaching us, that we are too afraid to seek help. This was certainly true for me—and for that reason, my writing only drastically improved in the past year and a half along with my marks. Before that, I more often than not felt completely discouraged.
How can I want to continue school if my professors don’t even know my name? If they don’t really have the time to sit down with me for as long as it takes and help me refine my writing?
We all hear professors tell us not to be afraid to speak to them during office hours or to make appointments, but then again, we know that if every student in every class were to follow that advice, professors would have no time for anything else.
In a sense, then, that request always seems half-hearted because we all know that there aren’t enough hours in the day for a professor to meet with every single student, in every single one of their classes, about every single assignment, test, project, exam, etc. so they cannot possibly mean it when they urge us all to see them or email them anytime we need help.
How are we, then, to improve our skills? How can we become more invested in our own educations without the undivided attention of our instructors?
I wish I could say I’ve found the answers, but short of having professors run all tutorials, or have all first, second, and third year classes be like fourth year seminars, there doesn’t seem to be a viable solution.
By: Paulina Prazmo
“Tweet me!” “Add me on Facebook!” or “Follow me on tumblr!” are phrases you might have heard many times, and probably said yourselves to your friends. Many of us are guilty of checking Twitter as soon as we wake up, or being constantly distracted by Facebook when we’re supposed to be writing an essay. Yet there we are, time after time, checking our timelines even though nothing has changed in the past two minutes since checking it last.
Are we constantly plugged in? Wired? Or is it simply the act of staying informed, connected and up-to-date? From being able to communicate with group members on upcoming projects to following a professor on Twitter, social media intermingling with education is something to be thought about.
Dr. Philip Savage, a professor of the Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia here at Mac, is one of the Profs you can see ‘Tweeting’ away. His recent practice focus group was on students and their radio use. The leading question was “what is the first thing you wake up to?” He assumed it would be a clock-radio, but the most common answer was “I wake up and check my phone for Facebook updates, Tweets, Instagram etc…” What Dr. Savage concluded was that the majority of students are connected from the moment we wake up. Is social media playing a positive or negative role in our lives? Dr. Savage explained, “Social media extends us in different ways through time and space. It has this incredible power to extend us broadly and quickly. It cannot be said if it is a good or bad thing, but a new way of situating ourselves.”
At Lyons New Media, the media specialist Chris McAllister thinks our affinity for social media is both a good and bad thing. He said the pros are that social media “has allowed individuals to interact with others very rapidly.” Negatively, “social media also has the potential to isolate and attack the vulnerable, as in the case of bullying, on a much larger scale than before.”
Speaking as a student to another student, we find ourselves in situations where we’re attached to checking these social media outlets. Whether it’s Twitter or Tumblr, these might be the reason why you procrastinated starting that assignment that’s now due tomorrow. Gosh darn those precious tweets that your favourite celebrity is tweeting, or curse those pictures that your friend finally posted from that crazy party last night on Facebook. Social media might be what students are blaming these days.
Savage explains the difference between good and bad social media, and said, “There’s a whole tradition of saying that new technology is not very good. It’s almost as if saying that the electric light bulb was a terrible thing for education, because people stay up at night reading, studying, or talking when they should be resting.” As a matter of fact, these social media channels could prove to be an aid in helping the modern university student. From creating Facebook groups for the upcoming group project to reading helpful and intellectual tweets from your professor. Nonetheless, Dr. Savage does warn about becoming a ‘slave’ to the social media around instead of using it as a wide range to connect with different people. “If you have to be literally always on, that might not be a great thing. Social media is there to make new connections to different people with new ideas. Some of it is good and some bad, it’s more of a discipline that people are still trying to work out,” explained Savage.
In addition to involving social media with education, it cannot be forgotten that these channels are everywhere outside of the McMaster community as well. People want to be informed and know what the latest is happening. “I can’t imagine who wasn’t a little interested in what was happening in the Twitterverse on Hurricane Sandy, or Frankenstorm, as it moved through different people. [The] smartest people I know are tweeting and passing things on and commenting. What an incredible action. I spent the presidential election making these connections with other peoples reaction to what was going on, on Twitter,” stated Savage. And McAllister had some of his own visions to how social media can impact the world: “I’d love to see social media being used to interact with people outside of the McMaster campus in our community. Imagine inquiry or engineering students investigating real issues or tackling real challenges posed by the community we live in. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to use social media, but I like the idea of experimenting with new forms of communication, rather than shoehorning in old methods.”
To be able to take part in these amazing social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Pintrest, is something that every student is entitled to and given the advantage. In spite of the negative connotations that these common channels receive, it is up to us whether we simply make use of tweeting, posting and updating in a way that would show benefit to the original intentions and at the same time creating new ways of connecting, sharing and creating. Whether we use social media to distract ourselves from the busy student life or to expand our knowledge and show involvement, it is something that is further growing and expanding. The ability to let it help us or hinder us in our education lies solely, like smartphones, in our hands.
By Rob Hardy
One of the bigger decisions of our lives is not only what kind of education we should pursue and where, but also what field we will choose to study. In recent years, and ever since The Great Recession, this has become a larger concern for the majority of people who enter higher education these days. But in true Socratic fashion, this becomes a much bigger debate we have with others and ourselves. Whether we realize it or not, we gradually develop philosophies on which things we value and, consequently, which we don't.
As our time in university plods on, we are forced to confront what value means to us. Is it some kind of inherent quality regarding the sanctity of life on all levels? Are we okay with resigning those ideals once money enters the equation on a more pressing level? Or are our values what we actually practice when it comes down to the wire? These are only some of the dilemmas facing us as we choose courses and think about graduate school.
While it is prudent to be aware of what awaits us when we choose to study philosophy or any of the other programs under the umbrella of Humanities, it is also prudent to understand the ways our experiences will vastly differ based on whether we make our decisions on external or internal forces. Simply put, doing things we intrinsically enjoy versus our current idea of what practical is.
And therein lies a distinction. We never have to think about, or usually regret, those things that truly give us joy and make the minutes and days a pleasure to go through. But some conception outside of us about what constitutes security and a safe path is always to some degree arbitrary, shifting and not wholly clear.
I'm talking about this because there has been so much negative press circulating about the validity of pursuing a degree in the Humanities, or what others similarly refer to as the Liberal Arts. But what is ironic and unbeknownst to most, is that these subject areas of language, philosophy, music, as well as mathematics, in relation to our place in the world, formed the core of university curriculums since their inception. The line of reasoning was that in order to be a truly free person, one must be educated, and that these subjects were the essence of enlightenment.
So while the marketplace, something which is extremely fickle to say the least, is demanding students study business, technology, and other cut-and-dried industries, we are drifting further away from a core understanding of the institutions we comprise. And while there is nothing wrong in formulating a resume in order to optimize your chances of gaining secure employment and future prospects, we have to be aware of how much we are giving up as we essentially design and subsidize our own job-training programs then later nostalgically wonder about having forgone those courses for which we had a genuine curiosity. When we ask others to validate our paths and experiences, we lose control and confidence in becoming the captains of our own life journey.
It is no secret that university departments across North America are slashing budgets, and that Humanities departments are front in line. But we need to take another look at the real value of dismissing what has been, up until now, the heart and soul of academia. After all, if we don't care what others have shared and discussed in the past, why should we be presumptuous enough to ask future generations to give us an audience?
As idealistic and passionate as I am about those courses many now deem a waste of time, I have to admit that I would have no problem with going into fields which are big money-earners if I had the aptitude. No one wants to feel like whatever they have worked on for years is not valued and rewarded by society as a whole. At the same time, there is a transient quality in current trends. Certain fields are booming now, but busts always follow sooner or later. And for all the talk of “experiential learning” and teamwork, I still fail to fully grasp how this applies despite reading every word of Forward with Integrity, our esteemed University president's views on the direction we are/should be heading.
As much as we want some kind of short cut, the fact is that acquiring substantial knowledge has always involved the discipline of a tremendous amount of individual study over time. Other skill sets are also important today, but they are not so much academic in nature as they are broader social requirements newly demanded of everyone now.
Like many articles you have read on the subject, this is all just food for thought. Some of us are looking forward to careers in professions with a clearly defined track with little room for flexibility, while others have priorities that extend to other life areas, leaving little curiosity to debate the place of education in our lives. Still, we should not be afraid or dismissive of the long rows of books we pass by as we walk through the library, thinking them irrelevant to our everyday lives. Just as Twitter has formulated the catchphrase “Join the conversation”, there are many other conversations waiting to be engaged, some via the printed word, spanning space and time.
By Jodie Scoular
McMaster is part of an agreement between seven Ontario universities to launch a new credit transfer initiative. McMaster students taking first-year classes will now be able to take arts and science courses from participating universities in their hometowns that will contribute towards a bachelor’s degree.
The new credit transfer consortium will come together to create one master list of 20 first-year courses that will make transferring a simpler process.
Previously, it was difficult to tell if other schools would accept credits from other institutions without being subjected to a long, drawn-out affair. Now, some universities are looking to create a database of widely accepted courses that students can take to get rid of the guessing game.
Sevan Taghelian, a third-year social science student at Mac, commutes to school each day all the way from St. Catharines. She says that an initiative like this has the potential to help students in her type of situation, and that distance prevents her from taking summer courses at Mac.
“It would cut down commuting time, which is less stressful because that’s less of my time and money wasted on travel,” she said. “Distance is one of the reasons I hold back from summer school because it’s too far and not worth the commute for one class a day.”
At this point, the initiative will only benefit people taking first year courses; the rationale being that these courses cover general subjects that are not specific to one institution.
Ryan Kinnon, executive director of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Association, and the MSU’s Huzaifa Saeed pointed out that the new system will not benefit students who don’t live in the vicinity of Ontario’s ‘leading’ universities.
“Northern and rural students will not benefit from this because all these universities are central. So you can’t really say that we are improving mobility for them,” said Saeed.
Peter Smith, McMaster’s associate vice president (academic), says that eventually the university hopes to include upper-year classes and expand into programs other than arts and science.
Upper-year classes will take more work to convert into universally accepted credits because each institution has their own tailored curriculum.
Ultimately, the new credit transfer system provides a boost to McMaster’s “letter of permission” program, which already has many of the benefits the new system offers. The letter of permission allows all students to take courses from other universities, perhaps in their hometowns, including online classes. A consultation with an academic advisor is necessary to find out which credits are transferrable.
A more streamlined credit transfer plan may benefit summer students and those taking courses through correspondence.
Currently, McMaster does not offer online courses or courses in “distance format” of any kind for undergraduate degrees, so this type of credit-transfer program could be beneficial for students who wish to take online courses offered at other universities.
School officials say that meetings to determine the finer points of the plan for this program have just begun, and specific details will be released once all participating institutions confirm them.
The other six universities involved in the consortium are Queen’s University, University of Guelph, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo and Western University.
Mohawk hits record full-time enrolment
Ministry seeks feedback on education reform
The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has asked students to respond to minister Glen Murray's proposed reforms on post-secondary education in the discussion paper entitled "Strengthening Ontario's Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Productivity." Sept. 30 was the last day for student governments including the MSU to draft written responses. Responses will be made publicly available this month. Watch for an online update on the critical responses by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA).
Mental Health Innovation Fund launched
The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities announced that a $7 million per year fund will be established for mental health support on campuses. The fund, available until 2015, will identify gaps in current mental health support services, promote best practices and encourage liaisons between communities and on-campus mental health support. The ministry is accepting proposals from universities, colleges and student groups who wish to benefit from the fund this month. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) urged the ministry to set up such an initiative in earlier this year, and representatives say they're pleased with the result.
The announcement comes in the midst of McMaster's 'Stomp Out Stigma' week dedicated to raising awareness about mental health. In a 2009 National College Health Assessment conducted at McMaster, 50 per cent of students polled said they "felt overwhelming anxiety" and 56 per cent said they "felt things were hopeless."
McMaster First Nations Student Association engages community during annual Powwow
The McMaster First Nations Student Association hosted its 4th annual Powwow last Friday outside the John Hodgins Engineering Building. In addition to raising the profile of McMaster's First Nations community through performances by local singers and dancers of the Ojibwe tribe, the Indigenous Studies Program hosted a send-off for retired elder-in-residence Bertha Skye and professor Hayden King, who will leave for Ryerson. The two were recognized by the First Nations campus community with an honour dance.
Gift from Indian government unveiled at Gandhi Peace Festival at City Hall
A new statue of Mahatma Gandhi was presented at City Hall for the 20th annual Gandhi Peace Festival in Hamilton. The statue is a gift from the government of India and the Indo-Canadian community, and drew emotional responses from attendees of Saturday's celebration. McMaster University received a bust of Gandhi last October during Mac Peace Week. It is located outside President Patrick Deane's office in Gilmour Hall.
