By: David Moore

Much has been written about Peter George’s 45-year career at McMaster that culminated in an unprecedented three terms as president and vice-chancellor. I am one of many who think of him first in terms of contributions he made to benefit of students.

He was Dean of Social Sciences when I came to McMaster and it was with his encouragement that a few of us came together to found the Social Sciences Society in 1988. He understood the potential for the MSSS and encouraged us to build an organization in our faculty that would serve students well as other faculties had done before us.  Ours continues its tradition of service to this day.

When his appointment as president was announced in late 1994, his very first media interview included an unequivocal commitment to build a new student centre. He called it “a moral responsibility of the University.”

Students had been paying capital fees since 1988. Those of us who had been project advocates for years had found our champion.

The path forward to build much needed, non-academic student space was fraught with challenges. Peter put his reputation on the line and led the external fundraising campaign seeking millions of dollars for what would eventually be the MUSC and the DBAC to build on the commitment students had already made with continuing contributions and mitigate additional student costs.

Governing is about making difficult decisions and the calls he had to make were not always popular. After a decision about the student centre’s location was made publicly before it was shared with student leaders, he stood before the SRA and took his lumps – for the better part of an hour. He understood how keenly the issues were felt and the importance of not letting a short-term disagreement derail long-term benefits to students. It was one of the defining moments that made the MUSC possible.

During his 15 years as president, Peter was a fixture at student and alumni events. He revelled in celebrating their achievements. He was not born an extrovert, but early in his career, he learned the art of mixing with varied audiences and put that ability to good use on campus and in wider areas for the benefit of our university.

McMaster has announced that the new Centre for Living and Learning will be named in Peter’s honour. By both sheer size and the scope of its mission, it is worthy to bear the name of one of McMaster’s most remarkable leaders.

After conferring an honorary doctorate on Peter last Friday, Chancellor Labarge remarked that until the next convocation in May he would be the lone member of the Class of 2017 – a man in a class by himself.

Those of us who have known Peter well for so many years knew how right she was a long time ago.

David Moore is a former president of both the MSSS and MAPS. He has been president of the MSU Alumni Association since 2001.

Next year, students at McMaster will have the ability to declare a minor in the Social Studies of Mental Health and Addiction.

Created by the Faculty of Social Sciences, the new minor was established due to the growing student demand for courses that explore mental health and wellbeing. Students will be able to take courses that address a wide range of topics, including drug and alcohol addiction, aging, sexual deviance and social psychology.

The new minor aims to provide students with the opportunity to build an understanding of the connections between mental health, addiction and society by examining links between mental health and social factors, including marginalization, deviance, and social determinants of health. Students will also be able to develop an in-depth understanding of mental illness, including methods in which factors including social change and other non-biomedical interventions can be related to mental health and addiction.

Any student in an Honours program, within any faculty, is eligible to declare this minor during convocation. To qualify, students will need to take at least 24 units from a list of courses offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences.

To find out more about the program, check out the Faculty of Social Sciences, department of Health, Aging and Society website.

It was a December morning, and Courtney Sheppard showed up for work at McMaster University just like she would have any other day—unaware that her next few weeks would be consumed by a feline mystery.

According to Sheppard, who works for the Faculty of Social Sciences, the story began with the discovery of a grey tabby cat and her tiny kittens in a bathroom in Kenneth Taylor Hall on Dec. 2.

“There was this beautiful mother cat… with four tiny baby kittens. Eyes not yet open, umbilical cords still attached…tiny kittens in a box with a blanket underneath,” she said. “They clearly had been left by somebody.”

Sheppard and her colleagues called various local shelters and organizations, but nobody could take the cats in. The SPCA advised them to call animal control. While many members of the faculty were aiding in the care of the kittens, it was clear they needed a home.

“We are the faculty that has the therapy dog program and studies how animals benefit our students. That is a big part of our identity and what we value. We weren’t just going to abandon these kittens again, there’s no chance,” Sheppard explained.

Kelli Cale, an academic advisor, was kind enough to take the five felines into her home temporarily. Considering the costs needed to properly care for these cats, a GoFundMe page was set up to help alleviate the financial burden.

Within a matter of days, the GoFundMe page raised almost $1,500. The story of the abandoned kittens attracted attention from social media and local newspapers but the underlying question persisted: how did these kittens get here?

A month after the launch of the GoFundMe campaign, Sheppard received a message from a man saying: “That’s my cat, please call me.”

Sheppard and her colleagues called various local shelters and organizations, but nobody could take the cats in. The SPCA advised them to call animal control.

“This young man, who has no affiliation to McMaster, said he had this cat for three years but had to re-home her for personal reasons. He was trying to find a good home for her and left his pregnant cat with one of his co-workers,” she said.

“Everything seemed fine, and he hadn’t heard from the co-worker since.”

The co-worker then placed the cat for sale on Kijiji with the agreed meeting place set as McMaster. The person who chose to buy it never showed up, so the pregnant mother was left abandoned in the washroom.

“At that point, it was just one cat that he left at the bathroom… in the morning we found five,” Sheppard said.

And with the backstory settled, Sheppard addressed some of the accusations made towards students regarding this incident over social media.

“These were people who had no affiliation with McMaster at all. [The incident] had nothing to do with students. Perhaps a nice reminder to some people that just because something happens in the McMaster area, doesn’t mean you can blame it on the students,” she commented.