By: Olivia Monardo
Fall is finally upon us, and there is no better way to welcome it than with this seasonal spaghetti squash dish. Not only is this recipe quick, healthy, and delicious, but it is the perfect way to rid your fridge of any leftover vegetables that have been hanging out since your last trip to the grocery store.
By: Megan Vukelic
This Welcome Week, McMaster welcomed more than just first-year students. Scout, a one-year-old border collie, is the newest addition to campus as part of a partnership between the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA.
Scout is currently going through therapy dog assessment administered by the SPCA. The goals of the program are threefold: helping students de-stress by interacting with Scout, promoting services offered to social science students, and bridging the gap between students and faculty.
The program has stemmed from a pilot study led by James Gillett from the department of Health, Aging and Society, which focuses on the nature of bonds between humans and animals.
Gillett describes Scout as a canine ambassador for the faculty. While McMaster has had therapy dogs in residence as well as Mills Library in the past, Scout will be social science centric.
“In the residences there is not as much access to everyone,” said Gillett. “This program will make the services available to all social science students.”
However, Scout is more than just a therapy dog. “The program is not exclusively for mental health. We are trying to do both – help students deal with the stresses of campus but also give them tools for success.”
He explains that often students that need academic and personal services the most are also the most reluctant. Having therapy dogs available will make these programs more accessible and make students more likely to feel comfortable to pursue them.
Similar programs have been implemented in universities across Canada. At the University of Alberta, students are able to take registered therapy dogs for walks around the community. At the University of Saskatchewan, professors with their own therapy dogs have been bringing them to campus as part of an initiative to foster connections between faculty and students.
Therapy dogs on campus have helped reduce the fear that some students have when approaching professors or faculty. Gillett expressed his intentions of incorporating such techniques into the program at McMaster in the future, in order to foster greater community within the social science department and improve student experience.
Students in the Faculty of Social Sciences have been overwhelmingly supportive of the program, recognizing the benefits for students. Daniel D’Angela, Welcome Week planner for Social Sciences, expressed his support of the program after meeting scout at Faculty Day while he greeted incoming students.
“The SPCA dog program is a great way to provide opportunities for students to de-stress with the added bonus of promoting resources that the University provides,” he said. It is the intention of the program that Scout will have more of a full time presence at McMaster in the following school year once he has completed the therapy dog program, and will hopefully be accompanied by more furry friends.
By: Caitlyn Buhay
We’ve all been there; your alarm goes off at an insane hour in the morning, and you immediately hit the snooze button. As Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” is cut short, you have a groggy recollection that the alarm was meant to get you to the gym this morning. But alas, you choose snuggling with your pillow over the less than tempting prospect of sweating in front of strangers.
But hey, it’s a new semester, and time for a new you! Maybe a new snuggle buddy too – the elliptical can be very emotionally sensitive if need be. So let’s start being smart about the gym. Here are some clever tips to get you to the gym, and fitting into your McMaster onesie in no time.
Are you a morning person? If not, don’t plan for a 6:30 a.m. gym session. You falling asleep on the yoga mats is no different than being in your bed, except now you have the concerned staff at the Pulse prodding you awake instead of your alarm. Start by going at times you know are practical for you. Remember the gym has showers, so you could easily go in between classes and not worry about stinking up your astronomy class. Even though your sweat might smell otherworldly, I am sure everyone will agree that it is not relevant to the course material.
Not enough motivation for you? Buy some stylish gym wear, or an outfit you would like to wear if you were a bit more fit. See our article on New York Fashion Week to get some inspiration. Feeling good about the way you look can improve your confidence and willingness to get to the gym – just don’t get too entranced by your reflection in the mirror.
It might also help to remind yourself about the financial costs of not going to the gym. Think of how much the membership cost you, along with whatever additional costs: new running shoes, gym wear, etc. that is going to waste by not going. If you think of it in a quantitative way, every time you miss a workout you are losing the monetary investment you put into the gym. So don’t let your inner investment banker down – nothing is worse than being scolded by a financial figment of your imagination.
Lastly, try to wade into a new workout slowly. Don’t jump into a total body blast workout and end up injuring yourself before you even start to notice those bulging biceps develop. Look up a workout routine online that works for your weight, fitness level, and end goals. Or get advice from the helpful trainers at the Pulse. It might be a good investment to book yourself in with a trainer to get tips on how to use the machines properly to maximize your workout and minimize those pesky gym injuries. Having an action plan for the gym will not only help get you there, but will also help you use the time more effectively.
The gym is a great opportunity for stress relief and maintaining your mental and physical health. If you can find a way to get yourself there, your workout routine will follow and it can help you become a happier, healthier, hotter person to boot! Speaking of boot…get going! Don’t you have a workout planned for today?
Krista Kruja couldn’t be happier doing what she’s doing.
Having just finished her second year at McMaster, Krista is now focused on continuing the work that began in earnest last summer, when student Jonathan Valencia and volunteer coordinator Randy Kay first started the Hamilton Street Tree Project.
One of the main summer initiatives of McMaster’s Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), the project’s primary objective is to inform local neighbourhoods about the Street Tree Program that has been funded by the city since 2004.
“The way that the city is doing this is by offering free trees on the city line – most people’s front lawn, or at least a portion of it, belong to the city,” Krista explained. “Anywhere that’s city property, [residents] are allowed to request a tree, and so the city will plant it, and it’s the city’s job to maintain it.”
As the project coordinator, Krista’s role has been to oversee efforts in going door-to-door and canvassing specific neighbourhoods in order to inform the public. Launched in part due to a 2011 Clean Air Hamilton study, OPIRG has focused on lower-income neighbourhoods that were measured to have the poorest air quality in the city.
Hamilton’s Keith neighbourhood, the focus of last summer’s pilot project, received an average of three tree requests per year prior to OPIRG’s efforts. After last year’s canvassing and door-to-door efforts, 65 new trees were planted.
This year, the focus has been on the Crown Point neighbourhood, which is located between Gage and Kenilworth. According to Krista, they’ve received nearly 70 requests for new trees so far, and are hoping to reach 80 by the end.
By expanding the urban canopy, OPIRG hopes to have a real effect on the air quality of these areas. But that’s not all they’re interested in doing with the program, Krista explained.
“Another sub goal [for the project] is community building – last year, it was just one student who went door-to-door and got lots of tree requests. This year we’ve been trying to get volunteers from McMaster, as well as the Crown Point community and Hamilton in general.”
Krista says that this summer, they’ve had more than 10 volunteers, some of whom aren’t even affiliated with OPIRG.
“For example… one of the co-presidents of Engineers Without Borders came out to volunteer, and she got in touch with the community developer for the Crown Point neighbourhood. She wants to work [with the developer] for some events in the school year,” Krista said with an enthusiastic smile. “It’s a nice partnership.”
Although it will be years before the trees have any noticeable effect on the air quality in these neighbourhoods, Krista’s enthusiasm for the project couldn’t be dampened.
“Sure, you don’t necessarily see the fruits of your labour in that air quality probably hasn’t changed much in the Keith neighbourhood from last year to this year, but you see the little trees, and you know that they’re going to get bigger, and in a couple of decades, it’s something you’ll definitely be able to see,” she said.
“Walking through that neighbourhood, maybe 20 or 30 years from now, I’ll be like: Oh, look at that! That’s something I was involved with,” she laughed.
Krista continued, “I think one of the greatest things about it is that it’s just such a big effort on behalf of everyone: McMaster’s done a lot, OPIRG’s done a lot, and Environment Hamilton has been really involved… Without everybody trying to help improve the neighbourhood, it wouldn’t have been possible, so I think it’s really exciting.”
With the project winding down in the first week of July, Krista expressed that she’s very interested in continuing the project during the school year.
“We were thinking of ways we can expand the Street Tree Project so it’s not just for the summer,” she said. “While I’m only working on it for nine weeks, I’m really enjoying it and I think it’s a really valuable thing.”
“I’d love to volunteer and work on it during the school year as well… to whatever capacity I can.”
You really don’t know what it’s like to feel alone when you are attending a university who enrolls 30,000 students, living in a building that holds 1,000 of those, residing 20 minutes from three siblings, two parents, a dog and a girlfriend (the last two give all the kisses a guy could need) – yet each night you feel surrounded by nothing but concrete and white paint. This is not only a personal rendition; this is one story out of the thousands attending our Canadian universities.
I felt alone in my six bedroom advertised “suite,” adorned with a fully-furnished bedroom, spacious living room and squeaky marble kitchen. At $630 a month most would call me spoiled, and if they knew I was a humanities student some might have far more selective words for this “total waste of money” at my parent’s hard-worked expense of course. This attack of negative stigma towards the faculty of humanities is a relentless one in this recessive economy.
Take online forums who have recently revealed to me the surprising factoid that I am “literally burning my parent’s money” but then maybe I should also stop googling “Is humanities a good major?”
However, this piece is not going to be a heroic defense to the faculty of humanities, but as the sarcastic undertone reveals: I feel like I am working towards a worthless degree – better yet, a worthless life.
What my rented room did not advertise was the impending deep depression awaiting me right behind the pretty door. I was a first year who was not living on-campus. Admittedly, that was my fault as I had missed the residence application deadline, in what was a grand display of my university level intelligence. I lived in a dark pit, in which it was in every way. It may have looked like the Ritz of residences but I hated everything inside its walls. I lived with four other upper-year strangers, two of whom spoke little English and one of whom I saw only twice over four months of living together. They locked themselves in their own separate rooms, scurried to the washroom when needed, generally just kept to themselves and I followed suit.
I was miserable. I fell into a routine that started as eat-class-sleep but evolved into sleep-sleep-sleep and sleep some more. I had gone to class with all intentions of getting amazing grades, but that spark faded - fast. All-nighters for essays turned into no essay at all and missing a couple classes turned into no class at all. The long and the short of it is: I got lonely and gave up on everything else because of it. I felt the pressure of academic success and faltered on it when I didn’t have anybody around me for support. I saw my university career as useless in four years so I thought I might as well admit defeat now.
I lost the one thing I took for granted: human interaction. This depressive state exists in student houses, apartments, commuters and even packed residences on-campus. Students become hermits when they have to budget their time around emotionally strenuous pressure to perform well in school. They just do not have time to properly recuperate from stress through relaxation and socialization, in what I would say, essentials to not kill yourself.
All through secondary and post-secondary education we students are bombarded with fear - you could call them threats. We are told three basic premises: “you need to go to university”, “you need good grades in university to get a good job”, “don’t do any of those two and you will be a garbage man for the rest of your life.” These are the statements that the modern student mind revolves around. These authoritative intimidations are assertions of attitude coming from the teachers, parents and students - these people being the most influential to the education system. It’s not like these are completely false statements at all; the economy is still recovering from 2008, fewer jobs are to be had, existing workers are retiring later and especially a growing number of high school graduates, out of societal imposition, choose to go to university creating an insanely competitive environment in comparison to previous decades. The university degree and ever-more so the quality of that degree is as well rising in importance as much as it is falling in value, as larger percentages of first-world populations are acquiring undergraduate degrees. The contemporary educational environment is one that cultivates mental illness through the increased importance of its unfortunate necessity in capitalistic society.
It is easy to be just a number in university, as it is much too easy to fall into a routine of a never-ending lonely loop. Waking up, going to class, coming home, (maybe) doing homework, eating a couple times a day, watching a movie, going to sleep becomes a rudimentary and rigidly lonesome life. You repeat this process daily, all with insurmountable expectations, creating a mountain of stress.
This increasing importance on educational performance is reaching breaking point for many students. With the pressure coming from all aspects of their lives, a student can become helpless in a sea of papers due the next morning. Any human-being can fall to overwhelming pressure, students are no different.
Supported by shocking national statistics, this illustrates a university experience that entails a life of limited fun in fall to the need to devote as much time to educational performance at the expense of human saneness.
This is an epidemic with no clear cut solution in this capitalistic society. We can obviously start by building a stronger economy but all that is known is that mental health should always precede a mark given out by a Scantron machine.
People are plenty aware of mental illness in society, but without a physical image for the disease, mental illness thrives on its covertness.
It seems university students are falling to mental illness faster than they are graduating.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
Julia Busatto
The Silhouette
Flu and cold season has hit McMaster. We’ve all noticed the running noses and heaving coughs as we make our way through campus. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired, literally, of blowing my nose in lecture. So what can we do to beat the dreaded January sickness? The following tips are ensured to help you stay healthy this wintery season.
Drink a lot of liquids
If you already do, drink more. It is suggested that in a day you should consume 6-8 glasses of water. When your body is sick it produces more mucus, causing your sinuses to feel stuffed up. Drinking water among other liquids helps increase mucus flow. Liquids also help you stay hydrated, which is important to building a stronger immune system. If you’re looking for a warm drink, herbal teas will tell your cold to hit the road. Herbal teas are warm, organic and have essential hydrating benefits.
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Although students tend to like to stay up until the wee hours of the morning, it is essential we get 6-8 hours of sleep. It is important for our bodies to recharge after a long day of bustling around. A good nights sleep will strengthen your body for the following day, and help you regain your strength as quickly as possible.
To keep your immune system in good shape, it is best to develop a regular sleeping pattern. For students this may be nearly impossible, but even four good nights of sleep a week will help you fight off the cold. This may be a no-brainer, but try to avoid stimulating drinks like coffee late at night.
Eat well
And yes I mean chicken noodle soup. Hot chicken soup, or any given soup, raises the temperature in your nose and throat, creating an inhospitable environment for viruses that prefer cooler, drier climes. In addition, just like a hot steamy shower, hot soup thins out the mucus blocking your sinuses. Alternatively, spicy foods like cayenne, horseradish, or (for lovers of sushi) wasabi can shrink the blood vessels in your nose and throat to relieve congestion. Garlic contains allicin, a potent antimicrobial that can fend off bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Overall, generally eating healthy will help you avoid becoming sick, and help you get over a sickness more quickly.
Stay warm
It’s the most obvious tip, but I often see people between classes without proper winter gear. It’s time to ditch the fashionable fall jacket and opt for that ugly parka your grandma gave you. Although it may not get you on Style at Mac, it will keep you warm and less likely to catch a cold. Bundle up when you are on campus, waiting for the bus and running errands to become less vulnerable.
Be conscientious
As students we come in contact with many people everyday, and must do our part to not only keep ourselves healthy but others as well. This means washing your hands frequently after you cough, blow your nose, go to the bathroom, eat, etcetera. Avoid sharing utensils and water bottles, and make sure you let others around you know you are sick. It’s a classic, but always sneeze into your arm rather than your hands. Another option is a vacuum-sealed suit. Do what you need to do.
Hopefully by following these tips the McMaster community will become less red faced and sniffling.
A team of McMaster scientists is enjoying a great start to the new year after solving a genetic code related to an historical cholera outbreak. The team was able to determine the cholera bacteria that caused a widespread outbreak of the diarrheal disease in the 19th century.
The researchers from McMaster’s Ancient DNA Centre reconstructed the entire Vibrio cholerae genome using a piece of tissue from the intestine of a Philadelphia man, which had been remarkably preserved by Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum.
Findings from the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan. 8, helping to pin down the cause of the earliest forms of the infectious disease in India, Europe and North America.
Before they could begin the laborious process of reconstructing the complex genome, the research team had to locate a well-preserved specimen with remnants of the disease. This was no easy task as the pathogen only colonizes the intestines: normally the first internal organ to decompose after death.
Doubts as to whether finding a specimen was possible were alleviated when Hendrik Poinar, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair within the Department of Anthropology and Principal Investigator at the Ancient DNA Centre, learned that the Philidelphia’s Mütter Museum had preserved internal specimens from alleged cholera victims from its curator, Anna Dhody.
Graduate student Alison Devault was at the helm for much of the lab work as part of her PhD thesis and said that she was unsure whether an analysis of the specimen would reveal it to be imbued with cholera DNA.
“Oftentimes in ancient DNA work you can have a very promising sample, but because of poor conditions for DNA preservation — such as fluctuating temperatures or bacterial or chemical changes that overly degrade the DNA — you are disappointed.”
Devault said her peers also entertained doubts that the alleged cholera victims were just that and nothing more.
“There was always another possibility, that the alleged cholera victims did not actually have cholera at all, or the historical disease we believed to be cholera was actually due to some completely different pathogen.”
The study revealed the cholera that the man suffered from to be of the classical strain, once the prominent form of epidemic cholera.
Although a strain called El Tor replaced the classical as the main pathogenic form of the disease in the 20 century, Devault says studies of its predecessor can be crucial to our understanding of a disease which infected 3 to 4 million people in 2012, killing 100,000.
“We know from historic accounts and records that 19th century cholera was extremely widespread and devastating on a global scale. Although it is still unclear exactly why that was the case, having full-scale genome information from a 19th century strain is one great starting point for future research,” she said.
Devault hopes that additional rare specimens can be found for study. This would allow further insight into how cholera has evolved over time and perhaps lead to better preventative measures to be established.
Sonya Elongo
SHEC
I have a weird case of cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, I am the poster child of senioritis. All I want is to finish up my undergraduate degree and get on with the rest of my life. On the other hand, I am wholly unready to leave McMaster. While they seem diametrically opposed to one another, these feelings stem from a common source: my impending graduation.
One thing that helped me to make sense of these feelings was to allow myself to feel and be scared by them. This was the first step I needed to take in order to parse my thoughts and feelings. While this constant reflection helped me to figure out some things, I also felt suffocated by my thoughts. After this, the natural step was to talk through my feelings with other people. This allowed me to gain a new perspective on everything I was feeling. What we experience is so narrow and specific that you can truly learn so much from just exploring your frame-of-mind with other people.
In your final year, there is huge pressure to have already figured out what you want to do with your life. For those who aren’t quite there yet, it can be incredibly scary and overwhelming. There also exist the ever looming “what ifs.” What if you don’t get in? What if what you thought you wanted to do is not actually for you? What if you won’t make enough to have a stable future? This then leads into the conflict between doing something practical and secure while also fulfilling your passions. While the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, it can be a fine line to toe.
When you have a case of the Novembers, have thesis work piling up, and have applications up to your ears, worrying about what happens after graduation can be overwhelming. Taking care of your mental health is key and can help you sort out your feelings. There are several venues available where you can talk through your feelings, varying from peer-based to more professional services.
SHEC provides a variety of resources including confidential peer support. This service is available every Monday to Friday during daytime hours in MUSC 202. If you are seeking help after hours or on the weekend, the MSU Peer Support Line is a great resource. This phone line is staffed by McMaster students and is confidential. The volunteers at SHEC and PSL are trained to be knowledgeable about a wide variety of issues and will provide emotional support, information and referrals.
If peer support is not up your alley, professional counselling may be better suited to help explore your problems. The Student Wellness Centre (SWC) at McMaster offers a professional counselling service. Unfortunately wait times for an appointment with a counsellor at the SWC can be very long, especially during stress-intense times of the school year. One easily accessible alternative to the SWC is Good2Talk. Aiming to provide “free, professional and anonymous support for students in Ontario”, Good2Talk is a bilingual phone line run by the provincial government specifically for post-secondary students. This service is available 365/24/7 and provides local referrals in addition to counselling.
One way of taking care of your mental health that doesn’t necessarily include talking out your feelings with someone, is practicing self-care. While this is easier said than done, eating properly, sleeping a sufficient amount, and exercise can make a huge difference in how you feel. Self-reflection through writing in a journal, practicing meditation and creating art can all contribute to a better understanding of what is going on in your life. Remember that this is a scary and tumultuous period of time and that taking the time to be gentle with yourself is worth it.
Miranda Babbitt
Assistant LifeStyle Editor
All of them, obviously. But LifeStyle takes a more critical look at who’s staying on the naughty list.
For many, the holiday season begins only as soon as the first house drapes their house in Christmas lights. For others, it begins once Michael Bublé’s velvety voice croons through every sound system in the city. And for a handful of us, perhaps those most dependent on a nearly religious caffeine fix at the start of every morning, the holidays begin when those little red cups (excuse me, tall, grandé or venti) start parading through the hands of students through University.
But, my jolly Starbucks customer, are these drinks being kind to us, in the spirit of Christmas? Will they wait up on Christmas day to receive a big ol’ bag of coal, or a robin’s egg blue box with white satin ribbon? Even though my tummy says otherwise, most of these fellas are most definitely not on Santa’s nice list when he’s thinking in terms of sugar and fat. Which clearly never happens if you’ve ever left some cookies out to see them all gone by morning, obviously indicating the presence of Santa. But how else would they taste so delectable anyhow? A gal deserves some sugary goodness from time to time, so even though we’re being hard on our little red cups today, don’t think you can’t treat yo’ self in the holidays. (I do at least three times a week, if that somehow helps.)
Caramel Brulé Latté
When you hear Caramel Brulé Latté, think caramel macchiato with a dash of gingerbread undertones. If you’re not well read (or should I say well fed) in Starbucks beverages, this is a drink of unabashed creaminess, infused with caramel joy. The whipped cream, sprinkled with caramel rocks, perfects this drink into a thing of perfection.
At 430 calories, we would consider this one troublesome, but once that red cup is heartily consumed, you’ve just taken in 35 per cent of your daily saturated fat intake. Or if you so desire to visualize this, first fill your cup with four tablespoons of sugar.
Peppermint Mocha
The Peppermint Mocha holds true to the colour scheme of the holidays. I imagine red and white swirlings of peppermint dancing around in a blend of espresso and chocolate. With a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and dark chocolate curls sitting on top, it can be hard to resist this little elf of a drink.
But this drink is quite the sneaky devil. Twenty calories less than the caramel brulé latte (sitting at 410 calories), but a whopping 45 per cent of your daily intake of saturated fat says goodbye after you’ve finished this one off. I’m prepping a bag of coal for Santa.
Eggnog Latté
Although not a unanimous holiday favourite, the Eggnog Latté has a distinct power over a number of friends. Eggnog is one of those flavours you either hate or love, it seems. I’ve never dabbled in an eggnog latté, mostly because it’s generally served cold in my family, but a sprinkling of nutmeg over top of steamed milk, and that touch of eggnog, sounds like something I should treat myself with.
Too bad this drink is going to jail for tricking us into thinking it’s nothing more than an innocent indulgence. I’d even venture out to say criminal, but then I’d be a partner in crime as soon as I try it. It’s charged with 60 per cent saturated fat intake, nearly half of the recommended carbohydrate intake, and sits jollily at 460 calories.
These rebellious drinks can certainly be made nice in no time. Just ask for the rather pretentiously coined “skinny” option, which includes non-fat milk and sugarless syrups, or make a compromise and order whatever drinks you like without the whipped cream. Of course, that sounds nearly criminal to forgo the whipped cream, doesn’t it? As a self-prescribed Starbucks addict, I tend to ask for a drink with non-fat milk, but please leave the whipped cream on. It’s called treating yo’ self for a reason.
Nicer options!
J.J. Bardoel
Silhouette Intern
The case of a former McMaster PhD student, claiming he was not accommodated after suffering a head injury, continues. In 2008, before Jason Tang was about to complete the exams required for his degree, he suffered a serious brain injury, which left him with post-concussion syndrome. The symptoms called for certain accommodations, which Tang claimed were not provided by McMaster.
After proposing an oral examination, a proposal he claimed received positive feedback from numerous members of faculty within McMaster, he was eventually told that he must write the examination format that was designed for all students in that program. Although he claimed that he was offered a longer time period to finish the exam, as well as writing support, he stated that that the sporadic nature of his disability hinders his ability to complete exams.
“I still have the intellectual skills to write the paper,” he said in an interview to CBC Hamilton. “I just can’t predict when I’m able to engage in the work.” This would eventually cause Tang to withdraw from his PhD studies.
ARCH Disability Law Centre, a clinic specializing in cases regarding injustices for the disabled, quickly picked up Tang’s case. Laurie Letheren, an ARCH staff lawyer, hopes that the case will set a precedent for similar cases in the future regarding student discrimination. She told CBC before the initial tribunal meeting, “This is an important case because it will address some of the unique questions that arise for students with disabilities at a graduate level.”
Following the allegations, McMaster released a statement to CBC Hamilton affirming that they will defend against the claims. McMaster University stated that it “is aware of this claim and has worked with the student over the years to identify solutions that provide the accommodations necessary so that he could complete his studies, while ensuring the maintaining of appropriate academic standards.”
The original tribunal meeting was set for July 19, 2013 but with no public decision reached, the case is still ongoing. ARCH Disability Law Centre was contacted and not able to comment.
