If you are an international student who uses social media frequently, and find it hard to put down your phone, it’s time to start prioritizing your social and mental health
By Nada Mahmoud, Contributor
Every day, international students leave their homes and families behind to earn a powerful education abroad and secure a future with greater opportunities. Some might say that trying to make new friends is key to coping with feelings of loneliness. But, being in a new environment with different socio-cultural norms and barriers like language makes it harder to put yourself out there.
The International student population has been rapidly growing in Canada over the past decade, contributing about 22 billion dollars to the Canadian economy.
Universities put in a lot of effort to attract international students, who tend to pay more than triple the tuition of domestic students. However, efforts to support them mentally and socially upon arrival are limited.
When the COVID-19 pandemic came along, feelings of loneliness increased. Many were unable to go back home to their families and the lack of community resulted in increased reliance on social media. According to research, poorly adjusted international students reported the highest use of social media before and after the pandemic. Social media was the only way for students to satisfy their need for social interaction without feeling uncomfortable or exposed.
A study was conducted on university students which considered other factors such as moving into residence, to a new community. With McMaster’s very large international and out-of-province student population, many students end up being away from home in a new environment with new people which can be difficult.
On one hand, some students report low levels of loneliness as they remain focused on schoolwork and only use social media as a method of communication to stay in contact with friends and family.
Yet, most students show high levels of loneliness because they yearned to reinvent themselves online when starting a new phase of their life. The desire to edit themselves caused loneliness. It became challenging to maintain the standards they set, hindering their ability to communicate with other students offline.
Thus, students over-rely on social media, causing severe loneliness and social anxiety. Excessive social media use leads to an increase in cases of loneliness and corresponding mental illnesses which is why researchers continue to try and pinpoint the best way to use social media to take advantage of its benefits while staying shielded from the harm it causes.
Today, mental health research indicates that loneliness is more prominent than ever, which is particularly worrying since the majority of internet and social media users are young adults.
People who use social media the most, especially those who depend on it, suffer at the highest rate. We can see this through the way they use social media which reflects on how it impacts their mental health.
For example, if an international student uses social media to connect with people, they know offline such as family and friends back home, the impact is minor. But for students who use social media as a primary source of communication with others, the impacts are serious. As a result, when they stop or simply log off, all sense of connection vanishes.
Social media usage needs to be managed on a personal level since everyone is different; everyone's brain functions differently and this is especially true for teenagers. Young adults are more vulnerable to developing feelings of loneliness and hurt caused by over-usage. Therefore, trying to reduce social media use and focusing on offline social life is essential for students to keep their mental health a priority.
While resources are offered, current efforts to support international students are severely lacking. As was proven when the pandemic hit students across Canada found it hard to make appointments with their university counsellors due to the high number of students trying to get support. Universities and governments must work to prioritize the social and mental health of international students and provide more holistic support to meet their needs.
Universities can focus on creating spaces for students from similar backgrounds to connect and come together to feel more at home while governments need to focus on making international students feel valued.
Despite the resuming of processing for certain visas to enter India, travel visas in particular remain inaccessible to students who wanting to travel there this holiday season
On Oct. 25, the Indian Government resumed processing certain visas, including entry and conference visas. Visas are notations in passports granted by international countries embassies where a person does not hold passport or permanent residency.
On Sept. 21 the Government of India paused the processing of VISA requests from Canadian passport holders. The pause on visa processing arose after the Government of Canada expressed that they believed the Indian Government assisted in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who expressed beliefs pertaining to independent Khalistan State. The statement had caused several other actions to be taken by both countries.
This pause resulted in a few different impacts on the Canadian passport-holding population. Given that the overall service was paused, any applications that had been submitted before the pause were affected. Canadians currently in India are also affected, as any requests for extensions of stay were not being processed.
For those who intend on visiting family and relatives in India, tourist visas are still not being processed. Additionally, if your layover for a flight requires staying in India for over 24 hours (or to leave the designated transit areas) a transit visas is required. Transit visas are currently suspended as well.
Given the current pause on tourist and transit visas, the two types of visas students are most likely to need if they are travelling to India to visit family or tourism purposes, this pause could have an impact on students' upcoming plans.
This is an ongoing story.
McMaster’s international student population faces struggles navigating the housing market, including housing scams, communication barriers and exploitative landlords.
For McMaster University students, navigating the Hamilton housing market can be a challenging experience. With a housing crisis on the rise and rent prices rapidly increasing, many McMaster students struggle to find affordable and accessible places to live.
International students in particular face unique struggles with finding housing. Fourth-year international computer science student Nisheet Kumar Sobti explained how communication barriers between international students and landlords complicate the already difficult process of finding student housing.
“First, you need to understand how difficult it is to find a house for an international student. Especially if you're coming from a different country and you speak a different language. A lot of students when they come to Canada don't even know how to speak English,” said Sobti.
First, you need to understand how difficult it is to find a house for an international student. Especially if you're coming from a different country and you speak a different language. A lot of students when they come to Canada don't even know how to speak English.
Nisheet Kumar Sobti, fourth-year computer science student
In the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 6,500 of McMaster students were international, making up 17.5 per cent of the student body. Sobti explained that the struggles specific to this student population are real and ongoing, which became most apparent to him during his experience finding housing.
“Finding a house the first time was so difficult. There were a lot of scams going on. A lot of landlords, they didn't want to give a house to international students because we couldn’t meet in-person,” said Sobti.
Housing scams can include advertisements for houses that don’t exist or already-rented properties, suspicious requests for money or false lists of amenities. Many incoming international students are unable to attend in-person house showings prior to signing a lease, making them subject to misleading advertisements or housing scams.
Second-year software engineering student Aysu Özdal echoed Sobti’s sentiments. Özdal explained that despite feeling apprehensive to sign her lease, she was desperate to find somewhere to live for the upcoming school year.
“Until the day I moved into that house, I was so scared that it could be a scam. I paid first and last months’ rent and I was so scared that it would be a scam, because there's no getting the money back,” said Özdal.
Until the day I moved into that house, I was so scared that it could be a scam. I paid first and last months’ rent and I was so scared that it would be a scam, because there's no getting the money back.
Aysu Özdal, second-year software engineering student
Özdal explained that although her lease agreement ended up being legitimate, this is not the case for every student put in her position. Beyond language barriers and physical distance, international students aren’t always well informed on their rights as a tenant and navigating potentially exploitative landlords.
McMaster arts and science graduate and current CFMU community outreach coordinator Sharang Sharma spoke on this barrier, explaining that international students a prime target for exploitative landlords.
“Half the time [international students] don't know what the laws are, what our rights are … So those kinds of predatory practices are particularly effective,” said Sharma.
Half the time [international students] don't know what the laws are, what our rights are … So those kinds of predatory practices are particularly effective.
Sharang Sharma, arts and science graduate and CFMU community outreach coordinator
McMaster does have programs in place, such as International Student Services office, that aim to address these barriers and assist international students in their transition to Canada. However, many international students still face these struggles and are victims to scams and unlawful housing conditions.
Fourth-year international health science student Vitoria Murakami Olyntho shared her thoughts on this shared circumstance and suggested some potential avenues for McMaster to get involved.
“I wish McMaster could take more of an involved role in helping students find housing. Maybe having groups of McMaster accredited landlords or regions where there's kind of a partnership between the school and the housing market…It would be easier to navigate, it would be less confusing and [feel] more trusting,” said Murakami Olyntho.
Not only does this student population face specific barriers when navigating finding places to live close to campus, such as facing housing scams and communication difficulties, but they also are often scapegoated market.
This year, federal government officials stated that the growing number of international students entering Canada has put a strain on housing availability and as a result has driven up rent prices.
Rates of issued international student study permits in Canada have increased by 75 per cent over the last five years. and this increasing blame has resulted in the federal government considering an international student cap.
Conversations around an international student cap are ongoing, all the while incoming international students continue to struggle to find secure and affordable places to live. For more information on resources for international students, visit the International Student Services office.
McMaster students looking for housing in Hamilton deal with rent increases, lack of availability and lack of information
As the in-person fall term arrives, some McMaster students are struggling to find available and fairly priced student housing that is also of sound quality.
Lack of Availability and Increases in Rent
Bronwyn Mowat, a McMaster student, found the process of house hunting to be extremely challenging.
“It's absolutely insane trying to get an off-campus house right now. I've had lots of experiences of people telling me they're no longer accepting applicants because of the sheer volume of people responding to ads. A lot of people straight up ghosted me too,” said Mowat.
The increase in demand, according to Robert Braun, president of Wolverine Property Management, gives landlords the upper edge when selecting tenants, which leads to a sense of frustration when searching for housing.
“A landlord wouldn't let us on their property to tour the house because one of our members was in class and they would only give tours to full groups, even though when we messaged them that morning, they said it was fine if one person was missing,” said Mowat.
Ali Rehmaji, an Honours Biology fourth year student, described the difficulty of interacting with landlords. Rehmaji resorted to messaging several Facebook listings after having no responses through the Mac Off-Campus Housing program.
“Around fourth year, out of 52 different landlords I messaged, only 15 came back to me and I only was able to set up two actual visits before I found a place. It can be a nuisance that I could feel like could be changed,” said Rehmaji.
"Around fourth year, out of 52 different landlords I messaged, only 15 came back to me and I only was able to set up two actual visits before I found a place. It can be a nuisance that I could feel like could be changed."
Ali Rehmaji, Honours Biology fourth year student
Rehmaji also described the lower quality houses currently for pre-pandemic prices.
“My rent is the same. But the difference is, in second year, I had a whole house a full kitchen, two bathrooms, five bedrooms and two floors, whereas this time, it's a small basement apartment, which is, if you look at size, I'd say at least four to five times smaller for the same price,” said Rehmaji.
Information Barriers for International Students
Chinmay Ravindran, an international student going into his final year of the MBA program, described the added difficulty international students face when searching for student houses. Ravindran, who moved to Hamilton in 2021, initially found it hard to access resources about tenant’s rights.
“Before we flew in, we didn’t know the rules. We didn't know that that the rules were mostly in the favor of the tenant,” said Ravindran.
"“Before we flew in, we didn’t know the rules. We didn't know that that the rules were mostly in the favor of the tenant."
Chinmay Ravindran, an international student into his final year of McMaster's MBA program
Ravindran explained this lack of information about tenant’s rights can lead to some landlords taking advantage of international students.
“There needs to be a playbook or guide that really shares what an international student needs to know before that first conversation with a potential landlord. Before they take their first step, they need to know it all,” said Ravindran.
Ravindran also echoed the struggles of dealing with a rent increase.
“The extra $250 that we pay each month, it adds up. We would have wanted to use that $250 to buy a little more groceries or to go out more,” said Ravindran.
The Housing Crisis: A Property Manager’s Perspective
Braun attributes the lack of available houses to owners selling properties during the pandemic.
“Since the pandemic, a lot of the owners we work with sold off their properties because they couldn't rent them. And a lot of them converted back to residential use because that was still a viable option through the pandemic,” said Braun.
As in-person classes were reintroduced, students faced a market with a lower availability of student houses, which resulted in large volumes of applicants for landlords.
“Well, it's been crazy. Really. The demand so outstrips the supply and a lot of our available rooms were gone in May and June,” said Braun.
"Well, it's been crazy. Really. The demand so outstrips the supply and a lot of our available rooms were gone in May and June."
Robert Braun, president of Wolverine Property Management
Braun remarked rent increases are a a result of various increases in insurance, hydro costs, taxes and the inflation and supply-chain issues of property maintenance.
Moving Forward
As the class of 2026 progresses through their first year, issues with finding off-campus housing loom over them. With a highly competitive housing market that favours the landlords, students are left to deal with rent increases, a lack of availability and information when looking for accommodations.
C/O Travis Ngyuyen
Vaccines, distance learning and living continents away present unique challenges to international students
It should come as no surprise that international students studying in Canada have faced unimaginable barriers.
Perhaps the most visible of all is the 6.9 billion dollars of revenue earned by Canadian post-secondary institutions in 2018, a 360 per cent increase from 2007. The source of this ballooning revenue is none other than the near $40,000 difference in the tuition paid by international students, when compared to domestic students.
Despite our long-standing knowledge of these challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has only materialized into a steeper financial and psychological climb for international students. With McMaster University’s recent announcement of resuming in-person classes in the winter semester, it’s important to take a step back and fully internalize its impact on the international student population.
Kimia Tahaei, an Opinions Staff Writer at the Silhouette and McMaster student who has lived in Iran for the past six years, expressed her concerns about re-adjusting socially in the winter semester.
“I’m in a small program of 80 or 90 people and I’m the only person in that program who hasn’t participated in the one or two in-person classes they had this fall. Being in a whole other continent, it’s almost inevitable that I feel left out and that worries me going into next semester,” said Tahaei.
Clearly, the pandemic brought forth a sense of isolation that persisted even while most classes took place online. While it can seem that the return to in-person learning is the ultimate solution to this problem, that may not be the case.
Robin Barala is an executive for the McMaster International & Exchange Club, which fosters connections between international students and planned sightseeing trips, who detailed the difficulties international students will face once they arrive in Canada.
“For international students who may not be vaccinated with a Canada-approved vaccine, they’ll have to quarantine for almost the entirety of the winter break. It’s going to be even more tough if they don’t know anyone here, which is the case for a lot of them right now,” said Barala.
While Canada has expanded the list of approved COVID-19 vaccines to include Sinopharm, Sinovac and COVAXIN, barriers still exist for those who received vaccinations such as Sputnik which were offered in many countries, including India.
Although international students remain exempt from vaccine entry requirements, this exemption ends on Jan. 15, 2022, after which an approved vaccine will be mandatory.
“While I was lucky enough to get AstraZeneca, which is approved in Canada, I just got the first vaccine I could get. A lot of people in Iran got the Sputnik vaccine so I don’t know what other Iranian students will do when they have to go back to Canada,” said Tahaei.
Ultimately, the return to in-person will inevitably bring about both positive and negative experiences for international students. While it may breed opportunities for socialization, hesitations about mixing vaccines, finding housing and reaching out to university-provided services may be unsurprising effects of the rapid geographical and cultural changes that come with a mandatory in-person semester.
Barala further expressed that the culture shock that many other international students face often make them more likely to reach out to informal groups at Mac, such as the McMaster Indian Association, before being directed to more formal services like International Student Services.
When asked about this phenomenon, team members at International Student Services — a division of Mac’s Student Success Centre — responded that they were well-aware of the many avenues available to international students and recognize the importance of authentic peer-to-peer connections.
“The important role we play as professionals is reaching out to these clubs so that they are aware of all of the services we provide to international students. When it comes time to give that referral, they know exactly where to refer the student to,” explained Gisela Oliviera, Associate Director at the SSC.
While it may be easy to paint the university with a wide brush – given the immense difficulties expressed by both international and domestic students with respect to housing, socialization and mental health – progress has been made by International Student Services.
iCent, an application that sends out exclusive information from the SSC, is just one intervention that supports international students in their journey as McMaster students.
The movement back to in-person learning this winter is an unprecedented change for all of us. It’s incredibly important for the university to be cognizant of what exactly this means for students that may have never lived in Canada before, received an unapproved vaccine or have not yet had the chance to meet any of their peers.
There’s no doubt that there have been steps made towards increased cognizance — with the strategies introduced by the SSC — but those strides need to be so much larger to truly accommodate the unique uncertainties faced by international students and foster the connections that they need right now.
However, being cognizant alone isn’t enough.
International Mac students deserve a university that takes on the responsibility of advocating for them, rather than turning a blind eye to “off-campus” issues such as housing, budgeting, loneliness and unique hesitancies surrounding vaccines.
Our expectations of what international students are responsible for has to ultimately change, taking into consideration the extenuating circumstances of a pandemic and its snowball effects on mental health, among other concerns.
It’s no longer the time for recognition — it’s time for action.
C/O Yoohyun Park
How are international students staying connected with loved ones this winter break?
During August of 2021, Hamilton saw a massive influx of students returning to McMaster University, including a large number of international students who were finally able to return to Canada. Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on previous years, this is the first semester many international students are able to attend university in person and live away from home for the first time.
Dipto Prasun Nath, a fourth-year business student, spoke about his experiences during the holidays as an international student and his plans for the upcoming winter break.
Over his winter breaks before the COVID-19 pandemic, Nath met up with his international friends from Bangladesh, whom he has been friends with for eighteen years. Although they’re all in Canada, they are separated by university so they have often picked a starting point to meet before travelling as a group.
“It’s nice to have your school friends around. When we move to Canada, it’s a new place where we don’t have any family. So whenever we get together with school friends we always have like, nostalgic feelings,” said Nath.
This year, Nath said he and his friends may be connecting through Whatsapp calls to keep in touch. Nath also commented on how each winter break has been a different experience for him. In his first year, Nath was invited by his roommate's family to stay over during the break.
“Every time it’s a new experience, right? I made really good friends at McMaster, I have to say that. One of my roommates, they were really nice to me. I had [the] experience of spending the winter break at a friend’s place,” said Nath.
“Every time it’s a new experience, right? I made really good friends at McMaster, I have to say that. One of my roommates, they were really nice to me. I had [the] experience of spending the winter break at a friend’s place.”
Dipto Prasun Nath, fourth-year business student
Last year, Nath stayed in Bangladesh and continued classes online, keeping the apartment he had rented during the first half of his second year. This year, he will be in Canada once again for the winter break and for the first time, his family will be visiting him for the winter break in Canada. He says he is looking forward to the visit as he misses his parents.
“In Bangladesh the coldest we get is like 10 or 15 degrees . . . so we never got to experience snow,” said Nath.
Nath said he and his family are looking forward to visiting Vancouver and Montreal during the break.
Another international student, Cleon D’Souza, plans to return to Dubai this winter break to visit his family for the first time since 2018. He looks forward to being in Dubai to celebrate Christmas, his parents' anniversary and his father’s birthday.
“The thing I miss the most is my mom’s cooking because I have not had my mom’s cooking in so, so long. I can’t wait to spend time with my dad,” said D’Souza.
“The thing I miss the most is my mom’s cooking because I have not had my mom’s cooking in so, so long. I can’t wait to spend time with my dad.”
Cleon D’Souza, Fourth-year mathematics and statistics student
D’Souza also talked about meeting his friends during the holidays in person, instead of over the internet like he had during previous winter breaks.
“100 per cent I’m so excited . . . Usually every winter it’s [my friends] meeting and me just being virtually available in Canada. This time I can actually physically meet them, see them [and] spend lots of time with them,” said D’Souza.
“100 per cent I’m so excited . . . Usually every winter it’s [my friends] meeting and me just being virtually available in Canada. This time I can actually physically meet them, see them [and] spend lots of time with them.”
Cleon D’Souza, Fourth-year mathematics and statistics student
Not only will D’Souza meet up with old friends, but he will also have the chance to reconnect with high school teachers and volunteers from his church that he hasn’t seen since he left to study in Canada.
“There’s also other events, like meeting my highschool teachers . . . a lot of them played a really important role in my life. I can’t wait to meet with them and discuss things that they’ve taught me that I use in my real life,” said D’Souza.
After so many lockdowns due to the pandemic, there is more catching up this winter break to be done than usual. Whether it’s through Whatsapp calls, flights home or visits with friends, international students are finding ways to stay connected to their friends and family this winter break.
PHOTO C/O Govind Krishnan, Unsplash
Midnight exams, sky high airfare and unpredictable COVID regulations now a reality for many of Mac’s international students.
Starting on Jan. 29, 2021, alongside the Canadian government requiring all international travelers to Canada submit proofs of negative COVID-19 tests administered at time of landing, new quarantine restrictions for travelers were introduced amidst rising concerns for more infectious variants of COVID-19. The differing and often conflicting COVID-19 travel restrictions administered by governments globally only exacerbated pre-existing difficulties and delays travelers outside Canada experience, and, as a result, transformed international traveling into a grim, confusing undertaking for even the most experienced of travelers. The impact of ever-changing travel policies imposed in early 2021 hit the new and returning international students of McMaster hard, where reaching campus for many has become a source of difficulty. While all of McMaster operated from home in the 2020-2021 academic year, the hybrid 2021-2022 academic year poses interesting challenges for the upcoming plans of international students.
Vaibhav Arora, a second year health sciences student from Kolkata, India who, after a year of online school, has finally moved to Hamilton, and has faced many barriers due to COVID-19
“COVID had an immense impact on my travel plans and I think the same can be said for pretty much any student coming from India . . . We all had to take long indirect routes to come to Canada, and when landing in other countries, we had to submit negative COVID tests. As a result, obviously air fares were much higher. So, getting to Hamilton in and of itself was a huge challenge,” explained Arora.
“COVID had an immense impact on my travel plans and I think the same can be said for pretty much any student coming from India . . . We all had to take long indirect routes to come to Canada, and when landing in other countries, we had to submit negative COVID tests. As a result, obviously air fares were much higher. So, getting to Hamilton in and of itself was a huge challenge.”
Vaibhav Arora, Second-Year Health Sciences Student
Kimia Tahaei, a second year arts and science student who completed her first year online from Tehran, Iran, and is choosing to stay in Iran for the Fall 2021 semester also faced a similar situation.
“It’s really hard to get a visa from Iran to Canada normally and even more so now that there is COVID, and Iran's vaccination and travel policies are very different from Canada’s. Since I would have to make such a huge move despite the uncertainty of the Winter semester being in person or not, on top of the cost of airfare, it financially made more sense for me to resume school from home for now,” explained Tahaei.
While travelling has become increasingly difficult and inaccessible, many international students are frustrated about the trend of rising tuition this academic year, especially for programs that tend to receive more international students, like engineering. Unlike domestic students who have access to financial aid bursaries and provincial benefits such as the Ontario Student Assistance Program, international students do not have any such services in place for them, and hence are subject to significantly higher tuition.
Tahaei maintains that the online accessibility of all her classes and the accommodations made for her two in person classes following her academic experiences last year has greatly impacted her decision to stay in Iran for the Fall semester.
“Online school wasn’t the most pleasant experience, especially the seven and a half hour time difference. The time zone was really hurting me because I had a really difficult time figuring out when to sleep or do class. My classes ran from 10 p.m.-4:30 a.m., which really messed up my sleep schedule since I would sleep [until] 2 p.m. and consequently I would only have a few hours before classes to get all of my work done. Now everything is posted so that I don’t have to do that as often,” explained Tahaei.
Arora shares Tahaei’s mixed sentiments about online academics.
“Tests were all situated at midnight, which was really difficult, and it was hard coordinating group meetings with my classmates about different projects. But I think academically besides that, it wasn’t too bad. Most lectures were recorded, most assignments had 12- or 24-hour submission windows. Profs were really understanding if I had to submit assignments late for any reason,” explained Arora.
While campus and provincial policies such as MacCheck and vaccine passports respectively allow some reassurance to professors eager to resume in-person lectures, faculties across Mac have nonetheless been going above and beyond to make all academic work equally as accessible online. The willingness to accommodate the academic needs of international students who are still not on campus is an initiative students doing school from abroad have taken to.
“There is only so much professors can do for me. It will always be hard, but at Mac I would not even have to contact my academic advisors. I would just email the profs about my situation and they would be down to help. I was not expecting this much empathy, so it was extremely appreciated and is a really positive thing I’ve noticed at Mac,” explained Tahaei.
“There is only so much professors can do for me. It will always be hard, but at Mac I would not even have to contact my academic advisors. I would just email the profs about my situation and they would be down to help. I was not expecting this much empathy, so it was extremely appreciated and is a really positive thing I’ve noticed at Mac,”
Kimia Tahaei, second year arts and sciences student
Unfortunately, many international students, both abroad and who have recently moved to Hamilton, feel highly alienated from the McMaster community and campus life. There are over 300 clubs under the McMaster Students Union, many of which are centered on identity, religion or culture. Despite this, many international students are unaware about these clubs, or unsure about how to join them. This has been detrimental to their ability to engage in campus life.
“There were certainly issues in getting involved with clubs and extracurricular activities for Mac students from India as most of the club meetings would be held in Eastern Time. However, I wish Mac had done more to help second-year students new to the country for the first time adjust to university life. I know the university has many events that are offered virtually, but many international students are not even aware of what those resources are. There is no way to know anything if they are not actively following social media pages or receiving mandatory emails,” said Arora.
As of now, Mac will continue its hybrid learning approach, with plans to expand vaccination status monitoring on campus. There are currently no released plans for the Winter semester in the event provincial and health regulations impose lockdowns. McMaster has made no comments on the position of its international students.
We should be accommodating for inconveniences caused by time zone differences
By: Jiahe Deng, Contributor
The 2020 fall semester was drastically different from what we are all used to. Different individuals faced a unique mixture of challenges, which made the past semester rough for many.
As an international student staying in my home country where the local time is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, the time zone difference was a huge burden to learning and sadly, there is no substantial change happening for this term.
I returned to my home country in July 2020 and decided to stay there during online schooling since I thought it’d be better for my mental well-being. As the fall semester started, I found studying 13 hours ahead of Hamilton's time more challenging than I thought.
First of all, it was tough for me to find a routine that worked. A friend of mine usually goes to bed at 8:00 p.m. and consistently gets up at 3:00 a.m. He was able to attend all his classes and it worked perfectly for him. However, this didn’t work for me. If I attended all my classes, I wouldn't see any daylight. After two weeks of trial-and-error, I finally decided to only watch one course live and watch recordings for the other classes.
Next, I needed to find ways to deal with in-class midterms and exams after 1:00 a.m. I first tried to change my sleep schedule on the date of the tests. I wrote one test at 1:30 a.m., but this resulted in three unproductive days in a hectic week since I needed to sleep extra hours the day before the test and felt exhausted two days after the test. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t work for me.
So I contacted my professors to see if I can write my 2:00 a.m. tests and 5:00 a.m. exam at a different time slot. Although my professors eventually agreed to this, I was also told that it was a university-level decision not to have a policy to guarantee accommodations for time zone differences.
However, I found this decision to be unreasonable. My family is in my home country and I chose to stay here so that we could support each other through this unusual time. I’m sure many international students feel similarly in terms of wanting to stay in their home country, but also wanting to write tests at a normal time. Thus, I believe this problem deserves a systematic solution.
Although some of us stay up late from time to time, it is unjust if students are required to attend classes or take tests in the middle of the night.
Although some of us stay up late from time to time, it is unjust if students are required to attend classes or take tests in the middle of the night.
To make my point, we first need to reflect on our circumstances. Right now, courses are almost exclusively online, so we should interpret our classes as "online school" instead of "taking in-person classes in digital form."
If we "take in-person classes in digital form," then it’s reasonable to expect everyone to show up for every class just like when we are attending school in-person, with the only difference being the delivery switched from in-person to online. However, this expectation is unrealistic.
Instead, we should look at this as "online schooling." This means we need to respect the fact that not everyone has a quiet place to study all the time and that not everyone is in the same time zone. If we disrespect this fact and choose not to be flexible, then we systematically make it harder for students who don't always have access to quiet space, who live in another time zone and who have limited internet access, to thrive.
Second, not giving accommodations for a time zone difference is unjust and puts students’ health in jeopardy. Without accommodations, it implies that the university expects students to write a test at inconvenient times, say at 4:00 a.m. However, it’s reasonable to assume that an average person is not able to function to their average ability at that time. Therefore, it’s obviously unjust to test students when clearly some can’t function normally.
On the other hand, without accommodations, a student may have to switch their sleep schedule often. I don’t need to over-emphasize how important a consistent sleep schedule is. Even people who work night shifts can have several days off after their shifts. However, after writing a test at 4:00 a.m., students often don’t get a break since the course goes on. Thus, I believe not giving accommodation has systematically put students’ health in jeopardy.
One argument against giving accommodations is integrity. As much as I agree that integrity is crucial, I insist it is necessary to accommodate time zone differences. After all, testing that is equitable takes precedence over integrity.
Additionally, Student Accessibility Services students have the ability to get their tests rescheduled, so there must be ways to balance rescheduling and integrity; for instance, having different versions of the test.
Another concern is that when international students write exams at time slots convenient to them, there might not be staff available to answer questions, which is against university policy. However, if the instructor can let the student know rescheduling might result in no staff available during the test, this concern can be resolved, since students waive the right of that policy.
Ideally, I think all courses should be designed to adapt for online learning and if some courses must be taught synchronized, there should be a notice on that before the semester starts. However, at this point, I think what could help is a formal statement from university officials that acknowledges that a time zone difference is to be accommodated and encourages students to contact instructors for accommodations.
However, at this point, I think what could help is a formal statement from university officials that acknowledges that a time zone difference is to be accommodated and encourages students to contact instructors for accommodations.
We need to respect people’s decisions. If international students think staying in their home country is the best for them, then what others can do is to support them. To adjust to remote learning, I selectively chose courses with lectures in the morning and during last semester, I dropped one to cope.
Those are my efforts and I'm sure others are trying their own ways to thrive. But personal efforts or merely encouraging instructors to accommodate simply isn’t enough.
There needs to be a policy change that allows tests and exams to be accommodated for if there is any inconvenience caused by time zone difference. This problem is systematic and it deserves a systematic solution.
Students in different time zones are feeling unsupported and unaccommodated by the university
By: Aislyn Sax, Contributor and Elisa Do, News Reporter
In the Fall semester of 2020, McMaster University has become a ghost town with many students enrolled in exclusively online classes or with occasional in-person labs.
This transition has allowed many students to live away from campus throughout the school year and significantly impacted the lives of international students. With different time zones, international students now often face the challenge of writing exams at inconvenient times during the day.
Annie Deng is a math and stats student in her third year. She decided to stay in her home country of China for the fall semester.
"The nature of online learning amplifies the issue of my lack of social connections and support in Canada. I worry staying in Canada might not be good for my mental health,” Deng said.
"The nature of online learning amplifies the issue of my lack of social connections and support in Canada. I worry staying in Canada might not be good for my mental health,” Deng said.
However, as soon as the semester started, Deng found that staying in China brought other challenges. Deng now has classes at 2 a.m. and realized that the Registrar scheduled her final exams at 12:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. in her time zone.
To resolve the time zone issues, Deng considered completely changing her sleep schedule, but family duties have made this option unrealistic. Instead, she decided to change her sleep schedule just for the days of exams and tests.
"It's simply exhausting. Even if I try to sleep four more hours during the day, I still can't function normally at those hours,” Deng added.
Deng had contacted her professors to ask if she could write the midterm tests at a different time but was met with an unsatisfying answer.
"It seemed like my professors don't know what to say to me. [Only] one of them gave me a solid answer,” Deng explained.
"It seemed like my professors don't know what to say to me. [Only] one of them gave me a solid answer,” Deng explained.
When she tried to reschedule, Deng was faced with more problems. After being referred to several different places and attempting to contact people, Deng was yet again unable to seek a fulfilling answer. She heard no reply from the Registrar and the Ombuds office. She learned that the University Secretariat has an appeal form where students may submit a formal inquiry on policies. When she inquired about it, Deng was met with a reply that the appeal form only dealt with faculty-level policies, whereas time zone differences were a university-level policy.
While each of her professors eventually accommodated her, Deng said that she would like to see clear information on who to contact to resolve time zone issues.
According to Deng, many international students she knows are considering returning to their home countries.
"After all, it's too hard staying in a foreign country alone during a pandemic without family around. Staring at a computer screen for lectures and knowing you can't hang out with your classmates because they are at home doesn't help," she added.
"Staring at a computer screen for lectures and knowing you can't hang out with your classmates because they are at home doesn't help," Deng added.
Another international student, Yifang Wang, also expressed her concerns for this school year.
As Wang is currently residing in China, she does not have access to various websites required for their academics, such as Gmail and Avenue to Learn. Although the university offers Virtual Private Networking software for students and a network accelerator for those in China, Wang expressed that she could not get the software to work for her. Hence, Wang had to purchase a VPN in order to access the necessary tools for her studies.
Wang is currently taking a linguistics course that includes weekly quizzes and said that using a VPN has made it more challenging for them to access the quizzes right away.
“[The professor] will give us like 10 minutes or 15 minutes, but it will take me four minutes, sometimes three minutes to load the page and he didn't care about that,” Wang said.
Wang added that the professor would not provide her more time. The professor said there are always students who complain about the time limit. Wang believed that the professor did not consider the number of international students in the course, many of whom likely struggle with the same problem.
The university had also maintained tuition fees at the same amount as they would have had the 2020-2021 school year been in-person. This includes international tuition fees, which are extensively greater than those with Canadian citizenship.
In 2020-2021, the average international undergraduate student tuition fee in Canada is $32,019 for the year. At McMaster, Wang said that her tuition is roughly $34,000 for the year.
In 2020-2021, the average international undergraduate student tuition fee in Canada is $32,019 for the year. At McMaster, Wang said that her tuition is roughly $34,000 for the year. Despite the fact that Wang is now attending lectures that are pre-recorded rather than in-person, tuition has only increased since last year. Although recordings may be necessary due to the pandemic, Wang expressed that recorded lectures are much less captivating and motivating for her to attend.
If international students wish to return to Canada, it is also challenging for them to do so during this time. According to the current travel restrictions, students who applied for their study permit to Canada after March 18 are not allowed to return at all, and those who applied before have no guarantee that the border will allow them entrance and can still be refused entry on a case-by-case basis.
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The university is rapidly transitioning its services to a near exclusively digital world for the first time. They have recently created the "Where in the world are you?" survey on Mosaic, which they say will be used to determine where students are located for the fall term.
The survey comes eight months after the initial school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. It was also initiated four months after the university had made the decision for all classes to be held online during the fall term.
"I want to see the university doing something on this matter. Right now, I feel my needs are being neglected,” Deng said.
With months in advance to plan and navigate the digital world, international students are still not receiving adequate support for their academics.
"I want to see the university doing something on this matter. Right now, I feel my needs are being neglected,” Deng said.
Although we live in Canada, this election will have a huge impact on Canadian students
By: Saad Ahmed, Contributor
In 1969, the late Pierre Trudeau told Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, “Living next to [the United States] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
Now more than ever, this phrase resonates with Canadians — particularly students. With a high-stakes American presidential election around the corner, Canadian students should be concerned about its implications.
Up and down the ticket there are stark differences in political ideologies, governing styles and personalities. Many issues have clear implications for Canadians, as candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden offer some strikingly different policy positions.
With carbon pricing, a progressive Pan-Canadian Framework and billions of dollars invested in green infrastructure, Canada has become a global leader in the fight against climate change. However, because the US produces such a large share of global greenhouse gas emissions, regression in their climate policy could have more of an impact on Canada than Canada’s own climate policies.
With a high-stakes American presidential election around the corner, Canadian students should be concerned about its implications.
Recently, many Canadians in British Columbia felt the harsh effects of the smoke from the Oregon and Washington wildfires — a reminder of the inextricable climate link between Canada and the United States. Trump pledged to expand oil drilling, increase pipelines and decrease environmental regulations. On the other hand, Biden planned to invest heavily in clean energy, rejoin the Paris Agreement, implement green tariffs on countries that fail to cut emissions and even “transition from the oil industry” — a statement from the last debate that was met with plenty of controversy.
Besides personal changes to mitigate climate change, civic engagement and policy support by Canadian students are effective in bringing light to climate consequences, even if these policies aren’t Canadian.
In terms of trade, platforms from both candidates are mostly unfavourable to Canadians. Biden promises to increase “Buy American” policies and continue disputes regarding commodities like softwood lumber. However, he has said that he would consider dropping Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs that Premier Doug Ford notably called a “slap in the face” to Canadians.
Recently, right as Canada was about to unveil plans for retaliation with $3.6 billion in tariffs of its own, Trump walked back the 10 per cent tariff. However, he has indicated that he may “reimpose the tariff” as early as the end of this year. Overall, the Trump plan promises a more aggressive trade policy that includes more tariffs and duties if he wins the upcoming election — a move that is sure to cause continued chaos.
With Ontario as a major supplier of steel and automobiles and Quebec as a key supplier of aluminum, Canada is the largest exporter of both commodities to the US. Thus, Canadian output is affected by these tariffs, having an effect on economic activity, jobs and consumer price inflation. For Canadian students, the economic implications of these trade policies will be felt as they enter the job market — and for years to come — making it all the more important to care about this election.
For Canadian students, the economic implications of these trade policies will be felt as they enter the job market — and for years to come — making it all the more important to care about this election.
Between the two candidates, immigration is one of the more polarizing topics of discussion. If Trump wins, he has pledged to continue restrictive temporary work programs like the recent overhaul of H1-B visas. The H1-B visa allows foreign workers, including Canadians, to work in specialized roles in American companies. Overhauling this visa will cut off Canadians from the American job market, even if they have excellent job qualifications.
Trump’s immigration policies have also resulted in an influx of international students to Canada. From the election of Trump in 2016 to now, the number of study permits issued to international students by Canada jumped up by a whopping 50 per cent. According to Reuters, this is a major economic plus, as foreign students contribute approximately $21 billion annually to Canada’s gross domestic product.
On the other hand, Biden has promised to reverse Trump’s H1-B visa freeze, meaning that the prospect of working in a specialized job in the United States when it is reopened to Canadian students and those looking for work. However, this means that Canada could potentially lose some of the international students and skilled foreign workers it attracted. Though, this also means less competition for Canadian students applying for these competitive positions – something to keep in mind.
For American students studying in Canada, voting is imperative. Given the United States’ role as a global superpower, the policies and decisions that are made by American leaders — such as the travel ban from predominantly Muslim countries — can have devastating international impacts.
While issues such as controlling the current pandemic and cooperating on a COVID-19 vaccine become increasingly discussed in the international world, Americans abroad are getting more involved. Steve Nardi, the chair of Democrats Abroad Canada, stated that membership in Democrats Abroad Canada has grown by 73 per cent since 2016, with 35 per cent of this growth occurring in the seven-month leadup to this election. Canadians that volunteer with this organization help out with digital canvassing — using their social networks to make sure that Americans and dual citizens in their communities vote from abroad.
To get more involved, students at McMaster can strengthen their knowledge of U.S. politics and history by enrolling in classes like POLSCI 3I03: Topics in American Politics, HISTORY 4JJ3: U.S. Foreign Relations, HISTORY 2RR3: U.S. History Since the Civil War and HISTORY 2IS3: Scandal and Intrigue in American Political and Social History.
Joining politically-affiliated organizations on campus like Democrats Abroad can offer students a chance to meet and discuss issues with others that share their views and help with voter outreach. Clubs and local political organization chapters also engage in activities to get out the vote for each election cycle. With the number of Americans living in Canada, voter outreach efforts can genuinely make the numerical difference for victory in close down-ballot races.
With the number of Americans living in Canada, voter outreach efforts can genuinely make the numerical difference for victory in close down-ballot races.
Fewer than 80,000 voters in three swing states decided the U.S. election in 2016 and it is becoming increasingly apparent that this election will again come down to only tens of thousands of votes. Outside the United States, Canada has the most Americans eligible to vote — 620,000 — which is more eligible voters than in Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming or the District of Columbia. However, data from the 2016 election indicated that only about five per cent of these 620,000 voters in Canada exercised their civic duty.
The implications of the American election extend far beyond domestic issues. As the leaders of tomorrow in a neighbouring country, Canadian students should do their part in staying informed regarding policy in the United States. Undoubtedly, much of it will affect us in the long run.
