In the last of our Bill Nye interview series, Lindsay Hamilton and Jemma Wolfe talk to Bill about the biggest problem facing the world today.

 

 

Hamilton will soon be home to a bike share program. Starting this summer, a partnership between the City of Hamilton and Social Bicycles will offer 750 bikes at 80 stations across the city.

The bicycles will be available to users for a small fee ranging from $3 single-rides to $85 year-long memberships. Bikes can be reserved using the Social Cyclist smartphone app or by using a keyboard on any of the bicycles. An unlock code then frees the bike, and riders can keep the bicycle for as long as is paid for. Bikes must be returned to one of the 80 hub locations at the end of the allotted time to avoid extra fees.

“We’re excited to add this travel choice to our existing range of transportation options to make travelling even more convenient and sustainable,” said Peter Topalovic, Project Manager of Transportation Demand Management with the City of Hamilton.  “Bike Share is the fastest growing transportation mode in the world, complementing existing public transit and providing first and last mile connectivity by filling in transit gaps.  It’s a healthy, sustainable, and affordable form of public transportation.”

Exact implementation dates are currently unknown, with their website simply promising to have the program in place “by summer 2014.”

The 80 docking station locations are also still to be determined. Members of the public are encouraged to suggest where stations should be by using the app or by sending an email to info@hamiltonbikeshare.ca. So far, votes have favourited a McMaster location as well as many hotspots near Jackson Square in the downtown core.

In introducing a public bike share program, Hamilton is following in the footsteps of other major Canadian and international cities. While bike share programs are a successful staple in European metropolises, Canadian cities have had some difficulty sustaining the systems. Toronto’s bike program, introduced in 2011, went bankrupt in 2013 from underuse, leaving the City to take on the full amount of the cost.

In Vancouver, an integrated bike share and helmet rental system is being proposed with its own slew of complications. That program is due to roll out this spring.

 

Four additional people were charged today by Hamilton police in connection with the Nov. 30, 2013 murder of McMaster student Tyler Johnson.

The arrests followed raids of three Hamilton residences. Police have charged Hamiltonians Chad Davidson, 34, and Joshua Barreira, 25, with first degree murder. Police have yet to publicly identify two others, a man and a woman, who have been charged with being accessories after the fact.

These arrests took place several months after the initial arrest of 19-year-old Brandon Barreira on Dec. 11, 2013, who was charged with first degree murder.

Johnson, a 30-year-old fourth year engineering student, was shot in the chest in the early hours of Nov. 30 following an altercation outside of Vida La Pita and Tim Hortons on King Street West near Hess Village.

More to come.

 

It was one year ago this Valentine’s Day that I found my grandpa’s body.

On an otherwise usual Thursday, I arrived home after an anthropology tutorial to find him laid down by a heart attack at the side door of the home we shared. He hadn’t made it inside.

A lot of things changed on that day. I lost my housemate, my grandfather and my friend. The world lost a scientist, a beer-connoisseur and a remarkable human being. As anyone who has lost loved ones will know, that day was the first day of a journey I didn’t choose to embark upon; one I didn’t even realize was in motion until long afterwards.

Such journeys, of course, are not without their ups and downs – some immediate, some down the road. I found out what it feels like to ride in the front of an ambulance in a state of shock. I know what it’s like to hold the hand of a person you’ve known your whole life, when their hand has no life left in it. I realized the inanity of the things we cling to, as I grieved the melting of the snow bank into which he had fallen.

I discovered what it is to have the association of an innocent object trigger a wave of uncontrollable sadness, and that this is inevitable as much in private as it is in public. I became anxious that I would lose more people that I loved suddenly, soon, without warning. I also questioned the fact that grandpa died on Valentine’s Day.

“Why did it have to happen on Valentine’s Day?” I repeatedly asked myself. I suppose I was worried that this celebratory day would be spoiled by sadness, or that the inescapable nature of such a heavily advertised day would be hard to bear.

I’ve discovered that neither is the case. In fact, my feelings are quite contrary.

I’m now glad Valentine’s was the day. For what other day of the year is entirely devoted to love? Behind the commercialism, superficiality and fanfare of February 14, the essence of love remains.

Valentine’s has become a reminder of my wonderful, supportive friends, of the strength of my family and the love I have for them, and of the romantic love I share with my partner. Valentine’s isn’t just for lovers - it’s for love of all sorts: friendly, familial and romantic. And it’s for the kind of love that lingers in my memory of a time, a place and a person who is lost but never forgotten – especially on Feb. 14.

When Bill Nye came to campus in December 2013, he sat down with Jemma Wolfe (Silhouette executive editor) and Lindsay Hamilton (CFMU community outreach coordinator) to share personal thoughts and stories on his life and work. Every Sunday at 6 p.m. throughout January and February we’ll be releasing a new video for you to enjoy.

In this third video, Bill talks about his work on The Science Guy show and why he cares so much about getting people excited about science.

TRIGGER WARNING: the following article contains references to extreme violence, rape, sexual assault and child mutilation all in graphic detail and may be triggering to some people.

Following this morning's announcement by McMaster University that the Redsuits engineering student group have been suspended due to violent and sexist material in a songbook, the songbook in question has surfaced.

The 35-page document, which details the lyrics to 28 songs and chants, contains material that is extremely offensive and, in the case of explicit references to child abuse, underage sexual behaviour, sexual assault on inebriated people and physical assault, promotes illegal and inhumane activity.

One particular song, "S&M Man" (found on page 34-5), is an inconceivably grotesque account of physically and sexually torturing women. Some verses include "Who can take a cheese grater / Strap it to his arm / Shove it up her cunt / And make some pussy parmesan?" and "Who can take a chainsaw / Cut the bitch in two / Fuck the lower half / And give the other half to you?"

Informal conversations with McMaster engineering students suggest that the book is a product of a small group of students and not representative of the Redsuits as a whole. Many engineering students were not even aware of the book's existence.

The University has denounced the book in question and as a preliminary sanction, has barred Redsuits from organizing events for the remainder of the year, including Welcome Week 2014 when they are most active with first-year students on campus. A full investigation conducted by an external agency has been promised by the University.

The McMaster Students Union supports the University's decisions. "Derogatory and degrading chants have no place on this campus," said MSU president David Campbell in response to the situation.

The McMaster Engineering Society released a statement via their Facebook page, stating that "this book is not, and has never been, distributed or endorsed by the McMaster Engineering Society. The content unequivocally opposes what the MES represents."

More to come.

Engineering Redsuits Songbook - Silhouette Redacted Copy *trigger warning* by TheSilhouette

The University has learned of a Redsuit songbook containing "sexist, violent and degrading material" and has taken action by formally suspending the large student group.

“The material is highly repugnant,” said provost and vice-president, Academic David Wilkinson.  “The University has clear expectations that everyone on campus show respect for each other.  The engineering songbook that we have learned about is highly disturbing and is the exact opposite to everything for which the University stands."

Effective immediately, the Redsuits are barred from organizing or participating in any campus events or activities. They will also not be allowed to organize any Welcome Week 2014 activities, which is the time of year when the Redsuits are traditionally most active on campus.

"Sadly, the small number of students within the organization and the redsuits they wear have now become symbols of intolerance and a sexist mindset that has no place at the University or in our society," said Ishwar Puri, dean of engineering.

The University is launching an external investigation into the matter and has vowed "rigorous scrutiny" for any forthcoming McMaster Engineering Society events. MES is the parent organization of the Redsuits, who are known for wearing red jumpsuits around campus.

 

More to come

For most people, getting called a clown is meant as a joke or insult. But for Cirque du Soleil veteran Gordon White, it’s a full-time job. As part of Cirque’s travelling show Varekai, White has clowned all around the world and will be bringing his talents to Hamilton next week.

True to Cirque’s characteristic storytelling aspect to their circus shows, White’s character The Skywatcher is described as a mad scientist and collector of the world’s memories. This central character acts as an enchanted ringleader, guiding the audience through the magical forest-themed show.

“In this little society in the forest, there’s a nymph character [called] The Promise. The Skywatcher, he’s always trying to make the world better. So, he’s always building these gizmos to attract a higher entity, which in this case, is the Icarus character,” White explained.

Icarus “crashes at the beginning of the show into the forest, and The Skywatcher gets to spend the show trying to match these two together. Once they’re married and together, everything will be just fine.”

Interspersed within that story arch are the acrobatics Cirque is known for. Aerial hoops and straps suspended above the stage, “Russian” moving swings acrobatics, and traditional juggling are all acts in the show.

White is in charge of providing the comic relief from such intense physical performances, a responsibility he enjoys. The ability to play to the audience in the midst of a tightly scripted show adds variety to White’s performance. “There are moments where you could take advantage of audience reactions or something that happens on stage. It’s very, very rigidly structured, but there is room for some improve,” he said.

Cirque du Soleil scouted White in the early 2000s. At the time, he was in his home-town of Vancouver putting on one-man shows at corporate events and festivals. “They heard about me through some other clown friends that I had and they were casting a clown for Saltimbanco,” he explained. “They wanted a replacement for a clown that was leaving.”

White has since spent nearly a decade as a clown with Cirque and has performed in Saltimbanco, Banana Shpeel and Kooza as well as reprising his role in Varekai for this tour. He’s well accustomed to the rigorous touring schedule and has developed a routine while on the road.

Every day begins with a late start. “We get up late to mid-morning because after doing a late-night show… it takes two or three hours to wind down enough to go to sleep,” White said. Then, he checks up on his emails and stays in touch with people and business he has back home before heading to the site of the next show. “The acrobats, they train every day but the clowns - we pretty much just show up with enough time to do our makeup and do a physical warm-up,” White said. The makeup application process, however, should not be underestimated.

“Everybody does their own makeup. Mine takes almost two hours to do,” he said. “It’s just quite detailed and there’s many layers, too. There’s a grease base and then you need to powder everything and then you go over all the same stuff with other powders,” he continued. “Some are wet and you need to powder on the wet and blend it before it dries… It takes almost two hours to put and takes only two minutes to take off.”

There are other difficulties with being on tour. “The most challenging part is just being ‘on’ when you need to be, whether you’re sick or injured or just don’t feel like doing it,” White said. “But as soon as you step on stage you need to ‘be’ there. And as clowns we depend on the audience’s response.”

White has found that different countries have different senses of humour. “Every country has a different response,” he said. “In Asia, they’re really into the broad slapstick stuff. When we got to Brazil, they wanted more sophisticated [humour],” he added.

But in the heat of the performance, White enjoys letting it all go. “I just be in the moment. I mean, it’s a clown thing…  It just happens.”

Catch Gordon White onstage in Varekai at Copps Coliseum from Wednesday, Jan. 29 through to Sunday, Feb. 2. Tickets are available at the Copps Coliseum box office or through Ticketmaster.

 

 

Westdale residents voiced their fierce opposition to the University’s proposed rezoning of a house on Forsyth Avenue at a community consultation meeting last week.

“It’s truly an incredibly stupid idea,” said one audience member at the Jan. 16 meeting in Gilmour Hall. The idea, to move services into an off-campus house, is attractive to a University short on space but unwelcome by the neighbourhood.

McMaster purchased 88 Forsyth Avenue in December for $735,000 with the intent of turning it into student lounge and office space. The Society of Off-Campus Students, Student Community Support Network and the Off-Campus Resource Centre are three MSU and McMaster organizations that would inhabit this 3,000 square foot home.

The thought to relocate these services came from the successful test drive of a SOCS student lounge in a vacant Wentworth House prior to its demolition last year. SOCS had temporarily taken over the old Phoenix restaurant and bar area and had found that having a large, dedicated lounge and quiet study space was beneficial to off-campus students between classes.

The Forsyth house would operate in a similar fashion. The building would be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and may be open on some weekends. Students would be welcome to access the formal services offered by SCSN and OCRC or enjoy quiet study space, a lounge and kitchen area, and a basement games room.

Supervision of the space would be provided daily by regular campus security personnel.

While no structural changes are planned for the blueprint of the house, fire regulations for a rezoning would require reinforced separation between floors. Other planned renovations include painting, updating the wiring and re-carpeting.

The property was previously owned by the Muslim Association of Canada, which used the space in a way similar to what the University has planned. Under the Association’s ownership, the property was called Cordoba House and operated as a library and resource centre for Muslim students. Since it was not being used as a family home, Cordoba House had been run without the proper zoning status for the past many years. The quiet nature of its mandate and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule, however, meant that the neighbours who understood its illegal zoning status weren’t bothered. Now, with fears of late-night activity and backyard parties, the community is ready to challenge the University on its intentions and oppose the rezoning of the house.

Residents potentially affected can lobby City officials to veto the rezoning. A presumed decrease in property value and potential noise issues were the major concerns of the community members opposed to rezoning the property for non-residential use. “We will fight this all the way,” said one Forsyth Avenue resident at the meeting. Rezoning involves a lengthy application to the City and progress is not expected for several months.

The significant renovations to the roof and windows will be put on hold until the zoning matter is resolved. In the meantime, the property has been added to McMaster’s regular groundskeeping and security rotation.

No new occupants were identified for the spaces in the student centre that OCRS, SOCS and SCSN would vacate if their relocation to 88 Forsyth is successful.

 

Campaigning may have only been officially happening for a few hours, but it's been an eventful day for MSU presidential hopefuls.

Already, Thulashini Sooriyadas has dropped out of the race. The third-year geography student pulled out of the election for unknown reasons. She could not be reached for comment. Sooriyadas is an event coordinator for Free the Children at McMaster and an executive on the McMaster Creative Arts Dance Team.

For the five remaining candidates, it's been a day filled with putting posters up all around campus and launching websites and Facebook pages supporting their campaign.

Jacob Brodka and Teddy Saull both started the day strong. Websites for Brodka and Saull were the first to go live. Jyssika Russell has promised a forthcoming site, jyss.ca, on her facebook page.

So far, Israa Ali and Jason Wolwowicz have not launched websites or Facebook pages.

Update (Jan. 20): Jyssika Russell's website is now live and Israa Ali's website has been launched but is not yet filled with content.