Premier Doug Ford’s recent move to make ancillary fees optional can affect a number of valuable groups and services on campus. On a campus that prides itself in student life as much as McMaster does, many of these groups are left to question what is to be deemed essential by the university. The Silhouette is in a similar position.
The Silhouette has been McMaster’s student-run newspaper for 89 years. For a university without a journalism program, this is particularly impressive. We’ve been through generations of passionate staff members, critical eyes at city hall and decades of keeping McMaster's students and administration accountable.
This past year, we've turned around our online presence and have reached up to 300 per cent more people through our coverage. Our audience engagement is the highest is has ever been and more people are relying on the Silhouette as their immediate news source. Not only that, but over the past decade we’ve won awards, both locally and nationally, for the work that we put into this paper.
If the Silhouette were to dissolve at the hands of a government who campaigned for free speech on campus, what would that look like? Local news outlets do not have the capacity to cover McMaster or student specific news, nor do they have the capacity to cover issues in student government. For the most part, if you look at any student-centric stories that local news sources have covered, student media has covered the same stories first.
If you need an example of this, Ryerson’s student-run newspaper, the Eyeopener, was first to report on a story in which the five-member executive team that governs the Ryerson Student Union had spent over $250,000 using the union’s credit cards. After the Eyeopener reported on this, several major news sites, including the CBC, CP24, BlogTO, Vice and CTV News among other major outlets released coverage on the matter.
If you need an example of something that is closer to home, following our coverage of the Hamilton Student Mobilization Network’s protest at McMaster on Jan. 30, Cable 14 Hamilton covered the protest and used our video footage in their segment, City Matters.
We have continuously proven ourselves as a valuable service that the McMaster Students Union provides, but we’re left in the dark about what our next steps are to prevent the total dissolving of a paper with a legacy as long as the Sil’s. For the past two weeks, we’ve been having long meetings with MSU members, Canadian University Press representatives, lawyers and university administration to conjure up the best course of action and hopefully, we can continue to be a valuable news source for years to come.
By: Drew Simpson
On June 26, the McMaster University board of governors, specifically the executive and governance committee, approved recommendation from the senate executive committee to establish the Centre for Networked Media and Performance.
According to the Oct. 18 board of governors meeting agenda, the vision for the CNMAP is “the production, exploration and analysis of new forms of expression, communication and collaboration enabled by networks and networking techs.”
As highlighted in the agenda, the approval for the centre comes as the rapid proliferation of technology continues to outstrip discussions about their human uses and impacts. At the heart of the technological revolution is the advent of “the network,” namely connections such as shared software, online communications and new electronic and data environments.
“Humanities research has a special role to play in this context,” reads part of the agenda.
“Research and research-creation in the media and performing arts offer a setting in which new configurations of our networked landscape can be imagined, actualized, evaluated, and transformed in experimental ways.”
As of its launch this past summer, the CNMAP has been utilizing the networked imagination laboratory and the black box theatre in L.R. Wilson to organize workshops, conferences, interdisciplinary collaborations and other forms of artist-centric research.
According to the board of governors agenda, the centre has interest in hosting an interdisciplinary national sound conference at McMaster in 2019.
Some examples of the ‘nodes,’ or research spaces, that are said to comprise the centre include the cybernetic orchestra, pulse lab, networked imagination laboratory, software studies reading group and the sounds studies reading group.
The the CNMAP also connects these nodes through an online platform aimed at facilitating communication and collaboration.
Some anticipated CNMAP expenses include national and international conferences, server software costs for the online platform and the cost of graphic design and promotion, which can involve hiring undergraduate multimedia students.
Revenues allocated to these expenses include the seed funding of $40,000 by the humanities faculty vice president of research.
In its first semester, the CNMAP was involved with organizing and promoting a number of events, including four free live coding workshops and the “Imaginary Landscapes” exhibition, which occurred in Dec. 2018 and featured soundscape performances, a cybernetic orchestra concert and an informative artist-centric poster demonstration.
Students interested in receiving updates and getting involved with the CNMAP can contact David Ogborn, the centre’s director, at ogbornd@mcmaster.ca and/or follow the centre on Facebook and Twitter.
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My experience began with trying to write the best album reviews possible. It ended with the want to help the McMaster community by holding people, organizations and institutions accountable for their actions. Humble beginnings grew into the desire to create a high enough quality media source to rival journalism schools across the country despite not having one.
I wanted to help grow the Silhouette into one of the most credible media sources in Hamilton with a bunch of undergrads in programs that may not be related to journalism at all. Many of our paid staff had little experience of this nature or scale. Many of our volunteers had no experience at all.
Over my last five years of contributing, a lot of people have entered the windowless basement only to leave as lifelong friends. Generations of you have come and gone since I was introduced to the paper. You, as extraordinary members of society during your time here, have been unforgettable inspirations to my development as a writer and as a person.
No matter our personal circumstances, no matter how big the story and no matter how short the deadlines, we could always put our trust in each other to put out quality content week after week with laughs and beaming smiles in an office where brightness barely radiates otherwise.
For Sil alumni, I remember the late night sports games we watched as time ticked passed midnight and the want to watch just one more play before getting to work putting content on the website. Heated arguments over things as trivial as a top 10 movies list were funny in retrospect, but were battles to prove that your perspectives were valid and deserved consideration at the time.
I even remember how empty our mentions on social media became when my favourite trash talkers graduated. These were filled again years later with continuous support from members of the community who enjoyed our work.
These lofty, idealistic ambitions and goals were always meant to pass on the confidence and trust you had in me to a generation of Silhouette members you may never meet. I am sure that this year’s staff will understand the influence you have left on me with their own memories and experiences from this year, and I only hope that they remember me in a similar light to how I remember our times together.
For this year’s staff, I will always cherish the time we have spent together. The shouting, bad puns, food shared with friends, events attended throughout the year, the mix of vibrant and wonderful people and personalities have made this year better than I could have ever hoped for. Meetings with you all, a staff filled with members who were so eager to contribute, improve and share your work, reminded me of my humble beginnings and the feeling of pride from every piece published.
The responsibility has weighed heavily for the past five years to make my mentors and friends proud by trying to surpass the high standards they set. Our actions and words have the ability to help or hurt the people we trust and respect, and I hope mine have honoured you.
All I really wanted was to get a little bit closer to that ambitious vision so we could remember and respect the alumni that continue to leave their mark years after graduating and reach the full potential out of this year’s staff to create the highest quality product possible. I hope you are all proud of what we have accomplished.
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The title and kicker for the physical edition of this article were accidentally changed from what was originally planned for publication and do not represent the work of the author.
By: Humza Khan
Stephan Paddock’s actions of firing into a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, carrying out the most devastating shooting in US history has traumatized the world.
In addition, the media’s refusal to dub Paddock as a terrorist has ignited an important debate regarding the definition of terrorism.
My goal in writing this is to shed light on the debate surrounding the definition of terrorism and to suggest that there is a major problem of inconsistency in the labeling of individuals as terrorists.
Additionally, I aim to show the importance of debate in formulating a clear definition of what constitutes an act of terrorism and a terrorist.
If you Google the names Dylan Roof, Adam Lanza and now Stephan Paddock, and compare these with names with names like Omar Siddiqui Mateen, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Rizwan Farook, you will quickly realize that all of these men committed similar atrocious crimes intended at targeting and terrorizing the civilian population.
Where you will see an apparent difference, however, is how the media insisted on referring to Roof, Lanza and Paddock, and many others like them, as “lone wolves” or “shooters” while referring to the latter group of Muslims as “terrorists” and “jihadists”. This discrepancy has led me to question the definition of terrorism and to show the importance of labeling both groups of people the same.
Referring to the actions of Muslim men as “terroristic”, while simultaneously referring to same actions of westerners as “acts of pure evil” (as quoted by Donald Trump in the immediate aftermath of the Las Vegas Attack) is highly problematic.
The statements largely made by the media and by governmental officials directly and wrongfully reinforce the “us versus them” dichotomy by wrongfully reserving only the actions of Muslims as terroristic.
I distinctively remember going to McDonald’s the day after the Las Vegas attack and looking at the front page of the Toronto Sun with the heading “Act of pure evil”.
The same evening, I came across the heading “Terrorist attack in Edmonton”, referring to the stabbing of a police constable by Somalian refugee, Abdulahi Hasan.
My goal is not to suggest that Omar Siddiqui Mateen and others alike are not terrorists, but rather to suggest that the similar actions of Paddock should also have earned him the title of a terrorist because failing to do so strengthens the “us versus them” dichotomy and clouds the definition of terrorism.
The statements largely made by the media and by governmental officials directly and wrongfully reinforce the “us versus them” dichotomy by wrongfully reserving only the actions of Muslims as terroristic.
What I find rather interesting about the Las Vegas case is that the State of Nevada under the sections 202.4415 and 202.4439 of the Nevada Revised Statutes explicitly define terrorism as and terrorist as the following:
Terrorism: “any act that involves the use or attempted use of sabotage, coercion or violence which is intended to:
(a) Cause great bodily harm or death to the general population; or
(b) Cause substantial destruction, contamination or impairment of…”
Terrorist: “A person who intentionally commits, causes, aids, furthers or conceals an act of terrorism or attempts to commit, cause, aid, further or conceal an act of terrorism”.
From a legal standpoint, it is quite evident that Paddock’s actions of firing 281 rounds in 30 seconds in a crowd of 22,000 civilians earn him the title of a terrorist.
More importantly, however, is that even if we chose to call Paddock a lone wolf it is imperative that we also label Omar Siddiqui and others alike with the same label to ensure legitimacy and consistency.
As a graduate from the Justice, Political Philosophy and Law program at McMaster, one of the more valuable things I learned in my program was to critically evaluate information and arguments instead of taking them at face value.
It is this message that I leave you in reading this, to evaluate and analyze complex information and arguments that you see before blindly accepting them.
As informed McMaster students, and the leaders of tomorrow, it is our duty and responsibility to ask hard questions and debate complex issues and only then come to conclusions.
I urge you to critique and evaluate my opinions above, to debate openly with other students, because it is only through such discourse we can come to understand the complexity of these problems and become more informed in our opinions.
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In November of last year, a small act to amend the Canada Evidence Act and the Criminal Code was introduced to the Senate. The purpose of this was to help protect the confidentiality of journalistic sources.
There are two, main situations this would apply in. The first is allowing a journalist testifying in court to refuse to disclose information, except if the information cannot be obtained otherwise and if public interest in justice outweighs public interest in the source’s confidentiality. The second is that search warrants and court orders may only be issued for that information if there is no other way to obtain it or if the tradeoff for public interest in the first case applies.
There are a few other protections and contingencies, but those are the big ones. It is a decent start that has been long overdue. Gord Johns, an MP for the NDP, noted, “We need to follow the examples of countries such as Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in developing a shield law.”
While student newspapers across the country have largely been exempt from major controversy, there is a problem with this bill. How do you define what a journalist is?
This has changed over the months from being too broad to being too narrow. As of June 20, the definition of those protected with this bill is limited to only those whose main occupation is journalism. Freelancers and student journalists are not covered as a result.
While it is unlikely we would need to use anonymous sources in any circumstance in the near future, the inability to do so and the knowledge this is the case continues to put a barrier on what we can cover. If we cannot legally protect a source, why would a source ever come to us with a big story?
It is a rough situation caught up in semantics. My main fear is that we will be unable to be the check and balance McMaster deserves when the students most need it.
The only saving grace is that I, as Editor-in-Chief, should be allowed to take these stories on if these definitions persist. No one else on the Silhouette’s staff could be involved as this definition loophole may require them to reveal your identity.
Until these definitions change, please talk directly to me in-person or through shane.madill@thesil.ca if you have a story that warrants anonymity.
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Chukky Ibe, President of the McMaster Student Union, shared an open letter to the McMaster community entitled, “Trust Your Dopeness.” It is three pages long, but does not say much. At best, it is a motivational speech for you to keep doing your work.
The first page starts with a quote from “Blessings” by Chance The Rapper.
“I don’t make songs for free, I make ‘em for freedom. Don’t believe in kings, believe in the kingdom.”
The second part of this helps set up the rest of the letter well. A lot of Ibe’s points relate to this with bravado about what the student leadership throughout the extensive amount of clubs already do, the influence of McMaster and its students in the city and the want for you to reach out and tell the union what support and resources you need. It would be difficult to argue against his respect for those who are involved in the community.
The issue becomes when student leadership alone is what is on display. When you look at all the pieces and praise presented, the only point that exists is what you can continue to do for the university. There is nothing about what he can do for you or what vision he has besides you continuing efforts.
He has four points mentioned in the letter:
None of these have a quantifiable goal or measurable end result. All them have plenty of responsibilities for you.
The first mentions, “By drawing on the strengths of student societies, the power of associations, and the supportive functions of student clubs, we can build stronger communities,” but fails to mention how he will help you do that.
The second mentions, “Students should not simply be passive recipients of programs, but should be engaged in the creation, development, and delivery of said programs,” which is just telling you to do more things with programs.
The third features lines like, “Through consolidation and flexibility of resources, we can continue to meet the needs of our student body,” but it is unknown how he would do this, what he feels needs consolidation or what he thinks the needs of our student body are.
There is no vision here. The letter fails to explain what his purpose is or how he can help you with anything.
The fourth has a different focus than only student leadership and initiatives.
“We will rely on the multitude of perspectives from communities across our beautifully diverse campus, and seek external perspectives where there is a lack of clarity on any given issue,” but mentions immediately after that the MSU should not play a role in the public sphere.
It is unknown what he deems to be the public sphere, but this is awkward considering all the clubs that work on public advocacy and larger issues in general and his boasting about the effectiveness of clubs, “… who will raise funds, awareness, and volunteers for local and global initiatives.” The only justification is if these do not count as examples of student leadership throughout our campus.
The fact that he and his vice-presidents have participated in initiatives such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes within the last month and the dramatic shift this has to last year’s active participation in advocating for the LRT also make this want to not play a role in the public sphere odd.
However, the yearlong plan is promising. At a substantial 4229 words and 14 pages, it details an extensive amount of goals, a rough timeline of what is a priority broken down by the summer, fall and winter terms and details the objectives, descriptions, benefits, difficulties, long-term goals, how they would be done and the partners needed for collaboration in a logical and systematic way.
It is great. You could always ask for more objectivity in the timeline and end results, but it is impressive nevertheless.
Where the letter fails to inspire confidence with minimal substance, a lot of tasks for you specifically instead of leadership from him and plenty of lip service, the plan should make you want to work towards those goals.
The letter is a failure without the plan, and even then does a poor job of communicating its intended message.
It does not make sense why the letter has been the emphasis to promote to McMaster students instead of the plan that takes up little more than a footnote on their website.
Give us substance and how you will lead us before asking us to take up the legwork. Complimenting what we have already been doing, then demanding we do more leaves a poor impression compared to a comprehensive package of how you are on the students’ side.
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Last summer I had an entire month without responsibilities. Between all my sleeping and eating I managed to squeeze in a few binge sessions of Empire, a delicious hip-hop soap opera, and Dance Moms, a show where mothers of child dancers bitch each other out in ways you didn’t think were possible. It was a wonderful time. When I returned to school and told my friends about the shows, mostly because I needed someone who will freak out about #WhoPushedRhonda down the stairs in Empire, I found myself defending my entertainment choices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb2KB0la1Sc
Some of my friends poked fun at me, and even if they didn’t, I always felt the need to justify my viewing of “bad” shows. I either acknowledged that I was a little stupid for watching them or I changed topics to one of my more “intellectual” pursuits to let them know that I’m not a complete bozo.
The danger of falling into this trap is that you undermine your self worth, which is silly, because as a university student, you’re definitely not an idiot. I’m a firm believer that while the vast majority of people are not geniuses, everyone is also intelligent in their own way. And enjoying a piece of stupid-as-hell entertainment doesn’t diminish that.
If it makes you feel better, you’re probably not alone in the consumption of dumb things. With smartphones and the state of mainstream media (there are seven versions of The Real Housewives), there are more dumb pursuits for you to choose than ever. There’s the cat game Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, pretty much every Seth Rogen movie and so much more. This means that pretty much everyone you know enjoys consuming something that’s dumb as balls.
Moreover, people often fail to acknowledge that not all dumb things are created equal. That is to say, to make a “good” dumb thing actually requires quite a bit of skill. Just watch Kingsmen: The Secret Service and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen back-to-back and you will see the difference. Both are absurd and crass, but only one is mind-numbingly dull and backwards. There is a hierarchy, and chances are what you enjoy has more worth in it than you give it credit for.
There’s also a good reason why you enjoy dumb things. They’re entertaining and allow you to temporarily escape from your world.
Watching something fun can take your mind off the stressors in your life. This is not to say you can’t get something from whatever dumb thing you’re doing. Good entertainment can discuss issues in society, showcase people’s talents and even introduce you to a worldview that you might otherwise not be privy to.
So next time you want to say Katy Perry is your favorite musician, let them hear you roar, because her music is catchy as hell and you don’t need to be ashamed that you’re not on the To Pimp a Butterfly bandwagon.
Photo Credit: Joel Arbaje
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There is a certain relationship between students and professors that makes students wary of approaching the people at the front of lecture halls.
Osamah Al-Gayyali, now a third-year Biochemistry student, decided to do something about this. He got the idea while at the Biochemistry Society’s “Meet the Profs” event in his second year, where he could not shake the feeling of fear when approaching professors. Ironically, the event was held specifically with the goal of fostering student professor relations.
When he saw his first semester professor Karun Singh, Al-Gayyali pulled him aside and took a different approach. He asked Singh if he would take a selfie with him. To his surprise, Singh agreed.
“I take my phone out and all of a sudden I see three other biochem students trying to squeeze in … So, I went on for the next two to three weeks, taking selfies with every single professor I knew. Dr. Yang, Dr. Miller, Eric Brown...” recalled Al-Gayyali.
From a single selfie came a collection, and from that collection Professors of McMaster was born. Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, Al-Gayyali decided to adapt the concept to showing students that professors are approachable.
Al-Gayyali decided that it was time to move past selfies, recruiting Annie Cheng to take pictures for the page instead. Cheng and Al-Gayyali were already well acquainted. In fact, all five team members behind the initiative were in the same biochemistry group.
“Except for Mohammad [Ali Khan]. He was the outsider,” they joked, clearly at ease with one another.
Already two years in the running, the Facebook page for Professors of McMaster is bound to feature at least one professor familiar to any given student. Each post involves a lengthy process.
“From the interviews, we try to get something out of them that they don’t present during lectures and stuff, so more of their personal side. But sometimes profs are uncomfortable with sharing that side of them,” said Cheng.
“So we ask them questions related to their education and history … their interests,” added Ali Khan.
When asked what is so intimidating about professors, the group joked around, saying “they were old and scary.” On a more sombre tone, it became apparent that the fact that professors hold your marks and sometimes even your future in their hands was a big factor. The other was the fear that professors were too wise and busy to glean any benefit from conversations with students – a myth that professors shot down immediately in interviews with Professors of McMaster.
“Because interviews are in their offices, I was worried it would be boring and look the same. But every prof has a different style, I find, which is interesting to me.”
Keeping things in perspective was another important message that professors seemed to communicate. “You know, at the time, you feel like you’re under a lot of strain but, in the grand scheme of things, like one midterm or test isn’t going to define your future. I think that’s an important message to send out to students,” said Nafis Hossain.
While the interviews follow interesting narratives, Cheng says that the pictures tell a story on their own. “When I first went in though, because [interviews are] all in their offices, I was worried it would be boring and look the same. But every prof has a different style, I find, which is interesting to me.”
In the future, Professors of McMaster hopes to start a webpage, where they can post full transcripts and audio clips of the interviews.
Photo Credit: Jon White/ Photo Editor
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Lore
In Lore, Aaron Mahnke tells true-life scary stories based on urban legends and supernatural folklore. This is an on-going series, with episodes being released bi-weekly — the most recent one came out on Monday. Mahnke is a writer of supernatural novels, which lends to his ability to flesh out these horrifically true stories into a narrative.
Release timing? Every two weeks
Length? 15 – 20 mins
Where? Spotify, iTunes, lorepodcast.com
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Serial
Each season of this podcast — hosted by Sarah Koenig — focuses on a different criminal case. The first season focused on Adnan Syed who had been found guilty on account of killing his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. We are now on the second season, which focuses on Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was captured and held by the Taliban for nearly five years.
Release timing? Weekly
Length? 30 mins – 1 hour
Where? iTunes, Stitcher, Pandora, serialpodcast.org
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Mystery Show
Starlee Kine solves every day mysteries. Listeners are able to submit personal mysteries that have plagued them for years, as long as the answer is not easily google-able. Thus far, there are only six episodes, but season two is in the works.
Release timing? TBA
Length? 30 mins – 1 hour
Where? iTunes, gimletmedia.com
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Revolutions
Mike Duncan is currently in his fourth season of this podcast series that examines political revolutions around the world. Duncan is rather serious in his delivery, but this is a strength, given that podcast’s content is focused on historical information and analysis.
Release timing?
Weekly
Length? 30 – 40 mins
Where? revolutionspodcast.com
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Criminal
As described on their website, Criminal consists of “Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.” For those of us who are still reeling from the first season of Serial, Criminal is a good replacement. This series is in its third season now.
Release timing?
Every two weeks
Length? 20 mins
Where? iTunes, Soundcloud, thisiscriminal.com
Photo Credit: Patrick Breitenbach
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I love a good subtweet. So long as it isn’t misogynistic, racist or a personal attack on my upbringing, I usually get a strange form of excitement from people sending pseudo-insults across cyberspace.
Working for a creative product, I am no stranger to people thinking they can freely insult our product because it is something visual and easy to critique. Sometimes these comments are harsh and unwelcome and leave me questioning our readers, but every now and again, a productive message gets filtered through. And those are the subtweets our paper lives for.
The Silhouette is McMaster’s student paper. Your student fees pay for it, and we want to represent you accurately. All of our content is made by student staff, and everyone here is part of the McMaster community and the MSU. We like hearing from you. We like knowing what you want from us.
It’s easy to throw a snarky insult our way and reap in the favourites on your Twitter or Facebook post, but what we’re really looking for is your honest concerns and advice for a product that will make you happy.
To help get this feedback, I am excited to announce a new initiative that will help you share your ideas, while also providing us with the constructive comments we’re hoping for. “Silvision” is a three-part campaign that includes a feedback survey and public forum, and will share the ways you can get involved and materialize your visions for your student paper. Subtweet or not, we want to get your input.
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