By: Neda Pirouzmand
One of the key issues that the MSU points out in the “Health and Wellness” policy paper is that referrals from the Student Wellness Centre are not tailored to the needs of students.
The MSU suggests that the SWC neglects to account for how students will reach community referrals or how much it will cost them.
The policy paper brings forward a number of recommendations to combat these issues, proposing the SWC connect with MSU peer support services to provide support for McMaster’s diverse student population.
The MSU also recommends that the SWC offer harm reduction services and feedback opportunities to students.
The policy paper also includes recommendations for other university stakeholders, suggesting that professors and teaching assistants be required to undergo mental health first aid training.
According to this policy paper, McMaster off-campus resource centre resources are underused by students. The OCRC has not posted on Facebook since April 2017.
Another issue is that demand is overtaking supply in the student housing market. The quantity and quality of available housing opportunities is on the decline.
In light of these issues, the MSU recommends the city of Hamilton to proceed with its proposed investment of $347,463 to hire three full-time employees for a two-year rental licensing pilot project beginning in 2019 to annually inspect buildings in Hamilton.
The MSU also suggests that McMaster seek more public-private partnerships to improve the supply of nearby student housing.
This policy paper first notes that McMaster has a ten year plan to make its campus “car free,” which would reduce accessibility by moving the HSR bus stop from University and Sterling Street to the McMaster Go bus station.
According to the paper, another accessibility concern lies in the fact that most McMaster professors neither consider nor actively incorporate strategies and recommendations outlined in McMaster’s accessibility resources.
The paper also points out that learning materials are often inequitable and the university has significant work to do when it comes to promoting and implementing accessible pedagogy.
The MSU puts forward a number of recommendations to improve the university’s accessibility practices.
The paper argues that all professors teaching in rooms fitted for podcasting should post podcasts and use accessible formats for supplementary class material.
In addition, the paper suggests that intramurals reduce their pre-playoff participation requirement from 50 to 30 per cent, as students with disabilities may not be able to make all games.
According to the paper, student accessibility services should have an open catalogue for student notes, where students in need would not be limited to resources from one student.
The dominant issue highlighted in this policy paper is the fact that faculty staff and many student groups do not receive mandatory anti-oppressive practices training.
In addition, according to the paper, McMaster Security Services has been involved in the excessive carding and racial profiling of students.
Another issue concerns the fact that there exists no record-keeping system of student demographics in relation to enrollment and dropout rates by faculty.
Students are also largely unaware of the McMaster Religious, Spiritual, and Indigenous Observances policy.
Some recommendations in the paper call for McMaster to explore alternative enrollment application streams for underrepresented groups.
The paper also suggests that applicants looking for research funding from Mcmaster identify how their research will appeal to or account for marginalized populations.
According to the paper, McMaster should mandate equity and diversity requirements for all undergrads.
Chairs of hiring committees, security staff, teaching assistants and faculty members should undergo mandatory AOP training.
Another recommendation calls for the EIO to investigate carding and racial profiling trends centered around McMaster Security Services.
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Finding off-campus housing can be a stressful experience for McMaster students for a variety of reasons, and it does not look like that will change anytime soon. With the increased number of students enrolled at the university, off-campus housing is becoming harder to find.
According to McMaster University official statistics, more than 27,000 full-time undergraduate students are enrolled at the university this year, a figure 20 per cent higher than the 22,558 undergrad students enrolled five years ago.
According to Andrew Parashis, a property manager at Spotted Properties, the largest property management in the McMaster community, the student housing supply has not been able to keep up with the rising demand.
The number of students seeking housing through Spotted Properties has tripled over the past year, easily surpassing the number of new properties the company has taken on.
“With McMaster taking on so many people, there are a lot of people saying they can’t find a house,” Parashis said.
Much of the increase in demand can be attributed to the increase in international students, who Spotted Properties work with regularly.
In 2014-2015, McMaster had 1,499 full-time international undergraduates. This year, that number has doubled.
According to Parashis, another contributing factor this year is the higher number of first year students that have come to Spotted Properties to find accommodation.
McMaster currently cannot accommodate all first-years in residence. Instead, only incoming first-years with an average of 83.5 per cent or higher are guaranteed residence placement.
To accommodate incoming students, the university is developing two new residences: the Peter George Living and Learning Centre, slated to open this fall, and an off-campus residence, scheduled for August 2021.
Yet, with the Peter George Living and Learning Centre adding only 500 beds, some first-year students will likely still have to find non-residence accommodations next year.
One of the byproducts of increased housing demand is higher prices.
“We’re renting houses out for an average of $550 dollars right now,” Parashis said. “Our most expensive places are about $700 a room, which is very high. The problem is there’s such a lack of good quality homes, so it allows landlords to demand high prices if they offer premium product.”
Students are also forced to live further from McMaster.
“We have people going as far as Dundurn to rent,” said Parashis.
These issues are compounded by existing problems in the student housing industry, such as pervasive landlord discrimination.
"Many landlords have negative stereotypes of people and have made judgement based on race, gender and even university program, which isn't fair,” said Parashis.
These biases make it frustrating for students, who are often not given an equal chance at securing a house.
An especially frustrating situation can occur when landlords break an agreement with students before a contract is signed or a payment is made.
Parashis says students independently negotiating with landlords are susceptible to this problem, leading them to employ companies like Spotted Properties, which use a standardized transaction process.
Spotted Properties, which is run by former McMaster students, is working to address these issues by ensuring contracts and policies align with current best practice guidelines and providing 24/7 service to tenants.
In addition, the company is working closely with agencies abroad to reserve homes for international students at the university.
The McMaster Students Union has also been working to improve students’ experiences with off-campus housing, pushing the city of Hamilton to go forward with a landlord licensing pilot project.
The MSU municipal affairs committee also launched a landlord rating website in January.
Despite these efforts, student housing issues are many, and the solutions remain unclear. Addressing them will likely require concerted efforts from all parties involved.
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By: Rida Pasha
McMaster Hospitality Services offers meal express plans for purchase to all students, staff and faculty. Users can swipe their McMaster University ID card to easily access the range of food choices on-campus, as well as at participating restaurants off-campus.
While this may be a convenient solution for those that want to purchase food on-campus, it can pose a problem for many students living in residence.
Each student living on-campus is required to purchase a mandatory meal plan ranging from $2,975 to $4,735. For many students who are unable or don’t prefer to cook or store food, this meal plan can be a relief.
Meal plan options range from minimum, light, regular and varsity, each increasing in price, allowing students to choose the option that best suits their needs. Each plan is suggested based on how often the student is on campus, how much they regularly eat and how much they can afford.
Since the meal plan is paid in advance, many students and parents feel a sense of security knowing that they food is always available throughout the entire academic year.
With tuition and residence fees on the rise, forcing the purchase of a meal plan places an unnecessary financial strain on students. This can create a boundary against students being able to live on-campus.
Additionally, mandatory meal plans limit students’ options to eat as the plan restricts students’ to eating on-campus with only a few participating off-campus restaurants.
While McMaster does try to offer a variety of food options, eating at the same places daily can be tiring for many students, especially for those that are on campus during weekends and only go home during long breaks.
The meal plan becomes an unnecessary hassle for those that seek to try out new restaurants, prefer to eat off-campus or even just wish to eat out less.
Looking more deeply into the structure of meal plans, the money within the paid meal plans are divided into two categories: basic and freedom.
The basic account is nonrefundable and is used for most on-campus locations. The freedom account is fully refundable and is used for specific off-campus restaurants, confectionary, personal grooming items and convenience products.
There is more money allocated to the basic account than the freedom account since students are likely to be on-campus more.
However, when the freedom account money runs out, students can’t transfer money from the basic to the freedom account in order to take full advantage of their meal plan.
This means that when the freedom account is depleted, students either have to add additional money into that account or can no longer use their meal plan at participating off-campus restaurants.
Students are then left with only on-campus food options, limiting the variety of food available using their already-expensive meal plan.
At the very least, students living in Bates and Mary Keyes residences should be able to make the decision to opt-out of mandatory meal plans, since they have apartment and suite-style rooms equipped with kitchens.
Each kitchen includes a fridge, stove, an oven in Bates, a microwave in Mary Keyes and cupboard space to store food, as well as a full-sized fridge shared amongst the roommates.
Although Hospitality Services offers a reduced meal plan for students living in these residences, the amenities provided make it reasonable for students to live on-campus without requiring a meal plan. Reduced meal plan are still, at a minimum, an added $2,975 cost.
Unlike McMaster, the University of Waterloo allows students with a personal kitchen in their residence to choose whether they would like to purchase a meal plan or not.
Following suit, McMaster University needs to consider the circumstances and preference of students by making all meal plans optional.
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By: Tanvi Pathak
In March, McMaster Students Union is slated to release its second annual municipal budget submission to Hamilton city council.
According to Shemar Hackett, the MSU associate vice president (Municipal Affairs), the budget submission will prioritize transit, student housing, student employment, bylaws and enforcement and lighting.
After consulting students and reviewing data from The Your City survey, the MSU decided these key areas were ones that stood out as issues that needed immediate attention.
The committee’s decision to focus on these areas is also linked to the rising demand for off-campus housing.
According to Andrew Parashis, a property manager at Spotted Properties, the largest property management in the McMaster community, demand for student housing has soared in recent years.
Parashis notes that with the increase of local and international students attending McMaster, the waiting list for students seeking accommodations through Spotted Properties has tripled in the last year alone.
The municipal budget submission will also focus on accessible employment opportunities.
The union’s education department and municipal affairs committee’s recommendations aim to offer proactive solutions for each issue and improve Hamilton’s attractiveness to students and recent McMaster grads.
One of the committee’s recommendations is for the city of Hamilton to implement a lighting audit across Ward 1.
Hackett emphasized that there are neighborhoods off-campus substantially lacking in visibility. As a result, many students do not feel comfortable walking home late at night after classes.
A lighting audit would reduce these issues in these neighborhoods and identify priority locations for new street lights.
The committee reached out to the Ward 1 councilor Maureen Wilson, who was receptive to the committee’s recommendation and is confident that the proposal will be valuable to McMaster and Ward 1.
Another recommendation calls for city council to move forward with the landlord licensing project discussed in December.
Hackett and Stephanie Bertolo, MSU vice president (Education), articulated their stance on landlord licensing to Ward 8 city councilor Terry Whitehead, who sits on the Rental Housing sub-committee.
Since then, the motion to implement a pilot project was brought to council and endorsed by many councilors.
Prior to the development of the budget submission, the committee consulted city officials.
The committee plans to continue to meet with the city staff and councillors to push for their recommendations and make them a priority for the council.
Thus far, they have met with Terry Cooke, CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation, to discuss student engagement and retention and the ways in which organizations can support one another in the future.
The municipal affairs committee has also been successful in implementing its Landlord Rating system, a platform developed by the MSU education department.
The landlord licensing project, which the committee has also been lobbying for, got the Hamilton city council rental housing sub committee’s stamp of approval and will be put forth into discussion during the next city council meeting.
“The council has been extremely receptive to all our points about the agreements we put forth,” said Hackett, adding that the MSU budget submission has proven to be a valuable resource for lobbying municipal stakeholders.
Over the next few weeks, the municipal affairs committee will meet with city councilors and community stakeholders to advocate for their budget submission proposals.
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By: Kashyap Patel
The safety and wellbeing of the student population should be the top priority of any respectable university. On Jan. 29, McMaster University chose to prioritize profits over the safety of their students.
Despite heavy snowfall and icy conditions, McMaster remained open because “crews [had] spent the night clearing snow and cleaning walkways.” The university simply advised their students to take care when travelling to campus.
Crews have spent the night clearing snow and cleaning walkways. The University will open for classes this morning and all events and activities will take place as scheduled. Please take care travelling to campus.
— McMaster University (@McMasterU) January 29, 2019
McMaster’s Storm Emergency policy states that the university will be closed “when severe weather poses a danger to students, staff and faculty while on campus or if the weather would prevent large numbers of them from coming to campus or returning safely to their homes.”
For students living on-campus, the inclement weather did not pose as serious of a concern. However, for students and staff who live off-campus and commute, this decision put their safety at risk as roads and pathways leading to the campus were not adequately cleared.
In the opinion of many students on social media, the cancellation of classes should have been deemed a necessity. Students used the closure of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board schools, which are located in the same area as McMaster, to support their views.
Due to the inclement weather, all schools and administrative buildings are closed and transportation is cancelled today, Jan 29. All exams scheduled for today will be written tomorrow, Jan 30.
Enjoy the snow day! ❄️ pic.twitter.com/WpmHYJnFAD
— HWDSB (@HWDSB) January 29, 2019
Many students could not make it to campus due to Go bus cancellations and delays. The university clearly overlooked these legitimate concerns despite the potential negative impacts on students’ academic standings.
This incident begs the question: does McMaster value profits over the safety of its students? Given this instance, I believe the answer is yes. This decision was careless and irresponsible considering that most students attending McMaster either commute or live off-campus. These severe weather conditions also made it impossible for students using accessibility devices to safely reach campus.
Furthermore, many students that braved the conditions and commuted to campus found out that their instructors had cancelled their classes. The lack of coordination between the university and its faculty led to students unnecessarily putting their safety at risk.
Students also pointed out that several walkways on-campus were not cleared even though the university claimed otherwise. McMaster should be more truthful about the statements they disseminate to the public. Students use this information to make decisions about their commute and how they navigate the campus in a safe manner.
https://twitter.com/obeng_lily/status/1090300759802109952
It is difficult to pinpoint what sources of information the university used to inform their decision. The weather forecast predicted a snow storm at approximately 4 p.m. the day prior. The local facilities in Hamilton such as the YMCA and public libraries were also closing for the day. Buses and trains were also delayed or canceled in several locations throughout the southern Ontario area.
McMaster University should take a multi-faceted approach when making weather-related closure decisions. Transportation, safety and the effectiveness of the clearing crew needs to be evaluated before making a decision that can impact the safety of thousands.
Student safety should be of paramount importance to educational institutions. There seems to be a disconnect between McMaster and its students regarding the implementation of the inclement weather policy.
McMaster should re-evaluate the actions it took on Jan. 29 and learn from this incident. Students need to know that their safety is valued and plays a key role in the decision-making processes of their university.
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For many students, living in residence is an important part of the first year experience. In recent years, universities across the country have had to act quickly to meet the increased demand for residence space on campus.
McMaster has 12 residence buildings that house approximately 3,700 students. The demand for student housing, however, is far higher. Currently, there is only enough residence space for about 40 per cent of incoming first year students.
McMaster is one of the only universities in Ontario that does not provide guaranteed campus housing for first year students. In order to be guaranteed admission to residence, students must meet a minimum grade average. All other students are placed on a waitlist.
In 2016, McMaster had to fit 200 additional students into residence due to higher than anticipated enrollment numbers. As an immediate solution, double rooms were converted into three person units.
The Living Learning Centre currently being built on the north end of campus will help to meet the need for residence space. In addition to classrooms and student services, it will also offer 500 suite and traditional-style residence rooms.
But there is only so much space on campus. In order to meet the rapidly increasing demand for residence space, universities across Canada are rushing to create new housing options.
One novel yet controversial approach to the problem of minimal housing space comes from the University of British Columbia’s “nano suites” pilot project.
Enrolment numbers at UBC have been steadily increasing and have led to space and resource shortages. The university is now considering scaling back admission of international students, according to UBC’s student-run newspaper The Ubyssey.
Nano suites are 140 square foot housing units containing a bed, desk, bathroom and kitchen. A desk sits under the bed, which can retract into the wall to save space.
The nano suites will account for 71 rooms in a new 362 unit student residence building on UBC’s campus.
One of the main draws of the nano suites is the cost. Each unit costs around $700 a month which, compared to Vancouver’s notoriously high rent costs, is a strong draw for students.
However, living in such a small space is not a feasible option for everybody. The Ubyssey notes that the units are less than double the size of a minimum-sized single occupancy Canadian prison cell.
While scaling down the size of residence rooms is one approach to the problem, the more common approach is to build residences off campus.
Private developers have noticed this trend. In some cities such as Waterloo and Toronto, the demand for student residences is so high that private companies have built student residences independently of the universities.
Since privately operated residences are not affiliated with universities, students do not get access to the same benefits and support systems that are typically available in traditional residences. Additionally, privately owned residences are often far more expensive than traditional options.
Due to a lack of government funding for residence construction, many universities are unable to build their own new residence buildings. In recent years Canadian universities have begun exploring public-private partnerships to fund university-affiliated student residences.
York University, U of T and McGill are among the growing cohort of Canadian universities who have partnered with private companies to fund student residence buildings.
In 2017, McMaster announced its plan to follow suit. The university bought a group of nine Westdale houses around campus for $9.5 million with the plan to develop a multi-storey residence building in partnership with Knightstone capital management, a Toronto-based company that specializes in student residences.
While the construction will be handled privately, McMaster will run the residence as part of the university-wide student housing system.
The proposed first phase of the residence will have 950 beds, and there will an additional 455 if there is sufficient demand.
In addition to the Westdale residence, McMaster is also partnering with Knightstone to build a residence in downtown Hamilton for graduate students and their families.
Knightstone aims to build residences that challenge the perception of unclean, unsafe student living. Their website claims that they cater to the new generation of students with higher expectations about their student living conditions.
“These expectations, taken together with security, cost and cleanliness as their parents’ hot buttons, have created consumers that seek a student residence experience at a level that corresponds to their home life,.” read a part of their site.
Some of the new privately developed student residences across Canada more closely resemble luxury condominiums than traditional student dormitories.
CampusOne is a student residence in downtown Toronto that houses students from the University of Toronto, Ryerson and Ontario College of Art and Design. The building houses movie theatres and a fitness studio, and the website advertises Feng Shui compliant rooms.
While privately and jointly funded residences offer luxury, they also tend to be more expensive than university owned buildings. A standard room at CampusOne, for example, costs about $1700 a month, not including the meal plan.
McMaster has yet to announce the costs of the new residence buildings in Westdale and downtown Hamilton.
By building student residences the surrounding city, universities are better able to meet the increasing demand for housing. However, building residences off campus means that universities must account for the needs of the surrounding community members.
The proposed Westdale residence concerned residents, who worried that the height and density of the proposed building would alter the community. A letter from Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association Of Resident Homeowners Inc. to the city of Hamilton expressed concern about foot and vehicle traffic and, as well as the plan for yearly move in and move out.
“We understand the need of the University, and we endorse a development on the proposed site; however, we feel that this development in its present form will have long-lasting negative effects on the immediate community,” states the letter.
Community resistance to off-campus student residences is not unique to Hamilton.
In 2013, a proposed private residence for U of T students faced similar backlash from members of the surrounding community. The Harbord village residents’ association found issues with the proposed building’s height and density, among other concerns.
A new proposal was announced this past summer that accounted for the concerns raised by the HVRA. However, it took five years of negotiation to come to the agreement.
While building residences off campus may be necessary to accommodate for increasing enrollment, it requires careful consultation with community members.
As university admissions continue to rise across the country, so too will the demand for student housing. While many incoming students want the first year residence experience, the future of campus living is anything but traditional.
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According to a report released by the crime analyst division of Hamilton Police, the McMaster community saw low levels of break and enter crimes in 2017. However, this does not reflect the campus crime scene, with a security services report highlighting that the university is seeing the highest number of reported crimes in five years.
The analyst division report notes that beat 1161, which includes the Westdale area, saw 33 break and enter crimes in 2015, 41 in 2016 and 30 in 2017. Beat 1162, which includes the McMaster campus, Ainslie Wood North, Ainslie Wood and Ainslie Wood West neighbourhoods, saw a total of 30 break and enter crimes in 2015, 19 in 2016 and only 14 in 2017.
Overall, the number of break and enter crimes in both beat 1161 and 1162 dropped between 2015 and 2017, with a total of 63 in 2015 dropping to 60 in 2016 and only 44 in 2017.
However, the McMaster Security Services report stipulates that the number of break and enter attempts on campus fluctuated over the last three years, with five recorded in 2015, 17 in 2016 and 11 in 2017.
The most common crimes being reported include mischief and theft, with the number of mischief cases increasing from 80 in 2015 to 100 in 2017 and the number of theft crimes climbing from 146 in 2015 to 258 this year.
“In 2017, McMaster University Security Services filed 3,687 incident reports which is an increase over the 2016 reported incidents of 2,834 (30 per cent increase). Legal infractions accounted for 870 incidents of either federal or provincial statutes or criminal incidents,” read part of the report.
The number of crimes reported on campus has increased over the last five years. While the assault rate was 19 in 2012 and 12 in 2015, in 2016, that rate climbed to 27 and sat at 29 in 2017. In addition, cases of sexual harassment increased from 22 in 2015 to 37 in 2017.
The most common crimes being reported include mischief and theft, with the number of mischief cases increasing from 80 in 2015 to 100 in 2017 and the number of theft crimes climbing from 146 in 2015 to 258 this year.
In an effort to make information about crimes on campus more accessible to the community, McMaster Security Services used to record crime beats on its website. These weekly updates included all incidents reported on campus, from serious crimes to students drinking excessively and getting trapped in elevators in residence.
“Our website is under a redesign phase so the most recent statistics are not included on that particular page. We do post the annual reports on the site,” said Glenn DeCaire, the university’s director of security and parking services.
According to the 2017 annual report, the number of crimes reported has increased from 300 in 2015 to 531 in 2017.
“Most of this increase stems from higher numbers of reported thefts from places like [David Braley Athletic Centre] and of bicycles and laptops across campus and we are encouraging reporting,” said DeCaire. “There are also increased reports of assaults and harassment which follow the introduction last year of enhanced reporting and awareness through the new Sexual Violence Policy and the Sexual Violence protocol.”
Overall, it is unclear whether more crimes are being committed, reported or both. Students are encouraged to report an incident to security services and access supports via the sexual violence response protocol.
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By: Matthew Presz
For many students, it has been a smooth transition from residence in first year to a home off-campus for the remaining years of university. Rents would typically be around $500 per month for a room in a house of approximately four to eight students, or $1,000 to $1,200 per month if students opted for more privacy in a condo apartment.
There are also many who chose the commuter life in anticipation of having to payback those dreaded student loans or simply wanting to live at home. Regardless of housing decision throughout the degree, most of McMaster’s graduates will leave with greater knowledge, more skill, a better network and a hefty sum of student debt.
What lies ahead for our dear graduates? Social media has been littered with articles about rising home prices in Hamilton, especially in light of the New West Harbour Go Station and impending revitalization of Barton Street. Canada’s banking regulators have also imposed a stress test, as of Jan. 1, 2018, which slashes affordability, and seems to have the greatest impact on first-time homebuyers.
However, when it comes to affordability, there are ways to get creative when deciding how and when to jump into the home ownership circle. Rather than running straight to the bank for a pre-approval, a mortgage broker could offer an alternative lending solution that is not subject to the new stress-testing imposed by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
Don’t rush into any decisions when dealing with funds of a large scale and definitely do not be discouraged. There is light at the end of the tunnel for all McMaster graduates who surround themselves with proper due diligence.
Or how about help from parents? This does not mean gifted money, as only a few families could afford this, but it could be in the form of access to a Line of Credit, which would still be the burden of the recent grad. However, it would make a down payment feasible, limit mortgage default insurance costs and essentially create an extension of the upcoming mortgage.
Financing aside, let us discuss some of the options when deciding where to live. You may have rented a room near McMaster for the past couple of years, but you won’t want to be buying there as a personal residence, unless you are offsetting the mortgage through rental income of the other bedrooms. The average price of a home within one kilometre of the university over the past six months has been $594,461. Let’s compare that with an average selling price of $305,191 in north Hamilton and $424,714 on the Hamilton Mountain. The stated prices have only comprised of freehold properties, no condo or maintenance fees included, so that a more fair comparison can be seen.
A common theme that I have seen for alumni who wish to work and live in Hamilton upon graduation has been to secure a steady job and rent for one to two years while paying off student debt and saving for a down payment. This is followed by the purchase of a home whereby prospective rent could subsidize the mortgage.
Take, for example, a bungalow on Hamilton Mountain that costs $425,000 and has a separate entrance into the basement equipped with a mini kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. While the mortgage, utilities, home insurance and property taxes would likely run approximately $2,500 per month, that homeowner would also be able to charge upwards of $1,200 per month rent for the basement, leaving them with monthly home expenses of $1,300 per month.
Compare that cost of a freehold bungalow with the purchase of a one bedroom condo apartment in Hamilton, which is selling for an average price of $300,000 along with monthly condo fees of $300; total monthly costs at approximately $1,750. Often times, smarter investments do not have to cost more, and will end up costing less than rent in many cases.
The key to making a sound real estate investment is knowing all of the options at play, which can be used in conjunction with proper planning and budgeting. There is no such thing as equilibrium when it comes to the real estate market. The prices are driven by sentiment, which in turn leads to favourable conditions for those who have prepared accordingly.
Don’t rush into any decisions when dealing with funds of a large scale and definitely do not be discouraged. There is light at the end of the tunnel for all McMaster graduates who surround themselves with proper due diligence.
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By: Tashy Davidson
McMaster is moving along with plans to build a residence just off the east end of campus, on Main Street West between Forsyth Avenue South and Dalewood Avenue.
Last year, McMaster owned only the section of land on the corner of Dalewood Avenue and Main Street West, but has since bought the rest of the block from scholar properties, so that they now own the full stretch from Dalewood Avenue to Forsyth Avenue and from Main Street West to Traymore Avenue.
“McMaster is a land-locked 300-acre campus and we’ve worked hard to find appropriate sites on campus for new buildings. … There is not a suitable site on campus for this kind of project,” said Gord Arbeau, director of communications at McMaster.
On a number of building projects, such as the extension of Ann Bourns Building and the Peter George Living and Learning Centre, the university has worked within its existing boundaries. But the proposed Main Street West residence would not.
The university recently began the site plan approval process with the city of Hamilton, where members of affected neighbourhood associations can voice their concerns. If McMaster’s proposal is approved, the next step will be to obtain a building permit from the city of Hamilton.
Right now, there is no set construction date since it depends on the outcome of the public consultation.
If approved, there will be two stages to the construction process.
Phase one would see the construction of a 12-storey, 950-bed residence on the corner of Main Street West and Forsyth Avenue.
Phase two would extend the building to Dalewood Avenue and include 450 beds, but its construction will depend on “demand and market conditions,” Arbeau explained.
Either way, the 950- or 1,400-bed residence would become part of McMaster’s on-campus residence system, operating under the same policies and regulations and offering the same programming and services as other residences.
In addition to the proposal for the Main Street residence, McMaster has already begun construction of the Peter George Centre for Living and Learning, which will hold 500 beds and open Sept. 2019.
Between the academic years 2004-2005 and 2012-2013, full-time undergraduate and graduate student enrolment increased 28 per cent.
These new beds will help to satisfy increasing demand for on-campus housing. With a current total of 3,578 beds, McMaster “cannot guarantee a residence spot for first year students,” said Arbeau.
As a result, McMaster guarantees residence only to incoming undergraduate students with a high school average of at least 83.5 per cent. According to admissions data from 2016, that would leave about 15 per cent of first-year students having to find a home off-campus.
In one way or another, many Ontario universities involve high school grades in the residence application process. For some it is a matter of a room guarantee, while others give those with higher averages priority in selecting a residence.
For example, some college residences at the University of Toronto base their acceptance decisions on high school grade averages. The higher the demand for a residence, the higher one’s grade average must be to get into it.
McMaster faces the question of how it should fill its existing space while it works on providing more beds. All universities have to make decisions about how to fill their residence spaces, and some choose to put into use the same hierarchy used in admissions.
Either way, organizations such as the Society of Off Campus Students have an important social role to fill during this waiting period, especially when it comes to integrating first-year students living off-campus.
Bordered by Cootes Paradise and residential streets, McMaster has a lot to keep in mind as its student population grows, and as its infrastructure grows in turn.
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By: Mohamed Mahmoud
As a student who is currently living off campus, I can confidently say that McMaster feels more like home to me than any other campus could have. Like most students from Mississauga, of the first places I considered applying to was the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus. But as soon as I took the campus tour, I knew there was no way I could make it my second home.
McMaster was not like that for me. Aside from the fact that I needed a reputable school for engineering, one of the main reasons McMaster was one of my top choices was because of the student sense of community that Mac comes with.
Yes, there are many universities in Ontario that are visibly and reputably surrounded by million-dollar homes and expensive cars that are centered with the hustle and bustle of a downtown city center. There are larger campuses and better parties, but there is a more important priority for first years.
When I was an incoming first year, I knew that the environment that what would soon become my second home is surrounded would need to be welcoming. McMaster in collaboration with the Westdale community certainly provides me with a sense of inclusion, and I believe that this is something that is unique to McMaster.
As someone who has both commuted on the GO bus and lived off campus, I can certainly vouch that living so close campus is a luxury. It allows for me to get to know students more closely with time being more of a flexibility (even though 30 hours a week of school is hardly a luxury for engineering kids), my full-time commitment seemed like less of a hassle.
I also had the opportunity to visit local coffee shops and had a chance to admire the character that downtown Hamilton buildings have in comparison to the ones in Mississauga.
As someone who has both commuted on the GO bus and lived off campus, I can certainly vouch that living so close campus is a luxury.student sense of community that Mac comes with.
With the reputation of Hamilton being viewed as a “ghetto” area, and in light of the recent break-in reports on the Spotted at Mac Facebook page, there have been mixed feelings about whether or not living off campus is such a great idea. This is understandable. However, these reporting have presented something great about the Mac community that not all universities have.
With so many students living off campus in the Westdale area, these reports have prompted an increase in police presence around the campus and a great support with student stake outs and communal protection. With the security on campus and the increased security off campus as well as groups like the Students Walk Home Attendent Team, students can begin to feel more reassured of their safety both on campus and off campus.
Hamilton may be seen as a second-class city next to Mississauga or Toronto, but it opens doors for a friendlier environment for students to grow, live among their peers and experience a sense of community beyond McMaster’s borders.
In addition, paying my own rent and struggling to make time to go grocery shopping in order to stop spending on food has taught me many valuable life lessons. In struggling to cook my own meals without my mom and feeling broke every time I check my bank account, I can now say that I understand what “adulting” is.
When choosing which schools to apply to, my guidance counsellor told me to seek out the campus that is the smallest and balance that with the reputation of the program I was going into. At first, I did not understand why this was important, and sought out the school with the largest campus with the classiest city life. But as my first round of university midterms came along, I began to understand why community and a sense of inclusion is so important for students.
As students, there is no doubt that we are susceptible to the feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression, and trust me, Thode does not help.
Though there are people to reach out to and share your feelings with at ever university, sometimes that’s not what you need to “fix things”. In some cases, simply having a sense of belonging is just enough to do the trick.
Although we don’t have the University of Toronto name and our buildings are not extravagant, we have something that is more genuine and definitely more important to graduate with.
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