By: Eden Wondmeneh
As a first-year student living on residence, I had to cough up an outrageous amount of money for a mediocre living experience.
Following a $600 residence deposit, residence can cost anywhere from $5,800 to $8,825, not including the additional, mandatory cost of a meal plan that ranges from $2,975 to $4,735.
Separate from the fees, incoming students wishing to have a guaranteed residence space on-campus must achieve, at minimum, an 81.5 per cent in their senior year of high school.
It’s as if an acceptance to McMaster is not enough to attend the university, with residence being the only option for many out-of-province students.
Even if you find yourself as one of the almost 3700 students living on McMaster residence, you are expected to move out promptly after your final exam in April. In fact, you are expected to leave residence by 3:00 p.m. on the very next day.
With the average cost of living at Mac being just under $12,000, this deadline does not fit with what students have paid for. It likely exists in order to stagger students’ departure as a way to prevent chaos and large wait times, but for many students it’s an impossible deadline to meet.
As it is an odd request for students to pack up their entire dorm so quickly after their final exams, students with ‘legitimate’ reasons for not being able to meet the deadline can apply for an extension.
Those that can apply for this extension are international and out-of-province students with travel requirements, those with exceptional circumstances or those with academic requirements to fulfill like a new exam or deferred lab. But even if a student has one of these ‘legitimate’ reasons, there is still a chance that the extension won’t be granted.
Ultimately, the terms of the extension application are made so that students who have assignment accommodations, need time before their new lease or sublet agreements take affect, have extracurricular commitments or have storage needs till the end of term have no options and are scrambling to find alternative accommodations.
It’s as if these aren’t legitimate reasons to need to stay in a dorm room, that you have already paid for, until the official end of term.
I am currently struggling to figure out what to do come the end of term. My exams happen to fall on the earlier spectrum of exam season, and since my family is scattered across America during my assigned move-out date, I’m stuck between an alarmingly expensive taxi ride back home or a cheaper but nightmarish, impossible GO bus trip with my 40 pieces of luggage.
My situation is much easier to deal with than those who are from out of town or students with accessibility accommodations, who need to stay in Hamilton for a few days or weeks extra.
The entire purpose of residence is to make university life, both academic and social, accessible and convenient for students; a goal that the move-out policy directly opposes.
Students shouldn’t have to request an extension at all, but for the sake of staggering departure times, students should be able to request and receive an extension for a much broader list of reasons than that which currently exists.
In doing so, McMaster can make exam season a little less strenuous for the students who paid to live on-campus until the end of term.
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Students entering university are faced with many new things: new classes, new friends and sometimes even new living arrangements. But students living in on-campus residences should not have to worry about their safety.
To help students transition into living away from home, and to enforce the rules of residence life, McMaster University community advisors live with first-year students in their residences. Their purpose is to “develop and maintain an environment that is conducive to learning and personal growth.”
To be a CA, one must fulfill many qualifications including maintaining a minimum sessional average of 6.0, being a full-time McMaster University student, demonstrating responsibility and leadership abilities and have a working knowledge or building community within students.
But for all the listed requirements, CAs are not required to complete any sort of police background check, including a very important vulnerable sector check.
VS checks are a collection of offence information that is restricted to applicants seeking employment or volunteering in a position of authority or trust over vulnerable persons in Canada. They can be obtained easily from the police service in your residing jurisdiction.
The lack of VS checks for CAs is problematic for many reasons. For one, many incoming students are under 18-years-old. In these cases, it is evident that these students are considered vulnerable persons and subsequently require additional protection from those in positions of authority and trust like CAs.
But even for incoming students who are legally adults, their role as a first-year student inherently places them in a lower position of power relative to their CAs. This power dynamic can be harmful if the CAs have a history of offensive behaviour.
CAs have a lot of influence over the first-year students under their supervision. CAs are oftentimes students’ first interaction with upper-year students and are meant to be the go-to person for questions about campus and residence life. To not conduct a proper background check on them is negligent of the university in ensuring that students are protected.
The lack of VS checks is not an exclusive issue of CAs. In addition to CAs, residence-affiliated positions such as the residence orientation representative are not required to complete VS checks.
In fact, part-time managers, the board of directors and other McMaster Students Union positions do not require the completion of a VS check.
Considering that almost all of these roles involve interaction with and power over a vulnerable population of students, it makes no sense why these roles do not require VS checks. If anything, the lack of VS checks puts students in avoidable danger.
In addition to VS checks, McMaster University should do a more thorough job of ensuring that individuals hired for their positions are positive reflections of the university. This includes ensuring that these individuals have not been reported to university administration or asked to withdraw from their positions previously.
The lack of sufficient and necessary screening of individuals in positions of power within the university is alarming. For McMaster University to truly commit to ensuring student safety, they must create better hiring policies that begin with implementation of VS checks.
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By: Natalie Clark
In 2017, McMaster partnered with the My Lil’ HealthBot startup to provide students on campus with all of their various drugstore needs.
Stocked with Advil, shampoo and various other drugstore essentials, McMaster’s own personal care product vending machine, My Lil’ HealthBot “Marie,” located in Mary Keyes Residence, achieves a solid seven to 10 sales a week.
Two years later, My Lil’ HealthBot has expanded their market, grown their e-commerce capability, streamlined their product mix and improved their brand positioning and message.
“We have provided relief to over 10,000 university students across Canada and soon we will be launching in the United States,” said My My Lil’ HealthBot co-founder Tim Decker.
Aside from the obvious improvements that the company has accomplished, they also hope to introduce a new program to their roster.
“The only other place to obtain items sold by the vending machine are in the drugstore in [McMaster University Student Centre], which is closed in the evenings and on weekends, and the closest Shoppers for McMaster students is in Westdale or on Main Street West,” said Raj Vansia, a McMaster student who represents the company on campus.
“We hope to increase the availability of necessary products for McMaster students while still being able to provide great service,” said Vansia. “This is the main reason for us to try out the dorm room delivery pilot at McMaster, which would allow for delivery anywhere on campus within 20 minutes of any products in our HealthBots bought online.”
The My Lil’ HealthBot dorm room delivery program will be test launching on March 16 and will last 24 hours. The program is slated to gauge the demand from students to have products delivered to them for an extra fee.
“One of the benefits of our HealthBots being on campus is we provide a 24/7 solution to life’s headaches. However, what if you could have our products delivered to you in 20 mins or less for only an extra $3.99 on your order,” said Decker.
The company will be experimenting with this idea to see if there is demand to provide extra convenience to students.
“To use dorm room delivery, a student simply visits our website and ‘checks out’ normally, and for a delivery option they choose ‘Dorm Room Delivery,” explained Decker.
Due to dorm room security restrictions, products will be delivered to the lobby of McMaster residences.
The program’s trial test will allow the company to grasp how many students are interested in this new service.
“We have heard lots of great feedback from students. We are passionate about the way we have provided an option for easier access to very important products,” said Decker, who is confident about the positive impact that My Lil’ Heathbots have had on campus.
According to Decker and Vansia, My Lil’ HealthBot makes it easier for students on campus to access their drugstore needs.
“We strive to ensure that students should only have to focus on school while they are at school, rather than on how they will go about buying the necessities they need,” said Vansia.
With the vending machines already making their mark on the McMaster campus, Decker and Vansia are hopeful that the dorm room delivery program will be successful.
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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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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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By: Natalie Clark
Since graduating from McMaster in 2008, the Arkells have become one of Hamilton’s greatest accomplishments. “You write what you know,” mentions lead singer of the Arkells, Max Kerman, who accredits not only Hamilton, but McMaster, to the inspiration behind many of the band’s greatest hits.
“You write material based on your own life experiences; you’re trying to tell a story about a person, a friend, or someone you admire,” said Kerman.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsf4rhpF8fD/
The multiple Juno-award winning band’s career began in Hamilton where Kerman met the other members of the band. Their band name was even inspired by one of Westdale’s own street name; Arkell Street. Their first gig was played at the annual Battle of the Bands at McMaster in spring of their first year and a few of their songs feature campus landmarks such as the Brandon Hall residence in “Where U Goin”.
The Arkell’s music video sets and album titles have included places beyond campus including Cheapies Records, Jackson Square and even a Hamilton Street Railway bus.
McMaster and Hamilton are clearly places that the band admire. For Kerman, the buildings we spend long hours studying in, the neighbourhoods we settle into and the downtown spots we find excitement in paint the setting of his coming of age story, despite winding up there for other reasons.
“I went to McMaster because my high school girlfriend who was older than me was already there in the year ahead of me… I wanted to go to a school that wasn’t near my parents’ house, and McMaster took me in,” said Kerman.
Kerman went on to graduate as a political science major and describes his passion for politics as stemming from his family.
“My mom is a high school teacher and my dad is a social worker, which are two very community-based jobs…because I had this in my house growing up, it makes you think about how you are a part of a bigger thing,” explained Kerman.
He described political science as constantly asking questions about how we understand and figure things out together and how we coexist in this world. His education informed the way he sees the world and Kerman often translates this passion for politics into the band’s lyrics.
The Arkells have had more than a few hits with political messaging including “Knocking at the Door” which is inspired by The Women’s March on Washington and their most recent single, “People’s Champ”, is a protest against American President Donald Trump.
The Arkells are making their way across Canada and the United States this February to tour their new album Rally Cry. Their most local show will take place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 16 with special guests Lord Huron.
“Getting the chance to play our new material is something we are most looking forward to, and when we were working on the songs in the studio, we were really thinking about how these songs would come off live,” mentioned Kerman.
The tour comes after their record-breaking show, The Rally, this past June at the Tim Horton’s Field. In true Arkells fashion, where better to have their biggest performance to date than in their hometown? As the Arkells continue to thrive, it’s exciting to see where their momentum will take them next.
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On Sept. 4, the City of Hamilton Planning Committee approved a zoning amendment application for a new two-storey Columbia International College student residence. This is the latest development in a project that stretches back four years.
The residence will be built on the corner of Main Street West and Longwood Road and consists of an 18-storey tower and a 16-storey tower building connected by a four-story podium. It will mainly serve as a residence, though it will have other commercial and recreational uses as well.
The developer, John Lecluse, is optimistic about the project going forward.
“We’re hoping to have quite a bit of ground moved a year from now,” said Lecluse.
The primary barrier to the project was a possible erosion hazard that could affect the Chedoke Creek valley system. However, the Hamilton Conservation Authority board gave their approval on the grounds that certain conditions are met.
The project parallels McMaster’s plans for a new residence on Main Street West, which began last year and is still in the planning stages. That building is planned to stand between Dalewood Avenue and Forsyth Avenue.
Some community concerns with the CIC project, such as increased car and foot traffic, increased noise, and the shadowing effect of tall buildings, have also been raised in light of McMaster’s proposal.
However, according to Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association president Ira Rosen, one of the key differences between the projects is that, unlike the McMaster building, which will stand over houses on Traymore Avenue, the CIC building is not directly next to homes.
“There are no houses that are going to be affected by those [CIC] buildings because it’s right at the corner of [Main Street West] and [Longwood Road S],” said Rosen. “The closest permanents live just across the street. It’s not the same as the location the university is planning. The university location is literally on a side street where there are houses.”
Gord Arbeau, McMaster director of communications, said that McMaster has recently amended the building design to try and address some issues with the previous design, including parking, available amenities activities and the increased flow of pedestrians. It is worth noting that the current design has 90 percent of the building at ten stories, lower than the originally proposed thirteen stories.
“We’re seeking more feedback,” said Arbeau. “We’ll be presenting the plan to the city and the city planners and we look to finalize and fine-tune that design in the next month or so, and then we would envision submitting another application to the city sometime thereafter.”
The university is hoping to begin construction next year and have the building open for August 2021.
The AWWCA will meet to discuss the latest changes to the McMaster proposal at their annual general meeting on Sept. 17. Rosen said they are hoping to find a middle ground with the university and are open to development as long as both parties can work together.
Those involved with the McMaster project plan to continue their consultations with community groups such as the AWWCA and attend regular meetings help by the president’s advisory committee on community relations.
While McMaster has no affiliation with CIC, Arbeau noted that, in both cases, there is increased development along Main Street West.
“I think what we’re seeing in Hamilton, especially with the [light rail transit], is a desire for the city to intensify development along lanes especially on Main Street, which is where the LRT will run,” said Arbeau.
As explained by Arbeau, both housing projects are being planned for with the potential construction of LRT in mind. LRT not only impacts the construction of new buildings because of the potential widening of Main Street West, but also represents a potentially more convenient way to commute across the city, especially for those close to Main Street West.
Both McMaster and CIC are hoping to alleviate student housing shortages by constructing large buildings along Main Street West, a trend that will likely continue across the city. The challenge for these plans will be to develop in a sustainable, responsible way that considers the perspectives of neighbouring communities.
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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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McMaster Housing and Conference Services recently announced its proposal to redevelop Bates residence.
According to Kevin Beatty, the director of Housing and Conference Services, all of the internal aspects of Bates residence, such as room configurations, common rooms and amenities, will be redeveloped. Students can look forward to enjoying increased natural light and improved amenities, such as a games room, gym and music room.
“Adding expansive exterior windows and removing large sections of the ground and second floor plate will infuse the building with natural light and activate the basement level while celebrating the beautiful views surrounding,” said Chelsea Alexander, one of the architects of the project.
Nevertheless, Bates Residence’s structural foundation will remain.
“We are eager to create a harmonized Bates residence community, full of opportunities for social interaction, enjoyment and educational advancement within an extensive 1970s shell,” said Alexander.
The redevelopment project is in the design phase. Although the final construction timeline has yet to be solidified, Beatty has confirmed that the redevelopment will not begin until after the Peter George Centre for Living and Learning opens in Aug. 2019.
Students with an average of 83.5 per cent or higher are guaranteed a place in residence on campus. After securing a spot in residence, students are entered into a lottery that determines what room style they get placed in.
Since Bates is currently the only apartment style residence on campus, closing it during the construction phase may have repercussions for students. It is unclear how the renovations will affect the number of residence spots available to students.
“Housing and Conference Services is committed to continuing to keep students and the university community updated when more details are finalized over the next few months,” said Beatty.
According to Alexander, the Bates residence redevelopment will solve the current building’s most pressing accessibility problems.
In particular, the new building is slated to improve navigation through washroom facilities, doorways and narrow corridors. The new Bates building will also be AODA compliant, consisting of improvements such as accessible suites and auto-door operators.
“Accessibility to all building amenities and spaces have been of critical importance since the onset of the redevelopment discussions,” said Alexander.
Students can share their feedback on the McMaster Housing and Conference Services website until Feb. 12.
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By: Adrianna Michell
While living on residence for the first time, I had come to think of on-campus housing as a rite of passage for university students. I thought of communal bathrooms, the inevitable roommate conflicts and the disappointing dining hall foods.
I anticipated these to be an unavoidable part of residence living. However, despite my generally low expectations of the conditions of campus living, I was shocked by the lack of foresight in McMaster’s residences and the daily functions that come with housing thousands of students.
Given the number of students living in residence, McMaster cannot afford to ignore the reckless and unsustainable waste practices on campus.
The potential impact of creating a sustainable waste reduction process is great, as McMaster is known to house almost 3,600 students in 12 buildings.
In lacking a responsible and effective waste reduction policy, the university has failed students. McMaster has left gaps in residence students’ education. Adequate waste removal and sorting services are not available to students; Mac’s environmental education policies point the finger at students.
The culture of disposability that pervades on-campus housing is apparent in both the personal choices of residents and the administration’s lack of policy. Dining halls are littered with students eating in disposable containers. Reusable cutlery is hard to come by, and correct waste receptacles are difficult to distinguish. There is little incentive for students to implement waste reduction practices, as hospitality services does not seem to be prepared for such regulations.
Given the number of students living in residence, McMaster cannot afford to ignore the reckless and unsustainable waste practices on campus.
According to the most recent Waste Reduction Work Plan created in 2015, the university hoped to expand compost and increase sustainable packaging.
The waste audit leaves something to be desired as most recyclable products have no waste reduction plan in place, the only goal being to “continue to recycle.” One goal was to include recycling bins in washrooms, which, as any student can attest to, has not happened in residences.
In the 2016 Sustainability Annual Report, one objective is to increase the amount of waste diverted from landfills. However, reducing this number is only a quick fix for a larger, systemic problem. A near 20 per cent increase in waste diversion sounds good, but it fails to account for the amount of waste produced that could have been avoided in the first place.
McMaster’s sustainability policies broadly ignore the root causes of issues and put the onus on students and individuals, rather than taking accountability for institutional actions.
“Awareness raising” policies have been implemented across campus, from educational materials to ever-changing signage on waste receptacles; using passive tactics that do not have any measurable goals makes the university look better without doing much. No matter how many people look at a poster or recycle their plastic, the real problem is being ignored.
In residence, the problem of waste production is daunting. There are no compost bins in residence. While student groups have had success in getting green bins in the student centre, no such initiatives have taken place in residence, nor should there be. It should be the responsibility of the University to establish composting facilities in residences, not individual students.
Dining halls do participate in a program where reusable Eco-Takeout containers are provided. Students pay a one-time fee of $5 to get into the program, and then can use the green containers for their food. This program does not seem to be widely used, as a quick walk through Centro will show that most students do not participate in the program, evidenced by their lack of green plastic containers.
The Eco-Takeout box also repeats the mistakes of other initiatives, placing all of the responsibility on the student with little incentive or reward. The containers are small and tend to be stained from time spent sitting in student’s rooms.
Residences have the potential to be a laboratory for innovative sustainability practices at McMaster, but are instead areas of immense waste production.
Looking toward solutions, McGill University seems to succeed where Mac has not, as they have successfully implemented composting in its residences, and has tried to “build a culture of composting” at the university.
Raising awareness about composting will not make sustainable, impactful change. The university needs to create policies that take responsibility for waste, and residences are the perfect place to start.
The original image used online for this article was uploaded without the subject's consent, and has been taken down.
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