C/O Black Students' Association
From relationships to entertainment and wellness, BSA invites Black students to relax and chat with different editions of the MacChats series
In a school of over 30,000 students, how do you find community? Sometimes it might be about connecting with those who share the same interests and passions; sometimes, it can be about finding a bond in shared experiences.
Created about two years ago, McMaster’s Black Students’ Association recognized the minority of Black students on campus and aimed to create a community where all Black students can connect with one another.
Ashley Assam, BSA’s president, explained that the importance of creating unique spaces for Black students lies in the uniqueness of Black experiences in the first place.
“There's no secret that Black people have been marginalized for a very long time, especially given everything that happened a couple years ago with all these cases of police brutality and obviously the murder of George Floyd. It definitely took a hit on the community and I feel like having a space is necessary because Black students also face these mental health challenges that have to do with their own experiences, but [these] don't often go addressed or they will need to get addressed by someone else who understands their experience,” said Assam.
One of the events that BSA has been hosting is called MacChats. MacChats invites Black students to get together for casual conversations. Usually, a theme will be announced for each MacChats discussion, but students are not limited to speaking about those topics only.
This winter semester, BSA has hosted a total of three MacChats so far with varying themes. This includes conversations about relationships, sports, entertainment and well-being.
Assam explained that during these events, BSA members will pose a number of questions to the group and allow students to carry their own conversations. With limited capacity for in-person events, MacChats have been held on Zoom so far and breakout rooms are often used for people to divide into smaller groups.
Although MacChats serve as a space for casual conversation, Assam shared that MacChats help cultivate deeper, meaningful conversations as well. For example, in their first event about relationships, there were discussions about what it means to engage in relationships with other races as a Black person.
Some of these discussions may be more sensitive or up for debate, Assam explained, but what’s important is that BSA wants everyone to learn from each other.
“The whole purpose is not to like shut down other people's ideas; it's just a place for you to voice your opinions and also kind of learn from other people and learn about what they think,” said Assam.
With its unique role on campus, BSA acts as a social group where students can relax and bond with one another during events like MacChats, but Assam added that BSA is also there to help Black students succeed. BSA will often share resources to help connect Black students with opportunities in hopes of helping them feel supported throughout their time at McMaster.
To Assam, BSA is about having a safe space with this special community.
“BSA really just means having a community of people on campus that truly just want the best for you. So, what we tried to do with BSA is let every Black student know that you don't have to be any way — any certain way. You don't have to adhere to any stereotype. You don't have to look a certain way just to exist as who you are. [Y]ou're free to be who you are and we accept you as who you are and we want to see you succeed,” said Assam.
By: Ember, Contributor
I have previously written about how institutional ableism affects me and other students, but there’s another topic that is also overdue for discussion: casual ableism.
There are things that myself and other physically disabled people face on a consistent basis that an able-bodied person may not even realize are ableist. Using elevators, ramps and public transport, as well as navigating the campus in general — these activities are imperative to my everyday life, but are also an absolute nightmare.
The McMaster University Student Centre is home to many student services and it also acts as one of the main social hubs on campus, so it makes sense that it is very busy. I’m involved with and use multiple McMaster Students Union services within MUSC which span multiple floors of the building. I have lost count of how many times during those between-class rushes as well as during lunch hours that I have been bumped into, almost knocked over or completely plowed past by students and staff alike when walking to the elevators or using the ramp.
My cane is purple, it is loud, and it is very unlikely that able-bodied folks cannot hear it. I know you can see me — it is hard not to. My disability does not afford me the luxury to be subtle and small, so when you push past me, you’re making it clear that you have chosen to ignore my existence for your convenience. Is getting to your destination a few seconds earlier really worth disregarding basic human decency for myself and other physically disabled people?
Speaking of elevators, stop pressing the button and then walking away to take the stairs when it takes too long for the elevator to arrive. The reason why it is taking so long is because there are people on every other floor doing the exact same thing, and when I finally get on the elevator, it stops at every single floor. Somehow going from the first floor to the second floor of MUSC suddenly takes five minutes instead of 30 seconds. If you can take the stairs, just take the stairs — what have you gained by attempting to use and delaying accommodating utilities?
A side note: pressing the button for the elevator only to have it filled with able-bodied people who refuse to make room — all bearing sheepish or indifferent looks on their faces — is humiliating and degrading. The selfishness and misplaced entitlement to disability resources and accommodations make it that much harder for disabled people to exist and get around in public spaces.
Now let’s talk about public transit. Fellow students, I know that you love taking the bus for a couple of stops from inside campus into Westdale Village, but when you push past me to get on the bus when the bus driver specifically stops right in front of me to let me on first, know that I see you. When you fill up priority seating, placing down your bags or groceries beside you on another seat, I see you. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I end up standing on a crowded eastbound bus.
Not only do I feel pain, but I feel ashamed and dehumanized when able-bodied students see my physical form but refuse to acknowledge my need for accommodations. It wears me down and weighs on me day after day — my disability is hypervisible as I cannot hide it, but able-bodied people choose to not perceive me and my presence in order to absolve them of their guilt and responsibility for their actions.
Just because you hold the door open for me or press the automatic door button once does not mean you are at the apex of disability allyship. Check yourself, reflect on your actions, and deconstruct your saviour complex. You are not as perfect as you think you are.
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By: Kieran Douglas
The McMaster Students Union has announced it will close the Peer Support Line after five years of use. It makes sense. The need for support lines and similar services is clear, but this specific peer-based line seemed unsuitable for the demand imposed on it.
A recent Silhouette article stated that more than half of calls made to the line had to do either with crisis situations or mental health. As the line was run by student volunteers, most listeners are hardly equipped to effectively deal with situations this complex.
Though the service was commendable in that students would volunteer and lend a hand to peers in need, no amount of good can substitute for the training of a professional counsellor, which is what the MSU should be looking to focus its funds on in order to better serve students. Conversely, this brings light to the present concerns to student mental health services on campus and presents the imminence of a need for better services the help students who are in need of support at McMaster.
For crisis cases and situations that are extremely time-sensitive and need the assistance of professionals, students can only help so much. In addition, there is the concern of the peer support volunteers’ mental health. In crisis cases such as those that have the potential to result in life-threatening outcomes, volunteers may hold themselves accountable for other students’ situations.
Even if peer-support volunteers immediately direct callers to more appropriate services in these cases, the extended wait could prove detrimental. Given that 10 per cent of calls the line received were of this nature, eliminating the middleman is well-worth doing.
PSL executives raised a valuable point in defense of the line by suggesting that students sometimes wish to talk about grave topics like suicide and fear that professional help might end up involving authorities. By no means am I mental health professional, but there is a difference between discussing suicidal ideation and posing a danger to yourself. In either case, professional help should be sought out, and it shouldn’t be the responsibility or burden of other students to do so.
For crisis cases and situations that are extremely time-sensitive and need the assistance of professionals, students can only help so much.
I have personally never made use of the PSL, but I have called crisis lines more than once in the past. Excepting wait times, they have been nothing but accessible and helpful. Ultimately, these services exist to help people as they need it and on their own terms. There are few situations that would escalate beyond a phone call, and those situations would typically be emergencies. Professional counsellors can be relied on and trusted to be both impartial and confidential
Bear in mind too that the closure of the PSL is not necessarily a loss to student support. The MSU’s Executive Board assures us that the money no longer spent on the PSL will be used to increase awareness of existing services with professional counsellors on staff. Perhaps the closure of the PSL is also an opportunity to invest in mental health support on campus in general.
It is my hope that university administration considers the usage statistics of the line as further evidence of the overwhelming demand for expanded mental health services on campus.
While the PSL may have been introduced to handle issues separate from mental health concerns, its use as such indicates a clear need to rethink its existence. Given the sensitivity of matters of mental health, an under equipped support line can be worse than ineffective. Student demand should be listened to in this case and I wholeheartedly believe that the PSL budget would be better spent enriching mental health support services on campus.
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By: Jim Xie
One of the biggest struggles most university students face is staying well-nourished amidst a busy schedule of study, work and extracurricular commitments.
McMaster University prides itself in putting students first, providing myriad programs and resources that promote physical and mental health.
However, the rising prices of campus food contradict the themes of student wellness around which the McMaster community is built.
Students are finding it increasingly difficult to find a financially sustainable source of nourishment.
East Meets West Bistro has never been considered the cheapest place for on-campus dining, but a freshly introduced $1.00 price increase to every item on its revamped menu has greatly reduced the restaurant’s cost-efficiency.
Even the lunch special, which eponymously offers an affordable alternative to other menu choices, has gone up to $10.50 before taxes in comparison to $9.50 last year.
These prices staggeringly contrast student meals off-campus, the average of which hovers around $8.00 to $9.00 post-tax.
Such increases in food price are leading meal plans down a path of obsolescence in terms of food security.
Another important example is Willy Dog, which has sported an increase in price from $3.50 to $5.00 at the start of the new school year. Although this food option is not covered by meal plans, the price change was sorely noted on the “Spotted at Mac” Facebook page, where an anonymous student described the price increase as dramatic, insensible,and utterly ridiculous.
On top of juggling academic and extracurricular involvements as well as struggling with tuition and residence fees, students increasingly worry about not having enough food to eat.
Students have to deal with the fact that now, even buying a hot dog warrants the need for heavy financial consideration.
Fortunately, most of the establishments within McMaster University Student Center’s La Piazza have yet to follow this price trend. It is not unreasonable, however, to expect similar price adjustments in the near future.
Accompanying these elevations in food price is an unhealthy increase in stress.
On top of juggling academic and extracurricular involvements as well as struggling with tuition and residence fees, students increasingly worry about not having enough food to eat.
This is especially true for students who are newly transitioning into University.
Living away from home and being slugged into a foreign environment is a daunting challenge for most students, and having to constantly think about putting food on the table only exacerbates this mental instability.
The food situation even affects students living off-campus, a population that depends on the occasional on-campus snack or meal to accommodate rigid, tightly-packed schedules.
Off-campus students may end up buying less of the pricey on-campus food to conserve money, be forced to work more hours to compensate for increased food costs, or dedicate more time and money to grocery shopping and cooking personal meal.
Hardworking students should not have to choose between these options, each of which exerts unique burdens on physical and mental well-being.
Initiatives such as “Nolunchmoney” are offering McMaster students economical alternatives to campus food and aim to counteract food unaffordability.
However, the amount of services such organizations provide is limited and not enough to offset the rate of rising food prices.
Unless more initiatives are implemented and McMaster Hospitality Services get involved, this issue will continue to grow and remain unresolved.
The costly nature of campus food was already of concern in the past, but the price increases introduced this year are simply irrational and unfair to the tuition-paying student body.
The state of hospitality services at McMaster University should be closely monitored to ensure that accessing food is not as major source of stress as covering tuition and residence fees.
By: Dev Shields
With the 2016-17 school year, comes “Feed Your Hippo”, a new mental health initiative on campus. Run by the Student Wellness Centre and the McMaster Students Union, the campaign employs a cute cartoon hippo to represent the brain’s hippocampus. This part of the brain, according to the video posted on Vimeo, is responsible for “memories, learning and emotions.”
In order to give your hippo the nourishment it needs, the SWC campaign outlines five pillars to fulfill: be social, be mindful, be active, be curious and be aware.
According to the campaign, making sure to feed your hippo in these five ways can contribute to improved learning skills and academic success as well as mental wellbeing. Yet despite the supposed importance of these activities, no resources were provided to help students actually self care better — all of the onus is on the student.
Before we go any further, let me just say: if one more person tells me to do yoga or drink more water to aid/cure my depression, I am going to scream into the void for several hours.
The rhetoric surrounding self-care is damaging to mentally ill people, as well as feeds into a lot of harmful stigma about the “laziness” of people who are mentally ill. This program is nothing but a soft solution.
There is so much lip service on behalf of the MSU given about mental health that never seems to turn into anything more than mug-painting workshops and destressors. Self-care is fantastic and we should all be practicing it daily, regardless of whether we identify as a person with a mental illness or not. But campaigns like these seem to make people think that mental illness comes with an off switch.
If I just drink enough water, I can get to class. If I just go smell a frickin’ daisy or something, I can leave my room for once. This campaign reinforces the “just”. I’ve been hearing “just” followed by cures since I received my diagnosis. The fact is, people with an illness anywhere on the spectrum may also need to utilize counselling, different therapies or medication. And even then, no one is saying that these are cures.
Secondly, why wasn’t this program run by Maccess, McMaster’s new disability service? Why are we allowing mental health initiatives and events be headed by neurotypical people? I’ve heard many horror stories about MSU leaders who have publicly supported initiatives like MacTalks and even used accessibility as main points in their platforms for elected positions, who have turned around and failed to provide support and accommodations for people with mental health concerns. This is disingenuous, hurtful and can ultimately be very dangerous.
How about instead of putting time, money and energy into colourful campaigns, we lobby the university to hire more counsellors? Or create more therapy groups? Or finally create a campaign that refuses to tip toe around mental illness as if it were a sleeping monster? It’s not pretty, it’s not palatable, and it’s not romantic. And it will never be. But these events shouldn’t be. My illness, my neuroatypicality is not for your comfortable consumption. I refuse to be your running point.
Your students are drowning. Do something tangible.
Disclaimer: the author of this article is a peer support volunteer for Maccess.
Since the start of the new academic year, McMaster students have had a new place on campus to relax.
The Student Wellness Education Lower Lounge initiative that has started this school year, is a lounge space dedicated to students. The lounge space offers students counseling on mental and general wellness topics in addition to providing them with a space to relax, take a break and start a conversation with someone.
A schedule is followed every week that is motivated by a theme. The week of Oct. 7, for example, will be “Mental Awareness ” week that will color the activities that take place from Monday to Friday.
“The topics for some of the events depend on what’s happening in the student life-cycle during that week or what the students are generally interested in,” said Pearl Mendonca, Wellness Education Coordinator at the Student Wellness Center.
Every Monday is termed as “Mindfulness Monday” when students are taught about relaxation and meditation techniques and take a break during their day. Tuesdays are ‘Movie Tuesdays’ where a movie best suited to go with the weekly theme is shown. Wednesdays are ‘Wellness Wednesday’, where the topic changes every week; this week’s topic was ”Fitness under a budget”. Thursdays are ‘Thirst-tea Thursdays’ where a guest speaker is brought in during the morning and tea is served all day. Fridays are ‘Free-Fruit Fridays’ where bowlfuls of different fruits are supplied to promote students to choose healthier alternatives.
The SWELL initiative is a partnership between McMaster Student Affairs and the McMaster Students Union.
“This lounge has been a number of years in the making. The idea was to have a lounge space for students to come, but also have resources that they needed. They could also chat with people,“ said Mendonca.
In addition to the above facilities, the space holds offices for the Student Wellness Center, as well as a microwave for students to heat their lunches.
The initiative has about 40 volunteers in addition to its two organizers.
The lounge is located in the basement of the Student Center, opposite the CFMU radio station office. It is open to all students, from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Everyone interacts about mental health in different ways,” said Mendonca.
“People’s experiences are very valuable, so it’s necessary to have different spaces where students can speak about their mental awareness.“
Photo credit: Eliza Pope / Assistant Photo Editor
Farzeen Foda
Senior News Editor
On March 13, McMaster University hosted a Mental Health Symposium to evaluate the mental health efforts across campus. The event featured speakers from key players in combating student mental health issues.
Dr. Debbie Nifakis, associate director of counseling for McMaster’s Student Wellness Centre (SWC), John Starzynski, president of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada and Dan Johnson of The Jack Project at Kids Help Phone were among the speakers present at the event.
To evaluate current efforts at McMaster and consider alternate options, seven panelists, including the speakers, expressed their perspectives. In addition to the speakers, the panelists included Deb Earl, mental health team nurse for SWC, Siobhan Stewart, McMaster Students Union (MSU) president-elect, Mariette Lee, a McMaster student, Dr. Allan McFarlane, professor emeritus in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience and Heidi Muller of Student Conduct an Community Standards.
Panelists and speakers discussed the state of the mental health support currently available on the McMaster campus.
It has been noted that such services available on campus are of exceptional standard already, but are hindered by the lack of student awareness, noted Allan Fein, wellness education coordinator for the SWC. Discussions sought to “get some of the voices on campus together,” he said.
He further explained that the event looked at ways of building awareness about the services available to students battling difficulties in any domain of university life as those often translate into adverse mental health outcomes. Fein expressed that one untapped avenue of communication with the student body appears to be McMaster student cards, which are a staple item for all students.
Keeping vital contact information on student cards may be a simple way to build awareness to such services as the Student Wellness Centre.
The Jack Project at Kids Help Phone was initiated by the father of Jack Windeler, a Queen’s University student, who in 2010 took his own life in his battle against mental illness. The group focuses on the transition from high school to university.
It was noted that early intervention programs might be an effective measure to help students feel better connected to their new surroundings. While some are already in place, they may be improved and/or better publicized. These efforts are aimed at “catching students before they fall through the cracks of the system,” said Melissa Fernandes, wellness education assistant for SWC.
Proposals to improve mental health services on campus were a key element of Stewart’s election campaign and include the establishment of an after-hours peer support line, fall break, and implement training for mental illness following the LGBTQ Positive Space Training model.
The event marks neither a starting point or an ending point in campus mental health efforts, noted Fein. Given the strong foundation in place already, there remains potential for refinement in policies and publicity of services.
Considerations proposed at the event included revisions to policies pertaining to voluntary and involuntary university dropout.
Currently, students forced to take leave from university either by choice or force are faced with immense difficulty when they try to return to their studies. The time off reflects negatively as a result of the current policy framework, thus often restricting re-entry for such students, noted Fein and Fernandes.
The next steps at this time involve consolidating the ideas that came out of the symposium and look to the improvement of current services and the allocation of new recommendations to those parties on campus that can affect the envisioned change.
By Jordan Graber
Winter break, along with the two additional reading weeks we have at Mac, are a big deal.
It is a good idea to catch up on schoolwork during the winter break, but it is also a good idea to take a step back and slow down. We tend to underestimate the pressures and obligations of being a student. The limited breaks we have in the semester are well deserved, so we should try to maximize them.
As we’re getting back into the swing of things this term, I realize how little time many of the students here at Mac received over the winter holidays to really take a break. Compared to many universities in Ontario, McMaster’s scheduled “break” was rather short for some, considering exams lasted until Dec. 21, and classes began for this semester on Jan. 4.
While this is somewhat due to the extra reading week that has been introduced in the fall semester, it still doesn’t seem right that while there are some who get to go home in early to mid-December, there are others who must stay until the very end. I have friends who wrote examinations at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21. Considering packing and travel time, this can cut the winter break rather short.
Of course, it is different for everyone based on program, year, courses and many other factors. However, I think that everyone should at least be rewarded a full two weeks of holidays to relax, recuperate and prepare for the rest of the academic year.
I’m sure everyone can agree that exam season is an extremely stressful time and for many people, including myself, going home is the light at the end of the tunnel.
We are in an age of stress and an epidemic of anxiety and depression. Post-secondary institutions around the globe are calling for services to combat mental health rises in college and university students. Students are overwhelmed by the homework and burdens that often come alongside a full course load.
A survey taken in early 2017, involving 15 universities from across Ontario, revealed that mental health budgets had increased 35 per cent, levels of anxiety, stress and depression in university students has increased over 45 per cent and calls to the Mental Health Helpline have increased by 344 per cent; all in the last five years.
There are issues involving students and mental health in modern day society, and no one knows exactly what is going on. We do know that something must be done, because young people deserve to receive the best care and education in their perspective years at university.
Reading weeks and the winter breaks give students the time and space to revamp mindsets and restore healthy mentalities that will carry them to the end of the year. Students are not learning machines, nor should they act as such.
A new, high-pressure environment like university is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, because it can have detrimental effects on those who feel as though they cannot take the time to loosen up and remember that they are not expected to be super-students.
It’s understandable that academic years are tight, but when it comes to the well-being of its students. McMaster should try to ensure that each student gets the holiday that they deserve.
As for you students, make sure you take the time you need to keep yourself on track and in a good place this year. When there is constant work, it is much too easy to fall into a dark place. That is why these breaks are important; they give us all time to breathe.
