*NEW DATES & LINKS DIFFERENT FROM LAST WEEK! See daily updates on our twitter account.
Free Exercise Classes from the McMaster Pulse, schedule here
Meeting ID: 741 5842 9470
Password: thepulse
Tuesday, September 15th at 2pm – Welcome Month Question & Answer Session with the GSA, register ahead with this link
Thursday, September 17th at 10-11am – McMaster GSA Welcome Week Tour with PhD Candidate Jennifer Williams. Link to join is here
Welcome to a new academic year, the Fall 2020 semester. For many of you this may consist of teaching, learning, or supporting others in their academic journey. We thank you for your efforts in getting to this point and we believe in you every step of the way. The GSA is here to support you!
A note about HSR Bus Pass: We have confirmed that students assessed the HSR fee for 2019/2020 academic year will be credited $65 for the months that HSR was free due to the pandemic! You should see this reflected on your student accounts over the next two weeks. We are actively working with the city of Hamilton to continue to bring financial relief for our members.
Have you wanted to learn more about what the GSA does? Do you want to be the connection between the GSA and your Faculty? We would like to announce the vacant positions for Faculty Representatives of the Council (FRC), view the nomination form here. Their role consists of attending Council meetings, representing your faculty, organizing faculty specific events and communication, and voting at Council meetings! Please note the due date is September 21st. Current vacancies:
Please send your cover letter and nomination form to Mona at macgsa@mcmaster.ca.
Running from August 28th – September 28th, sign-up for the SciGSA virtual scavenger hunt! Team up with a group of graduate students and complete the scavenger hunt to win points. The team with the most points wins the scavenger hunt, and contributes to their department winning the Pythagoras Cup!
Complete the scavenger hunt using the following google form: https://forms.gle/Snmjev4sNMyhMr8d6
If you have any questions or concerns with accessing the scavenger hunt, please let us know. **NOTE: the scavenger hunt does not need to be completed in a single as it may take a few hours to complete depending on the individuals familiarity to Hamilton. If you are to complete the hunt over a few days, simply save your answers in a separate document or Notes app on your phone and ONLY fill in and submit this Google form with your final answers when you have completed the hunt.**
Check out the Graduate Writing Support Centre for writing services, the thesis writing toolkit, and the writing support bootcamp dates.
International Students: Click on this link to take this anonymous research survey about your experience during COVID-19.
Are you a returning International TA? The MacPherson Institute is looking for returning International teaching assistants to participate in a 1-hour panel, “Teaching in a Canadian Classroom” on September 10, 12:30-1:30 pm. If you are interested in sharing your TA or sessional experience as an international student/teacher (what did/did not work, what you learned from your role) please fill out this form and we will reach out to you with more information. Panelists will receive a $30 gift card to Amazon, Indigo, or Starbucks for their time.
Seeking to hire a graduate research assistant to start around mid-September, 2020. The project explores blues and hip-hop geographies and their influences on cultures of resistance, both globally and among Asian(workers). All of the work can be done online. Candidate should be highly organized, independent, and responsible. Ideally, the theme is somewhat aligned with your own research interests so that the work may contribute to your own project. Pay is commensurate with your experience in conducting research but will be in the range of $25-$30/hr. Estimated total hours is 30 with potential for more. More details for the responsibilities of this job can be available upon request.
Please send resume/CV with a 1-page cover letter to Dr. Tommy Wu (wu21@mcmaster.ca) asap and preferably before September 1st, 2020.
PARTICIPANTS NEEDED For Graduate Education Study
I am doctoral candidate looking for current graduate students to complete a survey on their psychosocial and learning experiences. As a participant in this survey, you will be asked to think about and answer questions about your experience as a graduate student.
The survey will take approximately 25 minutes for you to complete and can be completed online. In appreciation of your time, you will be entered in a random draw to win a $25 Amazon gift card.
If you consent, you may also be asked to participate in an individual interview with the researcher to have a more in-depth discussion of your experiences.
If interested in participating, please follow the link to Graduate Education Survey.
If you have any questions, please contact Newsha Ziaian-Ghafari.
Black Student Mentorship Program (BSMP) is an exciting new initiative from and for the Black students and faculty of McMaster. In this program, you can mentor an upper year undergraduate student who shares your interests and/or goals. At the same time, you can be mentored by a Black faculty member. Interested in being a part of BSMP?! Check out our application. This program will give you the opportunity to connect with other Black students, faculty, and alumni. You don’t want to miss out on being a part of this supportive community! Learn more on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitt
Thank you for your responses on GSA Political Involvement. At the GSA Student Issues Action Committee meeting on Monday, August 24th, we discussed replacing the Policy and Political Neutrality and Anti-Discrimination with a new Policy on Anti-Oppression. We are very thankful for the graduate students who have given their time over the past two months. As this work continues, we are committed to updating this document to reflect the current needs of graduate students. If at any time you want to elicit feedback or join the Student Issues Action Committee, please email Sydney Valentino, GSA VP External. The GSA Academic Workshops survey is still open – the deadline is next week on Friday! We would love to hear from you, please see more details later in this email.
A note about Student Events: Since we opened up the Student Groups Events Management portal in May, please be aware we are only allowed to have virtual student group events – no in person or on campus events will be approved. Please email us if you have any questions.
The calm before the storm. We are ramping up to have a number of awesome events over the month of September. Please join us in welcoming new graduate students and congratulating returning students at Welcome Month 2020. Please see our website calendar for more details.
Calling all International Students! Would you be willing to share with Carleton University Professors, Professor Saul Schwartz and Professor Anil Varughese, your experience during COVID-19 and your concerns for the upcoming school year by participating in a 10-minute survey?
Your completely anonymous answers will help them to better understand the major challenges faced by you and by other international students during COVID-19 outbreak.
Click on this link to take the survey.
On August 14th, the GSA met with University Administration on campus, including President David Farrar. At this meeting, we spoke about international student issues, services offered by Athletics and Recreation (follow The Pulse on Instagram for free classes), and actions in support of oppressed groups on campus. They reported to us about the ongoing External Review on Black Student-Athletes’ Experience and actions taken to support Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on campus, including the hiring of Dr. Arig Al-Shaibah. We will keep you updated on these items and others as they come to hand! We established more regular communication between us and the University Administration and we look forward to advocating for you at these meetings. If you have specific concerns you would like to address for future meetings, you can reach out directly to Shawn Hercules at gsapres@mcmaster.ca.
A note about HSR: Some students experienced a disappearance of the HSR tile and were unable to obtain their voucher for the upcoming expiry as of August 21, 2020. This issue should be resolved. If you are a student in the upcoming academic year, please redeem your new HSR voucher as soon as possible to avoid paying for your HSR transit on August 22, 2020.
A note about social media: Please follow the GSA on Twitter or request to join the GSA Facebook group for more regular updates on workshops and news! We post daily about workshops and information for you to stay updated. It is important for us to read your updates, so please expect us to request to follow you back!
Further information on both the GSA Value Proposition our website.
For an update on HSR fees please see this link.