Category Archives: GSA

Graduate Student Banking Session with RBC McMaster On Campus

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Graduate Student Banking Session with RBC McMaster On Campus

Join the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) McMaster On Campus team for an interactive financial literacy workshop. To learn more about student banking in Canada, how to make daily transactions (i.e., paying tuition/bills, savings and investing), budgeting to meet your financial goals, and how to get the most out of your everyday banking. There will be a Kahoot game with a chance to win prizes!

Date & Time: Wed, 23 November 2022, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM EST

Location: McMaster University Student Centre, Room 313/311 1280 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8S 4S4

Register HERE!

Storwell Self Storage Offers a $2,000 Bursary to Support Foster Children Going into Post-Secondary Education

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Storwell Self Storage Offers a $2,000 Bursary to Support Foster Children Going into Post-Secondary Education

Along with providing safe, secure, and affordable self storage units, Storwell is also devoted to helping out the local community through various charitable causes and social initiatives. For over a decade, Storwell has been running a bursary program for students who were part of the foster care system to help them attend post-secondary school.

A study done in 2017 by the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth found that over the last four decades, poor academic outcomes have been characteristic of former youth in care from Canada, the United States, and Britain. Youth in care struggle to complete high school with 56% of Ontario Crown Wards dropping out of high school. According to the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, right now there are approximately 63,000 Canadian children living in permanent care with foster families, extended family, or in group homes. These children and youths frequently experience difficulties gaining access to adequate education opportunities, especially when it comes to post-secondary education.

In response to the growing number of foster children and youth in care that struggle to afford post-secondary studies, Storwell has developed the Storwell Foster Children Bursary Program. The aim of the Foster Children Bursary Program is to provide foster children with resources and opportunities that might be otherwise unavailable to them. With the proper tools, these students can work towards building a better life for themselves through the pursuit of higher education.

Storwell offers an annual bursary of $2,000 to help foster children attend post-secondary schools and to offer a hand up as they make their way forward in life. Eligibility requirements and access to the application form can be found at: https://www.storwell.com/bursary-application

Dialogue Virtual Health Care Continuation: GSA Referendum

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Dialogue Virtual Health Care Continuation: GSA Referendum

Access to in-person health services can often be limited and inconvenient for students. With Virtual Health Care (provided by Dialogue), health care is always just a tap away no matter where students are, and they never have to wait in line at a clinic.

Currently, students covered by the GSA Health Plan already have access to the service for the 2021-2022 policy year, until Aug. 31, 2022. Now the GSA is holding a referendum to determine if students support the continuation of Dialogue Virtual Health Care for future years.

Dialogue Virtual Health Care allows students to consult doctors and nurses via a mobile app or on the web from anywhere in Canada. Keeping safety a priority, the service evaluates and treats only health issues that can be assessed via telemedicine, when a physical exam isn’t required. Around 70% of typical walk-in clinic cases can be treated virtually.

The following features are included:

  • Fast access to medical professionals via chat, video, or phone
  • Video consultations with licensed doctors and nurses
  • Follow-up from the Dialogue team or referral to specialists
  • Prescription delivery to your pharmacy

Find out more about the current Dialogue Virtual Health Care service at www.studentcare.ca.

If renewed, it would cost $44.07 (tax included) for access from September to August, as of Fall 2022. Students automatically covered by the GSA Health Plan would also automatically be charged the Dialogue Virtual Health Care fee with their tuition and other fees. They would have the option to opt out during a Change-of-Coverage Period at the start of the school year and receive a full refund.

Voting in the referendum takes place online from Mar. 1, 2022 at 10 am – Mar. 3, 2022 at 6 pm.

Voting Link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=B2M3RCm0rUKMJSjNSW9Hcqh0nSYe0S1EmUXb31kEjb9UQllXMVJUSklRTzlUS0FPQU5YTjZGN0hFTC4u

FAQ is here.

Ukraine Solidarity Statement

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Ukraine Solidarity Statement

The GSA would like to state that it stands with Ukraine and supports Canada taking a leadership role in supporting Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.

Since invading Ukraine in 2014 and illegally occupying Crimea, Russia has waged a war of aggression in the east Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk. The human cost of this conflict to Ukraine has been tragic; with 13,000 dead, over 30,000 wounded and 1.5 million civilians internally displaced.

Russia’s recent actions suggest additional threats to the sovereignty of Ukraine, namely the movement of a significant amount of troops and military hardware to Ukraine’s borders and into occupied Ukrainian territory.

The GSA wishes above all for a peaceful resolution to this conflict, and joins the international community in response to Russia’s increasing threats against Ukraine. We call on the McMaster community to support:

  1. Ukraine’s independence and autonomy as a country;
  2. Canada’s humanitarian and developmental aid to Ukraine;
  3. Increasing sanctions on Russia to deter further aggression against Ukraine;

We echo the Trudeau government’s calls on Russia to de-escalate tensions and call on them to support Ukraine’s independence and prevent a further Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Share your support by sharing that you #StandWithUkraine or supporting the following NGOs:

For grad students who are in distress about these current events, the GSA encourages you to use our mental health supports including:

McMaster GSA Q&A with Doug Welch

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McMaster GSA Q&A with Doug Welch

Thank you to McMaster University’s Dean of Graduate Studies, Doug Welch, for coming to answer graduate student questions in our Q&A on Thursday, February 3rd at 4PM!

Note: This video recording starts after the first question.

Here are some resources for grad students based on today’s Q&A:

Covid-19 Relief Funding is available. Apply now!

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COVID-19 Relief Funding is available. Apply now!

The Graduate Students Association (GSA) of McMaster University recognizes that COVID-19 has disrupted the research progress of graduate students in a number of ways and that many students have had their program completion delayed substantially. To address student needs, the GSA has developed a COVID-relief fund for overtime graduate students who have otherwise been unable to receive any supplemental funding from their faculties, programs, or departments. Overtime graduate students who have not received supplemental funding through their programs/departments/faculties are eligible to request tuition support for Winter and Spring 2022 (up to $1500 per term to a maximum of $3000) by applying through the GSA. To complete your application, eligible graduate students and their supervisors must describe how COVID disrupted their research and/or academic progress and what obstacles were faced in receiving program/department/faculty funding.

Please submit THIS FORM along with your PROOF OF ENROLLMENT from Mosaic to the GSA prior to January 14th, 2022 at 5:00 PM EST by email at macgsa@mcmaster.ca

For questions related to this application, please contact gsavpadmin@mcmaster.ca