Category: Contributors

Ainsley MacLeod is a fourth-year Honours English and Cultural Studies student with a minor in Psychology. Since she was young, Ainsley has discerned herself as a girl in sports, now currently playing for the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse team here at McMaster. During her free time, she also enjoys painting, comedy, visiting new spaces, writing short stories and also loves spending time with her dog, Tess.

Elizabeth is a current undergraduate student studying Justice Political Philosophy and Law, minoring in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University. She looks forward to attending Law school fall 2022 aimed at pursuing areas surrounding Entertainment, Family, Social Justice and Human Rights Law. As a healthy social advocate for civil rights, Elizabeth is working to expand the growth of her club The Law Aspiring Black Students (L.A.B.S), which she co-founded and served as president for two-consecutive terms. Elizabeth hopes to intertwine her passion for activism with her pursuit of law to work in designing avenues to make legal knowledge more accessible. Elizabeth is currently working on the publication of her article Looking Back on the TRAD magazine site where she speaks of her journey discovering her African ancestry, and how beneficial the act has worked in allowing her to understand her purpose and identity amidst a justice system that she feels falsely represents her.

Damanjot (she/her) is a fourth-year undergraduate student in her final year at McMaster University in the English and Cultural Studies department. She is also the President and founder of the Pop-Up Project, a student initiative to help the homeless community within Hamilton. 

Laurel Richardson is a fourth-year English and Cultural Studies student at McMaster University. They are interested in how environmental destruction is envisioned in literature and combatting issues of environmental racism, both historically and presently. 

Michelle Yao (she/her) is an undergraduate student at McMaster University. She is currently enrolled in the Bachelors of Health Sciences (Honours) program and pursuing a Minor in English and Cultural Studies. At McMaster, she is an Archway mentor; the Teaching assistant for the course Global Health Advocacy; the Communications Director for the school’s creative arts magazine, Incite; and a Resources and Advocacy Co-executive at the MSU Student Health Education Centre.

Having grown up around Canada’s Chemical Valley, she is especially passionate about dismantling structures that perpetuate environmental racism and colonial violence. Michelle’s undergraduate thesis revolves around the study of cultural competency in healthcare education. She is also studying the impacts of environmental racism on youth mental health with a research group affiliated with Global Water Futures and the McMaster Department of Pediatrics.

Ruchika is an editor, writer, reader, student and settler of South Asian descent, currently living on the territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Ojibway/Chippewa peoples, in Ontario. She is finishing up her undergraduate degree in English and Cultural Studies, and Women’s Studies at McMaster University, researching alternative, anti-carceral, community based responses to sexual violence. When she’s not reading for school, she’s reading for fun, or trying to make the perfect Americano. Find Ruchika at @rgothoskar on Instagram, and Twitter.

Cassandra Baird is a fourth year Honours Full-Time English and Cultural Studies student with a minor in History. After to graduation this Spring, she plans to attend Western University in the Fall for the Bachelor of Education program at the Intermediate/Senior level. Within her free time, she enjoys hiking with her fur babies Copper and Zoey, attending music festivals, studying Astrology, and writing poetry.

Elizabeth Ball is a previous graduate of McMaster University. She has returned this year to continue her studies in the Honours English and Cultural Studies Program. Elizabeth works full time in a Social Services department. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to experience different cultures, going for long walks with her dog, and spending time with her family and friends.

Maddie is a fourth-year undergraduate student at McMaster University, where she studies Linguistics and English & Cultural Studies. Maddie’s interest in these fields stems from her passion to assist young individuals develop their literacy skills and gain independence. After completing her degree (BA), Maddie plans to work within her community to further her knowledge and experience, eventually progressing towards a career in an educational field.

When she is not brewing a coffee to fuel her daily assignments, Maddie spends her time quarantined in her Hamilton house with her friends, where they schedule daily walks, bake various types of loaves, and find new activities to do on a Friday night.

Laurence Butet-Roch is a photographer, writer, PhD student in Environmental Studies at York University, and Graduate Research Associate at the Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts and Technology. Her research, supported by a Joseph Armand-Bombardier SSHRC award, unsettles mainstream representation of environmental contamination in Canada through participatory visual discourse analysis and collaborative photographic approaches.