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McMaster Students Union

Diversity + Equity Network

MSU Diversity + Equity Network exists in order to celebrate, unite, and advocate with the variety of diverse groups on campus within the realm of race, ethnicity, culture, faith, and Indigenous affairs. In order to accomplish this, we help to plan, support and promote events that allow McMaster students to fully experience the differences that make our campus unique.

Recognizing the state of inequity on campus, our service acts to advocate for an inclusive environment in which marginalized groups feel welcome and free to embrace their identity.

Committees

The Social and Political Advocacy (SPA) Committee is responsible for creating and implementing campaigns and workshops that seek to educate and raise awareness in the McMaster community. The advocacy will be carried out in the form of large and small-scale educational campaigns. Throughout the academic year, members will work with committee coordinators to plan and execute campaigns inclusive of and beneficial for students of all backgrounds and identities. This will include an intersectional focus on race, interfaith, and Indigenous affairs, through an anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework.

The Community Events and Planning (CEP) committee is responsible for the creation and delivery of programming and awareness events that build community and solidarity amongst the groups supported by MSU Diversity + Equity Network. Throughout the academic year, members will work with committee coordinators to plan and execute events inclusive of, and beneficial for, students of all backgrounds and identities, with an intersectional focus on race, interfaith, and indigenous affairs. This will be done through an anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework.

  • The Environmental Justice Guide aims to educate McMaster students on the topic of environmental racism and justice, its presence in Canada, and how to take further action. Click to download the PDF version or click to download the accessible .docx version of the Environmental Justice Guide.

 

Bridges Café is a venue where groups are encouraged to come together to build an inclusive community through equity and diversity initiatives. Diversity Services encourages students and faculties to utilize Bridges to the best of their capacity to support the celebration of cultures, diversity of opinions and ethnicities, gatherings of the community, and much more!

Event Booking

Bridges Café may be booked for private and public events through MSU Diversity + Equity Network Services during the academic year (Labour Day to the last day of exams in April). The Bridges Coordinator supervises all events, and you must check in with the Bridges Coordinator before beginning to set up for your event.

Fees

Booking Bridges Café is free. Events that require an admission fee to enter the space will not be approved. Voluntary donations for charitable events are permitted. Raised funds must go towards charities that are recognized by the Canadian Revenue Agency and cannot be used to pay for any cost associated to hosting the event (e.g. catering and posters).

Sound Equipment

Bridges Café offers audio equipment free of charge. The Bridges Coordinator operates the sound board which is connected to speakers.

Bridges Café can provide:

  • TWO wireless microphones with mic stands.
  • An AUX cable (4 feet) to connect devices, such as laptops and phones to the speakers.

The intention of using any audio equipment must be communicated on the application for Bridges Café.

Equipment that is NOT provided and must be brought (if required):

  • Musical instruments like keyboards, pianos and guitars
  • Amplifiers
  • Patch cords to connect guitars to amplifiers
  • If you need to connect a projector to the speakers, please rent an “In7” cable to do so.

External equipment (e.g., rentals from Long & McQuade) are permitted as long as the external equipment is not connected to the Bridges Café audio equipment (e.g., a Long & McQuade mic connected to a Bridges Café speaker).

Food

Bridges Café is a meat and alcohol free space. Food can be provided by Paradise Catering catering@mcmaster.ca. Coffee and snack orders must be confirmed five business days prior to the event date. Dinner food options must be confirmed ten business days prior to the event date. Late orders are subject to a 10% late fee.

Booking Procedure

  1. The primary event organizer (PEO) is required to check the calendar below for dates when Bridges is available.
  2. The PEO must fill out the Application for Bridges Café (Microsoft Form) one full month prior to the event date (exceptions will be made for events taking place in September). If you wish to make multiple bookings, fill the form out once and e-mail bridges@msu.mcmaster.ca with the additional dates.
  3. The booking is contingent on EOHSS approval, and will be confirmed when the PEO e-mails bridges@msu.mcmaster.ca an approved Environmental and Occupational Health Support Services (EOHSS) form and receives a reply from the Bridges Coordinator. You can apply for EOHSS approval here. This must be e-mailed a minimum of 5 business days before the event otherwise the PEO forfeits the event date. Please note that EOHSS applications require a minimum 10 business days to be approved which means you should apply for it at least 15 business days before your event booking.
    • In order to apply for an EOHSS application you must be a recognized MSU club or be a recognized faculty club/organization and contact your faculty society.
    • If your organization does not follow the criteria above please email eohss@mcmaster.ca for further assistance.
    • Any food requirements for events must be arranged via Paradise Catering catering@mcmaster.ca or 905 525 9140 x24836 10 business days prior to event date to avoid late charges.
  4. Once Diversity Services sends a confirmation e-mail as a virtual calendar invitation, this means that the PEO has a confirmed booking and their event has been added to the public Bridges calendar located at the bottom of this page. Be prepared to produce the confirmation email either virtually or by paper at anytime during the event in Bridges Café.
  5. The MSU Underground must approve any marketing material for events in Bridges Café and a copy must be sent to bridges@msu.mcmaster.ca within 24 hours of Underground’s approval.

Please click here to access the Application for Bridges Cafe Form

Available Booking Times

The booking can be up to 3 hours including set-up and take-down. Note that you are not permitted to set-up before your booking start time. The space must be cleaned, furniture returned to their original positions using the furniture maps, and vacated no later than 10:45pm. Event planners are required to check in and out with the bridges coordinator before and after their event.

The following are hours available for booking (subject to change based on the availability of the Bridges Coordinator):

  • Monday-Thursday: 8:00pm-10:30pm
  • Friday: 3:30pm-10:30pm
  • Saturday-Sunday: Please inquire

Click here to see the calendar for dates where Bridges is already booked. Please note, due to limited availability of the Bridges Coordinator, there are typically only 5 events hosted per week.

Contact Details
After reading the above information, if you cannot find an answer to your question, please e-mail the Bridges Coordinator at: bridges@msu.mcmaster.ca