Newsletter Archives — October 2015

What’s New for October 2015

The ARCDO had a busy month of September getting to know many of the new faces on campus. We would like to thank our continuing readers and warmly welcome over 250 new subscribers to our list! We hope you enjoy the information and events listed for you in this issue. Happy October!

Tongues Untied - ScreeningTongues Untied – Screening

Join us for the October film screening of the movie: Tongues United. This movie is part of the LGBTQ Film Series 2015 – 2016.

The LGBTQ Film Series is a monthly educational film series sponsored by U of T Libraries, the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office and for the month of October the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office. The series showcases films within the U of T Libraries Collection, as well as Canadian Premiers, focusing on the lives of LGBTQ people in Canada and internationally.

Here are the details:

When: Thursday, October 15, 2015.  Doors open @ 6:00 p.m. Event starts at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Media Commons Theatre, Robarts Library 3rd Floor. UTSG

The event is free and everyone is welcome!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1632001250387411/

With special guest: Dr. Rinaldo Walcott – Director, Women and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto.

About Tongues Untied:

The film blends documentary footage with personal account and fiction in an attempt to depict the specificity of black gay identity. The narrative structure of Tongues Untied is both interesting and unconventional. Besides including documentary footage detailing North American black gay culture, Riggs also tells of his own experiences as a gay man. The documentary deals with the simultaneous critique of the politics of racism, homophobia and exclusion as they are intertwined with contemporary sexual politics.

U of T News and Updates

SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS

President Gertler issued a statement on the Syrian Refugee Crisis and announced that the University of Toronto is expanding their ‘Scholars-at-Risk’ program with a new bursary for students at risk. The goal is to create a $1 million fund supporting 100 bursaries of $10,000 each, which we would award over the next 10 years. To support this initiative, U of T is committing up to $500,000 to match (1:1) donations of any size from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters. The bursaries will go to undergraduate and graduate students with refugee status in Canada. To begin, the bursaries will be focused on Syrian students at risk, and will be broadened to include other refugees who have had their educations disrupted by conflict or war. We believe these bursaries will play a powerful role in helping these students and their families rebuild their lives. To make a donation, please visit: http://uoft.me/scholars-at-risk.

For those individuals who are interested in sponsoring refugee families in Canada, we would encourage you to support Ryerson University’s Lifeline Syria initiative. Ryerson is spearheading a drive to sponsor 25 Syrian refugee families through this initiative and the University of Toronto, York University, and OCAD University have all agreed to partner with Ryerson in this effort. For more information, please visit: http://www.ryerson.ca/lifelinesyria/

SECURITY UPDATE REGARDING ONLINE COMMENTS

We have been informed by Toronto Police Services that the risk of violence on the three campuses remains low and that their police investigation continues. Campus Police continues to engage the community through bike patrols, building patrols, and general community response on campus. Assignments of individual Campus Police officers will be shifting from in-class attendance to security posted outside classrooms when requested by faculty and teaching staff.

As a reminder, safety resources on campus include:

  • Campus Police: St. George 416-978-2222, UTM 905-569-4333 or UTSC 416-287-7333
  • The Community Safety Office (416-978-1485) will assist faculty, student and staff with personal safety plans if requested.
  • Walk Smart Programs are available to assist faculty, students and staff who feel uncomfortable walking alone between University buildings, parking lots, and transit stops near campus.
    • St. George WalkSmart: 416-978-7233; U of T Mississauga WalkSafer: 905-607-7233; U of T Scarborough UTSC Patrol: 416-287-7022

Please continue to check www.safety.utoronto.ca for regular updates.

Call For Papers: Anti-Black Racism Network (ABRN) Conference

Anti-Black Racism: Criminalization, Community, and Resistance – Ryerson University – Toronto, Ontario – February 18-19, 2016

The ABRN will host the first Anti-Black Racism Conference titled “Anti-Black Racism: Criminalization, Community, and Resistance” at Toronto’s Ryerson University, February 18-20, 2016. The goals of the conference are to:

  • promote dialogue and critical reflection aimed at mobilizing for change and policy effectiveness
  • advance theory and research
  • develop shared practices of resilience that resist the harms of anti-Black racism.

Perspectives may include Black feminist thought, arts and media resistance, intersecting identities in the context of settler colonialism, decolonization, and critical disabilities. The conference will provide the opportunity for academics, researchers, students, community members, youth, and activists to examine engage in discussion, share empirical research and advance theory with respect to anti-Blackness in 11 key thematic areas:

  • Education
  • Criminal (in)Justice
  • Health and Mental Wellness
  • Child Welfare, Families and Social Services
  • Arts, Culture and Media
  • History
  • Immigration
  • Anti-Black Racism and LGBTTIQQ2AS Experiences
  • Alliance-building and Collaborations of Resistance
  • Labour and Work
  • Sports

They are inviting abstracts for papers, workshops, panels, video and poetry performances, and other artistic forms of activism that address the above goals and themes. Abstracts should not exceed 250 words. Abstracts should explain the topic of your presentation. It should outline the content of your presentation and highlight key discussion points with attention to the practice implications and/or links to how it will advance anti-Black racism. All abstracts are due October 15, 2015. Please submit a 50 word biography.

For further conference information and to submit abstracts please contact: ABRN@ryerson.ca or visit http://www.ryerson.ca/socialwork/ABRConference.html

Racial Justice Matters8th Annual DLSPH Student-Led Conference – Racial Justice Matters: Advocating for Racial Health Equity

Registration is now open for the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s 8th Annual Student-Led Conference. This year, the conference titled Racial Justice Matters:  Advocating for Racial Health Equity, will be focusing on racial health inequities and why racism is a public health issue.

The conference is taking place from October 23rd to October 24th at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University.
Tickets are only $10 dollars and gives you access to two full days of programming including 2 keynotes, 6 breakout sessions, a community partners fair, a research & practice showcase and of course, lunch, snacks and refreshments.

You will be discussing issues such as Aboriginal and Indigenous Health; Immigrant, Refugee and Newcomer Health; Environmental Racism; Racialized Health in the Digital Age; Systemic and Institutionalized Racism; Gaining Anti-Racism Tools and Skills and much more!

To purchase tickets, visit: www.racialjusticematters.eventbrite.com
For complete conference information, check out our website at www.racialjusticematters.com

More Events

(If you wish to request that your event be included in our monthly newsletter, please submit requests to antiracism@utoronto.ca at least one week prior to the beginning of the new month.)

October 1, 3 – 4 pm, Multi-Faith Centre 569 Spadina Avenue, Koffler Building: Being Authentic: A 4-Week Arts-Based Program: Being Authentic is a 4-week arts-based program, designed to deepen self-knowledge and reflection for students exploring questions of identity, meaning, purpose and spiritual-well-being. The program uses a variety of artistic mediums: movement, storytelling, theatre, visual art and creative writing, alongside breath-work meditation, appreciative inquiry, self-affirmations and reflective discussion. We will do this while cultivating a space of acceptance, trust, affirmation and respect for our diverse life paths and traditions.  We welcome students from all faiths, cultures, racialized identities, abilities, sexualities, genders and perspectives to participate.

October 2, 5 – 10 pm, Hart House UTSG – BLUE and Ulead present the Student Leadership Conference – BLUE and Ulead present the Student Leadership Conference, a one day conference that focuses on building and developing key leadership skills while making connections with likeminded and involved students. The conference program includes a rich variety of workshops designed for all levels of leadership, as well as a keynote speaker. This event is a unique opportunity to network and collaborate with fellow students, and to cultivate a confident sense of leadership within yourself.

October 2, 1 – 3 pm, 33 St. George Street, CIE – Cumberland Room: Orientation for International Student Families. During the Orientation we will discuss important information for families and partners that will help them make transition to life in Canada and on campus a little bit easier. It will be a great opportunity to meet other spouses and partners of international students. Students who wish to attend the extra and co-curricular activities but are unable to because of childcare costs, can apply for Child Care Reimbursement.

October 3, 6:51 pm to Sunrise, Downtown Toronto: Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Toronto: The 10th edition of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche will feature more than 60 contemporary art projects by Toronto’s art community and four curated exhibitions produced by the City of Toronto. Discover more than 110 projects by 400 artists.

October 7, 9 am – 8 pm, New College 45 Willcocks Street Black+Queer+Human: A Conversation. is a one day symposium looking at the present urgency of critical conversations from a queer perspective on black life and its complexity across space, place and time. Bringing together scholars from different vantage points, this symposium aims to offer alternative ways to re-imagine freedom, desire and pleasure, as a response to anti-blackness and state-violence.

October 7, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, Meeting Place located in S-Wing. Mental Health Understoood Fair. Mental Health Understood is an information fair focussing on mental health supports and resources by UTSC student services, student groups, and community organizations. Join us for interactive displays on healthy lifestyles, coping strategies, and protecting our mental health. Celebrate Mental Wellness Month! Small changes can have a big impact on your overall wellness. #BeWellUofT #UTSC

October 14 to 18 – TIFF Bell LightBox, Downtown Toronto: imagiNATIVE Festival. In partnership with Bell Media, the imagineNATIVE Festival enters the 16th anniversary of its annual event. The 2015 imagineNATIVE Festival is a film and media arts festival that celebrates the film, video, radio and new media works of indigenous people. The four-day festival includes screenings of films by national and international aboriginals that speak to various cultural and social events. Attendees have the opportunity to attend screenings and exhibits that are included in the yearly festival.

October 28, 12 – 1 pm, UTSC, AC227 Indigenous Lunch & Learn, UTSC welcomes Aboriginal Elder-in-Residence Cat Criger to the campus every Wednesday. The Department of Student Life wants to ensure all students and staffs have the opportunity to seek advice and cultural enrichment from someone who will provide a safe and relevant space, especially for those who identify as First Nations, Metis and Inuit.

Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain links to non- Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO) websites. These links are provided solely as convenience to you. The ARCDO is not responsible for the content of any non-ARCDO websites and does not endorse the information contained therein.