SBA Programming and Events
- SBA Office Hours – Welcome Back!
- SBA Levy Opt Out Hours (January 9 – 27)
- QT2SBIPOC Discussion Night
Community Events and Resources
- Fight the Fees
- Q21: A Conversation Cafe – QW(E)ERTY
- 2017 White Cane Week ‘Experience’ Expo
- Ace Toronto 2017 (Un)Conference
- Landscape of Accessibility and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities – Call for Submissions
- New Colleges Student Voice Project
SBA Programming and Events
SBA Office Hours – Welcome Back!
Welcome to winter 2017! SBA is open with regular hours, Monday – Thursday 11:30 to 5:30pm and Fridays 12:30 to 5:30pm.
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SBA Graduate Student Union Levy Opt Out Dates
University of Toronto graduate students who wish to opt out of their levy agreement with Students for Barrier-Free Access (SBA) and receive a refund of the fees collected can drop by the SBA office at 215 Huron Street, room 924. Refunds for the fall term are $2 for full-time graduate students and $1 for part-time graduate students. Please bring your University of Toronto Student ID and proof of registration.
Drop in times for those wishing to opt-out are: Mondays-Thursdays between 11:30am-5:30pm and Fridays between 12:30pm-5:30 from January 9th to January 27th. Evening opt-outs are on Thursday January 12th, Wednesday January 18th, and Thursday January 26th between 5:30-7:30pm. If you wish to receive your levy refund during the evenings, please call our office number 416 967 7322 and we will let you into the building.
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QT2SBIPOC Discussion Night
Students for Barrier-free Access (SBA) and the Centre for Women and Trans People (CWTP) at U of T invites you to join us for the first night of a new series of events that works to create space for community building, critical conversation, and support for Queer, Trans and Two-Spirit, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (QT2SBIPOC).
As organizers of this space, we recognize that this event will be taking place on the territories of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca and the Mississaugas of New Credit. We are here because this land is occupied. As organizations located within the University of Toronto, it is our responsibility to acknowledge that we are all treaty people that live, work and organize on occupied land.
We also recognize that this University is a space that many of our community members experience violence, including the violence of settler-colonialism, anti-black racism, white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, ableism, sanism, classism, Islamophobia and the violence of rape culture. Recent events on campus have highlighted the ongoing presence of these forms of violence. As a collective, we work to challenge these forms of violence in our communities and in our everyday practice.
We have a strong commitment to creating anti-colonial community space that rejects ableist and sanist ways of relating. We are committed to building meaningful and reciprocal relationships between Indigenous, Black, and POC communities and to acknowledge that this requires difficult conversations to be had. Through the QT2SBIPOC Discussion Night Series, we strive to hold a space for these conversations.
This meetings topic to be determined.
Date: Monday January 23rd, 2017
Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm
Location: SBA Centre, 215 Huron Street, Suite 924, on the 9th floor.
Please note that the front doors to 215 Huron Street lock at 5:30pm. Event organizers will wait at the entrance to let people in from 5:45pm-6:00pm. If you arrive later, please call 416-967-7322 and one of us will let you in.
Wheelchair accessible. Accessible and all-gender washroom located on the same floor as the event room.
Please note that the SBA Centre is a scent-free space.
Snacks, including vegan and gluten-free options will be served.
If you require ASL to participate in the event, or if you have any other access needs please contact Nadia at sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com
***This is a QT2SBIPOC only space. As always, we appreciate the support we receive from our white allies by respecting this space and by sharing this event information with their networks.***
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Community events and Resources
Fight the Fees Coalition Meeting
The next Fight the Fees Coalition meeting will be held on Thursday January 19th in Sidney Smith Front Lobby from 2 PM – 4PM.
This will be a place for students and all those committed to free education come together to talk about what the Fight the Fees campaign will look like!
Fight the Fees Coalition is comprised of students and UofT community members who are concerned about skyrocketing tuition fees, mounting student debt and persistent government underfunding of college and university institutions.
Through the Fight the Fees campaign, we are demanding that the provincial government commit to:
1. Reducing and eliminating tuition fees
2. Converting the provincial portion of student loans into grants
3. Removal of interest on existing student loans
Get involved! Join the fight for No Fees, No Loans and No Debt.
For any questions or accessibility accommodations, please contact Richie Pyne at fightthefees@apus.ca.
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Q21: A CONVERSATION CAFÉ – QW(E)ERTY
Thursday, January 12, 2017
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
21 Sussex Avenue, Room 421
– How do we communicate and learn about sexuality and gender diversity on online platforms such as Facebook, Tumblr, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.?
– How does social media influence our communities?
– What do you consider when evaluating all of the information that you see online?
This week at Q21, we will be discussing how we navigate ourselves and our various identities online. From using social media to build connections with family, friends, and other networks, to finding new relationships or dates, or even to expressing our identity and orientation through digital media, the queer community is definitely very active online. What does this mean for our communities? Come join the discussion and share your ideas this week!
We are excited to have Cho Chua facilitate this week’s discussion! Cho is the current Program Assistant for Q21, and if she isn’t trying to dab or converse with you, she’s most probably glued to her laptop.
Q21: A Conversation Café is your weekly opportunity to connect with students and guest facilitators about the topics on our minds. Q21 will take place every Thursday from 3:00 – 4:30 pm. Each week will have a theme and a new guest facilitator.
Be part of the discussion.
Eat the snacks.
Find out more about Q21 and read our Frequently Asked Questions.
Read more about this event online.
Join the event on Facebook.
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2017 White Cane Week ‘Experience’ Expo
This Expo, sponsored by the Canadian Council of the Blind and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, is A hands-on, interactive exposition in which exhibitors share their ‘experience’, providing creative, adaptive solutions to all aspects of life with vision loss. Through interactive demonstrations and activities, visitors can ‘experience’ new ways to overcome barriers, gain independence, and live a full, rich life.
Come and engage with dozens of exhibitors to find out what it’s like – hands on – to navigate using a smart phone with Blind Square, test your putting skills – blind-folded! – with the Ontario Visually Impaired Golfers, try your hand at sculpting in clay with Hands of Fire Sculpture Group, or climb onto a tandem bike with Trailblazers Tandem Cycling! The CNIB will be on hand, demonstrating everything from cooking techniques to screen-readers! And much, much more! So come out to the ‘Experience’ Expo, get interactive, try something new, and explore the possibilities!
When: Saturday, February 4, 2017 from 10am to 4pm
Where: CNIB Centre, 1929 Bayview Avenue, Toronto.
Immediately following the Expo from 4pm to 8pm, the CCB Toronto Visionaries will be holding a Community Social featuring music, food, a cash bar & door prizes!
Admission is free to the Expo and Community Social.
But if you plan to attend the Community Social, please RSVP to our Voice Mail Line, 416-760-2163 or at ccbtorontovisionaries@gmail.com.
So come out and share the ‘Experience’ at the 2017 WCW ‘Experience’ Expo!
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Ace Toronto (Un)Conference
Ace Toronto is happy to announce that we will be hosting an Ace Toronto 2017 (Un)Conference for ace and/or arospec community members and allies.
Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested! The info is also on tumblr and facebook.
Event: Ace Toronto 2017 (Un)Conference
Location: Ryerson Student Centre (55 Gould St., Toronto, ON)
Date/Time: Saturday, January 21, 2017– 10am-6:30pm; 9:30am check-in (with a post conference social)
For more details, check out our website.
Please note that we are trying to co-ordinate billeting for out-of-town attendees, as well as carpooling (depending on interest) via the conference registration form.
Who is this conference for? This conference is for people who are on the ace and/or aromantic spectrums or questioning whether they might be, and for their friends, partners, and family.
What is this conference about? The goal of this conference is to create a space for more in-depth conversations among ace and/or arospec community members.
What is an (Un)Conference? This conference will include set programming in the morning (e.g., workshops, panels, etc.) and an “unconference” format in the afternoon where programming is decided day-of.
How can I attend? If you are interested in attending the Ace Toronto (Un)Conference, please fill out this registration form. If you are interested, please fill out the programming proposal form. Deadline for programming proposals is Sunday, December 4th, 2016, 11:59pm.
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The Landscape of Accessibility and Accommodation for Students with Disabilities in Canadian Post-Secondary Education
(Ottawa, January 10, 2017) –
The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) has received funds from the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP-D), of just over $193,000 for an important new research project: The Landscape of Accessibility and Accommodation for Students with Disabilities in Canadian Post-Secondary Education: 2016 2018.
At this time we seek written submissions from institutional offices/departments/faculties (including, but not limited to, student services and student affairs offices, campus disability groups, access centres and access committees, faculties and disability services offices) that describe best practices and lessons learned from working with students with disabilities. We are looking for details on professional development practices, innovative programming for students with disabilities, success stories, and effective policies and practices. We also want to know about gaps in learning, knowledge and service at the local level. If your school has a model program or service we’d like you to tell us about it.
Submissions should be no longer than 1,000 words, and be submitted in writing to the NEADS office by email no later than March 31, 2017 to frank.smith@neads.ca with a subject heading The Landscape of Accessibility and Accommodation for Students with Disabilities Submission. Please be advised, submissions may be used by the research team with attribution and permission — unless we are informed that a submission is to be kept confidential and to be used in a general way — in the final report and recommendations of the project.
This project specifically addresses the SDPP-D Program objective to: “support the development and utilization of effective approaches to address social issues and challenges.” Building on previous NEADS work, including the landmark report of the National Taskforce on the Experience of Graduate Students with Disabilities, Understanding Accessibility in Graduate Education For Students with Disabilities in Canada (2016); Enhancing Accessibility for Disabled Students – A Guide For Service Providers (2012); and, Working Towards a Coordinated National Approach to Services, Accommodations and Policies for Post-Secondary Students With Disabilities (1999), this project will undertake a thorough examination of the current landscape of accessibility, services, accommodations, technical equipment and supports for students with disabilities at publicly-funded post-secondary institutions across Canada.
The research will occur at the same time as, and is expected to inform, the Government of Canada’s consultation on a new planned accessibility legislation, under the leadership of Minister Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities. Consultations and research on post-secondary access and services are timely and will contribute to the Government of Canada’s emphasis on access to education and training for persons with disabilities, leading to their participation in the competitive labour market.
“Students with disabilities deserve equal access and opportunity in their schools. In supporting activities that engage and consult students with disabilities, we can make informed decisions on how to make this happen. Ensuring accessibility in post-secondary institutions is a great example of how together we are changing the culture around disability and creating a more accessible Canada.” The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
For further information on this project contact:
Frank Smith, National Coordinator, National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), Rm. 514 Unicentre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6 tel. (613) 380-8065 ext. 201, www.neads.ca, email: frank.smith@neads.ca
http://www.neads.ca/en/about/media/index.php?id=427
– See more at: http://www.neads.ca/en/about/media/index.php?id=437#sthash.AXVnbwxs.dpuf
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New College’s Student Voice Project
The Student Voice Project (SVP) is a 3 day Alternative Reading Week program focusing on art and mental health. It takes place the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of Reading Week. (February 21-23) and is free of cost and includes meals.
The SVP program partners with community health organizations, the University of Toronto mental health program staff, and students interested in talking about mental health to critically engage with issues of mental health on campus. Over the 3 day project, students will learn from mental health professionals and activists, share lived experiences, discuss mental health issues and realities on campus, and work with artists to create a written or spoken word poetry piece, a visual art piece or a zine.
SVP is run out of the New College Office of Student Life and Leadership (SLL) in collaboration with U of T Health and Wellness.
Applications Due January 25th
Event February 21st , 22nd , 23rd
Students for Barrier-Free Access 