SBA Programming and Events
- American Sign Language 101
- SBA Levy Opt Out Hours (January 9 – 27)
- QT2SBIPOC Discussion Night
- Crafternoon
- Advocacy Committee Meeting
Community Events and Resources
- Fight the Fees
- 2017 Indigenous Education Week
- Ace Toronto 2017 (Un)Conference
- New Colleges Student Voice Project
SBA Programming and Events
American Sign Language 101
Interested learning American Sign Language and Deaf Culture? Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Trans People of the University of Toronto (LGBTOUT) and Students for Barrier-Free Access (SBA) will be offering a course that covers ASL basics, an introduction to Deaf Culture, and social justice signs. To learn more about LGBTOUT, please visit: https://lgbtout.wordpress.com/ and uoftsba.com
Classes will be Wednesdays from starting February 1st from 2pm to 4pm. Classes are free and will run for ten weeks. If you are interested and would like more information, please email sba@utoronto.ca and let us know how you heard about the class!
——————————————————————————-
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.
——————————————————————————-
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.***
—————————————————————————-
Crafternoon
Join us for another afternoon on Thursday January 26th, 2016 from 4:30 to 6:30pm. Bring your knitting and crafty things–or borrow some of ours and have a great time!
—————————————————————————-
SBA Advocacy Committee Meeting
Join Student for Barrier-free Access for our first Advocacy Committee meeting of the Winter Term!
Date: Thursday February 2, 2017
Time: 3:00pm-5:00pm
Location: SBA Centre, 215 Huron Street, Suite 924, on the 9th floor
Access notes:
Please note that the SBA centre is a scent-free space.
An accessible and all-gender washroom is located on the same floor as the meeting room.
Snacks will be provided, including vegan and gluten-free options.
New members are very welcome! If you are interested in joining the Advocacy Committee and volunteering with us, please contact Nadia at sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com
—————————————————————————-
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.
——————————————————————————-
2017 Indigenous Education Week
The 2017 Indigenous Education Week at the University of Toronto will be held from January 22nd to the 27th. Indigenous Education Week is a series of events for students, staff, faculty, and the community to participate in and learn about Indigenous knowledges, nationhood, and the diversity of Indigenous nations.
January 22nd
DIGGING ROOTS
3-4:30 pm
Great Hall, Hart House
Cost: Free
website: http://harthouse.ca/events/sunday-concerts-digging-roots/
January 23rd
INDIGENOUS STUDIES STUDENTS’ UNION – OPEN HOUSE – OFFICE OPENING
11am-1pm
Turtle Lounge, Centre for Indigenous Studies
Lunch will be served.
January 24th
HERE ON FUTURE EARTH: AN ARTIST TALK WITH JOI T. ARCAND
Moderated by Dr. Karyn Recollet
2:00 pm
Main Activity Hall, Multi Faith Centre
STORYING TOGETHER: SCREENING OF WEAVING THE SASH AND SHARING CIRCLE
6:30-9 pm
East Common Room, Hart House
website: http://harthouse.ca/events/storying-together/
January 25th
MIND, BODY, SPIRIT: HEALING FROM THE INSIDE OUT. A SELF CARE WORKSHOP WITH OPENING FROM ELDER ERNIE SANDY
12:00 pm
Turtle Lounge, Centre for Indigenous Studies
Facilitator: Bonnie Jane Maracle, Learning Strategist
Presented by Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement
Register by emailing: sage@utoronto.ca
FROM BASRA TO STANDING ROCK: DECOLONIAL LOVE, HIP HOP AND SOLIDARITY. DISCUSSION WITH QUESE IMC AND YASSIN “NARCY” ALSALMAN
2:00 pm
Debates Room at Hart House.
Moderated by Dr. Audrey Hudson. Opening by Brianna Briskool Olson.
TOBACCO TEACHING WITH TRADITIONAL OJIBWE TEACHER/KOKOMIS JACQUI LAVALLEY
5:00 pm
Peace Lounge, 7th Floor, OISE.
Presented by the Indigenous Education Network.
website: oise.utoronto.ca/ien/events.html
January 26th
THE SEVEN CRIES OF CREE YOUNG PEOPLE: THE INTERGENERATIONAL IMPACT OF ST. ANNE’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL ON SURVIVORS. A TEACHING WITH ANDREW WESLEY
11:00 am
First Nations House Lounge
CLEARING A PATH: POETRY FOR A UNIFIED FUTURE. READINGS AND DISCUSSION WITH GWEN BENAWAY, LEE MARACLE, AND GREGORY SCOFIELD
2:00 pm
Debates Room at Hart House
January 27th
BEYOND THE BREAK: READING BY KATHERENA VERMETTE
2:00 pm
First Nations House Lounge
Moderated by Jamaias Da Costa. This event is followed by a closing reception.
First Nations House is located at 563 Spadina Ave., on the Third Floor.
There is an accessible entrance via Bancroft Avenue and an elevator at the back of the North Borden Building. First Nations House has a gender neutral restroom. If you require specific accommodations, please contact Susan at 416.978.8227.
We would like to acknowledge our partners in IEW 2017: Indigenous Education Network, OISE, Hart House, the Multi-Faith Centre, Indigenous Studies Student Union, Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement (S.A.G.E.)
——————————————————————————-
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.
——————————————————————————-
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 