SBA Programming and Events
- QT2SBIPOC Discussion Night – Tonight!
- Surviving Together Workshop
- Office Closures
Community Events and Resources
- Poll Clerks with UTGSU
- Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office Drop In Hours
- 12th Annual Strawberry Ceremony
- Making Canada Great Again: Deconstructing Fear Tactics
SBA Programming and Events
QT2SBIPOC Discussion Night – Tonight!
Monday February 13, 2017 6:30-8:00pm
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 discussion topic for this meeting will be ‘how to take on critical conversations with community (and/or with family)’.
Date: Monday February 13, 2017
Time: 6:30pm-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 6:25-6:30pm. 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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Office Closure Notice – Multiple dates
Please note that the SBA Centre will be closed on Tuesday February 14th from 12pm-2pm in order to attend the 12th Annual Strawberry Ceremony. SBA members who would like to join us and travel together to the Strawberry Ceremony should arrive at the SBA Centre by 12pm. TTC tokens will be provided.
More information about the Strawberry Ceremony:
Media and public attention to this issue has continued to grow since we gathered last year but Indigenous women are still going missing and being murdered. No More Silence has continued to work hard to create a community-owned database in collaboration with Families of Sisters in Spirit and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network in It Starts with Us – the collaboration has also produced these beautiful tributes: http://www.itstartswithus-mmiw.com/tributes
On February 14th we come together in solidarity with the women who started this vigil over 20 years ago in Vancouver’s DTES, and with the marches and rallies that will be taking place across this land. We stand in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices, the courts, and an indifferent federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous peoples.
No More Silence began holding ceremony at police headquarters on February 14th 12 years ago. 5 years ago we formed the February 14th Organizing Committee in an effort to broaden community participation in the planning of the event – the committee is now made up of individuals and organizations including The Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Sistering, Maggies – Toronto Sex Workers Action Project and other feminist and Indigenous community organizations.
Visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1103506026428929/
Please note the additional upcoming Centre closures:
- February 17th – All Day
- February 20th – Family Day
- February 21st – All Day
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Surviving Together; A Self-Advocacy Workshop for Disabled Students
Join Students for Barrier-free Access (SBA) and the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) for a student-run orientation for disabled students and student advocates. Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, full-time or part-time, new or returning, an international or transfer student, this orientation is for you!
Come meet other disabled students and SBA members and learn more about self-advocacy and resources for disabled students on campus.
Topics covered at the workshop:
– Know Your Rights as a disabled student – Presentation by ARCH Disability Law Centre
– self-advocacy and navigating academic accommodations
– introduction to campus resources and services for disabled students
– introduction to Students for Barrier-Free Access’ resources and services
Date: Monday February 27, 2017
Time: 4pm-6pm
Location: Student Centre Board Room, Room 270, UTM Student Centre
Everyone welcome! Priority will be given to disabled BIPOC students.
Wheelchair accessible.
Accessible and gender-neutral washroom located on the same floor as the event room and on the first floor in the UTMSU office.
Please note that this will be a scent-free space.
Light refreshments, including vegan and gluten-free options, will be served.
If you require live captioning or ASL to participate in the event, or if you have any other access needs please contact Nadia at sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com
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Community events and Resources
Poll Clerks with UTGSU
The 2017 Elections and Referenda Committee (ERC) are hiring poll clerks to work the 2017 UTGSU Elections on February 27, and February 28, 2017. The hourly wage is $15/hr and this opportunity is helpful for international students who do not have work permits, as this wage is not taxed. To qualify, you must be a registered graduate student, be responsible and reliable, and have strong communication skills. In order to fill the position, you must be available for a mandatory training session which will take place on February 15th, 2017 (time and place to be determined).
Our poll stations will be set up in various locations around the St. George campus, as well as at the Mississauga and Scarborough campuses. The election days and times are as follows:
- February 27th, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- February 28th, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (although certain polling station locations may differ depending on the hours of the building)
- The satellite campuses will only have polls February 28th, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
If you are interested in this work, please send an email to Leah Mulholland, the Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) at dro@utgsu.ca by Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 before midnight with the subject line: Poll Clerk Job Opportunity. Please include a short paragraph explaining why you would be suitable for this role, your availability (full-day shifts are preferable), preferred poll locations and if you have access to a cellphone/laptop for accessing digital information. (Please note if you have a driver’s license and access to a vehicle. This is by no means a requirement, and it will not disadvantage those applicants who do not drive, but it is helpful to know in case we need drivers to go to the satellite locations.) While we cannot guarantee these times or locations, we will do our best.
If you have any further questions, please email the Deputy Returning Officer Leah Mulholland at dro@utgsu.ca.
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Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office Drop In Hours
WEEKLY ON TUESDAYS FROM 3-4PM
Enjoy critical discussions about race, faith, gender and other intersections of identity?
Don’t have a space to talk about these topics?
Come to our drop-in hours!
We have SNACKS!!!
Location: 215 Huron Street, Room 603.
For more information check out: https://www.facebook.com/events/676111572591543/
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12th Annual Strawberry Ceremony
Strawberry Ceremony with Elder Wanda Whitebird begins at 12:30 at Police Headquarters, 40 College Street at Bay, Toronto
Please leave your agency, institutional and organisation banners at home and instead make signs in honour of women, girls, trans and two-spirit people who have died violent and premature deaths.
Singers, song keepers and drummers please bring your drums for the ceremony. Drummers from the organising committee, with the direction of Wanda, will be leading songs. Jingle dress dancers are also called to join on the march. Please contact us if you can participate so protocols can be observed.
We recognise that February is out of season for a ceremony involving strawberries, but the violence we are experiencing is also a disruption in our traditional ways of life.
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Accessibility info:
It might be COLD! Please dress for the weather and we will endeavour to keep ceremony to 1 hour.
Some tokens will be available
There will be a sound system
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Media and public attention to this issue has continued to grow since we gathered last year but Indigenous women are still going missing and being murdered. No More Silence has continued to work hard to create a community-owned database in collaboration with Families of Sisters in Spirit and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network in It Starts with Us – the collaboration has also produced these beautiful tributes: http://www.itstartswithus-mmiw.com/tributes
On February 14th we come together in solidarity with the women who started this vigil over 20 years ago in Vancouver’s DTES, and with the marches and rallies that will be taking place across this land. We stand in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices, the courts, and an indifferent federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous peoples.
No More Silence began holding ceremony at police headquarters on February 14th 12 years ago. 5 years ago we formed the February 14th Organizing Committee in an effort to broaden community participation in the planning of the event – the committee is now made up of individuals and organizations including The Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Sistering, Maggies – Toronto Sex Workers Action Project and other feminist and Indigenous community organizations.
Please message us if you would like to volunteer, or add to the list of endorsements!
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1103506026428929/
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Making Canada Great Again: Deconstructing Fear Tactics
Date: February 17th 2017, from 6pm- 8pm
Location: Claude T Bissell Building room 205.
This event will be a discussion on the current culture of fear and how it’s used to as a tool in political agendas. Stephen Harper and Donald Trump are examples of political figures that use or have used fear tactics, particularly against Muslims, as a campaign strategy. It is crucial that all Canadians, in such troubling times, learn how Islamophobia and xenophobia and other forms of hatred are weaponized so we can protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community at-large. The event will also include group activities that will help participants engage with relevant themes.
Amira Elghawaby, the Communications Director for the National Council of Muslims, will be the keynote speaker for the event. A vocal human rights advocate specializing in challenging Islamophobia, she has been both a full- time and freelance journalist, writing and producing stories for a variety of media including CBC Radio, the Ottawa Citizen, the Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail. In 2012, she joined the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) as a Human Rights Coordinator, advocating for human right and civil liberties of diverse communities. In 2015, she became the Communications Director, in which she leads NCCM’s media relations, public engagement, and strategic communications.
Free food will be provided.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact vpequity@utsu.ca. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1625699551072640/
This event has been brought to you by the University of Toronto Students’ Union in collaboration with the Muslim Students’ Association, African Students’ Association , Nigerian Students’ Association, Woodsworth College Students’ Association, and the New College Student Council as part of our Anti- Islamophobia Week campaign.
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Students for Barrier-Free Access 