** WEEKLY NEWSLETTER [November 13th- November 17th]
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** (uoftsba.com)
Announcement
1) Today is Trans Day of Resilience!
2) Change in office hours for November
3) SBA University-Mandated Leave of Absence Policy Petition Update
Upcoming SBA Events
4) SBA Trans day of Resilience
5) Colour Between the Lines: BIPOC Book Group
6) SBA Advocacy Committee Meeting
7) Hot Chocolate and Chill! A QT2SBIPOC Social
Upcoming Community Events
8) TRANS MATTERS: Interdisciplinary Trans Studies Conference -call for papers- DEADLINE EXTENDED NOVEMBER 24TH
9) Indigenous Studies for Lunchtime Film Screenings
10) First in the Family Peer – Mentor Program, Career Exploration & Education, and Community of Support Program, MD Program, Faculty of Medicine invite you to “Finding Research & Internship Opportunities"
11) Annual Tri-campus First Generation Trailblazers Conference: The Journey
12) JOB POSTING: Graduate Student Research Assistant (GRA): Episodic Disability & Arts Intervention in the Ontario Workplace- DEADLINE DECEMBER 1ST
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1) Today is Trans Day of Resilience!
When taking part in celebrating/ grieving Trans day of resilience/ remembrance today, we urge the cis community to reflect on how you can/have supported trans/non-binary/ Two-Spirited communities members in your lives.
Here are some ** resources (http://cwtpyork.ca/cisnormativity/)
for the Cis community to check out.
We are sending lots of love to all our wonderful Trans, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Non-Binary, Agender, Demigender, Gender Non-conforming, and Gender-Questioning community members.
[Image description: Poster with a Turqiouse background, with a large image of two black trans women holding each. The bottom background includes four images of police vehicles. The top reads, "Remeber Trans Power. Fight for Trans Lives."]
Poster artist/ source: ** Micah Bazant (https://www.micahbazant.com/remember-trans-power/)
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2) Change in Office Hours for November
Please note the change in SBA office hours for November:
Monday-Thursday 1-5 p.m.
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3) Petition Update: Regarding the Mandated Leave of Absence Policy
Thank you to all of our members and to our wider community! We have now received over 425 signatures on our petition! The statement has also been endorsed by the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students and the University of Toronto Graduate Student Union.
The University has now decided to engage in further consultations with the U of T community before bringing the policy forward for recommendation. They are not, however, revoking the proposed policy.
Our work resisting this policy must continue! To find out more and how you can get involved please email Nadia at ** sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com (mailto:sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com)
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4) SBA Trans Day of Resilience
Join Students for Barrier-free Access (SBA) for Trans day of Resilience event series
** Workshop 1: Astrology 101 (https://www.facebook.com/events/370456603407159/?notif_t=plan_user_invited¬if_id=1510078617088434)
Date: Tuesday November 21, 2017
Time: 12:30pm-3:00 p.m.
Location: 252 Bloor Street West (OISE) room 5230, 5th floor
Come join other BIPOC Trans, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Non-Binary, Agender, Demigender, Gender Non-conforming, and Gender-Questioning people to socialize, eat delicious food and learn about astrology!
Facilitated by: Rain Chan
This astrology workshop will provide a brief history of astrology, an introduction to the meaning of the twelve signs, as well as the 9 planets of our solar system and how they affect the different aspects of our personality and lives. This workshop is intended to allow participants to be able to understand and read the planets in their own charts.
Participants who want to use their own charts for reference during the workshop can have their charts calculated and downloaded from this ** link (https://www.astro.com/cgi/chart.cgi?btyp=w2gw;rs=3;usechpref=1 )
.
* You can access free printing service at SBA (215 Huron street room 924) Monday-Thursday 1-5 p.m.
* If you have access to eduoram you can bring an electronic device to access your chart or have your chart downloaded on your electronic device prior to the workshop
* You can also email your chart information to Siva to have it printed in time for the workshop at siva.t.sivarajah@gmail.com
Closed Event for BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, people of colour] Trans, Two Spirit, Intersex, Non Binary, Agender, Demigender, Gender Non-conforming, and Gender-Questioning folks including other ways in which you may choose to identify your gender.
We ask white and/or cisgendered people to respect this closed space and not come. You can show your support by sharing this with your networks.
Lunch provided! Vegan, gluten-free options available.
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** Workshop 2: Cisnormativity, Accountability and Safer Spaces in Organizing (https://www.facebook.com/events/297516724079298/)
[Workshop Description to follow]
[POSTPONED UNTIL WINTER TERM]
Facilitated by: Makai Livingstone
This workshop is open to all! Registration is required. To register please contact Nadia at sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com
This event is open to all!
Light refreshment provided! Vegan, gluten-free options available.
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Wheelchair accessible. Accessible and all-gender washroom located on the same floor as the event room. If you require ASL interpretation to attend this workshop please contact us by November 14th.
Please note that this will be a scent-free space.
Please access needs please contact Nadia at sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com
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5) Colour Between the Lines: BIPOC Book Group
Hosted by Students for Barrier-free Access Centre and the Community Action Centre
Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion of
"Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home" by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
A limited number of free copies of the book is available for pick up at either the Community Action Centre (CAC) or Students for Barrier-free Access (SBA).
** Facebook Event Page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1911379695793859/)
Date: December, 2017
Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm
LOCATION:
Community Action Centre, 165B (St. James Campus)
George Brown College
** 200 King Street East, Toronto, ON (https://maps.google.com/?q=200+King+Street+East,+Toronto,+ON&entry=gmail&source=g)
Questions/Accommodations: ** International@sagbc.ca (mailto:International@sagbc.ca)
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Colour Between the Lines is a BIPOC Book Group centering readings by authors of colour. We enter the discussions from an intersectional, decolonial anti-oppressive framework. We will read from a diverse range of genres including fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, memoirs, etc. Authors we've read in the past include: bell hooks, Marjane Sartrapi, Audre Lorde. Upcoming authors we will be reading include: Zainab Amadahy, Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Vivek Shraya, and more.
Like & follow ** https://www.facebook.com/communityactioncentre/ (https://www.facebook.com/communityactioncentre/)
for event updates +
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6) SBA Advocacy Committee Meeting
Join Students for Barrier-free Access for our next Advocacy Committee Meeting. Learn more about SBA's campaigns (including our campaign against the University-Mandated Leave Policy) and find out how you can get involved! New members are always welcome!
Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Time: 3:00pm-5:00pm
Location: SBA Centre, 215 Huron Street, Room 924 on the 9th floor
Accessible all-gender washroom located on the same floor as the meeting room.
Please note that the SBA centre is a scent-free space.
Snacks will be provided, including vegan and gluten-free options.
Contact Nadia at ** sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com (mailto:sba.advocacycoordinator@gmail.com)
if you have any questions or concerns.
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7) Hot Chocolate and Chill! A QT2SBIPOC Social
Join Students for Barrier-free Access (SBA) for an end of term social for Queer, Trans and Two-Spirit, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (QT2SBIPOC).
There will hot chocolate! And snacks (including vegan and gluten free options). We will also have activities, including games and colouring.
Join us for the treats, stay for the amazing people!
Date: Friday December 8
Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm
Location: SBA Centre, located at 215 Huron Street in room 924 on the 9th floor
Please arrive to the event fragrance fee.
Wheelchair accessible. Accessible and all-gender washroom located on the same floor as the event room.
***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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8) TRANS MATTERS: Interdisciplinary Trans Studies Conference -call for papers- - DEADLINE EXTENDED NOVEMBER 24TH
Trans Matters: An Interdisciplinary Trans Studies Graduate Student Conference- April 26-27, 2018
Hosted by the Centre for Feminist Research at York University
April 26-27, 2018 – Toronto, Canada
Website: ** http://cfr.info.yorku.ca/trans-studies-conference-2018/ (http://cfr.info.yorku.ca/trans-studies-conference-2018/)
Keynote Speakers: Professor Jin Haritaworn (York University) and TBA
The Transgender Rights Bill (C-16), which amends the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code by adding “gender identity or expression” under “prohibited grounds of discrimination,” will soon become law. As a historic undertaking in Canadian legislation, the passing of Bill C-16 indexes how trans matters are becoming increasingly significant in civil discourse and the public imaginary. Yet queer and trans activists and scholars have noted that legal recognition alone does not always guarantee the protection of queer and trans life, particularly for trans black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC), trans immigrants and refugees, poor and working class trans people, and disabled trans people (Spade 2011; Rodriguez 2014; Haritaworn 2015). For Two-Spirit and Indigenous trans people this is especially true considering the ongoing legacy of the Indian Act, which continues to constrain the rights of Indigenous peoples. Despite the increasing visibility of trans matters –
from transrights to trans celebrity – trans visibility remains only partial, often privileging white trans subjects while further marginalizing the most vulnerable members of the transpopulation.
The inaugural Interdisciplinary Trans Studies Graduate Student Conference seeks to examine, interrogate, and take stock of the status of trans matters today in Canada – a settler colonial state that continues to displace indigenous peoples and occupy indigenous lands – and elsewhere. From political and social visibility to questions of embodiment, identity, and expression, as well as notions of survivability and disposability, we are interested in exploring trans “matters” from multiple perspectives:
First, we consider the matter of trans lives as significant, as lives that should and do matter. Trans lives continue to be debated in the public arena, often in the absence of trans people. While the passing of Bill C-16 is heralded as a victory, the bill was opposed with a great deal of hostility. Dr. Jordan Peterson (U of T), who became the face of opposition to Bill C-16, declared the bill a threat to “free speech.” As he and others who oppose the bill speak of “gender ideology,” trans people continue to fight for basic survival. Those whose very lives are on the line are too often discounted or discredited, or held up as tokens of social progress, diversity, and inclusion without any meaningful change. Thus, we must ask, which trans lives “matter” and which lives remain unaccounted for, unrecognized, and unprotected? Who counts and who is left behind?
Second, we consider trans matters as political, social, and cultural issues that trans people are grappling with in Canada and abroad. Trans people, particularly transwomen of colour, continue to face disproportionately high rates of violence and discrimination, making access to medical care, adequate housing, employment, and schooling pressing issues (Spade 2011). Through framing trans people as productive citizens that are “worthy” of equal rights, access to healthcare, and economic citizenship (Irving 2012, 2013), certain trans people (namely, white, affluent and non-disabled) are now being folded in to the state apparatus. However, we must be wary of appealing to this logic as it works to further the neoliberal project and growing social and economic inequalities that continue to marginalize BIPOC trans people, disabled trans people, undocumented trans people, and poor and working class trans people. Holding these tensions together, what are the most pertinent issues that trans people
face today? How can we address growing disparities within the trans community and trans activism and organizing? How are trans rights intertwined with processes of capitalism, (settler) colonialism, and imperialism?
Third, we consider trans materialities: trans embodiment, corporeality, and objectivity. Recent trans scholarship has continued to productively think about transwith/against/through notions of embodiment across questions of disability, animality, and objectivity, turning away from the human (Hayward 2008; Chen 2012; Hayward and Weinstein 2015). Yet notions of queer and trans inhumanisms (the monstrous, the abject, the nonhuman) also warrant critical questions given the dangers of romancing abjection. For a number of trans people – separate from and/or written out of the academy – monstrosity, abjection, and death may not be a theoretical fantasy. Thus, we consider, what are new ways of understanding trans embodiment and corporeality? How can we theorize monstrosity, inhumanisms, and death without romanticizing conditions of abjection, or what Giorgio Agamben calls “bare life” (1995)?
We welcome a range of topics that connect to contemporary trans matters and decentre whiteness including, but not limited to:
• race and racialization
• indigeneity and decolonization
• (settler) colonialism, imperialism
• nationalisms, governance, citizenship
• critical politics
• rights and the law
• state violence, police brutality, prison-industrial complex
• corporeality, animalities, inhumanisms
• disability, autisticness, Deafness, madness
• medicalization and healthcare
• sex work
• Black Lives Matters, activism, organizing
• theory and scholarship
• arts and culture production
We are particularly interested in hearing from: trans people of colour, Two Spirit and Indigenous trans people, disabled trans people, trans sex workers, those along the trans feminine spectrum, nonbinary people, and others who are un(der)represented and marginalized within the trans community.
We invite proposals for 15-20-minute academic paper presentations. We also welcome alternative submission formats, such as visual art, poster presentations, videos, and other modes of cultural production. Please email proposals as Word attachments, including a title, 250-word abstract, a brief bio, and any support/technology requirements to ** transgradconference@gmail.com (mailto:transgradconference@gmail.com)
. For those interested in proposing a pre-constituted panel or roundtable (3-4 members), please email a panel description and individual abstracts and bios along with any other information in a single document.
ASL interpretation will be provided for the keynote presentations. TTC tokens will be available upon request. Limited travel subsidies will also be available by application (see our ** website (http://cfr.info.yorku.ca/interdisciplinary-trans-studies-conference-2018/)
for details
Proposals are due by Friday, November 24th, 2017. Accepted applicants will be notified by January 2018.
We would like to acknowledge that the land on which York University resides is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, the Métis, and most recently, the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit River. The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. This territory is also covered by the Upper Canada Treaties. Today, the meeting place of Toronto (from the Haudenosaunee word Tkaronto) is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work in the community, on this territory.
Conference organizers: Evan Vipond (York University) and Bridget Liang (York University)
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9) Indigenous Studies for Lunchtime Film Screenings
Please join the Centre for Indigenous Studies for lunchtime film screenings, beginning with “Reel Injun” on Friday November 17^th, 12-2pm. Bring your lunch! We will provide the popcorn! Hope to see you there.
[Image Description: Event poster with turquoise background, with an image of a turtle on the right. Top right reads, "Centre for Indigenous Studies. Turtle Lounge, 2nd Floor, North Borden Building". Bottom centre reads, "Lunchtime Film screenings, November 17th, 12-2 pm, Reel Injun, December 1st 12-2 pm, Six Miles Deep, December 15th, 12-2 pm, Highway of Tears.]
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10) First in the Family Peer – Mentor Program, Career Exploration & Education, and Community of Support Program, MD Program, Faculty of Medicine invite you to “Finding Research & Internship Opportunities"
Friday, November 24, 4:00 - 6:00pm., Koffler Student Success Centre, ** 214 College St (https://maps.google.com/?q=214+College+St&entry=gmail&source=g)
. (at College, use St. George entrance, accessible)
Free food & beverages provided
Students will benefit from attending:
Learn about the "Research Opportunity Program" and working hands-on for course credit. Career Exploration & Education rolls out the co-curricular "Research Catalogue" and other resources. Community of Support Program, MD Program will talk about supports they provide including paid summer research roles.
• discover research and internship opportunities offered by different departments, all streams;
• network with research faculty, staff, and students;
• learn about application processes and recruitment criteria;
Registration will open soon at: ** http://uoft.me/firstfamilyfridays (http://uoft.me/firstfamilyfridays)
.
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11) Annual Tri-campus First Generation Trailblazers Conference: The Journey
Saturday, January 27, 1:00 – 7:00pm., Hart House, ** 7 Hart House Circle (https://maps.google.com/?q=7+Hart+House+Circle&entry=gmail&source=g)
Trailblazers is an annual tri-campus conference for all first generation students (first in the family to attend post-secondary in Canada) at the University of Toronto. This year participants will have a chance to navigate the plethora of options available to them after graduation which involve career exploration and mapping out their ‘plan B’. More information will be available in the coming weeks at uoft.me@trailblazers.
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12) JOB POSTING: Graduate Student Research Assistant (GRA): Episodic Disability & Arts Intervention in the Ontario Workplace- DEADLINE DECEMBER 1ST
We are seeking a PhD or an advanced MA student to join our team part-time to support our research on the SSHRC funded Insight Grant, From InVisibility to Inclusion: Developing and Evaluating Policies and Practices to Facilitate the Inclusion of Workers with Episodic Disabilities in Ontario Workplaces. This project is co-directed by Dr. Carla Rice and Dr. Donna Lero through Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences at the University of Guelph. Students from outside the University of Guelph are welcome to apply.
Job Posting can be found ** here (https://projectrevision.ca/newsandevents)
.
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Copyright © 2017 Students for Barrier-free Access All rights reserved.
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