Romi Levine

Indigenous Landscape project at U of T's St. George campus to bring history, culture and learning to Hart House Green

davidlee1 — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Indigenous Landscape project at U of T's St. George campus to bring history, culture and learning to Hart House Green

davidlee1 Mon, 10/07/2019 - 00:00

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U of T architecture student Kateri Lucier-Laboucan (left) is working with Andrea Mantin (right) at landscape architecture firm Brook McIlroy on U of T's Indigenous Landscape project (photo by Romi Levine)

Romi Levine

Topic

Our Community

First Nations House

Hart House

Indigenous

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Landmark

Truth and Reconciliation

Undergraduate Students

University College

Before the ��߲ݴ�ý came to be, there was what we now call Taddle Creek – a waterway that began near the intersection of Davenport Road and Bathurst Street, snaked through the St. George campus and then made its way down to Lake Ontario.

The creek was a gathering place for Indigenous groups, including the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca and, most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

With European colonization, the region became the city of Toronto and continued to grow, leading to the creek’s having been buried underground.

Now, a new U of T landscape project looks to pay tribute to the Indigenous nations that lived alongside Taddle Creek, while providing the university’s current Indigenous students, staff and faculty with a place to gather, commemorate and celebrate Indigenous history and culture.

The Indigenous Landscape project, which will be installed on 4,500 square metres of Hart House Green, came out of U of T’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s 2015 Calls to Action. U of T’s TRC steering committee report called for a “prominent, visible space at the very centre of the St. George campus be dedicated as an Indigenous space,” based on consultations with Indigenous stakeholders at the university.

“Indigenous Students will be able to walk through campus and see an outdoor space and know it was created for them, with them and with their needs in mind,” says Shannon Simpson, U of T’s director of Indigenous Student Services.

Simpson, a member of Alderville First Nation, is co-chair of the Indigenous Landscape project along with Donald Ainslie, principal of University College.

Learn more about Indigenous Landscape

The Indigenous Landscape initiative is part of U of T’s Landmark Project – a large-scale revitalization of the St. George campus’s historic core. Landmark goes to Governing Council in October for final approval and plans for the Indigenous Landscape Project will be approved through the Capital Project and Space Allocation Committee.

U of T is working with Toronto’s Brook McIlroy Indigenous Design Studio, engagement consultant Laurie Hermiston of the Kwewok Nakii Collective and Indigenous plant educator Joseph Pitawanakwat of Creator’s Garden. There is also an advisory committee of Indigenous students, faculty and staff, including Lee Maracle, a poet and author who is a member of Stó:lō Nation and a U of T sessional lecturer. Maracle is also a member of U of T’s Elders Circle, which has provided input on the Indigenous Landscape project.

“We wanted the landscape to emphasize the significance of land-based teaching and research, to include Indigenous plantings, to include Indigenous designers and contractors in the implementation of the project,” says Ainslie, who is also co-chair of the Landmark Project and the advisory committee specific to the Indigenous Landscape project.

The next step in the planning process is an in-depth consultation with the Indigenous communities at U of T and in the city, as well as the First Nations groups that have historic ties to the land.

“It’s really important to hear perspectives from all sides,” says Andrea Mantin, a landscape architect and project manager at Brook McIlroy, and a sessional instructor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

As a member of Brook McIlroy’s Indigenous Design Studio, fourth-year architecture and Indigenous studies student Kateri Lucier-Laboucan has a unique opportunity to get hands-on design experience while helping to define the future of Indigenous spaces on her campus.

“To be at the ��߲ݴ�ý and studying, but also working in an urban environment and making sure that Indigenous presence is felt, I feel incredibly special,” says Lucier-Laboucan, who belongs to the Little Red River Cree Nation, and has been working at Brook McIlroy for two years.

While much of what informs the design of the Indigenous Landscape project will come from the consultations, Mantin says there are certain features that will definitely be a part of the vision. These will include references to fire and water – particularly Taddle Creek – as well as areas for gathering and teaching, and an Indigenous garden and plantings.

Situating the Indigenous Landscape in a central location on the St. George campus sends a strong message about U of T’s commitment to its Indigenous community, says Lucier-Laboucan.

“This is where U of T began, so for Hart House and University College to be right here, it’s pretty impactful that this is where we can place our presence.”

For non-Indigenous students, staff and faculty, the Indigenous Landscape will be an opportunity to learn, says Ainslie.

“We think of U of T as a community of ideas, but it's also concretely manifested in the campus, and we can all benefit from Indigenous perspectives on how you have to learn from the land that you're on,” he says. “It will be important for U of T to commit itself to a pedagogy that's not de-materialized, that's rather concrete in the place where we find ourselves, a place that has a history, and a place where so many of us are relatively recent to arrive.”

Most importantly, the Indigenous Landscape will be a space that reflects the diversity of Indigenous groups across Canada and how that translates to the student experience at U of T, says Simpson.

“We want Indigenous students to see the space and feel like it’s a space they want to be in, that they want to sit in, they want to eat lunch in, they want to study in, they want to do ceremony in,” says Simpson.

“The most important thing to me is that student voices are heard, so it does really feel like a space that Indigenous students have helped to create, and that they've been listened to.”

Students, staff and faculty are invited to learn more about the project and share their ideas with Brook McIlroy on Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at First Nations House, third floor of the North Borden Building, 563 Spadina Crescent.

Other opportunities for input will be posted here.

'I don't have to depend on anyone else': U of T's Symone Peltier on how she found empowerment in education

Romi Levine — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

'I don't have to depend on anyone else': U of T's Symone Peltier on how she found empowerment in education Romi Levine Tue, 09/24/2019 - 00:00

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Symone Peltier, who began a psychology degree at U of T Mississauga earlier this month, hopes to work at CAMH after graduation and, eventually, return to Manitoulin Island to work with the Wiikwemkoong First Nation community (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Romi Levine

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Undergraduate Students

Symone Peltier had her sights on the ��߲ݴ�ý since she was in Grade 9. She gravitated to U of T’s varied architecture while searching online for universities – particularly Robarts Library, the St. George campus’s massive, brutalist peacock-shaped structure.

Her search also took her down a rabbit hole of rankings, world-renowned professors and interesting courses. “I thought: This is amazing, I have to come to this university.”

Earlier this year, she finally arrived at U of T Mississauga as a first-year student studying psychology, fulfilling a goal she set for herself four years ago. Her journey to U of T involved tireless effort and dedication, two brief stays on campus, a trip to the other side of the world and the endless support of her mother, Natasha.

Symone comes to U of T from Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, among the largest freshwater islands in the world.

Located about a six-hour drive from Toronto, Manitoulin is home to six First Nations reserves and is a popular destination for visitors craving outdoor activities.

Symone, who was born in Ottawa, moved to Manitoulin in her early teens with her mom and sister Elainah, who’s now nine years old.

Symone (left) with her mom Natasha and sister Elainah (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

In high school, Symone was not only a top student, but was heavily involved in extracurricular activities, from playing on the volleyball team to participating in robotics competitions.

She also spent a semester in Grade 12 on exchange in Australia and New Zealand, which gave her a taste of independence and exposed her to new cultures and people.

“When I came back, I felt that I had grown,” she says.

Symone’s ambition to go to U of T was a big motivator throughout high school and, in 2018, she got a sense of campus life by participating in two university outreach programs. The first was the Soar Indigenous Youth Gathering, run by the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education. It takes place during March Break and brings Indigenous teens to the St. George campus to learn about U of T’s academic programs and resources.

Symone, who is Ojibwe, enjoyed getting to know U of T during the youth gathering, as well as learning about First Nations House.

“I thought that would be really helpful for Indigenous students – and it only solidified my decision of going to U of T even more than before,” she says.

Symone returned a few months later for the Faculty of Medicine’s Summer Mentorship Program – a four-week program that introduces students of Indigenous and African ancestry to health sciences at U of T. She stayed in residence, lived like a student, participated in hands-on activities and spent time at First Nations House.

Back on Manitoulin Island, Symone’s hard work in school paid off and earned her an Ontario Scholar award and the Governor General’s Academic Medal for the highest marks in her graduating class.

Symone’s drive to succeed academically is rooted in her understanding of the importance of education – a core value instilled in her from a young age by her mother, who was just 18 when she was born. Her mom was a single parent who pursued a registered practical nurse designation, eventually earning a nursing degree as well. She’s currently working on a master’s in the same field.

“I was taught that as long as you have an education, then you’re fine, and I don’t have to depend on anyone else to do anything,” Symone says.

Symone and her sister Elainah fishing together (photo courtesy of the Peltier family)

Natasha, for her part, says education is also a way out of the negative stereotypes and statistical outcomes that plague many Canadian Indigenous communities – particularly Indigenous women.

“We're at higher risk for everything. Not only poverty, not only violence, not only assault – we go missing,” she says. “At least if you have an education, you have that one extra thing in your toolkit to help you get away from that, to help you steer clear of some situations that could be pretty detrimental to your future, your well-being, your livelihood.”

Symone says her decision to study psychology at U of T Mississauga stems from her desire to help people within her community and beyond.

“I chose psychology because I'm coming from an Indigenous community and a single-parent family,” she says. “We have experienced a lot more unfortunate situations than most people have.”

Always thinking a few years ahead, Symone hopes to work at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto after graduation, and then return to Manitoulin Island to work with the Wiikwemkoong First Nation community. She also wants to work with Indigenous communities elsewhere in Canada.

As an Indigenous woman, Symone says she feels very connected to her culture.

“I know quite a bit about my culture and I know that having that spiritual connection is really important,” she says. “It's all about having that balance while you're away, especially during such a big transition in life.”

On Manitoulin, Symone says she and her family regularly go to sweat lodges and participate in powwows. She’s also taken to craft work – learning to bead so that she can design her own regalia for an annual powwow on the island.

For the Peltier family, education extends far beyond the classroom and onto the land, where Natasha teaches her daughters how to hunt and fish.

“I think by being so involved in a lot of the land-based education that I try and do with the girls – the hunting and the fishing and all of that – she's carrying both of those forward with her,” Natasha says.

Traditional knowledge is also an important part of her daughters’ education, according to Natasha. She says that Symone embodies the Ojibwe seven grandfather teachings – a moral code that includes humility, respect, love and bravery.

“I can see her demonstrating all of that in decisions she makes and the way that she carries herself.”

With such a tight-knit family, Symone says it’s tough moving away from her mom and sister to go to U of T.

“I’m going to miss them a lot,” she says.

But a few weeks into her university career, Symone is already looking forward to the year ahead. She’s digging into her textbooks and, recently, spotted two local U of T Mississauga celebrities: a doe and her fawn.

“It was really cute and weird at the same time,” she says. “I’m not used to seeing them in the city.”

U of T Landmark Project to make St. George campus’s historic core greener, more walkable and accessible

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

U of T Landmark Project to make St. George campus’s historic core greener, more walkable and accessible

noreen.rasbach Thu, 09/19/2019 - 00:00

Cutline

The Landmark project aims to pedestrianize much of U of T St. George campus's historic core, including King's College Circle (rendering courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.)

Topic

Truth and Reconciliation

University College

Big changes are being proposed for the heart of the ��߲ݴ�ý’s St. George campus.

The campus’s historic core, set in the middle of downtown Toronto, is set to undergo a transformation that would see it become greener, more accessible, sustainable and walkable.

Called the Landmark Project, the major revitalization initiative is expected to begin construction in spring 2020 and will be centred on Front Campus, Back Campus, King’s College Circle, Hart House Circle and Sir Daniel Wilson Quad.

“This will be a wonderful legacy for generations to come, for students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors,” says Meric Gertler, president of U of T.

“It will also dramatically enhance the precinct as one of Toronto’s great public spaces.”

At the same time, U of T plans to make Front Campus the future home of Canada’s largest urban geothermal field.

“The Landmark Project will alter our relationship with the landscape and our historical buildings,” says Scott Mabury, vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships and vice-provost, academic operations.

The Landmark Project plan will be taken to the Academic Board on Oct. 3 and Governing Council for final approval on Oct. 24.

The cornerstone of the project is the creation and expansion of pedestrian-friendly areas, particularly around King’s College Circle, Hart House Circle and Tower Road, which would eventually be closed to all traffic with the exception of service and accessibility vehicles.

Street parking will be replaced by granite paths and green spaces under the plan, and an underground parking garage will be built to accommodate cars.

The garage will have parking spaces for 263 vehicles and 88 bicycles, with an access ramp off Wellesley Street and elevator and stair access via a pavilion (pictured below) to be built near the Medical Sciences Building.

A pavilion to be built near the Medical Sciences Building will provide access to an underground parking garage (rendering courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.)

“Putting students at the centre of what we do on campus really lives up to what U of T believes in when it comes to education,” says Donald Ainslie, principal of University College and co-chair of the Landmark Project along with Mabury.

“The Landmark Project will make our campus reflect that core value.”

The areas surrounding several of U of T’s oldest buildings are set to become greener, with the addition of over 200 new trees, expanded gardens and seating areas.

An Indigenous landscape project will be constructed near Hart House as part of the university’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action. The project involves extensive consultation with Indigenous students, faculty, staff and elders, as well as representatives from First Nations communities that traditionally lived on the land.

“We really are working hard to engage Indigenous stakeholders,” says Ainslie.

Hart House Circle will become more pedestrian and bike friendly as part of the Landmark Project (rendering courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.)

U of T plans to use Landmark as an opportunity to install a massive urban geothermal field below Front Campus that’s expected to save 15,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year – the equivalent to taking 3,000 cars off the road.

“It's a real testament to long-term thinking and connecting with our landscape – not only in an aesthetically appealing and experiential kind of way, but also to reduce the amount of carbon we release into the atmosphere every year,” says Mabury.

The geothermal field will generate renewable energy by using the natural ground temperature to help heat and cool surrounding buildings in winter and summer, respectively.

Accessibility is also a top priority of the project. The university is working – in compliance with provincial design standards – on features that will create more accessible public spaces. That includes the replacement of a number of stairs and ramps with gradual slopes, above-ground accessible parking spaces and visual impairment markers where pedestrian paths intersect with vehicle-permitted areas.

Since 2017, over 2,400 donors have made contributions to the Landmark campaign, including a $250,000 gift from the U of T Students’ Union to support accessibility elements, $1 million from the U of T Alumni Association and a grant from the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation.

“In our history we've never had as many donations for a focus project, so I think that's emblematic and evidence that there's broad and deep support for the project,” says Mabury.

“There's a yearning for a more effective connection to the landscape and to our historical buildings.”

Removing cars from the area around Convocation Hall will mean more room for graduation celebrations (rendering courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.)

During the project’s three-year construction period, the university says it will do its best to minimize disruptions, but Mabury is the first to acknowledge it will cause some inconvenience.

“Good things take time, and really good things are often hard – and those are both true in this case,” he says.

“This will be a high-impact project. We will do everything possible to mitigate the impacts, but it will influence how we move around – there will be noise, there will be disruption to activities.”

While convocation ceremonies will continue to take place in Convocation Hall, activities and services related to convocation will be relocated temporarily.

For over a century, U of T’s historic centre has served as an important gathering place for everything from convocation processions to recreational sports, weddings and community events – even epic, student snowball fights. The Landmark Project will help to carry this longstanding tradition into the future, according to Ainslie.

“It has become more and more apparent that this space, for the next generation and those that follow, is going to be a green oasis in the middle of a very dense urban agglomeration,” he says.

“Transforming this space from being one that prioritizes cars to prioritizing human users is an essential step in making our university ready for its third century as we move toward the bicentennial in 2027.”

'We have a crucial role to play': U of T commits to leadership role in addressing climate change

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 18:02:26 +0000

'We have a crucial role to play': U of T commits to leadership role in addressing climate change

noreen.rasbach Wed, 09/18/2019 - 14:02

Cutline

Planet Earth: Christina Koch of NASA captured this image of Hurricane Dorian from the International Space Station earlier this month (photo by Christina Koch/NASA)

Topic

Research & Innovation

Sustainability

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

Through research and education, as well as a growing number of sustainability initiatives, the ��߲ݴ�ý is committed to playing a leadership role in addressing climate change – and is encouraging students to expand their knowledge of the issue.

With climate strikes scheduled to take place around the world this week and next, U of T students can take part in any number of community initiatives, on or around campus, that promise to deliver climate-oriented education and advocacy.

The planned events, ranging from teach-ins to rallies, place a spotlight on an issue that U of T has previously identified as one of its top priorities.

“We believe that as an institution, we have a crucial role to play in meeting the growing climate challenge,” says Provost and Vice-President Cheryl Regehr.

“U of T has an opportunity to lead by example, through exemplary research, education, student initiatives and concrete policies and actions, with ambitious targets for reduction in greenhouse gases and our carbon footprint.”

Organized by local organizations in countries around the world, the climate strikes scheduled for Sept. 20 and 27 are demanding action from governments and businesses to address the global climate crisis.

Over the same week, U of T Mississauga plans to host several related events, including a climate change teach-in, climate talks and a climate change summit. U of T Scarborough will be hosting a teach-in on Sept. 25 for faculty and students to engage in conversation about a number of topics around climate change.

At the St. George campus, meanwhile, the U of T community can attend a teach-in outside of Hart House on Sept. 20 and join fellow Ontarians at Queen’s Park for a rally next Friday.

“We encourage students to use the opportunity of the climate-related events going on at U of T and in the community to learn more about climate change and climate action,” says John Robinson, U of T’s presidential advisor on the environment, climate change and sustainability,

As an institution, U of T is among the growing number of organizations – in both the private and public sectors – that have decided to take action on an issue of global importance.

U of T President Meric Gertler signs the final declaration at the recent U7+ Alliance summit in Paris (photo by Thomas Arrivé/Sciences Po)

U of T President Meric Gertler earlier this summer took the lead in sustainability discussions during a meeting of 47 university leaders in Paris in advance of the G7 Summit in Biarritz. He also briefed French President Emmanuel Macron on concrete actions universities were committing to take in order to tackle the challenge of climate change.

At U of T, that includes ensuring all students have the option of taking sustainability-related courses and making it possible to use building projects on campus as “living labs.”

The university’s sustainability plans – as well as the opportunities for students to get involved – are outlined in the latest President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability report.

A U of T presidential committee’s report on the environment, climate change, and sustainability recommended, among other things, using the campus as a “living lab” for sustainability projects (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Later this fall, the university will release its Low Carbon Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy to achieve dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. A participant in the University Climate Change Coalition, U of T has set a goal to reduce emissions by 37 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030.

“We have reduced our carbon footprint by over 55,000 metric tonnes in the past decade,” says Ken Corts, acting vice-president, university operations, adding that the accomplishment is equivalent to taking more than 11,600 cars off the road.

The university’s commitment to sustainability is evident in capital projects it has both undertaken and proposed. That includes existing and proposed geothermal fields on all three campuses and plans for an academic wood tower on the St. George campus.

This spring it was also recognized, for the sixth consecutive year, as one of Canada’s greenest employers, by the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project.

Robinson says the university is well-poised to take a long-sighted approach to sustainability-focused capital projects. The concentration of university-owned buildings gives U of T the ability to create sustainability solutions on a neighbourhood scale, he says.

“The university can accept a 10-15 year payback on investments made for academic purposes. We can invest in things the marketplace can’t,” says Robinson, who is also a professor in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the School of the Environment.

“We uniquely can turn our campus into a sustainability test-bed, a living laboratory: implementing, testing, learning and teaching sustainability in a unique way.”

Tree planting at U of T Scarborough (photo by Ken Jones)

On the research front, sustainability is a key theme outlined in U of T’s Institutional Strategic Research Plan 2018-2023, which notes, on the topic of climate change, that the issue “has relevance for public policy, the operation of all industries and social sectors, the health of humans and ecosystems, and the economic wellbeing of Canadians.”

As a result, U of T experts in a wide range of disciplines, from humanities to engineering, are actively engaged in world-leading sustainability research.

Shoshanna Saxe, in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, looks at infrastructure projects through a sustainability lens, hoping to bridge the gap between engineers and policy-makers. Through better infrastructure and design, people can be nudged toward making greener choices, she says.

Her work provides decision-makers with empirical evidence so they can make more informed choices that are better for the environment. Recently, she and her colleagues mapped more than 10,000 Toronto streets, assessing how friendly they are to cyclists using criteria such as average traffic speed and the number and width of lanes.

In the past, she’s studied subway line extensions, including Toronto’s Sheppard Line, and their environmental cost.

When it comes to addressing problems of such magnitude as climate change, Saxe says the university has a singular advantage. “One of our key responsibilities and privileges is to be able to think about the long-term outcome,” she says.

In the English department, meanwhile, Andrea Most says fighting climate change doesn’t just concern scientists. She works in the relatively new field of environmental humanities and, with her students, examines human relationships to nature through literature.

“The old story of western culture is that we are disconnected from nature,” she previously told U of T News, “so my goal is to help my students reconnect to the idea that they are nature.”

Liat Margolis is the director of the Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, a faculty that’s housed in a building topped with plant beds and a data-gathering weather station.

Margolis, who is working with her colleagues on a “sustainability pathway” for students as part of the president’s committee on the environment, climate change, and sustainability, says green roofs have many benefits – not the least of which are mitigating the heat island effect in cities, which affects energy consumption.

U of T’s innovation and entrepreneurship community is also actively pursuing research and design solutions that address climate and sustainability-related challenges in areas such as clean-tech, biofuels, renewable energy, and environmental policy and law, with $489 million in research funding received and 72 startups created over the past five years.

U of T students join universities around the world to address laws that suppress media, freedom of expression

Romi Levine — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 16:19:59 +0000

U of T students join universities around the world to address laws that suppress media, freedom of expression

Romi Levine Thu, 09/05/2019 - 12:19

Cutline

Edward Snowden, a whistleblower who exposed the U.S. National Security Agency's electronic surveillance practices, is currently living in Russia (photo by Barton Gellman/Getty Images)

Topic

Research & Innovation

High-profile charges against whistleblowers and leakers like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning are exposing the legal consequences for publicly releasing government secrets and are shedding light on the way nations use the law to suppress media and freedom of expression.

A global network of universities, including the ��߲ݴ�ý, has begun to engage in a large-scale research project to explore how countries are using local laws to stifle journalists, media outlets and whistleblowers.

The International Human Rights Program in U of T’s Faculty of Law is leading the charge in Canada. Students participating in a clinical course, called the Media Freedom Model Laws Project, will conduct research and contribute to a report on how countries are using espionage and official secrets laws to respond to media leaks. U of T will be working alongside Irwin Cotler, former federal minister of justice and attorney general, on the project.

Other participating universities include King’s College London, Columbia Law School and Korea University. Each school will tackle a different issue or legal tactic – including blasphemy, misinformation, defamation, and anti-terrorism – and provide regional contexts for the different reports.

The initiative came out of the Global Conference for Media Freedom in July and is part of a larger media freedom campaign and legal panel led by David Neuberger, former president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and Amal Clooney, human rights lawyer and special envoy on media freedom to the U.K. foreign secretary.

“The tax on media freedom is manifesting in a lot of different ways, and thus far there hasn't been much of a concerted effort to bring all of these threads together,” says Vincent Wong, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law and IHRP research associate, who is teaching the media freedom course.

U of T students will have the chance to work with Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who is the legal adviser for National Security Agency whistleblower Snowden. He will serve as one of the expert reviewers for the report.

“Students will really have the opportunity to not only learn from the readings and from the theoretical angle, but will also talk to some of the key players that were involved in these kinds of ground-shaking cases that are still going on and still having ramifications all over the world,” says Wong.

Vincent Wong says the global reach of the media freedom project will give it the scope needed to make a difference (photo by Romi Levine)

U of T law student Kate Somers is looking forward to taking a deep dive into the laws affecting media freedom during the law clinic.

“I was excited to be involved further in that because it's a really great way to learn about what's happening, keep myself informed, and to equip myself with the tools and the connections so hopefully I can continue being part of the conversation about freedom of expression in the future.”

Somers says she’s interested in working as an in-house counsel for an international newspaper, so the media freedom project, “really lets me reinforce and explore the parallels between journalism and law.”

Using a legal cover to silence journalists is a relatively new activity, says Wong, with a prime example being the punishment for those involved in WikiLeaks.

Manning’s 35-year sentence (which was commuted after seven years) for leaking classified documents was an unprecedented move by the U.S. government, he says.

“In terms of severity of sentencing for media leaks, this was completely off the charts. This was multiples of years in terms of length of any sentence that had ever been issued for media leaks for national security,” says Wong. “This was really a turning point and it showed how America was using the national security and the espionage acts in a way that had never been contemplated when the espionage act was created about 100 years ago.”

Canada doesn’t shy away from these types of legal actions, either, he says.

In 2015, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who was then the Canadian military’s second-in-command, was accused of leaking information about a naval ship contract and charged with breach of trust. He pleaded not guilty and, while the charge was eventually stayed, Wong says the case is a reminder that the long tradition of government disclosure to media is on shaky ground.

“It is really only in the last about 10 years or so that the legal framework all over the world has really shifted against this and has targeted and prosecuted this relationship between government officials and political reporters in the press.”

The IHRP report will include a review of problematic state practices regarding espionage and national security laws, and on the flip side, legislation that could serve as positive examples of media protection. Researchers will also look at international guidance on media freedom and freedom of expression from organizations like the United Nations Human Rights Council and Human Rights Committee, and provide recommendations for how to create a legal framework that balances public interest and national security concerns.

The global media freedom project is a chance to advocate for better global protections for journalists, media organizations and leakers, using the clout of Neuberger and Clooney and the network of university researchers, says Wong.

“We have a unique opportunity and ability here to put pressure on a lot of different governments,” he says. “The ultimate point is that it makes a practical impact because if it doesn't, then why are we here? The practical function of this is on the top of the minds of everybody who was involved in this project. That's one of the ways that makes it exciting.”

U of T introduces service animals guideline to support people with disabilities on campus

Romi Levine — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:47:36 +0000

U of T introduces service animals guideline to support people with disabilities on campus

Romi Levine Thu, 09/05/2019 - 11:47

Cutline

Emma, a two-year-old yellow lab, is a hearing ear dog guide for U of T student Peter Stelmacovich (photo by Romi Levine)

Romi Levine

Topic

Our Community

Environmental Health and Safety

Kelly Hannah-Moffat

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

Accessibility

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Graduate Students

Human Resources & Equity

Mental Health

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

The ��߲ݴ�ý is working to ensure it’s a welcoming place for people with disabilities and their service animals.

A new service animals guideline has been created by U of T in compliance with the provincial government’s Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) to help the university community gain a better understanding of how best to support and accommodate people with service animals.

The guideline put the AODA requirements regarding service animals in the context of the university environment. It answers questions people may have about what qualifies as a service animal, where service animals are allowed on the three campuses, including in residences, and how to create an environment where service animals and their owners feel included.

“The ��߲ݴ�ý strives to create a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for students, staff and faculty with disabilities,” says Vice-President of Human Resources & Equity Kelly Hannah-Moffat.

For Peter Stelmacovich, an inclusive learning environment has been vital to his academic success.

Stelmacovich has a cochlear implant, which helps him to hear, but when the device is turned off overnight, Emma, a spritely two-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, is there to alert him to important sounds.

“The main thing for me at night is having a reliable way to wake up and the peace of mind knowing that I've got somebody listening for me,” says Stelmacovich, who will be graduating in November with a Master of Health Science from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

During the day, Emma helps Stelmacovich discern the location of a sound, particularly if someone is calling his name.

“She will first figure out where the sound is coming from and then she'll jump up at me and take me to where somebody is,” he says.

Emma can recognize and alert Stelmacovich to a number of other sounds, including smoke detectors, door bells, alarm clocks – and his son knocking on the front door at 3 a.m. when he forgets his keys.

Stelmacovich and Emma, his service dog. "If something happens, I know I've got a dog watching over me," he says (photo by Romi Levine)

U of T, Stelmacovich says, has “been very accommodating to all of my needs.”

He adds that the new service animals guideline will help increase awareness on campus about the animals who can accompany people with disabilities.

U of T collaborated with members of the university community when creating the guideline, including Stelmacovich and other students.

Under the new guideline, members of the U of T community can choose to register their service animal with the university. This is an optional process offered to students by the accessibility service office on each campus, and to staff and faculty through Health & Well-being Programs and Services. Owners of the service animal will receive an updated TCard with a symbol confirming the registration.

Service animals like Emma are easy to spot because they are wearing a special harness or vest, but not all animals in support roles are as identifiable. For an animal to be considered a service animal, the handler must have documentation from one of the regulated health professionals outlined in the guideline. But the guideline states this documentation should only be requested by staff and faculty when absolutely necessary, particularly for health and safety or operational reasons.

As the university works to address student mental health on all three campuses, the service animals guideline also raises awareness about the use of animals for emotional support, recognizing that students may have service animals for invisible disabilities.

While service animals are allowed most places on campus, including residences, there are locations where they may not be permitted, including spaces where food is prepared, packaged or handled, although service animals are permitted in places such as cafeterias where food is served and sold.

Other locations where service animals could raise safety concerns include some labs and medical clinics. The guideline says the AODA Office and the Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) should be consulted on whether to restrict service animals from certain locations.

In general, Hannah-Moffat says the university is committed to creating an atmosphere of inclusion for U of T community members and their service animals, and will strive to make sure individuals’ needs are met.

“The service animals guideline is an important part of our commitment to treat every member of the U of T community with dignity and respect,” she says.

U of T introduces global citizen, global scholar initiatives to promote international learning in and out of the classroom

Romi Levine — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

U of T introduces global citizen, global scholar initiatives to promote international learning in and out of the classroom

Romi Levine Tue, 09/03/2019 - 00:00

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Ben Sprenger (left) and Rushay Naik (second from left) in Mongolia with a research team that also includes Tanvi Shetty and Hannah Ru. U of T wants to inspire students to seek out out global academic and extracurricular activities

Romi Levine

Back To School 2019

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Victoria College

The ��߲ݴ�ý wants to inspire students to seek out academic and extracurricular activities that will prepare them to tackle the challenges – and embrace the opportunities – of a globalized world.

Students can now work towards a Global Scholar designation by taking a curated set of courses offered by their program or faculty. When those courses are completed, students will receive a certificate and a “Global Scholar” notation on their transcript.

There are currently six certificate programs, but the university is looking to expand the global scholar offerings to more divisions across all three campuses.

“Each division is creating and curating its own vision of what a global scholar looks like,” says Joseph Wong, U of T's associate vice-president and vice-provost, international student experience.

Students can also work towards a “Global Citizen” designation that will appear on their co-curricular record (CCR) by getting involved in programs and activities that develop three competencies: global perspective and engagement, inclusivity and equity, and community and civic engagement. They must also complete a self-reflective workshop where they will articulate how their experiences contribute to global citizenship.

Of the 7,000 programs and activities that can appear on the CCR, 1,000 of them count toward the Global Citizen designation.

Students interested in the global citizen and global scholar programs can find information on the certificates and CCR opportunities on U of T’s global university webpage.

“One of the main objectives of the ��߲ݴ�ý, as a global university, is to ensure that students have the ability and also the desire to live, to work and to interact with people anywhere in the world,” says Wong.

Students like Ben Sprenger and Rushay Naik embody this global mindset.

This past summer, they were part of a research team who travelled to Mongolia to study the impact of a local government and World Bank initiative that provides portable solar panels to nomadic herders. The trip was organized through the Reach Project, an initiative of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

“It was a really eye-opening experience,” says Sprenger, a mechanical engineering student in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “Even though Mongolia is a one-of-a-kind country, the ideas from the project are pretty universal.”

The Reach Project is one of many global-focused opportunities at U of T, and both Sprenger and Naik have spent much of their time in university taking advantage of those offerings.

Naik, a Victoria College student who is double majoring in human biology and peace, conflict and justice studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has travelled to Greece to look at how austerity measures and the refugee crisis have affected the country’s health systems. He has also researched universal health care at Washington, D.C. think tank the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and is currently working on an independent study course on Geneva’s role in interstate war and conflict.

Sprenger is currently in the U.K. on a year-long work placement with Williams, which makes Formula One race cars, working on the company’s Formula E electric car racing series. Last year, he produced a documentary with his sister and fellow U of T student Jillian Sprenger, on Sri Lanka’s vulnerability to climate change. He has also been a part of U of T’s formula racing team, which builds formula-style racing cars and participates in competitions around the world.

For Sprenger, a global education is an invaluable way of gaining a new perspective in and out of the classroom.

“It gives a completely new frame of reference thinking about world issues, thinking about different developments you read in the news,” he says. “It provides an enormous amount of context to everything you learn.”

These experiences can also compel students to challenge their preconceived notions, says Naik.

“We come into our programs and courses with a certain understanding of how things work – the way the world works – that's borne from our experiences and our stories we take into university and our daily life,” he says. “What global experiences do is effectively test those.”

The Global Scholar and Global Citizen designations were designed with students’ futures in mind, says Wong.

“A lot of the thinking that's gone into the global scholars certificate program has been informed by employers both in the private and public sector who have told us that they are really interested in students who bring with them some meaningful curricular experience,” he says.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our graduates to hone those skills while piquing their curiosity and encouraging them to embrace those kinds of opportunities.”

Famous friends: Regent Park School of Music, run by U of T PhD student, featured on new Taylor Swift album

Romi Levine — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 17:53:33 +0000

Famous friends: Regent Park School of Music, run by U of T PhD student, featured on new Taylor Swift album

Romi Levine Wed, 08/28/2019 - 13:53

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Taylor Swift attends the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards this week. The singer sampled a track recorded by students at the Regent Park School of Music (photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)

Topic

When pop superstar Taylor Swift released her latest album, Lover, on Friday, a group of Toronto kids and teens were in for a big surprise.

A track recorded by students at the Regent Park School of Music (RPSM) was sampled on Swift’s new song, “It’s Nice to Have a Friend.”

The students – and RPSM’s executive director Richard Marsella – had no idea it was coming.

“We're all pretty overjoyed and processing what the heck this thing is,” says Marsella, who is currently pursuing his PhD in music education at the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Faculty of Music.

Listen to the Taylor Swift song featuring RPSM students:

Listen to the original track, performed by Regent Park School of Music students:

RPSM is a community music school based in Regent Park that offers subsidized music lessons to children and teenagers across the city, particularly in high-priority neighbourhoods.

The original recording, called “Summer in the South,” was created as part of a collaboration with Frank Dukes, a well-known music producer who has worked with some of the biggest names in pop music, from Drake and The Weeknd to Camila Cabello.

Dukes, who is from Toronto, worked with RPSM students from ages 10 to 18 on a library of music samples called Parkscapes. The 11 tracks can be found in Dukes’ Kingsway Music Library and the majority of proceeds from the sale, licensing and royalties that come from using the tracks is donated to RPSM. Taylor Swift’s team also reached out to Marsella to donate money to the school.

U of T ranked first in Canada, top 25 globally by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 18:24:52 +0000

U of T ranked first in Canada, top 25 globally by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 08/15/2019 - 14:24

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The 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities, a research-focused international ranking of higher education institutions, ranked U of T 24th in the world (photo by Dave Chan)

Topic

Shanghai Ranking Consultancy

U of T’s Dexter Voisin takes a deep dive into the issues that drive neighbourhood violence in Chicago and beyond

Romi Levine — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 04:00:00 +0000

U of T’s Dexter Voisin takes a deep dive into the issues that drive neighbourhood violence in Chicago and beyond

Romi Levine Wed, 08/14/2019 - 00:00

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In his new book, "America the Beautiful and Violent," Dexter Voisin, dean of U of T's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, calls into question the systemic issues that are at the root of urban violence (photo by Sean Blackwell)

Romi Levine

Topic

City & Culture

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Global

Research & Innovation

United States

Five people were killed and 43 people were injured in shootings that took place over the weekend in Chicago. This spate of shootings is nothing new for the third most populous city in the United States, but looking deeper into what drives the ongoing violence exposes a much more complex story.

In his new book, America the Beautiful and Violent, Dexter Voisin, the ��߲ݴ�ý’s dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, calls into question the systemic issues that are at the root of urban violence.

Voisin spent two decades in Chicago researching and working with communities dealing with trauma. He says the book is a response to the simplified ways politicians, law enforcement and the media talk about neighbourhood violence.

“I realized that story really needed a solid yet accessible treatise of a different nature, not just a typical academic manuscript, but one that really captured the lives, the struggle, the resiliency, the potential of these communities to grow and to push forward even in the face of gun violence, structural violence and economic violence,” says Voisin.

“So that really became the impetus for the book.”

While the book focuses on Chicago, it describes a more universal narrative, he says.

“It’s really a larger story about many communities across the United States and the globe that are struggling with parallel issues.”

Beyond neighbourhood violence, Voisin writes of the double standard that exists when perpetrators of violence are white versus Black – particularly in light of the mass shootings that have taken place across the U.S. in recent years.

U of T News spoke with Voisin about his book and about the issues that drive violence in cities around the world.

You describe violence in a very specific way in the book. How do you define it?

Very often people think about violence in terms of being interpersonal – they think about domestic violence, physical violence or gun-related violence. All of these are aspects of violence but I call them the tip of the iceberg.

In sociology, we talk about aspects of structural violence – the systems in place within the structures of society that are embedded almost in invisible ways that lead to a restriction of opportunities, a restriction of potential or an attack on human potential.

Many of these forms of violence might be gender-based violence, race-based violence, violence based on immigration status, on sexual orientation, on disabilities. Structural violence is all of the structures in society where the privileges of one group disadvantage individuals of another group.

In my book, I talk about violence in a more global, holistic perspective, but I also trace how these forms of structural violence over several decades have led to pockets of concentrated poverty in many major American cities – Chicago in particular – and how structural violence has led the manifestation of what we have come to know as neighbourhood violence, Black-on-Black or Brown-on-Brown violence.

Why is it important to dig deeper into the structural roots of neighbourhood violence?

Very often there are simplistic and flat narratives when there are shootings in poor communities and outsiders or persons of privilege view the manifestation of such acts as being attributed to moral deficits. These statements were often implied or made by Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago.

These are oversimplistic responses to complex issues that are really driven by larger structural issues; the response to violent societal structures; decades of uneven wealth and opportunity distribution; or the manifestations of intergenerational individual and community traumas.

In the book, I talk about the notion of racialized capitalism and I tie that to the prison-industrial complex, which in the United States is the largest in the world. It has a fraction of the world's population but it accounts for more than half of the world's prison population.

The fact is that American economic and financial gain have been structured literally on the backs of poor whites, Black and Brown people. There's a whole economic machine behind the prison-industrial complex.

When we look at all the policing, and high rates of arrest within minority communities, that contributes to the fragmentation of families – and as a result, these kids are disproportionately thrust into the child welfare system. The cycle of intergenerational trauma that it causes is really important to look at from a long-shot view. If not, we end up viewing individuals in oversimplistic ways and blaming victims who are the bearers of these forms of structural violence and embedded social inequalities.

When U.S. President Donald Trump tweets about poverty and crime in cities like Chicago (which you mention in the book) and, recently, Baltimore – what do you think the effect is of the kind of rhetoric he uses?

The two cities that are targeted by Trump are primarily Democratic cities. This is a political play.

This is oversimplification of complex issues and it's playing politics, when the issues really affect all of us as Americans or as Canadians.

Data shows when you have high levels of disproportionality in societal wealth, the overall health and well-being of those societies suffers, psychologically and physically. The reality is we are all implicated in these societal hierarchies and are all impacted by them.

You write in the book about the way white and non-white shooters are portrayed by politicians and the media. In the context of the three mass shootings that took place in California, Texas and Ohio over the past few weeks, how does this play out?

We know from the data that most mass shootings are committed by white men. Very often, when a mass shooting occurs, that one white individual and the entire race is not demonized – it's said that this person was mentally ill.

If a racialized immigrant were to commit a crime or a mass murder the response is more vigorous and generalized –all immigrants are terrorists, coming across the border, hoodlums and rapists. We have heard this many, many times in American political discourse.

Similarly, when a suspect is a Black man, very often the terms "predator," "super predator," "animals," are employed – the absence of white privilege leads to the negative stereotype extending beyond the individual to an entire race.

Mass shootings, as horrific as they are, count for less than two per cent of all homicides in the United States – and yet they get the most coverage, which allows for them to become sensationalized. The bulk of American homicides and non-fatalities occurs in low-income cities across America that are void of economic opportunities, proliferated by schools that don’t teach, joblessness, and single-female-headed households where persons are living at or below the poverty line. Communities that have not been kissed by America’s prosperity.

Very often such structural violence is not even recognized in the media. While the media was covering these three recent mass shootings, over 50 people were shot in Chicago over that same period of time. No attention was brought to that, in part, because many of the victims were Black and Brown individuals.

How does the issue of gun control feed into the narratives of both neighbourhood violence and mass shootings?

Over 80 per cent of Americans favour some form of gun control and background checks. The American people are in favour but many politicians lack the courage and leadership to respond to America’s need.

[The United States is] the most armed society in the world – it has more guns than it has individuals, and there is this falsehood that more guns would keep us safe. In reality, the data and the experiences show the opposite actually happens.

Universal background checks, I think, are a reasonable check and balance, [as is] sensible legislation and having a federal policy around access to guns. Now it is deregulated and left to a state-by-state mandate and this isn't working.

Chicago has one of the strictest sets of gun laws and experiences high rates of homicide, in part because the neighbouring states like Indiana and Wisconsin have very poor gun control policies. You have porous borders and obviously guns are coming from neighbouring states that have weaker gun controls.

You’ve lived in Chicago and Toronto – do you see parallels between the two cities?

Absolutely. Other than the obvious – being two great North American cities by the lake – Toronto and other major Canadian cities are also struggling with issues of racial reconciliation.

Many of the types of structural violence that poor white and poor Black and Brown individuals have experienced in the United States parallels the type of structural inequality that Indigenous persons have experienced in Canada: the proliferation of Aboriginal kids in the child welfare system, the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal men in prison systems, the invisibility of Aboriginal people in places of power, and access to power are all manifestations of structural violence.

When people are invisible in society, they are unable to see true reflections of what they can become and achieve.

What are some of the policy recommendations you suggest in the book?

Very often in most societies, you have a small number of people who have the greatest need. Those individuals show up across many different systems of “care,” but that doesn't necessarily mean those systems are caring.

Unrecognized or misdiagnosed trauma undergirds many of the reasons why some people show up in these systems, where they are invariably traumatized or re-traumatized by these systems of care or “control.” However, very often these social systems operate in isolation – so the child welfare system is not really connected to the juvenile justice system or the prison system. Databases are not really connected so you can’t track and support people as they move through these various systems.

And once you enter child welfare, you have a higher likelihood of entering the juvenile justice or the prison systems.

Taking a trauma-informed approach across these systems is one way. Also recognizing the need for prevention and treatment rather than punishment. The data show that an excess or inappropriate use of systems of correction for [minor] offenses does not reduce crime but actually increases crime.

Thinking about interconnection between systems and the role of trauma and how it manifests rather than punishing it – these are necessary steps forward towards a more just and equitable society.

Equally important are research-based, community-based agencies that are culturally responsive within those neighbourhoods of need that can provide preventative and treatment services, which are less costly, before folks are ushered into these formal, very often non-responsive systems of care.

Romi Levine

Indigenous Landscape project at U of T's St. George campus to bring history, culture and learning to Hart House Green

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U of T introduces service animals guideline to support people with disabilities on campus

U of T introduces global citizen, global scholar initiatives to promote international learning in and out of the classroom

Famous friends: Regent Park School of Music, run by U of T PhD student, featured on new Taylor Swift album

Listen to the Taylor Swift song featuring RPSM students:

Listen to the original track, performed by Regent Park School of Music students:

Read more about the Regent Park School of Music in U of T News

U of T ranked first in Canada, top 25 globally by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy

U of T’s Dexter Voisin takes a deep dive into the issues that drive neighbourhood violence in Chicago and beyond