OrangeShirtDay2021 - Hart House

OrangeShirtDay2021 - YouTube

oin us for a virtual event on Orange Shirt Day, a national movement in recognition of the experiences of survivors of residential schools in Canada. In the spirit of reconciliation and healing, Canadians are asked to wear an orange shirt on this day to acknowledge that every child matters.

Whether you are working or going to school online or in-person, wear your orange shirt on September 30 to show your solidarity with Indigenous people.

Community members complain about lack of enforcement of UCheck – The Varsity

Community members complain about lack of enforcement of UCheck – The Varsity: 

UCheck is how the university is asking for proof of vaccination status, with students being asked to submit proof of vaccination or get tested before coming to campus, and fill out a questionnaire. 

 In an email to The Varsity, University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) President Terezia Zorić wrote that, in conversation with the UTFA’s members, it has determined key spots of concern regarding U of T’s reopening strategy.  These concerns include that most buildings don’t have security personnel checking vaccination status, students who haven’t filled out UCheck are still being allowed on campus, and individuals with easily altered paper UCheck forms are being allowed to enter libraries.  Zorić added that the university claims it cannot afford security personnel whenever pushed on the topic. 

 Zorić noted that these observations were distressing for community members because the university has omitted other measures, such as capacity limits and physical distancing, because of its “heavy reliance on a deeply flawed proof of vaccination strategy.” 

 Similarly, Sherri Helwig, an arts, culture and media professor at UTSC, wrote in an email to The Varsity that the university seems to have relaxed certain security measures since the vaccine mandate was placed into effect.  She elaborated that until August 2021, there were check-in desks across UTSC, where community members were required to show their TCard or scan a QR code for contact tracing purposes. On August 20, U of T announced that these desks would be removed, and that community members would not be required to check in as of August 23.  Helwig agreed with Zorić that the university’s current vaccine policy was effectively no different than its previous one, which asked all community members to self-report their vaccination status.

 “In both cases, there is no way to know, no way to trust, that the people sharing the same air have followed the rules,” Helwig wrote. Helwig and Zorić also said that the vaccine mandate was essentially useless if no one was checking it at all campus access points. “People are rightfully angry and upset that campus reopening plans lack effective safety protocols and do not align with the advice of U of T’s public health scientists,” Zorić concluded.

Ford’s tinkering with campus policies does not do enough to stop sexual and gender-based violence, and help survivors: NDP - Peter Tabuns

Ford’s tinkering with campus policies does not do enough to stop sexual and gender-based violence, and help survivors: NDP - Peter Tabuns

Published on September 20, 2021

QUEEN’S PARK — Laura Mae Lindo, NDP Colleges and Universities critic, and Jill Andrew, NDP Women’s Issues critic, along with Terence Kernaghan, NDP LGBTQ critic, released the following statement in response to the Ford government’s announcement about sexual violence policies at colleges and universities in Ontario:

“Students in Ontario have been left incredibly vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence on campus — and we know women, queer, trans, non-binary and gender diverse, Indigenous and other racialized people are at a heightened risk. Worse still, survivors have not been provided with the supports and investments they need to heal - not from the Conservative government nor from the Liberals before them.

The changes announced by the Ford government do little to support survivors, many of whom who have been fighting back against rape culture on campus. Tinkering with regulatory language does nothing to ensure those holding student disclosures understand the impact of their questions or can assess why some questions are irrelevant. Nor does it give students survivor-centred options for reporting sexual and gender-based violence. Not only is the government late to recognize that irrelevant questions about sexual history are problematic in investigations into sexual and gender-based violence on campus, but the government is asking institutions to create their own individual policies without giving them any resources or real guidance.

Ontario needs to establish minimum standards so we don’t wind up with a patchwork of different policies, risking policies that fail to prevent sexual and gender-based violence on campuses or support survivors — and in some cases could even hurt survivors. Province-wide, trauma-informed standards must be developed in broad consultation with experts, frontline workers, students and survivors.”