[IPSM] Fwd: URGENT MESSAGE to supporters of the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy

Sat Oct 10 16:09:15 PDT 2009

Bonjour a tous
Please, indicate the purpose or norms of this list.
Till I know them, my suggestion shall be that you take your discussion out.
CL

--- On Sat, 10/10/09, Macdonald Stainsby <mstainsby at resist.ca> wrote:

> From: Macdonald Stainsby <mstainsby at resist.ca>
> Subject: Re: [IPSM] Fwd: URGENT MESSAGE to supporters of the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy
> To: "Jaggi Singh" <jaggi at resist.ca>
> Cc: ipsm-l at lists.resist.ca
> Received: Saturday, October 10, 2009, 3:17 PM
> Perhaps Jaggi, you could tell us what
> you believe happened-- and how you propose people resolve
> it-- rather than dispute what others have said as being
> unfair or inappropriate? Since I respect many of the
> signatories and the claims contained within seem more than
> just in bringing to a public forum if internal forums have
> failed, I must gather that you have a differing
> understanding of events. It would seem to me, from an
> admittedly long distance, that the importance of these
> questions is clear-- and if detailing how a statement is
> unfair, perhaps an alternative narrative from yourself as to
> what took place would be the proper recourse?
> 
> writing in my own very distant capacity as well,
> yftr,
> 
> Macdonald
> 
> Jaggi Singh wrote:
> > 
> > Hi everyone --
> > 
> > I would like to express that the posting of the
> message below is an inappropriate use of this list.
> > 
> > I would also like to convey that the letter below
> represents, in my opinion, an unfair attack on the integrity
> of members of the staff and board at the 2110 Centre, as
> well as a large part of its membership and supporters.
> > 
> > Disagreement between individuals, or a difference of
> vision within an organization or broader movement, is
> normal; but the letter below goes beyond disagreement over
> vision or process to make serious and slanderous allegations
> -- publicly -- about individuals and an entire
> organization.
> > 
> > To be clear, there is no problem to petition for a
> membership meeting, or to debate the vision of the 2110
> Centre, or to complain about particular procedures or
> process and to seek redress. But the letter below goes
> beyond that and makes slanderous allegations, stating things
> like:
> > - "it's okay for staff to take a paycheck without
> fulfilling the basic requirements of their jobs"
> > - "some staff have taken advantage of these resources,
> in what is tantamount to theft of student and activist
> resources"
> > - "there are some whose vision of the center is as a
> place for a few to derive social and economic benefits."
> > - there are also allegations of "misappropriation of
> funds" and "abuse of power"
> > 
> > Also, the framing of the issues involved is highly
> problematic, in my opinion, and ignores the varied (and
> often invisible) contributions that people make to an
> organization or campaigns for social justice, especially in
> support or administrative roles that go unrecognized.
> > 
> > People have been asked "to endorse this statement and
> petition". I encourage people on this list who might want to
> have more context beyond the one-sided letter below to speak
> directly with board and staff members at 2110 who have not
> signed the letter, as well as community members who have not
> signed the letter either and consider the letter below to be
> inappropriate and slanderous. Consider different opinions --
> and they are varied -- that are being expressed around the
> situation at the 2110 Centre, not just any one position, and
> then decide for yourself. That may be an obvious point, but
> I feel it needs to be re-iterated.
> > 
> > I am writing this reply on the list, because the
> letter below was posted on the list.
> > 
> > Respectfully,
> > -- Jaggi Singh
> > (writing strictly in a personal capacity)
> > 
> > On Fri, 9 Oct 2009, Dru Oja Jay wrote:
> > 
> >> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >> From: Centre 2110 <centre2110 at gmail.com>
> >> Date: Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 4:42 PM
> >> Subject: [Centre2110] URGENT MESSAGE to supporters
> of the 2110 Centre for
> >> Gender Advocacy
> >> To: centre2110 at lists.mutualaid.org
> >> 
> >> 
> >> To friends and members of the 2110 Centre for
> Gender Advocacy,
> >> 
> >> To friends and members of the 2110 Centre for
> Gender Advocacy, we need your
> >> help to overcome an impasse in the political
> vision at the organization:
> >> 
> >> The 2110 has come a long way since the turnover of
> staff and board 18 months
> >> ago. From a point of almost total stagnation, the
> Centre has emerged,
> >> putting on or co-sponsoring at least 75 political
> events (film screenings,
> >> workshops, panel discussions etc.) on many
> different issues (abortion
> >> access, trans inclusion, Israeli apartheid week,
> gendered and racialized
> >> violence etc.) In its biggest success on October
> 4th, the 2110 spearheaded a
> >> 250-person march down St. Catherine's to demand
> government action on the
> >> epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous
> women.
> >> 
> >> Despite these successes, the organization could
> and should do a lot more.
> >> Unfortunately, there is still a culture that says
> it's okay for staff to
> >> take a paycheck without fulfilling the basic
> requirements of their jobs
> >> (employees start at $18 an hour and receive
> several thousand dollars in
> >> benefits). The events mentioned above were largely
> organized without the
> >> help of two permanent full time (32 hours a week)
> staff members. To put it
> >> bluntly, there are some whose vision of the center
> is as a place for a few
> >> to derive social and economic benefits.
> >> 
> >> The problem lies in the fact that the 2110 Centre
> (which has an annual
> >> budget of nearly $250,000), could and should be
> doing much more. Since its
> >> budget comes through a secure student fee levy,
> the organization has the
> >> potential to do amazing and influential political
> work. It could and should
> >> be at the forefront of a wide variety of campaigns
> on and off campus,
> >> including: the struggle for abortion access,
> sexual assault awareness, trans
> >> access to healthcare, attacks on sexist
> advertising and gender-focused
> >> international solidarity work, to name a few. In
> short, the 2110 Center has
> >> the potential to be a much more valuable resource
> for the Montréal and
> >> Concordia activist communities.
> >> 
> >> Sadly, some staff have taken advantage of these
> resources, in what is
> >> tantamount to theft of student and activist
> resources, a violation of the
> >> 2110's obligations to its membership, and an
> unjust compromise of its social
> >> justice mandate.
> >> 
> >> We have tried, in recent weeks, to push the board
> to address many issues,
> >> (including misappropriation of funds, bad labor
> practice, abuse of power
> >> etc.) The board and some staff have responded by
> blocking and side-lining
> >> our many attempts to do so. Members of the board
> have threatened our jobs in
> >> response to our insistence that these issues be
> addressed.
> >> 
> >> We feel that we have no recourse to address our
> grievances internally, and
> >> are turning to you, the membership, in order to
> establish a process that
> >> will allow the Centre to address serious
> violations of the Centre's mandate
> >> and operating principles that are recent and
> ongoing. In doing so, we aim to
> >> address these issues in a transparent fashion, and
> to ensure the Centre's
> >> future as a vibrant, public advocate on behalf of
> those who face
> >> gender-based oppression.
> >> 
> >> We are working to hold a Special General Meeting
> (SGM) of the 2110 Centre at
> >> the earliest possible date, in order to bring
> these issues before the
> >> membership. The board blocked, and then delayed
> this process.
> >> 
> >> The only way to hold an SGM without consensus of
> the board is for 1000
> >> members of the 2110 Centre to sign a petition
> demanding a meeting be called.
> >> Upon receipt of 1000 signatures, a public meeting
> will be called and we
> >> invite you to attend, discuss and vote on the
> issues at hand.
> >> 
> >> As Montrealers with a desire to build the social
> justice community, we
> >> believe you have a stake in the organization?s
> future. We ask you to endorse
> >> this statement and petition.
> >> For information on how to do either, or for
> additional details on the
> >> above-listed issues, please visit:
> >> 
> >> http://www.2110democracy.ca
> >> 
> >> In solidarity,
> >> 
> >> Bianca Mugyenyi (Full time Programming and
> Campaigns Coordinator)
> >> Maya Rolbin-Ghanie (Interim Volunteer
> Coordinator)
> >> Aly Stillman (Part time Promotions and Publicity
> coordinator)
> >> Katie Earle (Orientation Coordinator)
> >> 
> >> Supporters:
> >> 
> >> Nick Barry Shaw, Haiti Action Montreal
> >> Anna Luisa Daigneault, Université de Montréal,
> Missing Justice
> >> Eliane Ellbogen, Eastern Bloc
> >> Yves Engler, Author, Blackbook of Canadian Foreign
> Policy
> >> Lex Gill, Head and Hands
> >> Nadia Housefather, Graduate Student's Association
> >> Dru Oja Jay, The Dominion
> >> Courtney Kirkby, CKUT 90.3FM & Barriere Lake
> Solidarity Collective
> >> Aimee Louw, Missing Justice
> >> Martin Lukacs, independent journalist and
> activist
> >> Amy Miller, Wide Open Exposure
> >> Svea Vikander, Missing Justice
> >> Lise Weil, Trivia: Voices of Feminism
> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> -- 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy
> >> 2110 Mackay (metro Guy-Concordia)
> >> tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 7431
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Centre2110 mailing list
> >> Centre2110 at lists.mutualaid.org
> >> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/centre2110
> >> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
> >> 
> > 
> >
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