[opirgyork] You're Invited: People’s Forum on Campus Safety

[OPIRG York]

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*People’s Forum on Campus Safety *

*Invite friends on Facebook:*
https://www.facebook.com/events/337156096397724/

*Date*: Thursday, February 7th
*Time*: 1pm
*Location*: Vari Hall, York University

You are invited to come out to Vari Hall on Thursday February 7, 2013 at
1:00 PM and have your voice heard!

York students are increasingly concerned about safety on campus. This is
not a new phenomenon to York University. In 2008, METRAC completed a safety
audit of York’s campus. It seems that instead of investing in education and
initiating systemic change, the York administration has only been
interpreting the METRAC's recommendations superficially and implementing PR
moves such as inviting more police onto campus and arming security.

On November 29, 2012, York University’s President Mamdouh Shoukri, in
partnership with the Toronto Police Services, held a community forum to
discuss improvements to campus safety. During this forum, racialized
students and many others brought fourth serious concerns about racial
profiling and other safety issues on York Campus, and these concerns were
dismissed and the voices of York students were silenced.

In order to challenge violence on campus, we must address the systemic
causes of violence – including misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism,
poverty, war, and ongoing settler-colonialism on First Nations land.
Increasing police presence is at best a “band-aid” solution to a broader
social problem.

Increased police presence on campus has actually led to many students
feeling unsafe at York University. Police are not the answer to addressing
the serious concerns of gender-based violence. Racial profiling has been a
common practice by police in low-income and racialized communities,
prompting the ‘carding’ of many black male students and community members
at York University. Women and trans people are not safe with cops on
campus! Racialized students are not safe with cops on campus! Free Speech
is not safe with cops on campus! We want to hear from you - the students
and community members of York University!

A coalition of student and community groups and organizations - including
Justice Is Not Colour-Blind (JINCB), York University Black Students’
Alliance (YUBSA), Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) York, the
Centre for Women and Trans People (CWTP), CUPE 3903 Trans-Feminist Action
Collective, the Graduate Students Association at York (YUGSA), and Students
Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) York – invite you on February 7 to a
People’s Forum on Campus Safety.

Let’s begin to address campus safety by creating a democratic student
community that values the perspectives and experiences of marginalized
students and community members. Let’s challenge the structural causes of
violence that pervade our campus and our society!

*Contact Us: *copsoffcampus at gmail.com

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-OPIRG York
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www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirg at yorku.ca


*There are many ways to get involved at OPIRG. We currently have 8 OPIRG
York working groups:*
Art For Justice, Justice is Not Colour Blind, Students for a Free Tibet, YU
Free Press, Environmental Justice York, Progressive Filipino Canadians for
Community Empowerment and Development (PFCCED), Students Against Israeli
Apartheid, and the Vanier Prison Support Line working group. You can contact
Victoria Barnett, our volunteer coordinator, about ways to get involved in
these working groups: victoria at opirgyork.ca.

*We also have three different collectives: *PrOPIRGanda Radio, Radical
Reading Room and PrOPIRGanda Zine- see the callouts below. You can contact
our Coordinator of Administration and Information, Sharmeen Khan, about
ways to get involved in these collectives: sharmeen at opirgyork.ca.
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