[opirgyork] OPIRG York is Hiring! + Upcoming News and Events!

[OPIRG York]

 Hi Everyone,

Some exciting (yet sad) news. OPIRG York is hiring for a six-month contract
for a full-time position of Coordinator of Administration and Information.
Our current Admin Coordinator, Rocio, is leaving us to pursue Midwifery
education at Ryerson University in the fall- this is super exciting for
her, but we are sad to see her leave. This means we are hiring for her
position for a 6-month contract. You can see the full job posting below and
apply if you are interested!

Also, OPIRG York is doing a Sci-fi radical reading and discussion series
with Zainab Amadahy! It starts at the end of the month, July 28th, and
continues into August. Please read below for the full details, and make
sure to register by emailing us atopirgyork at gmail.com, as there are only 20
spots available! Also remember that working group applications
are available and the Deadline is August 2nd!  if you or anyone you know is
interested in applying to be and OPIRG York working groups, please be sure
to read below and send in the application asap!

Please stay in touch with us- whether to tell us about your upcoming events
(that we can include in the email digest/promote on facebook/online) or
tell us how you would like to be involved, or if there are issues you are
interested in that we can connect you to! Feel free to get in touch with us
at anytime at opirgyork at gmail.com.

-OPIRG York
--
www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirgyork at gmail.com



*==============================*
*==============================*

*In this email:*
*
*
*YORK NEWS*

*(1) OPIRG York is Hiring: Six-month contract for a full-time position of
Coordinator of Administration and Information*
*(2) July 24-Aug 28th: **Kick your summer reading into warp drive! Sci-fi
radical reading and discussion series with Zainab Amadahy!** *
*(3) July 17: Jane Finch Action Against Poverty Meeting*
*(4) July 18th: **YFS Education Coalition*
*(5) Apply Now: “Making the Youth Count in Canada’s Future: The Struggle of
Young Workers in the Age of Austerity and Neoliberal Globalization”*
*(6) August 2nd Deadline: OPIRG York Working Group Applications - Due
August 2nd!*
*
*
*
*
*COMMUNITY NEWS

*
*(1) July 16: **Emergency Action! No Cuts in Services, No loss of Shelter
Beds!*
*(2) **July 17: **RAISE THE RATES RESTORE THE COMMUNITY START-UP BENEFIT (Free
buses from Jane-Finch to downtown!)*
*(3) July 25: **s.o.s. + Lost Lyrics present BATTLE OF THE BRUSHES*
*(4) August 10: Jailbreak! Queer Cover Band Show*
*(5) August 5th Deadline: **Spark Scholarships: Regent Park, Jane-Finch,
Pelham Park Gardens*

*
*
*YORK NEWS*

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*
*
*OPIRG York is Hiring: Six-month contract for a full-time position of
Coordinator of Administration and Information*

Ontario Public Interest Research Group - York

Six-month contract for a full-time position of Coordinator of
Administration and Information

*Start Date:*  August 19, 2013

OPIRG - The Ontario Public Interest Research Group - is a student-based
social justice, education and action organization at York University. OPIRG
York is currently hiring for a six-month term for the Coordinator of
Administration and Information position to replace a permanent staff member
on leave.  The employment term will end February 24, 2014. This is a
unionized position with CUPE Local 1281.

Salary:  $20.90/hr, 30 hrs/wk, comprehensive healthcare plan

Hours of work:  30 hrs, 4 days a week, plus occasional evening and weekend
work.

OPIRG welcomes the contributions that individuals from marginalized
communities bring to our organization, and invites aboriginal people,
people of colour, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, queer oriented people,
single parents, members of ethnic minorities, immigrants and people with
disabilities to apply. We encourage applicants to describe the
contributions and experience they, as individuals who identify with
marginalized communities, would bring to the OPIRG organization in their
cover letter.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Administration:  financial management, record keeping, audit preparation,
correspondence, office organization, grant writing, maintenance &
development of Resource Centre and supervision of office volunteers and
grant staff.
• Project & Event Coordination:  assist board & volunteers with
event/project programming, including conceptualizing, planning,
publicizing, organizing, coordinating logistics, follow-up.
• Provincial PIRG:  participate in the Ontario PIRG network as needed.
• Promotion & Outreach:  assist in the production of outreach materials
(e.g. pamphlets, posters, press releases), networking with campus/community
groups on common issues, share responsibility with Volunteer Coordinator
for radio show.
• Participate in Decision-making:  attending board meetings, staff
meetings, relevant working group & committee meetings, assist in policy &
planning, using consensus process.

QUALIFICATIONS:
The ideal candidate will possess the following skills and experience from
either paid or volunteer work:
• Strong knowledge of bookkeeping, bank reconciliations, budget creation
and maintenance, audit preparation; familiarity with Quickbooks accounting
software is an asset.
• Experience networking & community development with a diversity of groups,
familiarity with local community centers, activist groups & resources
especially within an anti-racism framework.
• Awareness of activism in a broad range of issues including anti-racism,
indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, student rights,
environmentalism, opposing corporate rule/government cutbacks,
globalization, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms
of discrimination.
• Experience in supervising volunteers and grant staff, coordinating
research projects, especially related to social justice, political action
and environmental issues.
• Experience working with community resource centers.
• Experience working with volunteers.
• Experience coordinating projects & events, especially related to
anti-racism, social justice & political actions.
• Familiarity with consensus decision-making, organization & strategic
planning, and evaluations.
• Experience creating promotional/public educational materials.
• Strong organizational, office coordination & time management skills.


Applicants must provide a resume, cover letter, and one-page statement
about “Community organizing and working through oppression and privilege.”
This page is intended to give the hiring committee a sense of your
community organizing experience and how you locate/understand yourself
within that work. We encourage applicants to describe the contributions and
experience that they, as individuals who identify with marginalized
communities, would bring to the OPIRG organization in their cover letter.
Applications that do not include a statement will not be considered for
short listing.

For the purpose of the statement it is important to note that OPIRG-York
sees anti-oppression as a process that acknowledges the existence of
systemic oppressions (including, but not limited to, racism, sexism,
homophobia, transphobia, and ableism). Through practices and policies, we
seek to actively identify, challenge, and address oppression wherever it
exists, in all its various forms.

Please send your resume, cover letter, and statement by 6PM Thursday August
1st, 2013 to: opirgyorkhire at gmail.com

PLEASE NO FAXES AND NO PHONE CALLS

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*Kick your summer reading into warp drive! Sci-fi radical reading and
discussion series with Zainab Amadahy!*

This summer's Radical reading series at OPIRG York is the exciting,
transforming stuff your summer has been waiting for. Join the conversation
with facilitator Zainab Amadahy for five weeks of radical science fiction.
All free and all good! *Email our gmail:opirgyork at gmail.com to register.
Twenty participant limit! *
*On facebook: *https://www.facebook.com/events/540176056041767/

*July 24, 2013*
"2140 AD" - Robert Sullivan
from Robert Sullivan. Star Waka. Auckland University Press, 1999;
also from Grace L Dillon. Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous
Science Fiction. University of Arizona Press, 2012

About Star Waka: "In the Maori language, “waka” can be translated as
“canoe”...The poems in Star Waka chart the sounds of the crew’s voices (the
words) and the “meanings of star” (semantic navigation). Star Waka compels
us into its poetic vehicles, guiding us through the “betweenness” of
culture, memory, identity, and society." - Craig Santos Perez, Recovery
Project,octopusmagazine.com

also on July 24, 2013
"Where the Borg Are" - Thomas King
from Thomas King. A Short History of Indians in Canada (short stories).
HarperCollins, 2005

About A Short History of Indians in Canada: "I felt comforted and finally
amused and a little wicked, as when a mischievous and beloved uncle tells
you tales that you know mean more than they say, and you know you will
understand them better when you are older." - Steven James Stunell,
Rabble.ca

*July 31, 2013 - August 28, 2013 (skipping August 21)*
Lilith's Brood - Octavia Butler
from Octavia Butler. Xenogenesis Trilogy. Warner Books, 1987-89;
also from Octavia Butler. Lilith's Brood. Grand Central Publishing, 2000

>From Lilith's Brood:
"Your Earth is still your Earth, but between the efforts of your people to
destroy it and ours to restore it, it has changed." Book 1: Dawn; Section
1: Womb; Chapter 5; pp. 33-32.

*August 28, 2013*
depending on what the group is feeling, maybe an additional book i.e.
Midnight Robber - Nalo Hopkinson
Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula LeGuin
Who Fears Death - Nnedi Okorafor

*Twenty participant limit, so email us to register! (opirgyork at gmail.com)*

*Zainab Amadahy authored the feminist science fiction novel Moons of
Palmares. Her work also appears in Strong Women’s Stories: Native Vision
and Community Activism. She co-authored (with Dr. Bonita Lawrence)
"Indigenous Peoples and Black Peoples in Canada: Settlers or Allies” for
Breaching the Colonial Contract: Anti-Colonialism in the US and Canada. *
*
*
*Her latest book is Wielding the Force: the Science of Effective Activism.
Emerging knowledge and time-tested wisdom can inform and reinforce social
justice activism. New scientific information about our brains, hearts and
the biology of human interaction will amaze and delight those who seek a
more generous, compassionate and peaceful world. Framed within the context
of Indigenous and other ancient wisdoms, this new*
*knowledge can inform, transform and revolutionize movement building -- Our
collective paradigm is shifting and science is firmly on the side of social
justice! Like the rebels of the original Star Wars trilogy who brought down
the Empire, activists can effectively wield “The Force”.*

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*Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP) Meeting*

Wednesday, July 17th
6pm – 8pm
1 Yorkgate Blvd, unit 202
(Yorkgate Mall, close to the Dollarama- upper level)

Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP) is a resident-led grassroots
coalition of community residents, activists, workers and organizations
working to eliminate poverty in our community and in the world. JFAAP meets
at 6pm on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Black Creek
Community Health Centre in Yorkgate Mall; new members are always welcome!
The next meeting after this one, will be on August 7th!


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*YFS Education Coalition*

As an Ontario student you are paying the highest tuition fees in the
country. Since 2006 tuition fees in Ontario have increased by as much as
71% and the government just rolled out another four years of fee increases.
On top of this, we endure the largest class sizes, the worst teacher to
student ratio and the very lowest per student funding in Canada while
seeking higher education becomes synonymous with debt.

Enough is enough!

We are here to send a strong message to the decision makers in this
province that the hikes stop here, but we can’t do it without you!

Come out to the first Education Coalition Meeting of the year in 313
Student Centre on Thursday, July 18 from 2-4PM and have your say in the
direction of campaigns at York this year and help steer how we tackle high
tuition fees in Ontario.

Take action. Get involved. Create change!

Anyone are welcome and food will be provided.

For more information or how to get involved contact VP Campaigns & Advocacy
Gayle McFadden at vpcampaigns at yfs.ca or 416-885-5488.
*Facebook Link:* http://goo.gl/26dKh


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**
“Making the Youth Count in Canada’s Future: The Struggle of Young Workers
in the Age of Austerity and Neoliberal Globalization”

Toronto, ON—The Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance of Ontario/Ugnayan ng
Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada–Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON) invites all youth and
young workers to attend “Making the Youth Count in Canada’s Future: The
Struggle of Young Workers in the Age of Austerity and Neoliberal
Globalization”, an Ontario-wide conference which will be held on August 3rd
at the United Steel Workers Hall in Toronto.

We continue to witness the neoliberal agenda of globalization intensify its
attack in Canada through its main driver, the Conservative government. This
is evident in the changes to employment and labour standards, the push
towards flexible and temporary labour, the implementation of austerity
policies and the push towards privatization and cutbacks of public services.

These ongoing reforms and changes undeniably denigrate the lives of all
working people in Canada including, im/migrants, students, Aboriginal
peoples and the newly-arrived, which indicate that no sector, occupation
group or community is off-limits to the impacts of the neoliberal agenda.
Currently, Canada’s future generation, the youth, are subjected to an
all-time high unemployment rate of 14%, which is double the national
unemployment rate.

In Ontario, youth unemployment is at 16.2% as of March 2013. As the
province with the highest tuition fees in the country, ballooning student
debt coupled by a labour market characterised by the general decline of
secure and meaningful full-time jobs, the youth have little choice but to
accept ‘flexible/contractual’ jobs, often in the low-wage sector, despite
high levels of educational attainment.

As part of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), the
Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance/Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino sa
Canada–Ontario (FCYA/UKPC-ON) cannot accept a future or fate that can only
be left up to the fluctuations of the market economy. For FCYA/UKPC-ON, it
is imperative that we expose and oppose the current neoliberal agenda and
all its manifestations here in Canada to counter the attacks being imposed
on us, and make the youth count in Canada’s future.

Conference objectives

    To understand the impacts of the global economic crisis and neoliberal
globalization on the youth in Canada.
    To develop strategies to advance the struggle of the youth against
neoliberal globalization.

“Making the Youth Count in Canada’s Future: The Struggle of Young Workers
in the Age of Austerity and Neoliberal Globalization”
Ontario-wide conference
August 3, 2013
United Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street
Toronto, Ontario

*
*
Registration fee is $15 (includes meals and conference materials)
*
*

*
*
APPLY HERE:
http://www.magkaisacentre.org/2013/04/18/maketheyouthcount/<http://www.magkaisacentre.org/2013/04/18/maketheyouthcount/>
*
*
*
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*OPIRG York Working Groups Applications!*

OPIRG York is very excited to send you this callout for Working Groups-- we
have had many amazing working groups over the years, and are looking for
more amazing groups this coming year. You can see some information below,
and on our website here:

WORKING GROUPS INFORMATION & APPLICATION<http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups>

The deadline for Working Group Applications is August 2nd, 2013!
*


*
*COMMUNITY NEWS*


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*Emergency Action! No Cuts in Services, No loss of Shelter Beds!*

Tuesday, July 16th
12noon
Toronto City Hall

On July 16th City council will vote on the first part of the plan to
‘re-develop’ Seaton House - the largest emergency shelter for men in
Canada. However, the current proposal plan
(app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2013.EX33.17) includes
reducing shelter beds from 543 to only 100. Such a massive cut of shelter
beds in a system already stretched beyond its limits will only have
disastrous results. On top of this there is no clear plan for the
continuation of important services such as harm reduction programs
currently run out of Seaton House. At a time when the Downtown East
neighborhood is under constant threat of upscale development and
gentrification - this proposed re-development plan stinks of displacement,
cuts and loss. OCAP will be at city hall on Tuesday July 16th, 12noon, to
demand there be no cuts in services to the Downtown east and No loss of
Shelter beds and that the city instead build affordable housing and
increase services NOW! Join us!

*On Facebook:* https://www.facebook.com/events/463162700446397/

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
www.ocap.ca
416-925-6939
*
*

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*July 17: Housing Stabilization Fund Mass Application Clinic, Meal, and
Rally*

Wednesday, July 17 at 11:00am

David Pecaut Square (bounded by King St. W. and Wellington St. W., Roy
Thomson Hall and Metro Hall)

***Catch the FREE BUS downtown:*

*10:00am - Jane/Finch Mall front parking lot*
*
*
*10:15am - Weston Lawrence/King: 2017 Weston Rd (at Weston King*
*Neighborhood Centre)*

LOOK FOR THE PINK BUS!

ACCESSIBILITY: the closest wheelchair accessible station is: St.Andrew
Station right next to David Pecault Square. The square itself is
wheelchair accessible, and there are wheelchair accessible washrooms
inside Metro Hall. We will have accessibility marshals who will announce
themselves at the beginning if you have any questions or concerns.

*Download the Flyer (in English here, Spanish here, Hungarian here and
Chinese here)

RAISE THE RATES
RESTORE THE COMMUNITY START-UP BENEFIT
*On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/209445809209128/

The Ontario government cut the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit
(CSUMB) at the end of 2012. CSUMB was a provincial benefit that helped
people on social assistance to get and retain housing. For 2013, a
patchwork of inadequate municipal programs has been set up to replace the
CSUMB. In Toronto, the program is called the Housing Stabilization Fund
(HSF). By the City’s own admission, the HSF has been inaccessible for many
who need it, both because the City has failed to tell people how they can
receive the benefit, and that the eligibility criteria to receive the fund
have been too strict.

In response to this situation, anti-poverty groups have organized clinics
where people are assisted in applying for the HSF. These clinics have been
followed by group actions where delegations of people in need of the
benefit have confronted the bureaucrats in charge of the program
collectively. In this way people have won benefits they need, and we have
put pressure of the City to expand their eligibility criteria for the
benefit.

On July 17th we plan to continue this work but on a larger scale with a
mass application clinic where people can get help on the spot in applying
for the HSF. The clinic will include a meal and rally to demand the
restoration of CSUMB and a raise in social assistance rates. Last year we
fought back against the cut to CSUMB and through determined community
mobilizations across the province we forced $42 million out of the
government in money that they intended to cut. We know that community
action works - let's continue to push for the full restoration of
Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit on July 17th!

Organized by: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Parkdale Against Poverty,
Parkdale Community Legal Services, and more!

ENDORSED BY:
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)

ENDORSE and SUPPORT!

*We are seeking endorsements and donations to help cover food and other
costs for this action. Please contact ocap at tao.ca or 416-925-6939 to add
your organization to the list of endorsers and to donate.

Who can get the HSF? Anyone on OW or ODSP in the City of Toronto who:

· needs to move because of a situation that is harmful to your health

· is currently homeless or in threat of being homeless and need $ for last
month’s rent

· needs the money to stop an eviction from happening or if you are in
rental arrears of up to two months

· if you have an energy bill that is in arrears

· if you need furniture

· moving to ‘improve your housing’

· if you have just come out of an institution and need housing (jail,
rehab or the hospital)

*The HSF can provide $800 for single/couple, $1000 for families with adult
dependents, or $1500 for families with children for rent

*AND, up to another $800 single/couple, $1000 families with adult
dependents, $1500 families with children for furniture

--------------------
Contact to get involved:
Parkdale Community legal Services: 416-531-2411 x248
parkdaleagainstpoverty[at]gmail.com
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty: 416-925-6939 ocap[at]tao.ca


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*s.o.s. + Lost Lyrics present BATTLE OF THE BRUSHES*

Call for Painters/Muralists

Thursday July 25, 2013
4 Artists
1 $400 Cash Prize
1 Party
Live DJ + Cash Bar
19+

To enter, please send:
+ your name
+ short bio (what your art is about - 50 wrds max)
+ 2 images of your paintings (in .jpeg format)

to sos.curatorial.collective at gmail.com
by July 5, 2013

*all materials provided
*for more info: soscollective.squarespace.com


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*Jailbreak! Queer Cover Band Show*

In recognition of Prisoner Justice Day, and building up to the Queer &
Trans Anarchist & Anti-Authoritarian Convergence August 23-25, QueerCore
presents
Jailbreak!, the next installment of the Queer Cover Band Show series.

Prisoner Justice Day is an annual day of remembrance for prisoner lives
lost and in recognition of the injustice, oppression and hypocrisy of the
prison industrial complex. On Prisoner Justice Day, we show solidarity with
those inside prison walls in their fight for humane treatment and better
conditions, and work towards the eventual abolishment of the prison system.

They may not be able to hear our songs, but in our hearts they are not
forgotten.
Pay tribute to their struggle.
Bring your stories and songs of remembrance, resilience and resistance.
Light a candle. Light a fire. Let the flames engulf the prisons and the
state.
We'll set this night ablaze and dance in the ashes.

//RIDE A UNICORN\\
//ROCK OUT\\
//SMASH THE PRISONS\\

Saturday August 10th
Doors at 8PM.
Bands at 9PM
Location: To Be Announced,
Check out our Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/658684767480024/

$5 at the door or pay what you can.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds (seriously, no one will be
turned away)
Proceeds will go to supporting the work of the Prisoner Correspondence
Project Toronto, which runs a letter writing program to Queer and Trans
identified prisoners in the U.S and Canada.

What is the Queer cover band show??

We are bored and tired of straight cis-gendered white dudes taking up the
majority of space at shows. We want more rad folks to sing and play their
hearts out. For too long we have been excluded. It's time for our glittery
selves to shine.

This space is prioritizing queer/trans people of colour, black, indigenous,
women and all those that are underrepresented and alienated from the music
scene. Let's build our own beats to break down barriers and help create a
music scene that aims to be safe, inclusive and empowering. Have no shame
in your skill level. You can do it!

What is Queercore Toronto?

Queecore, besides the wicked awesome music reference, is an autonomous
collective of queer identified radicals in Toronto committed to injecting
anti-capitalist political ideology into queer community organizing. We
fight the pink washing of the police, the state and the corporations and
will not be co-opted or assimilated into heteronormative, patriarchal,
racist systems of exploitation and consumerism.

Contact us at radicalcoverbandshow.to at gmail.com for assistance building
cover bands, borrowing instruments and finding practice space.
*
*
*Find Queercore on Tumblr: *http://queercoreto.tumblr.com

*==============================*
*(5)*
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*
*
*Spark Scholarships: Regent Park, Jane-Finch, Pelham Park Gardens *

The goal of the Spark Initiative scholarship is to promote academic
excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding young leaders with
significant financial need to reach their highest potential by:
Reducing financial barriers for young leaders with high academic and
leadership promise who have significant financial need;
Promoting diversity in the future leadership of the City of Toronto by
facilitating the successful completion of an undergraduate university or
college degree; and
Rewarding youth leaders who participate in civic/community engagement
and/or balance work and school

*Eligibility Criteria*
Age: between 17-25 years old
Residential Location: The candidate must live in or near one of the
following areas of the City of Toronto: Jane-Finch, Regent Park, Pelham
Park Gardens
Education Status: Has been recently accepted or is continuing their
education (but not yet graduated) at an AUCC university or college and will
be registered in full-time studies in September 2013.
Grades: Has attained at least a B average in high school or in
university/college.
Financial Need: Has demonstrated financial need and is using the Ontario
Students Assistance Program (OSAP).
Extra-Curricular/Volunteer/Part-time job: Has demonstrated experience in
being a positive active member in their school and/or residential community
and/or has worked at a part-time job while in school.

*DEADLINE: *August 5th 2013 at 5:00pm EST. Please direct all questions to
Kathy Conteh at kathy at sparkinitiative.ca.

APPLY HERE –> Spark Scholarship Application Form
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zpchN2cOBvfLsA7YO20GbZjfE6Lu5DK5uhSltdtE4DU/viewform>



-- 

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


*There are many ways to get involved at OPIRG. Apply to be a working group:
**http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups*
Contact victoria at opirgyork.ca for further information.

*We also have three different collectives: *PrOPIRGanda Radio, Radical
Reading Room and PrOPIRGanda Zine- see the callouts below. You can contact
us about ways to get involved in these collectives: opirgyork at gmail.com.
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