[opirgyork] TOMORROW: Deepan Budlakoti Speak @ York U! + Other upcoming events

[OPIRG York]

Hey Everyone!

Tomorrow is the Deepan Budlakoti event- its from 2-4pm at York U! Please
see the details below- spread the word and be there tomorrow! (He is also
speaking at U of T on Wednesday)
Also check out the rest of the great events upcoming at York and in the
city.

If you're interested in volunteering, please get in touch with Victoria, at
victoria at opirgyork.ca.
We always are in need of volunteers! And stop by the OPIRG York office
anytime -- Room 449C Student Centre!

-- OPIRG York


****************
*TODAY'S DIGEST:*

1. *TOMORROW*: Reclaiming Citizenship, Rejecting Double Punishment: Deepan
Budlakoti Speaking Tour - Toronto Events January 2014
2. Introduction to Media - Mainstream Media and Getting your message out
there
3. Online Organizing & Making Social Media Count 101
4. OPIRG York Social Justice Fair
5. Jane-Finch Action Against Poverty Meetings + Report Back
6. BRAINSTORM SESSION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE OPEN STUDIO
7. Iran in (Re)View: Toward Solidarity Beyond Borders - Conference
8. YU Free Press- Callout for New Editors/Designers/Web and Coordinators!!
9. Volunteering and Upcoming Events @ CWTP at York!
10. CHRY News and Spoken Word Volunteer Training and Orientation Dates
11. Freedom in the Anthropocene: Capital, History and Ecology
12. Major Anishinabek decolonization project needs urgent support!
13. Queering Urban Justice with Che Gossett, Rio Rodriguez and Syrus Marcus
Ware!
14. Nelson Mandela and Revolutionary Struggle in South Africa

****************

*Reclaiming Citizenship, Rejecting Double Punishment: Deepan Budlakoti
Speaking Tour - Toronto Events January 2014*

*FaceBook Link:* https://www.facebook.com/events/489317097852178/

Deepan Budlakoti is an Ottawa-born construction worker and activist who, in
2010, was stripped of his citizenship by the Canadian government. He is now
a stateless person pitted in an incredible battle against the Conservative
government over his entitlement to citizenship. The government is
attempting to deport him to his parents’ homeland, India, a country where
he has never lived and does not have citizenship. See more info about his
story here: www.justicefordeepan.org

Deepan is currently traveling across Canada to tell his story and seek
support. He will be speaking about his experiences as a young man in
criminal prison, in immigration detention, and his current conditions as a
stateless person. His struggle connects to issues of criminalization,
racial profiling, prisons, immigration detention and, more broadly,
questions of identity, belonging and borders. Who is entitled to Canadian
citizenship? Who is excluded and how are exclusions justified? Who is
subject to deportation and double punishment? Come out to hear Deepan and
join in the discussion.

*2 SPEAKING EVENTS:*

1. @ York University
Tuesday, January 14
2pm-4pm
Student Centre Room 430, (4700 Keele St.)

2. @ University of Toronto
Wednesday, January 15
7pm-9pm
OISE Room 2211, (252 Bloor St. W)

*Featuring Members from:*
Justice for Mahjoub | End Security Certificate
Trials<https://www.facebook.com/SupportMahjoub>
No One Is Illegal | Personne n'est illégal | Nadie es ilegal Toronto
<https://www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalNetwork>
& others To Be Confirmed!

*FULL TOUR Details Here:*
https://www.facebook.com/events/446361202152882

*Toronto Event being organized by:*
Opirg York and Opirg TO!

*Tour organized by:*
Justice for Deepan Committee
www.justicefordeepan.org
justicefordeepan at gmail.com
fb.com/justicefordeepanbudlakoti

****************

*Introduction to Media - Mainstream Media and Getting your message out
there*

Learn how to develop a media strategy for a long term social change
initiative. The training will also cover framing, how editors make
decisions, different types of media (blogs, social media, newspapers,
television) understanding the news cycle, and relating to reporters.

*Facebook link:* https://www.facebook.com/events/207521862783695/

*Date*: Tuesday, January 21st,
*Time*: 5-8pm
*Location*:  Room 311B Student Centre

*Trainer*: Justin Podur is a reporter, writer and editor. His writing can
be found at Rabble.ca, ZNet, and on his blog, podur.org. He has worked as a
journalist, media spokesperson, and media trainer for various initiatives
and organizations.

****************

*Online Organizing & Making Social Media Count 101*

This workshop explores how to engage in effective online campaigning &
maximize social media strategies in your projects and campaigns.
Participants will explore the benefits and challenges of different online
and social media tools, be given useful information about managing online
campaigns & social media platforms as well as mobilizing different
audiences and tracking results. Workshop attendees are encouraged to bring
project plans and proposals with them to maximize hands-on learning on
actual campaigns.

*Facebook Link:* https://www.facebook.com/events/503796879734135

*Date*: Tuesday, January 28th
*Time*: 5-8pm
*Location*: Room 311B Student Centre
*Trainer*: Syed Hussan is an organizer and writer in Toronto working with
undocumented and migrant peoples, in defense of Indigenous sovereignty, and
against counter intuitive programs like war and capitalism.

****************

*OPIRG York Social Justice Fair*

Come check out some of OPIRG York’s Working groups and learn about more
ways to be involved! You can also check out tables by different community
groups that we support and do ongoing work with!

*Date*: Wednesday, January 29th
*Time*: 10-4pm
*Location*: Vari Hall, Vari Link and Central Square tables
*Featuring*:

Featuring Opirg York working groups:
* Ukpc York
* Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York University
* Students for a Free Tibet Canada
* Environmental Justice @ York U
* Revolutionary Student Movement- York University
* YU Free Press
* Incendies
* Revolutionary Literature and Arts
* Queer and Trans Womyn Without Borders
* Art for Justice

AND

- Jane Finch Action Against Poverty
- West-Side Arts Hub
- Rebels With A Cause Film Festival
- and other community and York allies.

If you are interested in participating, please get in touch with our
Volunteer Coordinator, Victoria, at victoria at opirgyork.ca.

**Please note- there is limited tabling space and OPIRG working groups +
community groups are already being accommodated, but there are a few extra
spaces available. Note some of the tables will be shared to be able to
accomodate more groups.

*On Facebook (please share):*
https://www.facebook.com/events/201595660030084/

****************

*Jane-Finch Action Against Poverty Meetings*

JFAAP meets at 6pm at the Black Creek Community Health Centre in Yorkgate
Mall (North West corner of Jane and Finch) on the 1st  Wednesday of every
month ; new members are always welcome!

*Next Meeting: *
*Wednesday January 15th @ 6pm*


****************


*BRAINSTORM SESSION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE OPEN STUDIODate: Wednesday, January
15, 2014Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm*
*Location: 862 Richmond Street West, Suite 100, Arcadeatorium*

Do you like to make things? Around other people who are also making things?
For the revolution?

Come out to the brainstorm session for the new social justice open studio
sessions! This will be a regular time to come together, make work, get
feedback, and collaborate. Join us as we explore and experiment with new
modes of radical creative production!

We want to bring together creatives who centre their work in
anti-oppression and social justice: graphic designers, comic book artists,
zine makers, game developers, industrial designers, visual artists,
animators, filmmakers, visual storytellers, and all kinds of tinkerers —
anyone who needs shared time, space, and support to work on projects that
we normally work on in isolation.

*What we hope to discuss:*

What we all make
Potential areas for collaboration and cross pollination
Our hopes and dreams for the open studio sessions
How we’ll make the space positive and accessible

*ABOUT THE SPACE*

Bento Miso is a coworking space where we’re trying to build an inclusive
community that supports independent designers, developers, game makers, and
other interesting work.

*ACCESS*

We strive to create a space that is accommodating and easy-to-use for
people who use assistive devices. The main entrance to the building
features an automated door that opens by pushing a button. However, the
button only operates the door during business hours (8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.). If
you arrive after 6 p.m., and do not need assistance with the door, dial 800
on the keypad and someone will buzz you in. If you need assistance opening
the door, or cannot reach the directory/buzz-in system, please call Henry
Faber at (416) 879-8942 and someone will be happy to meet you.
Access is through a door just inside the entrance. It is generally propped
open. The washroom is fully wheelchair accessible.

Please email una at unalee.net to request ASL interpretation. We will do our
best to make this happen.


****************

*Iran in (Re)View: Toward Solidarity Beyond Borders - Conference*

*Facebook Link: *https://www.facebook.com/events/260393117449112 (Please
Share!)

Iran’s politics and society continue to be the focus of public discussions
across the world. Yet rarely does the complexity deserving of these
subjects receive adequate consideration. Iran in (Re)View aims to make this
complexity legible. Rather than reproducing conventional narratives and
convenient clichés, perpetuated by the mainstream media and the ruling
classes, the organizers of this conference intend to foster an open
atmosphere for the exchange of critical and alternative perspectives. This
dialogue will address a range of key issues pertaining to social, economic
and political realities in Iran today, such as: the class nature of the
Islamic state in Iran, movements for social and economic justice,
particularly the working class, women, students, and LGBTQ, the effect of
economic sanctions and the threats of war by the US and its allies
including the Canadian government.

This event focuses upon contemporary Iranian politics, society, and
economy. Join us as we critically examine the complexities shaping these
realities, and explore opportunities for solidarity in the struggles
against oppression and exploitation through a series of panels in Persian
and English.

Iran in (Re)view has been organized by various Iranian activists, students,
workers and academics, and made possible by support from Opirg Toronto and
Opirg York.

*Agenda: *

12:30 pm – Registration and Reception

1:00 – 1:30 pm – Opening the conference (Farsi & English)

1:30 – 3:00 pm: Panel One: Iran after Elections: Change or Consolidation
(in Farsi- English translation may be available)

3: 15 pm – 4:45 pm: Panel Two: Histories in Context and Futures at Stake
(In English)

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Panel Three and closing remarks: Toward Strengthening a
Solidarity Beyond Borders: International solidarity in action

*This event is free.
*The Multi-Faith Centre / Koffler Institute at U of T is fully accessible.
*There will be cameras, video recorders, and voice recorders throughout the
event.
*Please contact us if you have any accessibility issues that we need to
consider.

Our Page on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/IranInReView
http://iraninreview.com/
Email: info at IranInReview.com

Please stay tuned for updates on the event and spread the word!

****************

*YU Free Press- Callout for New Editors/Designers/Web and Coordinators!!*

*To apply for a position, please email (and for any general inquires)
to: yufreepress at gmail.com <yufreepress at gmail.com>*

*Positions Currently Available:*

*Layout Editor:* a) Maintain Layout e-mail account; b) Create layout using
final packages sent by Section Editors; c) Coordinate with the printers for
print date and delivery; d) Coordinate with Section Editors on aesthetics
of pages

*Website Manager: *a) Responsible for the constant upkeep of the website:
Adding articles, photos, monitoring comments etc.; b) Responsible for
maintenance of current layout, or creating a new layout and maintaining it

*Copy Editor: *a) Receive articles from Copy Editor Coordinator (who is a
voting member of the Collective); b) Edit mechanics and formatting, neither
content nor argumentative stances, using tracking feature (if any content
or legal issues are noticed, notify Copy Editor Coordinator); c) Send
articles back to Copy Editor Coordinator by deadline

*Section Editor: *a) Manage the Section email account; b) Actively solicit
content, gain permissions to reprint already printed articles; c) Read all
articles submitted prior to Content Selection meetings; d)
Contact/communicate with authors, edit, proofread, fact-check, word count,
consider liability, select pull-quotes, consider aesthetics of Section, etc.

*Again to apply for a position, please email (and for any general inquires)
to: yufreepress at gmail.com <yufreepress at gmail.com>*

****************

*Volunteering and Upcoming Events @ CWTP at York!*

It’s a new year and the Centre for Women and Trans People is looking for
new volunteers!

You will have the opportunity to assist with our library, tumblr, work with
various working groups though planning events and educational campaigns as
well as attend workshops and sit on various student committees that often
participate in the university’s wider policy development.

Come meet new people, gain invaluable experience and learn ways to resist
and dismantle systems of oppression at our trans  inclusive, safer space.
The Centre for women and trans people is located in room 322 in the student
Centre.

Email maxine.cwtpyork at gmail.com with question or concerns.

Training will begin the week of Jan 13th and 20th.  Email maxine for an
application and specific dates/times.

****************
*THRIVE: Art and Trauma Group for Survivors*
This group will start January 22nd 2014 @ 4PM, rm 322 The Student Centre. It
is open to those who would like to explore healing through the arts: visual
arts, performance, poetry, song, etc. Facilitated by members from the R3
Collective. To find out more information or to sign up, email
cwtpyork at gmail.com or events.sassl at gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/258408990990292/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
SASSL and CWTP at York would like to welcome back the R3 Collective in
presenting
a FREE 8 week arts-based workshop series for survivors of trauma to foster
self-care and healing through the arts within an anti-oppressive safer
space.

The arts-based workshop series will include: skill-sharing, journal writing,
meditation, vocals, music and dance.

Open to all genders with priority to women and trans folks, LGBTTIQA2S,
gender
variant, genderqueer, gender non-conforming or gender fluid communities of
York University, on and off campus.

*First Intake Session: Wednesday, January 22nd at 4:00 PM, Location TBA

Open to 8 participants
Registration by email: info at r3collective.com

*Workshop: Every Wednesday, starting on January 29th through to March 26th,
2014. Time TBA
*Where: Location TBA
*Cost: FREE! Childcare, tokens, art supplies and snacks will be provided
free
of cost to participants.

Wheelchair accessible via elevator on east end of Student Centre.
Contact cwtpyork at gmail.com or events.sassl at gmail.com for further access
needs.

Project of the R3 Collective, sponsored by CWTP at York & SASSL; partly funded
by
the Women and Trans People’s Safety Grant Committee.


****************

*CHRY News and Spoken Word Volunteer Training and Orientation Dates*

The CHRY NSW Dept. offers trainings for free to volunteers who have
completed the orientation sessions. These trainings offer you the basic
skills you will need to contribute to the department in a hands-on and
participatory environment.

Trainings are offered in a cycle every month. See the latest schedule
below. While it is recommended to take them in order (1,2,3) it is not
compulsory. To sign up, email chrynews at yorku.ca or call 416-736-2100 ext.
33908.

Training #1: Scripting & Voicing for Radio – Learn and practice the best
tips on writing and reading for radio effectively and creatively. This
training allows access to: writing runsheets/scripts, hosting, community
listings, producing Peoples’ History Spotlight segments (News Now).

*Next session: *Tuesday, January 14th, 2014 5pm-7pm OR Thursday January
16th, 2014 1pm-3pm.

*Training #2:* Audio editing & Board engineering – The basics on editing
audio with the free open-source program Audacity. Basics of board operation
to mix tracks and monitor audio quality. This training allows access to:
audio archiving, audio editing/production, on-air technical engineering.

*Next session*: Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 5pm-7pm OR Thursday January
23rd, 2014 1pm-3pm

*Training #3:* The Ethics of Interviewing and Alternative Radio – We
explore what makes alternative radio vital to community building and the
power dynamics in the interviewing process. This training allows access to:
field recording audio, interview questions, eligible to apply as News Now
Beat Director or Producer.

*Next session:* Tuesday, January 28th 2014 5-7pm OR Thursday January 30th,
2014 1-3pm.

*News and Spoken Word Orientation*
Learn about all the News and Spoken Word Department at CHRY, what kind of
content we prioritize, the shows on the grid, volunteer and internship
opportunities and skill building.

*Next Session: *Wednesday, January 15th 2014 2pm-3pm OR Wednesday, January
29th 2014 2pm-3pm.


****************

*Freedom in the Anthropocene: Capital, History and Ecology*

Wednesday, 15 Jan 4:00pm
York University (Keele Campus) Room 109 HNES Building
Join the event on Facebook
Hosted by the The Platypus Affiliated Society at York

Panelists:
Greg Albo, Political Science, York University
Jordan Briggs, International Bolshevik Tendency
Michelle Mawhinney, Political Science, York University
Raymond Rogers, Environmental Studies, York University

Description:
The Dutch atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen recently characterized the
period marked by the start of the industrial revolution in the 18th Century
to the present as a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. This
periodization is meant to capture a change in the history of the planet,
namely that for the first time in history its course will be determined by
the question of what humanity will become.

This panel will focus on different interpretations of why the Left has
failed to deal with the deepening crisis of the Anthropocene through the
19th and 20th Centuries and how and if this problem is interrelated with
the growing problems associated with ecological systems across the earth.
While Karl Marx would note that the problem of freedom shifted with the
industrial revolution and the emergence of the working class - the crisis
of bourgeois society that Marx would term capital - the idea of freedom
seemed not to survive the collapse of Marxist politics in the 20th Century.
We seem to live in a world in which the fate of ecological systems seem
foreclosed, where attempts at eco-modernization seem to emerge many steps
behind the rate of ecological degradation. For many, degradation of the
environment appears a permanent feature of modern society, something which
can only be resisted but never transformed.

Panelists will consider the relationship between the history of capital and
the Left—and thus the issue of history and freedom - and how it may be
linked to our present inability to render environmental threats and
degradation visible and comprehensible, and by extension, subject to its
conscious and free overcoming by society.

*The Platypus Affiliated Society organizes reading groups, public fora,
research, and journalism focused on problems and tasks inherited from the
"Old" (1920s-30s), "New" (1960s-70s) and post-political (1980s-90s) Left,
for the possibilities of emancipatory politics today.*


****************

*Major Anishinabek decolonization project needs urgent support!*

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY :)

Aanii/Boozhoo/Greetings!


ACTION (Anishinabek Confederacy To Invoke Our Nationhood) is a prophecy-
and elder-guided movement building a decolonization pathway for all nations
in Southern Ontario. We are seeking support to help us bring Anishinabek
youth to begin elder-guided spiritual decolonization training in Toronto
and at our main reclamation site on illegally occupied lands - the
Oshkimaadziig Unity Camp in what Ontario calls Awenda Provincial Park.

Our work over the past few years has been praised across Turtle Island.
Please give generously so we can continue building support across all
nations!

Check us out at http://igg.me/at/oshkimaadzig/x/2460280

Please share this with all your relations!
Miigwetch!

>From the ACTION Team

****************

*Queering Urban Justice with Che Gossett, Rio Rodriguez and Syrus Marcus
Ware!*

The annual Equity Seminar Series is launched this time with a panel on
race, sexuality and the city. Queer of colour and other intersectional
approaches are often missing from dominant accounts of the city, yet they
are essential in understanding who pays for and who benefits from urban
development. The speakers are activist scholars who have been part of
struggles against gentrification, police violence, racism, disablism,
classism and transphobia in the criminal justice system, and queer and
trans of colour community building in cities like Toronto, Berlin and
Philadelphia.

*SPEAKERS:*
Che Gossett is a black gender queer and femme fabulous writer and activist.
They are a contributor to Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison
Industrial Complex (eds. Nat Smith and Eric Stanley) and The Transgender
Studies Reader v. II (eds. Aren Azuira and Susan Stryker). This past summer
they had the honor of being part of a phenomenal delegation of archivists
and librarians to Palestine. They are currently working on a biography of
queer Japanese American AIDS activist, Kiyoshi Kuromiya.

Río Rodríguez is a Toronto-based Latin@ queer educator who believes in the
power of art and culture to empower our queer, trans and POC communities.
Río is a border-crosser, hails from the Dominican Republic, and has been
doing radical community-based education on everything from the
prison-industrial complex, free post-secondary education to queer
empowerment for over 10 years. Río has recently developed engaging
curriculum for OUTWords, an award-winning 6 month long arts and leadership
program for LGBTQ2SIA spectrum young people. This curriculum empowers young
queer people with the tools to go far beyond simple "tolerance", and begin
to understand the cultural and historical roots of homophobia and
transphobia, practice self-care and self-love, and create meaningful art
and expression for social change. Today, Río is a UofT Student, is hosting
radical queer history tours of Toronto's Church-Wellesley village, and is
also busy exploring the possibilities and limitations of queer liberation
through community based urban education.

Syrus Marcus Ware is a black, disabled and queer visual artist, community
activist, researcher, youth-advocate and educator. He is a prison
abolitionist. Syrus worked for a few years at PASAN, and while there helped
to write Responding to the Epidemic Recommendations for a Canadian
Hepatitis C Strategy. He is a former member of Friends of MOVE Toronto, and
is one of the organizers of Toronto’s Prisoners’ Justice Day events. Syrus
is a member of the Gay/Bi Trans Men's HIV Prevention Working Group for the
Ontario AIDS Bureau and one of the creators of “Primed: A Back Pocket Guide
for Trans Guys and the Guys Who Dig ‘Em”, the first sexual health resource
for trans MSMs in North America. Syrus’ chapter in Who's Your Daddy?: And
Other Writings on Queer Parenting (Sumach Press, 2008) entitled, “Going
Boldly Where Few Men Have Gone Before: One Trans Man’s Experience of
Fertility Clinics” and his co-authored chapter, “How Disability Studies
Stays White and What Kind of White it Stays” are part of curricula at
several colleges and universities. He is currently co-editing a book
chapter (with Zack Marshall) about disability, Deaf culture and trans
identities in the forthcoming Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (2013).

Chair: Jin Haritaworn
Co-organizers: Ronak Ghorbani and ACE (Accessibility, Community and Equity
at FES). ACE is a student-led space that was launched in 2011 to build
discussion, awareness, and action around issues of equity, diversity and
social and environmental justice at FES and beyond.
http://aceatyorku.wordpress.com/
Co-sponsor: OPIRG York

*Tuesday 21 January*
*2.30-4pm, York, *
*Faculty of Environmental Studies, HNES 140*

The venue is wheelchair accessible. Sadly we weren't successful in raising
funds for ASL interpretation for this event but we are hopeful for the rest
of the series.

****************

*Nelson Mandela and Revolutionary Struggle in South Africa*

Thu. Jan. 16 @ 7:00pm
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), room 4414
252 Bloor St. W. (at St. George subway station)


The recent death of Nelson Mandela has been rightfully mourned by
revolutionaries and freedom fighters around the globe. He was one of the
major leaders of the anti-Apartheid struggle and a fighter against the
monstrous Apartheid regime. For this reason he was imprisoned for life by
the former Apartheid state. In contrast to the crocodile tears shed today,
the South African regime and its international allies at the time vilified
Mandela, labelling him a terrorist and a communist.

Although Apartheid has been formally abolished in South Africa, the
divisions and contradictions within South African society have not. Now,
the working class of South Africa is once again rising up and taking hold
of the revolutionary qualities that made Mandela such a respected freedom
fighter. They look to finish the task of fighting for freedom and equality,
a task that Mandela was unable to complete.

Come out to listen to the real history of Nelson Mandela and what are the
prospects of revolutionary struggle in South Africa.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1434202516796745/

Presented by Fightback — www.marxist.ca.

For more information, please contact fightback at marxist.ca, or call (416)
461-0304.

-- 

-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
<http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups>*
Contact victoria at opirgyork.ca for further information.

*We also have two collectives: *PrOPIRGanda Radio and the Radical Reading
Room. You can contact us about ways to get involved in these collectives:
opirgyork at gmail.com.

*Unsubscribe*: https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/opirgyork
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