[opirgyork] New Year! Welcome Back + Events! JFAAP Wednesday + TRACX Conference Proposals + T4C Workshops!

[OPIRG York]

Hey everyone!

Welcome back everyone we hope you had a happy holidays and a wonderful New
Years! Things are starting to pick up again in and around the York/Jane &
Finch community! Check it out below!

If you're interested in volunteering at OPIRG York, or have any questions,
please get in touch with Victoria, at victoria.opirg at gmail.com. We always
need volunteers! And stop by the OPIRG York office anytime -- Room 449C
Student Centre!

-- OPIRG York

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*TODAY'S DIGEST:*

*//////// OPIRG YORK \\\\\\\\\\\*
1. *January 7th**: *JFAAP Meeting
2. *January 24th*: Setting Up and Improving Your Group's Structure

*//////// COMMUNITY \\\\\\\\\\\*

3. *January 8th: *OCAP Pack the Courts: Rally to Defend Nov 25th Arrestees
& Demand Safe Space Now!
4. *January 12th: *OPIRG Toronto Callout for Presentation Proposals for
TRACX Winter Conference
5. *January 16th:* Flawless: Feminist Film Series
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*1**. Jane-Finch Action Against Poverty Meetings*

JFAAP meets at 6pm at Seneca College in Yorkgate Mall (North West corner of
Jane and Finch) Room 218/219 (2nd floor of the mall) on the 1st & 3rd
Wednesday of every month; new members are always welcome!

*Next Meeting:*
*Wednesday, January 7th @ 6pm*

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*2. Setting Up and Improving Your Group's Structure*

*OPIRG York is part of Tools for Change <http://www.toolsforchange.net/>-
York students can register for these workshops (on or off campus) by
selecting the "I am a member of a sponsoring organization" option.*

*Date*: Saturday, January 24, 2015
*Time*: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
*Location*: University of Toronto, St. George Campus.  Exact campus room
location given to registrants a week before the event.

Who is part of your group and who isn't? How do you make decisions? Is it
working for you? This workshop explores how small groups can establish and
improve systems to integrate people into the group and effectively make
decisions. Topics covered include: membership types and different styles of
decision-making, from hierarchy to consensus. This is essential information
for any group, whether just starting out or well-established.

*Trainer*:  Jessica Bell, M.Ed. works as a facilitator and trainer helping
groups make great decisions.  She also teaches advocacy at Ryerson
Univeristy, and is the Executive Director of membership-based advocacy
group, TTCriders.  More information is at www.jessicabell.org.

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*3. OCAP Pack the Courts: Rally to Defend Nov 25th Arrestees & Demand Safe
Space Now!*


*January 8th, Thursday 9:00am*

*444 Yonge St (College Park Court House @ College & Yonge)*


*Supporters encouraged to wear ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ T-shirts*
On November 25, 2014, the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against
Women, five women were violently arrested after they peacefully refused to
leave the City of Toronto’s Shelter Administration offices at 21 Park Rd.
The sit-in was part of a protest to demand that the City of Toronto open
up more shelter beds and a 24-hour drop in for women and trans people –
commitments that were approved by City Council in 2014 but have not yet
been acted upon. Daily shelter stats show chronic overcrowding in the
system, many people are left with nowhere to go and the City of Toronto
has no 24 hour services for women and trans folks. The lack of immediate
action by the City is putting lives at risk. For more info on the crisis
in the shelter system, visit *http://www.ocap.ca/node/1202
<http://www.ocap.ca/node/1202>*

The women arrested on November 25th sustained bruises and back injuries,
were called misogynistic names, and are now charged with multiple
offenses. Other women present in the crowd that day were pushed violently
to the ground by police. Ironically, the women will be in court at the
same time as Jian Ghomeshi. That case brought the issue of violence
against women into the media, but the conversations have mostly left out
poor and homeless women. It was important to see all the articles, posts
and tweets about violence against women in response to Ghomeshi, but when
activists dared to take action to secure services that actually protect
women, they faced violence at the hands of the city and the police. As
Ghomeshi returns to the spotlight, we are holding a rally to support
feminist activists who were violently arrested and to draw attention to
the city’s failure to provide safe spaces and adequate shelter to women
and trans people in Toronto.
*www.ocap.ca <http://www.ocap.ca/>*
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto
Facebook: *facebook.com/OcapToronto <http://facebook.com/OcapToronto>*

*https://www.facebook.com/events/1602524143311882/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
<https://www.facebook.com/events/760800830676001/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&sid_reminder=4226957429465677824>*


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*4. Proposal Callout for OPIRG Toronto & The TRACX Winter Symposium:
Deadline for Submissions*



*Deadline for submissions extended too Monday January 12th 2015.*
OPIRG-Toronto is hosting a winter conference, where students and community
members can present research, campaigns and/or papers on work related to
social and environmental justice. Check out the callout for proposals
below!

*DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS EXTENDED TO JANUARY 12, 2015!*



*Contested Spaces: TRACX Winter SymposiumSaturday March 14, 2015University
of Toronto *

The Toronto Research and Community Exchange (TRACX) works to build space
for undergraduate and graduate research on social and environmental
justice, and facilitates connections between campus resources and community
organizations working for social change. In spring 2015, join us to
showcase research with a community organizing focus. How do we push for
community-based, accountable, social justice research? Where do we start?
Through the TRACX program, students can develop research projects useful to
campaigns and the long-term goals of grassroots community groups, with the
overall aim of funneling the resources of the academy, towards community
organizing. This inaugural annual winter symposium, will feature
community-based social justice research by community groups and students.

This is not an academic conference. We want to problematize and challenge
people’s perspectives on research, encourage social investigation and
engage in collective, creative problem solving and skills sharing around
community concerns. Whether you’re a student, non-student, activist and
someone curious about activism, everyone is encouraged to participate and
attend!

This is not just a paper presentation. We want to create space for
roundtables, breakout groups, interactive activities, zines, art and much
more! We welcome ideas for organizing panels, workshops, multimedia
presentations, etc. Get in touch with us at opirg.tracx at gmail.com!

This year, we invite proposals for presentations, papers, artwork, and
project updates on how we build spaces of resistance, spaces for organizing
and spaces for community. Space, both as physical terrain and an
ideological concept, figures prominently in social movements. What spaces
do we fight for? What strategies help us reclaim space? What spaces become
central to social movements?
Possible topics to explore could include:
• prison abolition/prisoner solidarity,
• mass movements such as Occupy,and Palestinian Solidarity
• Disability justice/activism work
• Pan Am Games and other mega sporting event resistance,
• Neighbourhood-based organizing and municipal politics,
• Campus and community collaborations and activism,
• Food justice/sovereignty
• Indigenous struggles and land sovereignty.
Please email a short description (150-250 words) on how you are interested
in engaging in the symposium, including the format (art, presentation,
etc.) and the topic by the deadline included below. Any questions and
concerns can be directed to us at *opirg.tracx@*gmail.com
<http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgmail.com%2F&h=PAQE40pxq&enc=AZP0Qw3AvTN8Tfdxg5C8Yl1bMiQ2vpTwamjrJsvTjMdaN2p1zo0sRxpeh_-mcZv5H7I&s=1>

Volunteer!

Are you interested in helping organize the conference? We will be meeting
throughout the fall and winter to put together the schedule and other
logistics. Email us at *opirg.tracx at gmail.com <opirg.tracx at gmail.com>* to
get involved!


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*5. Flawless: A Feminist Film Series*

*Date: January 16th*
*Time: 7pm*
*Where: **Roncesvalles (#389) at Likely General
<https://www.facebook.com/likelygeneral>*

Its about to get cold and grey soon, wanna watch some feminist films once a
month this winter?

Heres a list of a few I've been thinking about.
Lets add/edit and decide before each monthly viewing.

All About My Mother, Pedro Almodóvar
Vagabound, Agnès Varda
Meshes of the Afternoon, Maya Deren
Let The Right one in, Tomas Alfredson
Set It Off, F. Gary Grey
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, Kenneth Anger
Orlando, Sally Potter
Raise the Red Lantern, Zhang Yimou
3 Women, Robert Altman
Alien, Ridley Scott
...
Also this list is great:
*http://flavorwire.com/467279/50-essential-feminist-films/view-all
<http://flavorwire.com/467279/50-essential-feminist-films/view-all>*
What do you think? What can we add?
Anyone else like feminist horror films?

1st edition of this will take place Jan 16 in Roncesvalles (#389) at *Likely
General <https://www.facebook.com/likelygeneral> *
7pm.

Popcorn / candy and refreshments will be available for cheap.

Showing Maya Deren Meshes of the Afternoon alongside films directly
inspired by Deren.


-- 

-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.

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