By: Eden Wondmeneh
As a first-year student in social sciences, the bulk of my tutorial grade is determined by my participation in discussions. For someone who would rather be restricted to eating at Centro than be forced to speak in public, tutorials are not my ideal environment.
As the fall semester progressed, I noticed that some of these discussions supported learning while others were downright problematic. Speaking to other students in social sciences, specifically students of colour, it was clear that teaching assistants, who greatly influenced whether tutorial discussions were the former or the latter, were overwhelmingly white.
The lack of diversity in TAs is often juxtaposed with a somewhat diverse student group — where students of colour bond over the shared discomfort or hilarity of the awkwardness that settles across the room anytime a ‘hot topic’ like white privilege is brought up.
Discussions about race are often excluded from acceptable topics in an environment that claims to encourage academic discourse, especially when initiated by a person of colour: a fact that aided in my decision to stay relatively quiet in tutorials.
Regardless of their intentions, these TAs are in a position of power where they facilitate discussions about systems of oppression that they themselves benefit from and resultantly teach students through this narrow-privileged lens. If topics of race are not dismissed after a moment of awkward silence, they always seem condescending; what qualifies non-POC TAs to lead these discussions?
I have a friend whose TA explained how common sense differs between cultures using a blatantly racist analogy of African children never having seen a stove thus not knowing that it is unsafe to touch. When called out for their ignorance, the TA’s response was some variation of, “I’m not racist”.
The Teaching in an Accessible and Inclusive Community section of McMaster University’s 2013 TA guide shows that the diversity and inclusion issue in tutorial sessions is much worse than it appears. The university is aware of the power imbalances that are inherent to the limited diversity amongst TAs — they just aren’t doing anything about it.
Despite their ability to recognize that acknowledgment of systemic racism is not enough to let them off the hook, they boldly state that McMaster staff and faculty work “against often invisible systems of privilege and oppression,” without giving TAs any guidance in how to further this effort within their own tutorials. In fact, the guidebook makes it clear that it is naïve to believe that even a well-intentioned TA could use any tips provided to create an equitable space within their tutorials.
To be clear, I don’t think that TAs are intentionally leading their tutorials to isolate students of colour and validate the dominant privileged narrative that exists within our society. I do believe though that the hiring process for TAs is flawed, as it works directly against McMaster’s “fight against invisible systems of privilege and oppression”.
There should be a great number of Black TAs who are able to lead tutorials with a different perspective, engage with Black students and have important conversations about race when the course calls for it.
Aside from increasing the diversity amongst TAs, there should be mandatory anti-oppression workshops and training. It is unrealistic to hope that TAs will suddenly diversify, but it is not unrealistic to hope that current TAs have an understanding of their bias and are able to react to being called out productively — not through cries of, “I am not racist”.
For myself to feel comfortable to contribute freely within these tutorials, I need there to be measures in place for the inevitable awkwardness that ensues when race is discussed and a guarantee that Black children won't be used in racist examples.
We don't live within a vacuum. To create the “inclusive and accessible learning environment” that McMaster desires, TAs need to reflect this inclusivity and accessibility students are meant to find.
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Following recent snowstorms that deposited as much as 40 cm onto Hamilton streets, some Hamilton residents are using social media to bring attention to the issue of snow-covered residential sidewalks.
Currently, residents are expected to clear snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a “snow event.” If residents fail to comply, the city will issue a 24-hour “Notice to Comply,” followed by possible inspection and a contracting fee for the homeowner.
However, residents say both residential and city sidewalks are still not being cleared, either by residents or by the city.
The Disability Justice Network of Ontario has encouraged residents to participate in the “Snow and Tell” campaign by tweeting out pictures of snow or ice-covered roads and sidewalks using the hashtag #AODAfail, referring to the Accessibility for Ontarians for Disabilities Act.
https://twitter.com/VicBick/status/1087879002092646401
McMaster student and local community organizer Sophie Geffros supports the campaigns and says it a serious issue of accessibility and justice.
Geffros uses a wheelchair and knows how especially difficult it can be for those who use mobility devices to navigate through snow-covered streets.
“It's people who use mobility devices. It's people with strollers. And it's older folks. People end up on the street. If you go on any street after a major storm, you'll see people in wheelchairs and with buggies on the street with cars because the sidewalks just aren't clear,” Geffros said.
https://twitter.com/sgeffros/status/1087384392866123778
Snow-covered sidewalks also affect the ability for people, especially those who use mobility devices, to access public transit.
“Even when snow has been cleared, often times when it gets cleared, it gets piled on curb cuts and piled near bus stops and all these places that are that are vital to people with disabilities,” Geffros said.
https://twitter.com/craig_burley/status/1088798476081741824
Geffros sees the need for clearing sidewalks as non-negotiable.
“By treating our sidewalk network as not a network but hundreds of individual tiny chunks of sidewalk, it means that if there's a breakdown at any point in that network, I can't get around,” Geffros said. “If every single sidewalk on my street is shoveled but one isn't, I can't use that entire sidewalk. We need to think of it as a vital service in the same way that we think of road snow clearance as a vital service.”
Public awareness about the issue may push city council.
Some councillors have expressed support for a city-run snow clearing service, including Ward 1 councillor Maureen Wilson and Ward 3 councillor Nrinder Nann.
I just don’t find it all that complicated. Cities are for people. It is in our best interest, financial and otherwise, to plow sidewalks. It’s also a matter of justice. I await the city manager’s report and ensuing debate
— Maureen Wilson (She / Her) (@ward1wilson) January 29, 2019
A city council report issued in 2014 stated that a 34 dollar annual increase in tax for each homeowner would be enough to fund sidewalk snow-clearing.
Recently, Wilson requested the city council to issue a new report on the potential costs of funding snow-clearing service.
Geffros sees potential for the current discourse to open up to further discussions on other issues of accessibility and social justice.
Hamilton’s operating budget will likely be finalized around April. Until then, Geffros and other Hamilton residents will continue to speak out on the issue.
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Every so often, students walking through the McMaster University Student Centre are met with faces of The Beatles, large maps of the world and even prints of Banksy’s most popular works.
The Imaginus poster sale, which has been touring Canadian university and college campuses since 1975, is a staple of the university experience. It is not uncommon to see their posters plastered over the walls of dorms and off-campus housing.
The Imaginus poster sale is happening right now in MUSC!
Make sure to check it out before they leave tomorrow 🙂#McSU pic.twitter.com/FfDqEesAgc
— MSU Campus Events (@msucampusevents) January 31, 2019
At first glance, the poster sales seem innocent enough. For under $10, you can get away with two good-sized posters of your favourite band or quote — what could be wrong with that?
A lot, actually. The Imaginus poster sale has been critiqued in the past for selling posters that promote cultural appropriation, and poster sales in general have been scrutinized for the ethics of selling reproduced and borderline copyright-infringement artwork. This can especially raise eyebrows as it is rare that the collected profits ever reach the original artists.
But beyond the possible problematic nature of the content of their posters, the Imaginus poster sales take away opportunities from student artists. As it stands, McMaster University students cannot sell their artwork on campus for a profit.
According to the Policy on Student Groups, student groups on campus “may not engage in activities that are essentially commercial in nature.”
This policy is what caused the shutdown of an art sale by McMaster’s Starving Artists Society last year. The club is made up of student artists and creatives that are looking to expand their portfolio and reach a wider audience.
The event that was shut down was meant to be an opportunity for student artists to market their artwork to their peers and even profit off of their hard work. Many of Mac’s student artist community are involved with SAS and were negatively affected by the university’s decision to shut the event down.
Essentially, the university has allowed Imaginus to have an unfair monopoly on selling art on campus. For a university that already arguably disvalues the arts, to dissuade student artists from profiting from their work is a serious matter.
This brings to light a larger issue at hand. Why should any students be disallowed to sell their products on campus — especially when outside companies are given space in our student centre to sell their products?
This situation unfortunately reflects the situation of many non-student local artists within the community. In our corporate world, it is extremely difficult to establish a reliable clientele and profit off of one’s work. Mass commercialized products inherently cost less and as a result, this drives away sales from local artists.
As the university makes a profit from the poster sales, and in general from any vendors on campus, it is unlikely that this issue will be addressed anytime soon.
Until it is, you can support local and student artists through sharing their work, reaching out to them and contributing towards their sales. The SAS also runs art crawls and other events where students can get in contact with student artists!
Everyone has a Friends poster in their house. When you buy local and student, not only are you supporting your peers, but you’re likely acquiring higher quality and truly unique works of art.
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If you browsed through social media on Jan. 30, chances are you saw #BellLetsTalk circulating around. Political leaders, celebrities, corporations and even McMaster University shared the hashtag in support of “ending the stigma” around mental illness.
Success and meaning can be found along many paths, but the paths can be rough and winding. | @McMasterSWC #BrighterWorld #BellLetsTalk https://t.co/fzBIjSte6G
— McMaster University (@McMasterU) January 30, 2019
But like #BellLetsTalk, McMaster’s mental health initiatives seem more performative than anything else. While offering “self-care” tips and hour-long therapy dog sessions can help students de-stress and perhaps initiate conversations about mental health, it alone is not sufficient.
This sentiment is shared amongst many other students and has been brought up time after time. It is truly disheartening then that the university seems to do little to meaningfully address students’ concerns.
https://twitter.com/calvinprocyon/status/1090777829510397952
Instead of investing in more counsellors at the Student Wellness Centre or restructuring their support systems on campus, starting Feb.4, McMaster is running Thrive Week. Thrive Week is a week-long initiative aimed to “explore [students’] path to mental health”. The week boasts events including yoga, Zumba and meditation circles.
There is no doubt that engaging in wellness and mindfulness activities, including activities like yoga and Zumba, can help alleviate some of the stresses of university and can positively benefit your mental health.
However, it is in itself not enough to actually help students overcome mental health issues. McMaster acknowledges that most students seem to experience, at least during some point in their undergraduate career, mental health issues. This is telling of a systemic issue. Mental health issues are largely attributable to socioeconomic factors. Financial strain, food insecurity and lack of a responsive administration can all factor into developing mental health issues as a student.
The best way to help students is to address the root of the problem, which often lies within the very structures of the university. Until McMaster addresses these systemic issues, yoga classes and wellness panels will do little to remedy students’ concerns.
Beyond addressing systemic issues, students struggling with mental health issues can’t colour their issues away; they require professional help. It is true that the university offers trained peer-support volunteers at services like the Student Health Education Centre and the Women Gender and Equity Network, but again, this is not enough. The responsibility of students’ mental health should not fall on the shoulders of other students.
If the university truly cared about their students’ mental health, they would invest in more counsellors and actively work towards ensuring that waiting times at SWC aren’t months on end. They would make systems for receiving academic accommodations more accessible, as they currently require students to provide documentation of diagnosed mental health issues.
Talk is cheap. So are free Zumba classes. While raising awareness and reducing the stigma around mental is important, what students need is real change to ensure there are actual support systems on campus. The university has a responsibility to make that change happen.
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Last week, the Silhouette News team wrote up platform critiques for each of this year’s McMaster Students Union presidential election candidates. The critiques collectively point out that while the candidates are trotting out some interesting ideas, many are patently unfeasible.
Madison Wesley advocates for a McMaster campus store textbook rental program, but the director of retail services at McMaster told our News contributor that the program would be impossible to implement.
Justin Lee hopes to unveil “Uber for Busses,” but does not establish how he will work with app developers, the Hamilton Street Railway, McMaster and Hamilton city council to bring this to fruition.
Jeffry Campana aspires to build a McMaster ice rink by 2020, but as our News Reporter highlighted, plans to do the same in previous years collapsed in the face of insurance and accessibility obstacles.
Josh Marando wants to increase the deferred maintenance budget by $12,000,000 a year. Nevertheless, as our Features Reporter articulates, Marando’s plan hinges on acquiring Ontario government grants. Under the Ford government and recent budget cuts, this plan is just not feasible.
This is not to say that this year’s candidates have a limited knowledge of the MSU and what students care about. With a renewed focus on issues like accessibility and food security, the candidates seem to be cognizant of at least some pervasive student concerns.
They just also failed to do their MSU due diligence and consultation homework.
Whoever wins tonight should keep in mind that the MSU president does not have jurisdiction beyond the maroon-coloured walls of the union’s office.
Our next MSU president should fight to uphold their promises, but also shrink their imagination down to what is possible during their term.
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By: Steffi Arkilander
Content Warning: Contains mentions of sexual assault
McMaster University has a strong reputation among Ontario universities for offering a variety of diverse student-oriented resources and supports. However, McMaster has consistently failed in making support for sexual violence survivors accessible and effective.
On Aug. 19, I was sexually assaulted by someone I trusted, just a few weeks before I started my second year at McMaster. I decided to give university resources a chance and reached out to the sexual violence response coordinator, Meaghan Ross, in October.
I needed academic accommodations to support the extensive and difficult emotional turmoil I was experiencing. My grades were falling and I was not ready to write any tests. To receive academic accommodations, I had to use Ross in my letter for Student Accessibility Services, which meant disclosing my sexual assault to numerous administrative individuals.
Unfortunately, getting registered with SAS is a long process and often my deferred midterms fell on days where I had other assessments or midterms. As a result, instead of my work being manageably spread out, my work and emotional distress were compounded together.
In December, I decided to report my assault to the university. Not only was it unfair to me to have to constantly interact with my perpetrator, but it was also unfair to other students that had to interact with him. But when I contacted the McMaster Students Union and the Residence Life Office, I learned that undergoing the reporting processes is an extensive and exhausting endeavour.
The process forces you to disclose your story to multiple organizations, to staff and non-survivors and brings your sexual assault to the public forefront. Even if my perpetrator is removed from positions without contact from me, he will know I caused his removal and that I decided to take action. Moreover, people will be able to piece my story together. While I am personally okay with this, many others are not.
Thus, to receive accommodations,such as an apology or to remove him from a position, I took the informal route that is offered through the McMaster University sexual violence protocol. To my disappointment, this route requires survivors to detail the incident. This creates an incredibly re-traumatizing experience and gives your perpetrator access to your disclosure, allowing them to reject the requested accommodations.
This process has clearly become incredibly legal, despite pursuing the university route in order to avoid legal involvement. As this process is painfully slow, my perpetrator continues to hold positions of power and interact with the student body without consequence. My perpetrator is free to roam campus while I am forced to anxiously avoid him.
My story is not uncommon. In fact, in comparison to other survivors, the university has responded well. Students generally don’t report their sexual assaults because of the university’s response; the survivor often feels interrogated and is led to hope for an unsatisfactory compromise with their perpetrator.
Survivors need to be prioritized. MacLean’s nationwide survey found that 29 per cent of McMaster students were not educated on how to report a sexual assault and 24 per cent of students weren’t educated on McMaster’s services that support survivors. This needs to change.
The system should be more navigable and transparent, so that survivors are more likely to reach out for help. Reporting assaults needs to be standardized university-wide so that survivors do not need to recount their experience to multiple organizations.
Training does not teach perpetrators not to assault people. My perpetrator has attended over five trainings on anti-oppressive practices and sexual violence throughout university.
Instead, training needs to emphasize on supporting survivors, and tangible means by which we can all work to dismantle the barriers impeding support mechanisms. The fact that only three in 1000 assaults results in conviction only becomes horrifyingly real when you have to support a survivor or become one yourself.
Survivors have nothing to gain from reporting, only lots to lose. So please believe us.
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By: Sam Marchetti
The Hamilton Mountain, as it is affectionately referred to as by many Hamiltonians, is more than just a section of the Niagara Escarpment. It is an entire community, filled with rich history, quiet streets and the ever-out-of-reach Lime Ridge mall.
The mountain community is composed of largely everything atop the escarpment from Ancaster Mill and Mohawk College over to the Red Hill Valley Parkway and the infamous Devil’s Punchbowl. In between the two, there are beautiful views of the mountain brow, great entertainment at The Zoetic Theatre and a massive residential area which is home to a large portion of the Hamilton community. If you’ve never been up the mountain, I highly recommend checking it out—if you can get there.
The mountain community has so much to offer and McMaster University’s students have so much they can contribute. For example, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s annual science fair usually occurs at one of the high schools on top of the mountain, as does the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair which takes place at Mohawk College.
Both of these events need judges, a task that undergraduate students are well-equipped for. However, it is rarely the case, especially in the former event, that students take these roles. Usually parents or teachers are forced to judge these events either due to a lack of promotion at McMaster, or more likely, because it is too difficult for students to make the trek up the mountain. The same logic applies for other community-involvement opportunities on the mountain that are ideal for students — it just isn’t worth the trouble for many of us to get there.
To access the mountain community, McMaster students need to take a minimum of two buses. Students first have to catch one of three buses, the 5, 51 or 1, that take around 20 minutes to arrive at the downtown transit terminal. From there, they have to take another bus that takes them up one of the numerous mountain accesses.
Totaling around ten minutes to reach the mountain, to arrive to your destination can take, at minimum, an additional five to twenty minutes, depending on the location and any other buses you need to take. This is also assuming a non-weekend trip as weekend bus schedules from McMaster are even further reduced.
Students will also find that they usually are left waiting longer on the mountain for a bus than they would at McMaster, but these buses have fewer stops and are often on time. The point is, once up the mountain, getting around and accessing everything the mountain has to offer is pretty easy.
The rate limiting step always has and, until change occurs, always will be getting there. There are a number of solutions to this problem. The Hamilton Street Railway could provide a route, similar to the B-Line express, that can run directly from McMaster to the mountain brow. The total time it would take for a route like this would be about fourteen minutes.
This is half the time it takes to get there now, and removes the complexity of switching buses. Not to mention, such a route would be extremely beneficial to student commuters from the mountain.
Looking more long-term, the new light rail transit system seems to be timed perfectly to solve this issue. It opens doors for more LRT routes to be built around Hamilton, which could include one that takes McMaster students up the mountain.
No matter which solution is taken on by the municipal government, it is fair to say that this problem should be seriously addressed. The mountain should not be inaccessible to McMaster students, who want the ability to freely explore their community and have the means to contribute back. Until action is taken, it appears the city doesn’t care if students experience Hamilton.
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When yoga instructor Christopher Bourke began a queer and trans yoga class at Andrea Soos Yoga Studio in Dundas, a consistent piece of feedback he kept hearing was that it wasn’t accessible due to its location. Many current and prospective attendees were hoping for a yoga series downtown.
Bourke began to think about solving this problem and that’s when he crossed paths with Robin Lamarr of movement and wellness collective Ritual Island. Together they collaborated to bring his queer and trans yoga classes to the most bustling part of the city.
The result was Q+T Solidarity Moves, a beginner friendly queer and trans strength, mobility and restorative movement series at Redchurch Café and Gallery on King Street East. The $15 one-hour class — or $40 for all four classes — is taking place at 3 p.m. every Sunday from Nov. 18 to Dec. 9.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp9cFoQBFJQ/
Like with other Ritual Island classes, Q+T Solidarity Moves intends to be enjoyable and inclusive. By taking the practice outside of a yoga studio and promoting an accepting environment, the class attracts individuals who don’t feel represented in traditional yoga spaces.
“There is just a vulnerability around… yoga wear or… being in those spaces and not feeling comfortable to be in your body… I've had people come to me in previous classes who aren't out at work in terms of their gender presentation or their sexual identity. So it's just nice for them to come to a space where they can actually be who they want to be,” Bourke explained.
As the name suggests, solidarity is a pillar upon which the class is built. Attending provides participants with a free coffee or tea after the class or a 25 per cent off discount to a lunch up to $10. Bourke intends to hang around at the cafe after the classes to mingle with any participants who would like to socialize and meet new people.
Bourke likes that the class is providing another venue and opportunity for socialization following the closing of Hamilton’s LBGTQ2S+ bar, Embassy. On the other hand, socialization is not expected or obligatory and Bourke welcomes people to come even if they want to leave right after the class.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpPh-QcB94w/
[spacer height="20px"]Bourke believes in the healing power of being and moving together as a community. The strength built during the class will be connected to the strength needed to face one’s day-to-day challenges.
“I wanted it to be very purposeful from the beginning that we're coming together and the intention behind what we're doing isn't just to do movement, it’s to integrate the skill that you get from movement to build our solidarity as a community… and then… actually use the resources that we get in that space to do work outside,” Bourke explained.
Bourke is leading the charge on this work by donating his proceeds from the classes to Rainbow Railroad, a charity that helps LGBTQ2S+ individuals escape persecution and violence in one of the 71 countries around the world where being LGBTQ2S+ is still criminalized.
Bourke chose the charity in light of the recent crackdown of LGBTQ2S+ individuals in Tanzania, which is personal to him as he has friends living there. He also wanted to donate to Rainbow Railroad as they are in the midst of their #60in60 Campaign to raise $600 000 to save 60 lives in the final 60 days of 2018.
In this way, Q+T Solidarity Moves aims to stand in solidarity with people all over the world. Yet despite those heavy undertones, the movement series will definitely be light-hearted and fun, with a dash of Bourke’s humour and Robyn’s dance-pop tracks playing in the background.
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By Karen Li
Ten-year-old Karen had an ambition: to learn American Sign Language.
The idea of communicating with my face and hands fascinated me. I borrowed a book from the library and watched videos online, but eventually, I abandoned my goal.
On Oct. 18, 2018, I attended the ASL workshop held by the McMaster Hearing Society. David Wiesblatt, a deaf instructor at McMaster University, and his interpreter gave an instructive presentation on audism with some basic ASL vocabularies and phrases.
The two voices soon merged together; one silent, one bright and projecting. Eight years after my first attempt to learn ASL, I was once again mesmerized by the language. Together, through movements of face and fingers, they told a story that words could not quite replace.
For me, ASL was just a hobby, something that I could take or drop at my leisure. Until I attended the workshop, I was not aware that the term audism referred to the oppression and discrimination of Deaf people and that this definition was only included in some dictionaries. I was not aware of the terminological differences between deaf and Deaf. I was not even aware that there were deaf students studying at this university.
[spacer height="20px"]At the workshop, Tim Nolan, director of McMaster’s Student Accessibility Services, emphasized his strive to “bridge the gap” between Deaf and non-Deaf communities. Learning ASL not only provides a potential means of communication but also transcends culture and raises awareness of the issue of audism. It is the first step to erasing the stigma that exists in all levels of government and society.
ASL can also improve cognitive functioning. When we use a language, we do not simply “turn off” other languages. Knowing multiple languages therefore strengthens the control mechanisms in our brain that regulate and maintain the balance between two or more languages. As a three-dimensional system, ASL can also improve visualization skills and spatial recognition.
Many groups at McMaster offer free ASL lessons and workshops. The McMaster Hearing Society holds multiple workshops throughout the year. The McMaster Sign Language Club meets once a week to learn basic signs. Online classes are also excellent and convenient resources but may lack the physical interaction and motivational factor that aid the learning process.
If possible, however, one should always take classes taught by deaf instructors to learn from the native-speakers and to support deaf workers. The Canadian Hearing Society offers ASL lessons in locations throughout Canada, including Hamilton. One can even take LINGUIST 2LS3 at McMaster, which is an introduction to ASL.
Beyond learning ASL, there are so many other ways to support the deaf community on campus. For example, students can enroll in the notetaker program with SAS or ensure that front row seats in lecture halls are vacant for those who need it.
With the multitude of opportunities available, students really have no excuse. We all have a responsibility to help make our school as accessible as possible and this can start with supporting our deaf students on campus.
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By Saad Ahmed
The Disability Justice Network of Ontario is a new Hamilton-based organization dedicated to addressing issues faced by the city’s disabled community, with the hope to scale the organization across the entire province within the next three years.
Two of three of the organization’s co-founders, Sarah Jama and Eminet Dagnachew, are McMaster alumni, and the third co-founder Shanthiya Baheerathan is a current student at the university.
The initiative launched on Sept. 13 to a full house at the Hamilton Public Library auditorium. The co-founders opened the launch by outlining the organization’s values.
“Our mission statement is to build a just and accessible Ontario where people with disabilities can thrive and foster meaningful relationships, build community, and learn skills meaningful to all people, communities, and organizations,” said Baheerathan.
Last year, the co-founders were approved to receive a Trillium grant over 36 months to create and run the network. Jama, an activist and recent McMaster graduate, hopes to bring the community together to help make individuals with disabilities heard.
“We’re all about building community and personal political power. People with disabilities haven’t been treated as though we have the capacity of a community, which is why implementing things like accessible spaces is very hard to this day,” said Jama. “This is why we hope to build a community and collective power to help address the isolation faced by people with disabilities.”
The network hopes to be unique from other disability services offered in the city.
“There are a lot of services that already exist for people with disabilities. We want to uniquely position ourselves in that landscape so that we don’t have any service overlap or reproduction. We’re in the process of mapping out those services and organizations to ensure we can have the highest possible impact,” said Baheerathan.
The initiative will be led by the co-founders and volunteers and will partner with other organizations in Hamilton to make the most of the network’s capabilities.
“We hope to do programming, education, activism, advocacy events and research. Community consultation and focus groups will be held to figure out what our needs are,” said Jama. “Workshops will be held for schools and service providers to help build spaces that go beyond accessibility and assist in integrating disability justice into their practice.”
At the launch, Baheerathan also announced the creation of the network’s Youth Advisory Council.
“We don’t just want to focus DJNO around adults with disabilities. If you’re a young person aged 16-29, identify as having a disability, and want to get involved in disability justice organizing, the DJNO Youth Advisory Council is a great way to make your voice heard and learn about community justice organizing, as well as develop skills in public speaking, event planning, advocacy, research, and much, much more,” she said.
Although their plan is to expand the network across Ontario, the organization is currently only focused on disability justice in Hamilton. As outlined on their website, Hamilton has one of the highest percentages of people with disabilities in Ontario.
“By launching DJNO in our city, we hope to service our community and build momentum to expand this movement,” reads a statement on the network’s website.
Whether it is advocacy, education or programming, the DJNO hopes to be community-informed and community-led. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach them at info@djno.ca
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