Antonella Cangelosi
Staff Writer
York’s student union presented the York community with the outcomes of an investigation that looked at racism in institutions of higher education across Ontario in a Nov. 10 event.
The Task Force on Campus Racism, led by the Canadian Federation of Students of Ontario, visited York for a discussion on racism and the effects it has on post-secondary institutions today.
The task force, made up of 10 elected representatives from different post-secondary institutions across Ontario, traveled the province and listened to students and staff members who shared their personal experiences with racism and the negative effects it had.
York Federation of Students (YFS) president Krisna Saravanamuttu emphasized the fact racism still exists today.
“Perhaps we as a society have not come as far as we think we have with regards to racism,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s as physically obvious and I don’t think it’s always as visibly apparent, but I do nevertheless think that racism still exists.”
Roshani Canagarajah, a first- year political science student, agreed that racism is still rampant, although she has yet to be subjected to it herself.
“I have never personally experienced racism,” she said. “But I know that it exists based on my friends’ experiences and on the fact that racism at the work place still exists.”
The task force identified instances of systematic racism on campus on an academic as well as a financial level, and presented York University with a list of recommendations to target and fight racism. Suggestions include incorporating equity statements into class syllabi, creating an open venue for students to report incidents of racism and providing anti-oppression training for all York community members.
Alex Bilyk, director of media relations at York suggested the YFS bring the recommendations to the attention of Rob Tiffin, vice-president students at York, as well as the Centre for Human Rights at York.
