Dive into social justice and politics at York through DisOrientation 2015

When Pericles wrote, “just because you do not take an interest in politics, doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you,” he probably wasn’t referring to York students, but nonetheless, it’s a phrase, and if you haven’t already heard it, you will indeed hear it shortly.
And if your apathy has become ingrained in you to the extent that you see no point, try to reflect on the words of concentration camp survivor Stéphane Hessel, from his Time for Outrage, a pamphlet written for young people during the Occupy movement.
“There are unbearable things all around us,” he writes. “You have to look for them, search carefully. Open your eyes and you will see. This is what I tell young people, if you spend a little time searching, you will find your reasons to engage. The worst attitude is indifference.”
Now that Frosh Week has passed for another year, it’s time for students to find, perhaps, a more fitting form of indoctrination and hear different narratives regarding the York experience.
In case you’ve been hiding under a bottle of Keith’s for the last three weeks, there is a federal election happening in November, in which few Canadians will cast their ballots to decide who our Prime Minister will be, most notably people of the older generations approaching retirement or long-time retired.
The Globe and Mail hosted a leaders debate on the economy last week, including some political parties, most notably Coke, Pepsi, and Orange Crush (owned by Pepsi), to present their talking points to unsuspecting audiences.
Dissent has been marginalized. The news media must align itself with government ideologies and corporate policies to survive, mobilizing support for the special interests which monopolize governments and private enterprises, proving how the media’s choices and omissions are proof of such theory, omissions of events such as DisOrientation which are absent from the York Federation of Students and York promotions.
The media claim their news criteria is based on an unbiased, professional, or objective framework. However, this notion of objectivity in news, if we can pretend for a moment, for the sake of argument, that it does indeed exist, is only existent within the existing constraints and filters news media must operate within to stay afloat, manipulating discourse to the extent in which you hear only three voices on the future direction of this nation.
There are many more voices which will forever remain unheard.
[su_box title=”Don’t miss these events! ” box_color=”#e41e26″]Monday, September 21 Anti-Oppression 101 Workshop 12 – 3 p.m., room 313
This workshop will be an introduction to anti-oppression principles for folks new to these concepts and a refresher for those that are familiar. Expect to do some collaging, small group discussions, and self reflection as we all learn and grow together.
Tuesday, September 22
Retail Action! Workshop 12:30 – 3 p.m., room 313
Are you a student working in retail? If so, you’ll appreciate how undervalued, overworked, and underpaid retail workers are. This workshop is being sponsored by Retail Action! – a soon-to-be-launched group of student retail workers wanting to join this growing dialogue for change and make a difference in their working lives.
Trans 101 Workshop 3 – 6 p.m., room 313
This workshop is coordinated by the Centre for Women and Trans People at York and designed for their volunteers, though Ontario Public Interest Research Group members and community members are invited to attend. As volunteers at the Centre for Women and Trans People, you will be interacting with diverse populations. Through this workshop, you will gain knowledge on terms and history related to trans people, and will develop basic skills in respectful interactions with trans people. This is a space designed to make mistakes and learn, however we ask for a mindful approach to participation.
Art of Resistance 7 p.m., Grad Students Association
This is a multimedia art and musical presentation that blends together themes of food sovereignty, mining justice, Indigenous resistance, the drug war and the war on terror, global capitalism, and water. The Beehive presentation will use their latest graphic “MesoAmérica Resiste” in the form of two massive portable murals, to guide the presentation. The presentation will be followed by a hip-hop and spoken word performance by Testament of Test Their Logik, reinforcing the same themes.
Wednesday, September 23
Fossil Free Divestment 101 1 – 3 p.m., room 313
By investing in fossil fuels, York is investing in climate change. Come and learn about why the global fossil fuel divestment campaign is taking off, and how you can get involved in making sure that York’s investments don’t jeopardize our future.
Thursday, September 24
Navigating Race, Racism, and White Privilege in Academic Spaces 1:30 p.m., room 313
Spaces such as tutorials, labs, lectures, libraries, and campus culture in general can be violent and reproduce racial violence, however these spaces also have the possibility to be transformative. In this soft launch event for the York Black Graduate Students Collective through a combination of a formal presentation and table talk style conversations, folks will receive, discuss, and reflect on strategies and resources on how to navigate race, racism, and white privilege in the classroom and beyond.
Friday, September 25
Ryled Up Counter Conference 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., University of Toronto, Location TBA
This group has received external funding from the Laidlaw Foundation, an advocacy group promoting healthy change in support of young people, and will host a day of training for campus educators on how to talk about sexual violence in the classroom.
Black Creek Trail Walking Tour 12 p.m.
meet outside Vari Hall The tour will cover a part of the Black Creek trail close to York, going until we hit the entrance-exit from Tobermory Road. For the most part the path follows the stream which is a sight to behold. Also it is abundant in lush local flora with varied shades and textures of green. Especially during fall, the area is truly magnificent and radiant with it’s lovely hues of leaves changing colour.
Rethinking HIV Risk Workshop 3 – 5 p.m., room 313
This two hour workshop will look at the question, “what does sexual health risk mean when we consider the impact of racism, sexism, and queerphobia?” This is an interactive workshop on HIV biology, transmission, stigma, and negotiating safer sex.[/su_box]