Join us from November 9th - 13th on the York University campus for DISORIENTATION 2009!
All events are free and accessible
**Mon/Nov/9th:
-->Radical/Alternative Walking Tour – 12pm
Meet in front of the fountain at the head of Commons
Tour Guides: Kelly Fritsch and Aaron Gordon
This political history tour attempts to get you on your way to uncovering and developing a historical knowledge of York. York has, is and always will be a contestable space, and is a space that will always need to be fought over. As members of York'’s community we are responsible for the actions of the University and holding the University accountable for its actions. Building resistance to inequalities and inequities produced by and through the university cannot spring from no where. The history of successful resistance at York goes back before the first buildings were built or the York University Act was introduced in 1959. Contemporary campaigns, actions, coalitions, and solidarities can be built on this tradition– or historical memory – of resistance and political organization.
The tour guides will provide you with a brief history of political actions on campus to help you better understand the politics of education at York University and better strengthen historical memory. The tour will take about one-and-a-half hours. The tour is accessible.
-->Activism 101 Workshop
2pm – 5pm
GSA Conference Room (Rm. 430)
**Tuesday/Nov/10th:
-->Film Screening: "Amandla!"
12 - 2pm
GSA Conference Room (Rm. 430)
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony is a 2002 documentary film depicting the struggles of black South Africans against the injustices of Apartheid through the use of music. The film takes its name from the Nguni word amandla, which means power. In the film, South African musicians, playwrights, poets and activists recall the struggle against Apartheid from the 1940s to the 1990s that stripped black citizens of South Africa of basic human rights, and the important role that music played in that struggle. The documentary uses a mixture of interviews, musical performances and historical film footage.
-->Sexual Assault 101 Workshop
Presented by : SASSL (Sexual Assault Survivor’s Support Line)
2:30pm – 4pm
Student Centre – Rm. 321
-->Trans Inclusion Workshop
6pm – 9pm
CWTP - Student Centre (Rm. 332)
Faciliated by the 519
Come find out what trans inclusion means, and find out how to practice tran inclusion in your clubs, organization or everyday practices. This challenging and interactive workshop will familiarize you with different oppression and issues faced by trans people as well as discuss concrete strategies to promote an environment committeed to the inclision of transsexuals, transgendered people and many others who do not fit binary sex or gender categories.
**Wednesday/Nov/11th:
-->Alternative Remembrance Day Ceremony
11am
Front of Vari Hall
Join War Resisters, Stop the war coalition and other great speakers and take part in our alternative vigil and rally to demonstrate against occupation and imperialism in forms of wars, both past and present!
There will be speakers, music, and a silent vigil for all people who have been lost in the war.
-->Queering the apartheid analysis panel/discussion
2-4pm
McLaughlin Senior Common Room
York Public Interest Research Group presents an afternoon with Toronto queer activists organizing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle…
Where does Queer analysis fit into Anti-Apartheid struggles?
What are the intersections of Queer movements and Palestinian resistance?
How do we rekindle the flame of Queer radicalism?
Come join us as we come out against Apartheid!
Featuring York University Professor and filmmaker John Greyson and Natalie Kouri-Towe, PHD student and organizer with Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA).
When: Wednesday November 11th 2-4 P.M
Where: McLaughlin Senior Common Room, Room 140 McLaughlin college
Israel has taken up the image of itself as a 'safe haven' for queer people in the Middle East in their Brand Israel campaign, which seeks to improve the image of Israel abroad and increase tourism to the region. The Toronto International Film festival was certainly eager to welcome the Brand Israel campaign for a 2009 spotlight on Tel Aviv in their new city to city program. Artists and academics criticized the film festival's choice of Tel Aviv as a spotlight city due to their glaring omission of the human rights abuses being incurred against the Palestinian people. John Greyson removed his film from the festival in light of this. Israel continues with this campaign by propaganting the myth of Israel as the only queer safe space in the Middle East. What 'safe spaces' are available in Israel, and to whom are they accessible?
-->Iron Wall Film Screening
4pm
GSA Conference Room (Rm. 430)
Directed by Mohammed Alatar, this documentary highlights the historical development of the Israeli settlement project, including their latest project of the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank and the effect it has on the Palestinian people. The film focuses on how land confiscation, human rights abuses and theft of natural resources are impacting the occupied territories and exposing the falsity of their commitment to the peace process that Israel often alludes to.
Come and join us to watch a landmark documentary on Israeli Apartheid, in conjunction with a week of activities internationally to recognize the Week Against the Wall. The film screening will be introduced by several Students Against Israeli Apartheid members and will be followed by a Question and Answer period.
The Iron Wall was produced by the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee and Palestinians for Peace and Democracy.
**Thursday/November/12th:
-->USAY Film Screening “Yeh Mere India”
12:30 – 3:30pm
Founders Masters Dining Room
USAY brings to you a POWERFUL MOVIE that highlights the real stories behind communal, caste , class , gender , lingual and immigrant bias - we invite you for a viewing of an India seen from the inside out.
This movie lends a humane face and complexity to the problems and challenges that plague Indian society, global society.
Please Note: the movie is in Hindi but has English subtitles.
-->Global Apartheid Panel
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Stedman Lecture Hall Room 107
Join us on Thursday November 12th in a panel on making the connections of global apartheid struggles across the world. OPIRG York is excited to present a panel of activists, scholars and writers who are working on apartheid struggles and see the various ways that the apartheid system in South Africa, Israel, Sri Lanka and here in Canada all have similarities in their oppressive tactics of control and colonialism that cannot be ignored!
Featuring…
Dr. Rozena Maart - Dr. Rozena Maart is a writer and scholar born in District Six, Cape Town, South Africa. In 1973, her family members, along with thousands of other residents were forcibly removed from District Six, as a result of the South African government's Forced Removal Act.
Clare O’Connor - Clare O'Connor is a Toronto-based organizer and a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid.
Jamila Ghaddar - speaking on the struggles against Canadian apartheid and making links to Israeli apartheid
Sahabthan Jesuthasan - speaking on the Sri Lankan attack on Tamil peoples, and it's connection to other global struggles
**Friday/November/13th:
-->Fair trade Scavenger Hunt
2:30pm
Meet at the OPIRG office (Rm. C449)
Want to find out how you can eat more sustainably on campus? Come to the Fair Trade Coalition’s scavenger hunt and explore the campus in search for fair trade coffee, compost bins, reusable plates and more. Meet in the OPIRG office (rm. C449 Student Center) on Friday November 15th at 2:30. Upon completion of the hunt you will receive a fair trade chocolate bar!
-->The Campus and Palestine Solidarity
Speakers:
John Greyson – Award-winning filmmaker, video artist and educator – York University
Yafa Jarrar – Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), Carleton University
Mary-Jo Nadeau – Faculty4Palestine, Wilfrid Laurier University
Leah Katz – Not in Our Name (NION): Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism, York University
7:30 PM
Ted Rogers School of Business (Room 2-166)
55 Dundas Street West, Ryerson University
What is DIS/ORIENTATION 2009?
Dis/Orientation is a radically different, politically progressive, series of events that will offer all students access and insight into the exciting political and social justice spheres that exist at York University. By bringing together a wide range of campus groups and services, we are trying to draw the links between the many different kinds of political, environmental and social justice based activism that exists on campus.
Dis/Orientation is not a single issue event, instead we are attempting to get students involved in work that interests them through diverse activities such as workshops, skills building, movie screenings, meet-and-greets, scavenger hunts and parties.
The focus is on confronting racism, imperialism, sexism, heterosexism, classism and other oppressive forces, in addition to challenging the ongoing corporatization of campus, the limitations on free expression, and the rampant sexual assaults and violence that have recently taken place at York. We aim to draw attention to the ways that these oppressive influences affect our daily lives and how we can make viable and lasting change on campus, as well as on local and global levels.
We are committed to anti-oppression politics and strive to raise awareness and educate at all our events. We are committed to work that deals explicitly with, and confronts, racism, imperialism, colonialism, sexism, misogyny, heterosexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia.
