Weekend wrap: Lions retire No. 18 jersey of Mark Cross in emotional ceremony prior to Mark Cross Memorial Game

Lions logo
York U Lions

The York Lions honoured hockey alumnus Mark Cross on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Canlan Ice Sports prior to their evenly matched 4-3 loss to the Brock University Badgers in an emotional pre-game ceremony. Cross, who played with the Lions from 2011-16, was an assistant coach with the Humboldt Broncos last season and lost his life in the team’s tragic bus crash on April 6, 2018.

After symbolically stopping the clock at 18 seconds, the Lions celebrated Cross’ life and legacy as a York Lion in a stirring pre-game ceremony that included the retiring of Cross’ No. 18 jersey.

On the ice to take part in the ceremony were Cross’ parents, Brad and Marilyn; his brother, Michael; his sister, Leah; his girlfriend, Molly; friends from his native Saskatchewan; and his former York teammates. Cross became the first member of the Lions men’s hockey program to have his number retired. More details on the York Lions website.

On Friday night, the men’s hockey team opened up their second half of the season with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at Canlan Ice Sports.

After having been in York’s offensive end throughout most of the first five minutes of the game, U of T had a great scoring chance against the Lions; however, it was saved by York’s goaltender Mack Shields.

Following Shields’ save, the Lions skated the puck down to the Blues’ end with a passing play between Reid Jackman and Sal Filice, who passed the puck to Scott Feser, who scored the first goal for the Lions at 5:14. More details.

Lions defeat Lakers in first game of 2019

The York University men’s basketball team defeated the Nipissing University Lakers in their opening game of 2019 by a score of 73-64 on Friday evening at Robert J. Surtees Student Athletics Centre.

The Lions were off to a strong start picking up a big lead on the Lakers 16-5 midway through the first quarter. The Lions ended the quarter with a 22-16 lead.

The Lions continued to lead the Lakers at the start of the second quarter; however, the Lakers managed to close the large lead to just two-points with three minutes remaining in the half. The Lakers eventually tied the Lions 26-26, and after free throw the Lakers led the Lions for the first time 27-26. It was the Lakers who added one extra basket in the final minutes to lead 36-34 at the end of the half. More details.

The next night the Lions lost 111-80 on the road against the Laurentian University Voyageurs in Sudbury, Ont.

Prince Kamunga led the Lions in points throughout the game with 22 points on the night. In the first quarter of the game, the Lions were able to put in a total of 18 points to the Voyageurs’ 33. Lions guard Gene Spagnuolo contributed four of those points as he started the game well for the visiting team. By the end of the first half of the game, Laurentian was leading 55-36 against the Lions after outscoring them by four in the second quarter. More details.

Lions fall in Saturday night road game to Voyageurs

The York University women’s basketball team lost 64-46 against the Laurentian University Voyageurs during their second game of the weekend on Saturday, Jan. 5 in Sudbury, Ont.

The Voyageurs took the lead in the first quarter of the game and kept it throughout the remainder of the game.

Laurentian’s Kayla Deschatelets scored the first two points for the Voyageurs and picked up three more points in the first quarter to contribute to their 11 points in the first quarter. The Lions’ Alysha Pinck scored the first two points for York. More details.

A day prior, the Lions led the Nipissing University Lakers through three quarters until a push in the final minutes of the fourth quarter by the Lakers led them to a 65-61 victory on Friday evening at Robert J. Surtees Student Athletics Centre in North Bay, Ont.

The Lions came out strong in their first game of the new year and at the end of the first quarter, the Lions led the Lakers 18-12. They continued the momentum into the second quarter and managed to pick up a large, 11-point lead to end the half up 35-24. The Lions continued their lead into the third quarter, but the Lakers cut the lead close, trailing just two points by a score of 49-47 by the end of the quarter. More details.

Big third period by Badgers results in loss for Lions

The York University women’s hockey team was defeated on the road 6-3 by the Brock University Badgers on Saturday afternoon at Seymour Hannah Centre.

The Lions outplayed the Badgers in the first period and kept the game close until the last 10 minutes of the third period. The Badgers got on the scoreboard first at 9:49 of the first period with a shot by Niamh Haughey that slipped through the pads of Lions goaltender Eva Hall. After multiple attempts by the Lions to get on the scoreboard, Erin Locke scored the equalizer off a face-off with four minutes remaining in the first period. More details.

Mustangs claim 40th Excalibur Volleyball Classic

The University of Western Mustangs were crowned 2019 Excalibur Volleyball Classic champions on Sunday afternoon at the Tait McKenzie Centre in the 40th edition of the annual tournament. Western went a perfect 3-0 in the round robin tournament, the only team to go undefeated throughout the entire weekend.

The championship win was the fourth all-time at the tournament for the Mustangs, who also won previously in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

The Mustangs opened the tournament on Friday with a 3-1 win over the Nipissing Lakers (25-23, 19-25, 25-22 and 27-25) and followed that up with another 3-1 win over the host Lions on Saturday (25-22, 25-19, 23-25 and 25-14). They ended their tournament with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Queen’s Gaels on Sunday afternoon (29-31, 25-23, 25-20 and 25-22). More details.

New book presents more than 30 years of research on Holocaust

A book launch for Choices under Duress of the Holocaust: Benjamin Murmelstein and the Fate of Viennese Jewry, Volume I: Vienna will be hosted by York University’s Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.

The culmination of more than three decades of research, Choices under Duress of the Holocaust: Benjamin Murmelstein and the Fate of Viennese Jewry, Volume I: Vienna examines the decision-making process of Jewish communal leadership under Nazi domination from both a historical and a philosophical perspective. Taking as its test case that of the controversial Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Murmelstein, this first of two volumes investigates his actions as deputy and then leader of the Jewish community of Vienna between 1938 and 1942.

In contextualizing Murmelstein’s actions within their broader historical framework, Choices under Duress of the Holocaust widens its focus in presenting a painstaking history of the Viennese Jewish community under the extreme conditions forced upon it by its Nazi overlords. The second volume, which is expected to be released in approximately two years, deals with the Viennese Jewish community from 1942 to 1945 and with the fate of those who were deported to the “model ghetto” of Theresienstadt/Terezin, where Murmelstein was eventually appointed Judenältester (Chief Jewish Elder).

The manuscript of Choices under Duress of the Holocaust was completed shortly before the deaths of its authors, Professor Leonard H. Ehrlich (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and Edith Ehrlich, and prepared for publication by their son, Professor Carl S. Ehrlich (York University).

The event takes place at the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, 7th floor of the Kaneff Tower, York University. There will be a reception at 5 p.m., as well as a book signing following the presentation. Light kosher refreshments will be served, and there will be complimentary parking at the York Lanes Parking Garage.

To RSVP, email cjs@yorku.ca.

York celebrates 10th Inclusion Day to kick off University’s 60th anniversary celebrations

Vari Hall
Vari Hall

York University celebrates its 10th annual Inclusion Day on Jan. 24. The signature community event will kick off the University’s 60th anniversary festivities by exploring the theme innovation through inclusion.

Three internationally recognized leaders representing the interconnected pursuits of higher education, community engagement, entrepreneurialism and the arts will guide guests through a journey into the creative potential of belonging.

The guest speakers are experts from Canada, the United States, Mauritius and Rwanda. They will offer compelling testimony and evidence about the power of inclusion as a catalyst for innovation, and include:

  • Sarah Kaplan, director, Institute for Gender and the Economy; Distinguished Professor of Strategic Management, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto;
  • Adrian Fung, associate dean, associate professor, Arts Executive, Concert Artist;
  • Usha Srinivasan, vice-president, Venture & Talent Programs, MaRS Discovery District; and
  • Fred Swaniker, founder and CEO, African Leadership University, Mauritius and Rwanda.

Inclusion Day brings together students, staff, and faculty from across York University’s campuses as well as members of other universities, representatives of government, industry and beyond, to question, comprehend and imagine well-being, attainment and fulfillment for all in community. During the 2018 celebrations, more than 300 people attended in person with thousands interacting online.

The practice of inclusion is central to York University’s mission to be an institution that aspires to: promote access to education to all who are eligible; connect communities locally and globally; embody excellence in research, teaching, learning governance; and generate impact.

Inclusion Day 2019 marks the beginning of York University’s rededicated commitment to this continuous project and encourages community members to reflect with renewed hope and celebrate with pride.

This free event is open to all members of the York community as well as to the general public. A light lunch will be provided. To register, visit www.yorku.ca/rights/forms/view.php?id=79.

The event is presented by the Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (REI) at York University and takes place at 11:15 a.m. at the Keele Campus Second Student Centre, 15 Library Lane.

York graduate student leads first-of-its-kind project at Sinai Health System

A stethoscope and patient chart

A York University graduate student led a project at Sinai Health System that is the first of its kind to be implemented in Canada.

Reshma Prashad
Reshma Prashad

Reshma Prashad, a student in the Faculty of Health’s Health Informatics program, led a project to implement infusion data flow from a pump to an electronic health record (EHR) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The project enhances the quality of data used for timely clinical decision-making in a department that provides care for approximately 1,000 preterm babies per year.

The project, which launched on Nov. 27, decreases the potential for documentation errors that may contribute to patient safety risks. It will support faster clinical decision-making, and promote greater pharmacy and nursing communication and collaboration in the management of infusions.

Prashad successfully implemented the program in three months, and says previous attempts were unsuccessful for a period of more than five years.

She attributes her success to the great foundation and preparation offered through the Health Informatics program at York University.

“I would like to convey (to York Health Studies students) that it is still possible to make significant and meaningful contributions to the field if they (the students) take the time and effort needed to learn the important, fundamental concepts,” she said.

Reshma Prashad with the team at Sinai Health System

Prashad said she is extremely grateful for the opportunity that Sinai Health System provided her to lead this project to successful completion, in collaboration with the technical and clinical teams.

“It is a very exciting project for the NICU that will help to reduce redundancies in charting and potentially decrease errors,” said Elena Nikolsky, nursing unit administrator of the NICU. “It will also help to increase the safety of our infants by providing the most up-to-date information to support timely decision-making regarding patient status.”

York-CAMH Collaborative opens dedicated space for research

Partners in the York-CAMH Collaborative celebrated the opening of dedicated space at the Queen Street site of the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) on Dec. 12.

Left to right: Professor Mahdieh Dastjerdi; Paul McDonald, dean, Faculty of Health; Professor Elsabeth Jensen; Professor Nazilla Khanlou; Professor Attia Khan; Rani Srivastava, chief of nursing and professional practice, CAMH; Catherine Zahn, CEO of CAMH

The York-CAMH Collaborative brings education and service together to develop knowledge and skills for promoting mental health locally, nationally and globally. This unique partnership enables the partners to conduct leading research, education, practice and system improvement, benefiting mental health promotion, health care, safety and patient outcomes.

The new space includes an office for the director and a room with four fully equipped stations for research assistants, research volunteers and other York University Faculty of Health researchers. Catherine Zahn, CEO of CAMH, and Paul McDonald, dean of York University’s Faculty of Health, made opening remarks at the event.

Two projects already funded through the collaboration include Nursing Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, under the leadership of Nazilla Khanlou, Chair in Women’s Mental Health at York University; and Understanding Compassion in Mental Health Care from the Perspectives of Culturally Diverse Patients and Families, led by Elsabeth Jensen, director of the York-CAMH Collaborative and associate professor with the School of Nursing at York University.

Message from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton on transit services in new year

Keele Campus
Keele Campus entrance

The following is a message that was issued to the York University community on Thursday, Dec. 13 from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton:

As the University prepares for the holidays and the new year, I would like to take a moment to update our community on recent ongoing discussions between York, Metrolinx, York Region Transit (YRT) and the provincial government regarding the unfortunate decision to cease public transit bus service to our Keele Campus.

Despite our best efforts, including requests to the transportation agencies and provincial government to reverse the decisions to cease service to the Keele Campus, on Dec. 12 we received the discouraging news from the province that the agencies are not prepared to reconsider their plans.

We remain very disappointed that Metrolinx and YRT have opted not to reconsider their decisions and that effective Jan. 5, 2019, GO bus service to our community will no longer be available on the Keele Campus.

Part of the decades-long discussions that led to the creation and arrival of the subway extension to York University was that full fare integration between local and provincial transit providers would be in place when the subway opened. This was a key consideration for our community.

All transit providers made it very clear (Metrolinx, YRT and TTC) that they would be altering their service to Keele Campus and leaving the Harry Arthurs Common loop area once both fare integration and the subway were in place. Regrettably, the recent decisions by YRT and Metrolinx were made in the absence of full fare integration.

I understand that many of our York community members live in the 905 area and rely on affordable transit to access the campus. I remain very concerned that the extra TTC daily fare for GO Transit bus riders may pose a financial barrier for our community, in particular for our students, as they work to complete their post-secondary studies.

I want you to know that the University has reaffirmed to both the transit providers and the provincial government that we would welcome continuing bus operations from their traditional locations on our Keele Campus.

The University will continue to advocate for affordable transportation options for our community that includes implementation of full fare integration that reduces the financial burden on our students, faculty and staff. In addition, I will personally continue to emphasize the importance of this to our partners in government as part of our discussions regarding transit operations at York.

For more information about York University’s transportation services, visit yorku.ca/transportation.

For more information about the GO bus service changes, visit gotransit.com.

York University to launch a new off-campus housing service

A person is using a computer

In the new year, York University is launching a new service for students: an online off-campus housing service that will list rental housing options from landlords interested in providing housing opportunities to students.

York has partnered with Off Campus Partners to create the York University Off-Campus Housing platform. The company has worked with university partners across North America since 2000.

York University is actively seeking listings to be included on the new website when it launches. It’s a free service for staff and faculty to post a basic listing and it is easy to do, either by phone at 1-877-895-1234 or via email at info@offcampuspartners.com.

“Our hope is that our students – many of whom are seeking rentals for the first time – feel comfortable and confident seeking out off-campus housing through this platform that provides educational resources and other features not found on other sites,” says Daryl Nauman, director of residence life at York University.

The service is designed to meet students’ needs, enabling local property managers, individuals, faculty and staff to advertise vacancies directly on the University website.

The mobile-responsive service will be integrated with Passport York and open to all York community members. It provides students with:

  • access to comprehensive property listings with photographs, floor plans, a map demonstrating proximity to campus, a list of amenities as well as contact information;
  • an overview of the types of off-campus housing available;
  • information about tenant rights and responsibilities;
  • a roommate finder tool;
  • message boards; and
  • tips about how to choose a good landlord, living with roommates and safety.

Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to list opportunities on this site to expand the types of rental rooms and apartments to counter the competitive Toronto rental market. Searching for a clean, secure place to live with a reliable and trusted landlord has become harder and harder for many students in the Greater Toronto Area.

The new website will be found at offcampushousing.yorku.ca. Faculty, staff and students can visit the site and enter their email address to be notified when the new site launches.

Communication Studies professor analyzes social media’s new languages

York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) hosted “Social Media – The Great Equalizer?” with communication studies Professor Derek Hrynyshyn on Nov. 20, exploring the new languages of social media as part of the LA&PS Community Conversations series.

Derek Hrynyshyn
Derek Hrynyshyn (image: Stephanie Ross)

New forms of communication, such as memes and emojis, are being popularized through social media at a bewildering rate and have a great hold on the imagination. The implications of this ongoing shift are tied to its origins.

In this talk, Hrynyshyn discussed sources of this move toward a new form of literacy and what it means for our collective future. He looked at what is driving this shift and which forces are acting on our language and our relationships with each other.

Hrynyshyn began the discussion by suggesting that new forms of communication emerging through the use of social media have many implications for the way we understand our world, ourselves and one another. The challenge for researchers, he said, is finding a systematic way to study the issue because new forms of communication cannot be easily captured in the way that earlier forms of communication could.

“Mass media representations could be analyzed more easily because the one-to-many structure of that form of communication allowed researchers to systematically record and store all of the ways that representation took place, and then draw conclusions about the implications,” said Hrynyshyn. “With social media, however, the experience of the flow of information differs from one user to another, so generalizations cannot so easily be drawn about how that experience shapes understandings.”

The Community Conversation highlighted the characteristics that are common to all users’ experiences of new forms of socially mediated communication.

“For one thing, emojis, memes and GIFs all have a simplicity in the representation that works to undermine the need for a literate interpretation of texts,” said Hrynyshyn. “But such conclusions are not easy to rely on, as people may apply many different skills to such ways of representing.”

He suggested researchers look at the motivations behind the decisions made to introduce such forms of communication. A prime example is Facebook’s introduction of a wider selection of responses to messages, diversifying the “like” thumbs-up icon into six different emojis. Hrynyshyn makes the case that, on one hand, it makes sense to give users choices of more specific responses. Members of the audience agreed that it is useful to be able to, for example, show support for the victims of violence described in a message without appearing to support the violent actions themselves by clicking “like.”

“But, on the other hand, it is unlikely that the decision-making at Facebook is driven by a desire to keep users happier with the choice of responses,” Hrynyshyn said. “While the multiple options for responses serves users, it also serves the interests of the corporation by providing more information about users’ interests and emotional states.”

He added that this information is useful to Facebook because their business model is built on the sale of audiences to advertisers, and advertisers are able to benefit from knowing more about these audiences.

“These decisions about how to allow users to interact are driven by a desire to quantify and categorize users, which is made easier by forms of communication that reduce emotional responses and conditions to a small number of measurable indicators,” Hrynyshyn said.

He concluded the talk with other problems produced by the decisions social media companies make, such as invasion of privacy and the increased power that advertisers have to manipulate the purchasing decisions of users.

“Facebook has, in fact, conducted research on how effectively they can alter the emotional reactions of users through different forms of content,” said Hrynyshyn. “Public outcry questioned the ethics of a study on users who did not know that their newsfeed was being manipulated to see if it changed their mood, but this practice is part of the basic business model of all social media.”

Users are mostly unaware, Hrynyshyn said, that this function is part of the social media systems that are in use so commonly today.

Community Conversations is an initiative of the Office of Global & Community Engagement (GCE) in LA&PS. GCE funds Community Conversations, connecting the Faculty and York University with a variety of community groups and members within the Greater Toronto Area.

For more information on GCE, email gce@yorku.ca; for more information on Community Conversations, visit the website.

RBC-Schulich Enterprise Forum explores strategies for success

The RBC–Schulich Enterprise Forum, hosted by the Centre for Global Enterprise (CGE) at the Schulich School of Business, took place Nov. 21 in Toronto.

Participants network at the event

The event’s theme was Success Without Borders: Smart Strategies for Taking on the World and it attracted more than 50 companies and organizations. The forum was designed to provide owners and entrepreneurs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) an opportunity to learn how to navigate the SME support ecosystem more effectively, discover some hidden resources that can help them access international markets and network with those organizations.

A panel of leaders addressed three major challenges for SMEs. Karima-Catherine Goundiam, managing director of Red Dot Digital Inc., showed how to expand beyond the United States in her talk “The U.S. isn’t the Only Market Anymore”; Ali Fard, CEO of HEXA, explored how an SME can take on the multinationals in “Don’t be Afraid of Giants; How Canadian Companies Can Win Over Giant Companies”; and Peter Hawkins, managing director of MELLOHAWK Logistics, addressed one of the major failings of Canadian SMEs – lack of followup – in his presentation “Bad Boyfriend Syndrome – Why Some Canadian Companies Fail Abroad.”

For further information about the RBC-Schulich Enterprise Forum series or any of CGE’s activities, contact the Centre for Global Enterprise at cge@schulich.yorku.ca.

Indigenous Environmental Justice Project announces launch of videos

Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ) Project announces launch of videos
Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ) Project announces launch of videos

The Indigenous Environmental Justice Project (IEJ) at York University has been working collaboratively with Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environmental Studies to develop knowledge and engagement on environmental and Indigenous justice and injustice.

Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ) Project announces launch of videos
A still from the Taking Action video

During this process, which began in May 2016, the project has created four video vignettes that include contributions from and collaboration with Indigenous activists, youth, artists, grandmothers and elders who shared their stories and experiences with the project.

The four videos are: Why IEJ Matters; Understanding IEJ; What is Environmental Injustice; and Taking Action. The videos were designed to be a resource for students, community members, activists and scholars, with the goal of working toward creating a better understanding of environmental justice as a concept that is grounded in Indigenous world views.

The videos aim to inform concepts of justice through the lived experiences of Indigenous people and create more conversations on how to move forward toward greater justice.

Participants in the project included: the Canada Research Chair Program, Osgoode Hall Law School, the Faculty of Environmental Studies, Deborah McGregor, Jason Jenkins, Nasreen Hussain, Meagan Dellavilla, Nicole Latulippe and Salisha Purushuttam.

About The Indigenous Environmental Justice Project

The Indigenous Environmental Justice Project is a five-year Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council-funded initiative based out of York University that aims to develop a distinctive EJ framework informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, laws, concepts of justice and the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples.

Story developed by Nasreen Hussain, MES student and research assistant for IEJ