In pictures: York’s Convocation celebrates Class of 2022
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Spring Convocation for York University’s Class of 2022 ran from June 9 to 18 with 14 ceremonies in total.
The ceremonies, were held at the Sobeys Stadium (formerly the Aviva Centre), with one ceremony on June 18 for Glendon graduates at Glendon Campus. Class of 2022 convocation followed alumni convocation ceremonies for Class of 2020 and 2021 graduands on June 3 to 9.
With 26 ceremonies in total running from June 3 to 18, the 2022 Spring Convocation is the largest in the University’s history.
View photos from the Class of 2022 ceremonies below:
Honorary degree recipient John Van Burek talks about the power of ‘yes’
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By Jenny Pitt-Clark
John Van Burek, renowned theatre producer and translator with some 50 works to his credit, received an honorary degree from York University during Convocation ceremonies for the Glendon Campus that took place June 18.
Van Burek is the founder of Toronto’s Pleiades Theatre and le Théâtre français de Toronto and has taught at universities in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. He delivered a meaningful address to graduands in both French and English and switched seamlessly between the two languages throughout.
“I don’t know why, or how, I am here, in front of you. I have very few diplomas and I am hardly an academic,” he said, noting that he would, however, take advantage of the opportunity provided to him. The theatre impresario then encouraged the Glendon graduands to be persistent, take chances to “go for it” and put aside their fear of “getting wet.”
«Une des premières choses qu’on apprend dans les arts, d’où je viens, c’est de ne pas dire ˂ non˃ ». [One of the first things you learn in the arts, where I come from, is not to say ‘no.’]»
“You will always be capable. All you have to do is to put yourself on the line,” he said.
John Van Burek addresses Glendon graduands
He spoke of a past English professor who said that if “ever there is a subject about which you know nothing, but about which you would like to learn, declare yourself a professor of it.” Van Burek said the best way to learn was through curiosity and education: “You all have it in you; someone, i.e. you, only has to go in there and find it.”
He recalled being 30 years old and new to translation, but was urged to take on the challenge by fellow theatre impresario Bill Glassco, who was the founder of Toronto’s renowned Tarragon Theatre. Together they brought the works of Quebec playwright Michel Tremblay to the Tarragon Theatre and introduced them to Canadian audiences through Van Burek’s translations. (Glassco, who died in September 2004, was a Canadian theatre director, producer and the founder and artistic director of the Tarragon Theatre.)
Over the course of his storied career, Van Burek has translated more than 50 plays, including those of Quebec playwrights Anne Legault and Suzanne LeBeau. He has also translated the works of English playwrights into French. “I was starting Toronto’s only French-language theatre, so Bill wondered if I knew of any plays from Québec. Of course, I did, but they didn’t exist in English.”
«Je lui ai décrit plusieurs pièces, dont À toi pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou, de Michel Tremblay. J’ai dit que ce serait impossible à traduire parce que le langage théâtral était trop bon mais il a tout de suite dit ˂ that’s it!˃ [I described several plays to him, including À toi pour Toujours, ta Marie-Lou, by Michel Tremblay. I said it would be impossible to translate because the theatrical language was too good, but he immediately said that’s it!]»
“The rest, as they say, is history. And why could Bill ask me that? Because I had said yes to a friend when he called for help; Tarragon was about to open a play that night and the place was a mess,” said Van Burek. “I was down on all fours, in the lobby, with Bill Glassco, and we were sticking up posters to hide the cracks in the wall.”
«C’est comme ça qu’un des plus beaux moments en théâtre canadien a commencé. Je n’ai pas dit non! [This is how one of the greatest moments in Canadian theater began. I didn’t say no!]»
“You are all graduating from Glendon College, one of the very few bilingual colleges in Canada. Of course, it will be easier to do everything in English, but why deprive yourself of the possibility of mastering another language? Especially since Canadian politics – and history – are nothing without French.” The ability to speak and work in both languages is essential, said Van Burek. He then recalled a true story that involved the late CBC comedian Johnny Wayne, of the duo Wayne and Shuster.
“In the late ‘60s, Canada was being roiled by the question of bilingualism. Lots of people were against it. Johnny Wayne was asked by a CBC reporter for his thoughts on the matter. The question was: is it a good idea to learn two languages? To the reporter’s surprise, Johnny Wayne said ‘no, it’s a bad idea.’ He went on to say that he was from Central Europe, where everyone spoke four or five languages. ‘One guy spoke only two and he was the village idiot. So, speaking two languages is a very bad idea,’” said Van Burek.
«Plusieurs entre vous parlent probablement plus que l’anglais de toute façon. Mais pourquoi le français, diriez-vous. Sur quoi je vous répondrais, ˂ que c’est le Canada˃ . Ce n’est pas compliqué. Notre monde est plein de langues, et plein de pays où on parle plus qu’une langue; à cet égard, nous ne sommes pas unique. [Many of you probably speak more than English anyway. But why French, you would say. To which I would reply, ‘because it is Canada.’ It’s not complicated. Our world is full of languages, and full of countries where more than one language is spoken; in this regard, we are not unique.]»
Despite living in a world of instant information and media, one thing will never change, mused Van Burek, and that is the need for theatre, noting that while he loves movies, the community experience of theatre is especially important in a post-COVID world. “It is truly a community experience. Did you ever notice how, in a live theatre you are aware of the audience, whereas in a movie theatre, the audience becomes invisible, as if you were the only one there? And don’t forget, a dark theatre – and movies – are only the product of electricity. In this way, live theatre is primordial, not modern,” he said.
Van Burek closed his remarks with this observation: «Je sais que c’est un grand saut, mais espérons que nous aurons appris une chose de cette maudite pandémie de COVID-19 : que nous faisons tous partie de la même communauté – qui s’appelle l’humanité – que ˂ no man is an island ˃ et que maintenant que vous allez prendre les rênes – on vous les donne, volontiers – que le mythe de l’individualité de notre espèce sera enfin banni de la conversation. [I know it’s a big leap, but hopefully we’ve learned one thing from this damn COVID-19 pandemic: that we’re all part of the same community – which is called humanity – that ‘no man is an island’ and that now that you are going to take the reins – we give them to you, gladly – that the myth of the individuality of our species will finally be banished from conversation.]»
“Whatever you do, just make sure that your kids inherit a better and less lonely world than the one we’re giving you.”
Honorary degree recipient Constance Backhouse offers a masterclass in legal history
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By Jenny Pitt-Clark
Osgoode alumna Constance Backhouse, a multi-disciplinary scholar, social activist and cultural critic, has published extensively reproduction, family, sexual harassment and the legal profession. Her work has influenced government policy. On June 17, Backhouse returned to York University to receive an honorary doctor of laws during the Osgoode convocation ceremony.
Backhouse, who holds the positions of Distinguished University Professor and University Research Chair at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, began her convocation address by setting the theme for her remarks. “My work focuses on Canadian legal history and sex and race discrimination in law. Today, I want to remind everyone of the struggles for entry of groups long excluded from the legal profession,” she told graduands. “For centuries, membership in the coveted Canadian legal profession was restricted to white males. The first outsiders to pierce the white male bubble faced enormous barriers and enduring hostility.”
Constance Backhouse (at the podium) addresses Osgoode Hall Law School graduands during convocation
Backhouse then delivered a masterclass in Canadian legal history. She spoke to graduands about the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession through the stories of those who broke through barriers and laid the groundwork for future generations.
“Robert Sutherland now considered the ‘first Black lawyer,’ was called to the Ontario bar more than a century and a half ago, in 1855,” said Backhouse. “The son of a free Black woman and Scottish father, he came from Jamaica to study law at Queen’s University.”
Sutherland, said Backhouse, fought racist social and cultural norms, segregation and discrimination. He established his law practice in southwestern Ontario. He is renowned for having left his estate to Queen’s University, bailing the school from imminent bankruptcy some 20 years later.
Another Black lawyer, Delos Davis, moved to Canada from the United States with his parents, who were former slaves. Davis was unable to article for more than 10 years because he was Black, and he was forced to obtain special permission from the provincial government, said Backhouse. “His call to the bar in 1886 came over the repeated protests of the Law Society. Davis defended many Black criminal clients, and he was forced to develop special strategies to fight for fairness inside a Criminal Justice system riddled with racist police, judges and jurors.”
In 1897, Clara Brett Martin broke the gender barrier when she was called to the bar in Toronto, the first woman in the entire British Commonwealth. “Women were still forbidden to vote, to be elected as politicians, to sit on juries, or serve as judges,” said Backhouse, noting that at 23-years-old, she successfully navigated a six-year battle of initial rejection, two provincial statutes, multiple bencher debates, a tied Law Society vote broken only by the treasurer’s vote and faced significant sexual harassment.
“It took another half-century before Canada’s first Asian-Canadian lawyer, Kew Dock Yip, was called to the Ontario bar in 1945. Educated at Columbia, the Univ of Michigan, and UBC, it took him three tries just to get admitted to Osgoode Hall Law School,” noted Backhouse. “He was a driving force in the campaign to repeal the racist Chinese Exclusion Act, which had shut down Asian immigration for decades.”
Indigenous lawyers faced impenetrable barriers. Backhouse offered the example of Andrew Paull, a member of the Squamish Nation. Paull worked in a law office in 1917 but was denied admission to the British Columbia bar for four years. “As an Indigenous man, he was barred from the vote. He went on to become one of Canada’s most significant advocates for Indigenous rights, without a law degree,” said Backhouse.
In 1938, legal historians think that Norman Lickers may have become the first Indigenous lawyer in Canada. He was a raised in the Six Nations Territory and was placed in the Mohawk Institute Residential School. Lickers graduated from Osgoode and practiced criminal law in Brantford, Ontario.
“His disbarment in 1950 should send up a red flag to all of us,” said Backhouse. “His dismissal from the bar was to become a pattern of disproportionate discipline that Law Society governors meted out to racialized lawyers – then and now.
“Some of the most inspiring stories about our profession’s history involve excluded groups lending a helping hand to other excluded groups,” said Backhouse. “Jewish, racialized, and female lawyers often hired other newcomers as articling students — outsiders supporting outsiders – giving them law jobs and mentoring them thru their careers when no one else would do so.”
However, less inspiring is the evidence of members from one excluded community practising discrimination against members from other excluded communities, said Backhouse. “Clara Brett Martin’s correspondence indicates that she harbored antisemitic views.”
All of Backhouse’s examples highlighted the importance of legacies. “As you consider your graduation from this wonderful Osgoode Hall Law School and your future admission to one of the most powerful professions in Canada, think carefully about the legacies you will leave behind,” she said. “Issues of gender, race, class, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender-identity pose overwhelming challenges within our society and within the legal profession.” Backhouse closed her convocation address with this statement: “We would do well to reflect on how historians will look back upon our own contributions 50 years from now.”
Honorary doctorate recipient Neil Shubin says humility is key ingredient to learning
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By Alysia Burdi
Evolutionary biologist, paleontologist and popular science writer Neil Shubin received an honorary doctor of science at York University’s convocation ceremony for graduands from the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change and the Faculty of Science.
Among graduating students, Shubin addressed convocation by stating that “we all stand on the shoulders of giants,” recognizing the role of family, teachers and friends who help make moments like graduation possible.
Above, from left: York University Chancellor Gregory Sorbara, Neil Shubin, and York University Provost and Vice-President AcademicLisa Philipps
Recognizing the journey to the finish line was no simple task, Shubin acknowledged what the students have achieved despite the disruptions presented during a global pandemic.
“It’s not merely congratulations, it’s congratulations squared,” he remarked.
Shubin led his address by reflecting on his journey and sharing what lessons he has learned throughout life and his career. He began by explaining that he spends an inordinate time looking at rocks from both North and South Poles, along the roadside of Pennsylvania, the deserts of Arizona, Africa and more all in the service to find skeletons of long dead fish.
“For me, the best kind of rock is one with a fossil fish fin sticking right out of it. I realize that’s the last thing you’d expect from a commencement speaker, but there you have it,” said Shubin. “While this may seem an utterly bizarre goal, three decades of staring at rocks in the ground have given me perspective on life and the universe. They have revealed to me nothing less than our place in nature. They have helped define for me what it means to be human. And, importantly, they define and continue to teach me ways to strive to be a better human.”
Shubin has conducted landmark research on the evolutionary origin of anatomical features of animals. He has conducted fieldwork in much of North America, including Greenland, as well as China, Africa and Antarctica. One of his most significant discoveries, a 375-million-year-old fossil called Tiktaalik roseae, is an important transitional form between fish and land animals.
Shubin has also written two popular science books: Your Inner Fish, which was made into an Emmy Award-winning PBS series and The Universe Within: The Deep History of the Human Body.
Shubin graduated from Columbia University in 1982 and received a PhD in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 1987. Shubin noted the time he was in graduate school; he had joined a team during his first year in the program as an invitee on one of their field expeditions to the deserts of northern Arizona to find over 200-million-year-old fossils and some of the oldest mammals known to human record.
Shubin recalled shadowing Chuck, one of the seasoned veterans on the team, who was no stranger to field expeditions. What started off as a frustrating experience filled with questions and contemplation, turned out to be a successful expedition rooted in a key life lesson.
“Where Chuck saw bones, all I saw were dirt and rock,” he said. “Then, one day I saw it – a brilliant piece of bone that sparkled in the light. Suddenly, it was as if the entire desert floor opened up in front of me. My fossil turned out to be a jaw of an ancient mammal-like animal that was partially embedded in the rock. This was the first time I had seen bones on the surface, but actually, I’d been looking at them for weeks. What was mere rock to my eyes just days before, was now fossil bone.”
It was at this moment that Shubin realized the thing that changed, was his ability to see. He learned to find fossils by seeing objects that surrounded him in a new way.
“Seeing, of course, is much more than optics and vision. What led me to the Arizona deserts and other remote places in the years since is a much more profound way of seeing,” he added.
Shubin explained this way of “seeing” derives from the ideas that shape the ways people learn and interpret the world. “At any given time, our own seeing is derived from thousands of years of humans learning to look at the world in whole new ways,” he noted.
He explained how the British nationalist Charles Darwin, best known for his contributions to evolutionary biology, proposed how species are not fixed, but evolve and eventually go extinct. “The Darwinian way of seeing is a powerful way of seeing ourselves. The basic structure of our bodies, including the DNA that builds them, is seen in fish, worms and flies,” he said.
Shubin described how animals are good models to understand human bodies in health and disease and continues to reflect some of the major findings and discoveries that support health and medicine today.
“I like to think that as we discover cures to everything that ails us – from Alzheimer’s to various cancers – the breakthroughs that will improve our lives will originally be derived from work on worms, flies and fish. I cannot imagine a more powerful or beautiful statement on the importance of our connection to the rest of life on our planet than that,” he said.
Shubin explained it is more important than ever for humans to find the ability to look at collecting and evaluating evidence to make decisions, while also confronting human limitations. He added how experiments have shown that cognitive biases mask ideas, concepts, and opinions, affecting the ability to see things clearly.
One lesson Shubin notes he has taken away from science that has carried him through his work is to have humility, as it is key to learning new ways of seeing and exploring the unknown.
“A cold look at evidence requires humility – the kind I needed to learn from Chuck, the kind that comes from knowing how blind were are. Humility that there is always a better idea, a new approach, or a different perspective to be had and found. Humility that our own human limitations may inhibit finding them. Humility to face, and most importantly to recognize, what we don’t know about the universe, what we don’t know about other living beings, and, importantly, what we don’t know about each other.”
He concluded his address to the graduating class by hoping that their time at the University has cultivated their appreciation for the importance of evidence; that it has enhanced their ability to see what is important to them, to understand the meaning of what they see, and most of all, to nurture their humility so they can learn to see.
Environmental activist David Miller urges grads to act, take risks and work for the planet
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By Jenny Pitt-Clark
David Miller, lawyer, professor, international environmental activist and the former mayor of Toronto, delivered a passionate address to graduands of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies after receiving an honorary doctor of laws degree from York University during the June 16 afternoon convocation ceremony.
In his remarks, he focused on the ways that new graduates from public policy, economics, political science and business administration and other programs in the Faculty could make positive change and right the future, especially when it relates to climate change.
David Miller delivers his convocation address
As the managing director of the C40 Centre for Urban Climate Policy and Economy think tank, Miller put his municipal government expertise and knowledge of public policy and the environment to work to bring the mayors of the world’s greatest cities together to make meaningful change to mitigate further damage to climate.
“You can uniquely contribute to addressing one of the defining issues of our time – climate change,” he said, noting that climate change is the result of deliberate economic and public policy choices made in the past, “a choice we can collectively and individually change today.”
Climate change, said Miller, is real; it is man-made and there is an urgent need to address it. “If we do not act immediately to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the results will be catastrophic.”
The impacts of galloping climate change can already be seen in delicate ecosystems such as in the Canadian Arctic region with the retreat of sea ice and its effects on numerous species and the people who live in the region. Southern animals are migrating north, and the resident species, such as the polar bear, are suffering. The storms and fires that have ravaged British Columbia, the erasure of the town of Lytton, B.C. in a wildfire are all examples, said Miller, of what climate change looks like.
And yet, he told graduands, “I believe that we will see the change needed to address these issues,” he said, observing that in his lifetime, he has witnessed tremendous progressive change when many thought it was impossible.
“You have the knowledge, the skills and the belief to make a difference today, because climate change at its heart is a matter of economics – public policy, yes, but economics is at its heart,” he said. “And we know this, in part, because of the excellent work of economists at York University who have shown clearly and persuasively that the assumptions behind traditional economics aren’t right, and have set out to show us a different path – ecological economists like Peter Victor, the former dean of environmental studies.”
Ecological economists start from a different point because the planet is finite, said Miller. Growth-based models are unsustainable and these new thinkers, said Miller, are creating an economic revolution. “Instead of asking ‘how do we grow?,’ ask the question ‘how do we create shared prosperity and live within our planetary boundaries?’”
Purposeful, government-led action can create a different path when the planet’s needs are incorporated into decision making and public policy, noted Miller. Global cities are taking significant action, divesting from fossil fuels, building circular economies and more. There is still much work to be done, both collectively and individually, he noted and organizations such as C40, which has more than 1,000 global cities as members, are working to halve emissions by 2030, which is what science says is required to keep the rise in temperatures in check.
“You are already making a difference through your studies and the knowledge you have gained,” he said.
He encouraged graduands to take action by speaking up and responding to employers and organizations with an environmental agenda. He asked graduands to do one thing different that will make a difference in the natural environment. “Walk, cycle or take a bus, give up meat, plant native species, or support an advocacy organization,” he said. “Just do one thing more.”
He asked grads to be political, volunteer, be active and vote. “There is an election this fall, a municipal election,” he said. “In city politics you don’t even have to join a party, just support the candidate who most shares your values.”
He also extolled graduands to take a risk, to pursue roles that can make a difference. “I encourage all of you, when the right times comes, take that risk. It might be today, next year, or like me nearly 15 years after graduating. It doesn’t really matter, so long as you recognize the moment and take the chance. Like me, you will never regret it.”
President congratulates Spring Convocation’s class of 2022
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The following is a message from York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton to the class of 2022:
It is my great honour to congratulate each and every one of you on having achieved this important milestone in your lives.
President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton during 2022 Spring Convocation
Many of you, like myself, were among the first in your families to attend university. Many of you have travelled far from your homes and support systems in order to be here, and many of you have faced untold social, economic, cultural and personal challenges throughout your academic journey, not the least of which being an unprecedented global health crisis.
But to all of our 2022 graduands, no matter your path: know that your presence at Convocation is a testament not only to your commitment to academic excellence but to your agility, resilience and perseverance.
And, as you join a community of more than 360,000 alumni living and working around the globe, know that you have earned the right to walk across this stage, to take your place among this illustrious group of leaders, and to move forward through your life with pride as a York University alum.
Higher education was once dedicated solely to the acquisition of knowledge. But over time, leading scholars began to appreciate the power of universities in challenging the status quo and reimagining the world as it could be.
York’s founding president, Murray Ross, was one of these visionaries. He had a different plan for York, one that focused on providing students with an interdisciplinary education that would contribute to their intellectual development and also to their understanding of the world.
The values he articulated continue to inform York’s vision today which is to provide a broad sociodemographic of students with access to a high-quality education at a research-intensive university committed to enhancing the well-being of the communities we serve.
We believe that each of you was attracted to York because of what we stand for as an institution of higher learning – and that during your time at York, you responded to the invitation to further your impact in your communities – through your scholarship, research, community involvement, activism and experiential education activities – now and in the future – by applying the knowledge and skills you have cultivated to solving some of the most complex global challenges the world is currently facing, from racism to inequality, climate change, war, and global health crises such as the pandemic.
And in an increasingly sophisticated information economy, where knowledge is subject to rapid obsolescence, where work is being increasingly automated, and the workforce is continually evolving, the skills you have learned will continue to serve you well, helping you adapt and thrive throughout your careers even in uncertain and volatile times.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is how connected we are to one another – how the actions of one individual or group can send a tidal wave of change across a community or around the world.
What we desire for ourselves – good health, peace, quality education, connections with others and the opportunity to pursue success and happiness however we define it – must be what we desire for all.
And so, it is increasingly critical for us to strengthen our connections – to one another, to our communities, to the world around us – and to support collaboration that transcends cultures and borders.
One excellent example of this type of transformative collaboration can be seen in York alumnus Jonathan Clodman, co-director of Vaccine Hunters Canada, a grassroots collective that harnessed the power of social media to help millions of Canadians source COVID-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic, garnering praise and recognition from across the country, including from municipal and provincial leaders and even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This type of collective commitment to the public good can also be seen in the Faculties we are celebrating.
I hope that all of you, as York alumni, will stay in touch with our community, and continue to build on the connections you have made here – with your professors, course directors, mentors, staff, administrators and fellow students – throughout your life.
In closing, I want to share with you three brief thoughts.
Learn from the past. It is okay to make mistakes but we want to try to minimize how many times we make the same mistake. We have a unique opportunity to reflect on all that we have learned throughout this pandemic and to apply those lessons in shaping our future.
That brings me to my second thought – which is the importance of planning for the future. Climate change alone highlights the significance of all of us working together to care for each other, the planet and the generations to come.
Finally, as important as it is to reflect on the past and prepare for the future, do not get so caught up with one and two that you fail to embrace the present. I encourage you all to celebrate this moment and all that you have accomplished to get here today.
I hope you will also draw on what Murray Ross referred to as the “awareness of the human spirit and its possibilities” to continue the work we have started here together to create a safer, healthier and more sustainable world.
I hope you will join me in recognizing your family, friends, staff, professors and everyone in our community who has supported you through your educational journeys.
I want to close today by thanking all of you for choosing York and for acting as ambassadors for this institution.
Congratulations. Bonne chance. Miigwech.
Jamaican-Canadian writer Olive Senior wishes grads a ‘happy adventuring’
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By Alysia Burdi
During the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies convocation morning ceremony, held on June 15, Olive Senior, an award-winning Canadian writer and public intellectual of Jamaican heritage received an honorary doctor of laws from York University.
Senior addressed convocation sharing one lesson she learned early in life that has sustained her throughout life.
“Like others in this room, perhaps, I was not born with a silver spoon or with very much, really,” she said. “I had no plan and didn’t know what to expect of life. I grew up in a mountain village on the island of Jamaica – at that time still a colonial state. We were more or less self-sufficient as small farming communities were at that time, but with little in the way of opportunity. I didn’t get many presents. But I had one gift, the gift that all children are born with but which many, unfortunately, lose along the way. That is, the gift of curiosity.”
Honorary doctors of laws recipient Olive Senior addressing convocation
Curiosity, as Senior explained it, is an attribute that is innate. “We are born surveying the world, but we often lose the gift in the process of being claimed by and inducted into the world.”
Senior said her curiosity has continued to allow her to ask questions and seek answers. It is the engine that has driven her life and her work.
Senior is among a rare group of Caribbean Canadian women writers whose consistent and abundant output is widely read around the world. She has mastered multiple genres – fiction, non-fiction, drama and poetry. Her work has been translated into French and Spanish and forms an essential part of any university curriculum dealing with Caribbean or postcolonial literature.
Recalling her life as not a simple journey, but a challenging adventure, Senior made reference to her first role model, the heroine of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass. Carroll’s iconic story has been loved and enjoyed by generations of children, with the curious, quick-witted Alice at its heart who falls down a rabbit hole and in a surrealistic series of adventures confronting a world seemingly turned upside down.
“A world that does not make immediate sense, but is a puzzle that has to be unravelled. A world increasingly like our own,” said Senior.
What resonated with Senior at a young age was following the journey of Alice, a young protagonist her age trying to make sense of things, including her own identity crisis.
“This activist stance had an indelible effect on me as a child, so much so it became the template for how I have proceeded both in life and in art. Everything I have ever written comes from a confrontation with something that is a puzzle to me, something that I need to unravel. It may be a short poem or a heavily researched book about, for instance, my grandfather’s generation that built the Panama Canal or an Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage that I tackled, single-handedly over many years. Each of the nearly 1,000 entries was a response to my wanting to punch through the darkness of the unknown and open up to myself and others truth and light,” said Senior.
In her literary work, largely rooted in the Black Atlantic space, Senior has unearthed historical truths long hidden. She noted that “for only by making sense of the world can one find oneself.”
Senior added a stubborn curiosity is the main ingredient to confront the unknown and pave the way through, because only through curiosity can lives truly be enriched, make for better citizenship, better workers, parents, leaders and influencers.
“We should never let go of that desire to find things out for ourselves, to feed our imaginations, to know. Only by continuing with the quest can we nourish ourselves and enhance our world, create a life that is more just, equitable and humane for everyone,” she said.
Senior asked graduates to consider “who are the leaders in this new world but the very people who are most curious, the most willing to explore and investigate, the ones who use their imagination.”
She told students they are “standing on the edge of a new world” and to let go of some certainties and embrace the “other side.” She explained, “University has equipped you with the tools to acquire knowledge; I hope that among your tools will be a reawakening also of the child in you, the one eager to explore, to challenge and to ask questions; that will awaken the spirit of adventure needed to journey down this rabbit hole. Nothing has prepared us for the moment, but we can seize it with courage and curiosity.”
In closing, Senior quoted her childhood role model. “As Alice says, ‘It is no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’ And I might add: The world was also different then… happy adventuring.”
Honorary degree recipient Anna Porter dissects the fragility of freedom
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By Jenny Pitt-Clark
Pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, Zoom lectures, protests, occupations and the war in the Ukraine all served as a backdrop for the convocation address delivered by publishing legend Anna Porter to graduands of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies during York University’s Convocation ceremony on June 15.
Porter, who was on the York University convocation stage to receive an honorary degree, spoke on the theme of freedom. “I thought I would talk today about freedom. The freedom to write what you wish to write, to speak, to disagree, to take chances, to read what you wish to read, to be who you want to be,” said Porter.
A Canadian publisher, novelist and the founder of Key Porter Books, Porter is an officer of the Order of Canada and is the recipient of the Order of Ontario. She began her convocation address by recounting details of her own childhood beginning with her birth in Budapest, Hungary. “I was born in a dictatorship – a place where freedom did not exist, where you could not criticize the government, where writers were considered dangerous. They were silenced, imprisoned, sometimes killed for failing to support the government-approved narrative,” she said, noting that her grandfather, who was a publisher, was stripped of his company and put in prison for the simple act of speaking his mind. He was sentenced to 18 months of hard labour.
Anna Porter addresses convocation
Furthermore, she said that her family along with other citizens were not permitted to travel outside of their country. She recounted how her mother was twice imprisoned for trying to cross the border into Austria. “I was only five years old and quite enjoyed my couple of weeks in prison, but my mother had a very difficult time,” said Porter. “She lost much of her hair and her hands became arthritic from working with feathers and wool for stuffing. The second time, we spent only overnight in a jail guarded by Russians at the border.”
In Canada, Porter said that people take freedom for granted. “It is difficult to be enthusiastic about it because it’s the water we swim in every day,” she said.
Her history and important role as a publisher and writer has kept freedom at the front of her mind, more so now with the return by Russa to its autocratic roots and its invasion of Ukraine. “Sadly, Russia under President [Vladimir] Putin’s autocracy, has returned to the repressions of the Soviet era,” she said. “Since 1990, the number of murdered Russian writers has grown alarmingly, but not surprisingly. A regime that does not allow free speech, or a free press, will silence independent voices. The majority of Ukraine’s writers were ‘disappeared’ when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.”
So, it is no wonder, she said, that citizens of Ukraine are fighting back against Putin’s opinion that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was the world’s greatest geopolitical loss.
Quoting Canadian author Margaret Atwood, who noted that tyrannical governments silence writers because they represent the voice of individuals, Porter laid out in detail the persecution of writers in numerous countries, some of which included Ethiopia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
She highlighted that Canada and the United States are also on a dangerous and slippery slope into similar restrictions, saying that while “we do not imprison our writers, we are on a slippery slope when we ban their books.” She noted that some U.S. states have banned 2SLGBTQIA+ books and important Black and BIPOC authors in school libraries, while several school libraries in Canada have pulled classics such as Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Alice Munro’s novel Lives of Girls and Women and Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, which is a Canadian classic, from shelves.
Porter closed her master class with a congratulations to graduands and a cautionary plea to remember the fragility of freedom and not to take it for granted.
As a final closing salvo to those who would consider a blinkered restriction of freedom, Porter observed, “this year, the Durham school board wanted to pull all copies of The Great Bear from school libraries because it might be offensive to Indigenous Peoples. The author, David Robertson is Cree.”
Honorary doctorate recipient Silken Laumann shares message of courage to nursing grads
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By Ashley Goodfellow Craig
Even for a three-time Olympic medallist, published author and motivational speaker, there is still fear in life to overcome. This was the message that honorary doctorate of laws recipient Silken Laumann shared with the Faculty of Health’s nursing graduands during York University’s convocation ceremony held June 14.
Laumann is an advocate for mental health awareness and uses her personal experiences to inform and promote mental, physical and spiritual health. She overcame a career-threatening injury in 1992 when 10 weeks before competing as a rower at the Barcelona Games, an accident in the water caused her boat to shatter, driving more than 200 pieces of wood into her lower leg. She was told she would never compete again – but, less than three months later, won an Olympic bronze medal for Canada.
“Our dreams are so powerful,” she said.
She acknowledged the unique position of today’s graduates, earning a degree during a pandemic and missing out on experiences of university life.
Honorary doctorate recipient Silken Laumann
“I know that this university has worked hard to make that experience positive and enriched for you, but you have missed out and I am sorry for what you have missed in your university experience,” she said. “You are amongst the most adaptable, resilient, tough-minded graduating class in recent history. And today, you are all realizing a dream.”
With dreams, she reflected, can come fear.
Reflecting on her own dreams, which sparked at age 11, she recalls being inspired to become an author, athlete and humanitarian; however, with the vision she designed for her life, fear came in equal measure – fear of not succeeding, fear of falling short, fear of not being worthy.
“Fear is something we all experience; fear comes with the experience of being human,” she said. “And there are so many things that we call fear – we call it laziness, we call it lack of motivation, we call it not good enough, but it’s fear, and we face fear with courage.”
She shared an important observation that courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to feel the fear and challenge it.
At the starting gates of the Olympic finals, her knees were shaking and she felt fear knowing that everything she trained for over 10 years could be over in seven minutes. Fear, she said, tells us that our old beliefs about ourselves, and what we can accomplish, are coming forward.
“Every day that we can challenge that fear and meet it head-on is a day that we have won. You are winning today.”
Fear can also get in the way of moving forward, she said, and encouraged graduands to embrace the possibility that there is no perfect path ahead. Instead, the most important thing is to keep moving. Consider what the next best thing might be, whether that’s an internship, travelling the world or focusing on mental health.
Seven years ago, she shared, that she found the courage to write her personal memoir Unsinkable, a story of growing up with a mother who had undiagnosed serious mental health challenges and how it affected her life, her beliefs and her self-worth. In the book, Laumann also gets earnest about her own struggles with clinical depression and anxiety. Publishing this book was terrifying, she said, but she found the courage to be vulnerable and share her experiences because what she learned is everybody has a story, and everybody has something to overcome.
“You, the next generation of nurses, are going to be the generation to have the courage to have authentic conversions, conversations that have meaning, conversations that help one another – not only with your mental health but with your happiness and joy as human beings,” she said. “As you search for your next path, remember to start anywhere. Start with action, find and explore your passions, take risks and have the courage to care, to care about other people when you are tired and overwhelmed, to take that extra moment to listen to one another, it matters.”
Acclaimed jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington speaks to importance of a purpose-driven life
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By Alysia Burdi
On Tuesday, June 14, Terri Lyne Carrington, a professor and internationally respected drummer in jazz was awarded an honorary doctors of letters from York University at convocation.
An accomplished musician, Carrington has won three Grammy awards and was the first woman to win a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. She is a graduate from the Berklee College of Music and now serves as artistic director and founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. Carrington is both pioneering in jazz music performance and building the pathway for women performers in music.
Addressing graduates of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), Carrington started off by thanking York University for the honour.
“I am so happy and sometimes still a little shocked that people value creative artists enough to honour a jazz musician in this way, and it gives me hope, actually, but it doesn’t come as a surprise, especially as what Sarah [AMDP Dean, Sarah Bay-Cheng] alluded to with your former chancellor being Oscar Peterson, which was amazing and also very important to me and as she mentioned it was responsible in a sense for me getting a scholarship at 11 years old to Berklee College of Music, so I am forever indebted to him because that changed my life,” she said.
Above, from left: York University Chancellor Gregory Sorbara, Terri Lyne Carrington, and York University Provost and Vice-President Academic,Lisa Philipps
Carrington reflected on her early life in a career that can be referenced as one that is “self-absorbed” or that praises accolades. She recalls having an empty feeling, a sense of uneasiness when receiving compliments and shying away from attention, forming a love-hate relationship with her work seeing that it was validation of her work but also made her question the nobility of her chosen path, comparing her work to those in medicine, education, social justice and more.
Carrington said she questioned her own worth, including being deserving of her pay and having fun while being awarded for it at the same time… that was until she said a “a light bulb turned on.” She expressed, “the marginality of men being paid more than myself and don’t question themselves at all, and second, I was not consciously actively trying to make a difference.
“I should have more women peers, and I should not be the exception; and if I am not part of the solution, then I am part of the problem, and this was a watershed moment for me,” she said. “Once I realized that a life of work contributing to the benefit of humanity to something bigger than my own personal joy to be purposeful with my actions, to have a mission attached to it was not only noble but actually necessary for me to truly be happy – once I realized all of this the stars aligned for me even more.”
Carrington noted this was the advice she wanted to leave with graduates as they embark of the professional world. Noting how lucky they all are to be part of community and university with values that are committed to social justice, global concerns, public good and more, Carrington expressed the most important way to move forward is with a purpose-driven, mission-oriented life.
“In fact, your generation is so much further ahead in these ways, and I applaud all of you. Make your life meaningful and noble,” she said.
Carrington explained to be noble is to be honest, to have integrity, be generous to others, show compassion and bravery, noting the most important trait to recognize is being selfless is a practice.
“It feels good when you are able to accomplish, it but it is not always easy,” she added.
Six years ago, Carrington met Berklee College of Music’s Women in Jazz Collective. In her address, she shared how she learned the stories of these women, stories that either brought tears to her eyes or filled her with anger. She said that she wanted to support these young women in particular. “Not only did I need to help with their education and intersectionality, power dynamics but educate myself and the more I understood, the more I shared what I knew with my peers both male and female,” she said.
“In jazz I wondered how it is possible that we all signed off that this is ok that men play the music and women sing it and this was basically an unwritten code that we all accepted it to be, which now seems to me to be totally crazy… the changes I see in this art form really encourages me because if jazz can make significant shifts in a short period of time, then it’s possible anywhere,” she said.
She recalls one of her mentors, jazz musician Wayne Shorter, once telling her that “music was just a drop in the ocean of life,” and it was a message that Carrington said helped her become focused, it informed her music and made it better.
“Be the person that affects environment than let environment affect you, write and play in order to see what would happen not because something works,” said Carrington.
She also encouraged graduates to find a mentor, noting beyond academia or the lecture walls, are also people who want to pass on their knowledge and wisdom.
Excited to see how society continues to evolve because of a new generation, Carrington recognizes at times she feels more like a student rather than a teacher. She applauded the graduating class by recognizing the role they play in advancing society.
“You have said times up in various ways, you said the lives of the marginalized matter, you demanded that the privileged put themselves in check, you’ve told politicians to go to hell, you’ve challenged your families and friends which is not an easy thing to do because it can mean losing something or someone dear to you, you all have limitless potential but it is wise to be mindful of your expectations as well to nurture your enthusiasm and most importantly your imagination,” she said.
Carrington said that in starting the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, the idea was to contribute to the collective work of setting new standards and shifting the narrative and transforming the culture of jazz without patriarchy. She notes, “this work has put me more in tuned with what I like to call the ‘rhythm of life’ much more than paying drums ever could. And when you’re in rhythm, you have instinct and wisdom you didn’t know you had.”
After a 40-year career, Carrington has found “there are no hard and heavy rules, being truthful, remaining open and finding the balance between extremes – the middle way – I find to be healthy.”
She told student the only right path, is the one they choose. It is not the one their parents or mentors choose for them. A purpose-driven life is rooted in the reason of being.
“When you find your flow, it will keep you up all night. If you’re lucky, it will give you strength when you thought you didn’t have it. It will feed you when there’s no food; it could even become your greatest love, something that will never let you down, and this is what I hope for all of you,” she said.
