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York invites community to participate in Safety and Health Week

two york students smiling and talking on campus BANNER

Safety and Health Week, which runs from May 6 to 10, 2024, spotlights the critical importance of health and safety in all facets of life — be it at work, home or within the community.

Throughout the week, York University will host webinars, activities and promotions related to workplace safety, health and connection. Faculty and staff are encouraged to participate individually or as a team to strengthen their sense of community and a shared commitment to health and safety.

“Safety and Health Week at York University is more than just a series of events—it’s a part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring a safer and healthier environment for our community,” said Laina Bay-Cheng, interim vice-president, Equity, People and Culture. “We look forward to seeing you participate and thank you in advance for your engagement. We truly are better – in all senses of the word – together.”

Events and Activities

Health, Safety and Employee Well Being (HSEWB) invites all employees to take part in a variety of virtual events and downloadable activities designed to foster a culture of safety and good health.

EventDescriptionDetails
Living Well With Stress

Led by TELUS Health		This seminar will teach participants how to effectively manage stress for optimal health, well-being, and workplace productivity.Date: Mon., May 6
Time: 1 – 2 p.m.
Format: virtual session
Who can participate? Staff, faculty and instructors
Register
Championing Trans Inclusive Workplaces

Led by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety		Join us for an enlightening and educational session with Dani Gomez-Ortega, a renowned diversity and inclusion champion.Date: Tues., May 7
Time: 11 a.m. – noon
Format: virtual session
Who can participate? Staff, faculty and instructors
Register
Introduction to Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Employees

Led by TELUS Health		This seminar introduces the meaning and significance of psychological safety at work and explores actions employees can take to contribute towards a psychologically safe workplace for themselves and their teams.Date: Tues., May 7
Time: 1 – 2 p.m.
Format: virtual session
Who can participate? Staff, faculty and instructors
Register
Plain Language Helps Workplace Health and Safety

Led by Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety 		Join writing and design expert Jocelyn Pletz, as she demonstrates how plain language and design principles connect with effective health and safety communication.Date: Wed., May 8
Time: 11 a.m. – noon
Format: virtual session
Who can participate? Staff, faculty and instructors
Register
Posture Do’s and Don’ts – Chair Setup

Led by Health, Safety and Employee Well-being 		A 30-minute interactive demonstration on how to understand and adjust your ergonomic chair. No equipment required.Date: Wed., May 8
Time: 1 – 1:30 p.m.
Format: In-person drop-in, York Lanes Room 280A
Who can participate? Staff, faculty and instructors
Register to receive a credit on YU Learn
Posture Do’s and Don’ts

Led by Health, Safety and Employee Well-being		A 30-minute seminar to learn the do’s and don’ts of neutral posture at your workstation.Date: Thu., May 9
Time: 1 – 1:30 p.m.
Format: virtual session
Who can participate? Staff, faculty and instructors
Register
Crucial Conversations for Managers

Led by Organizational Learning and People Excellence.		This course examines various communication models to help move individuals from disagreement to dialogue.Date: Fri., May 10
Time: 10 a.m. – noon
Format: virtual session
Who can participate? Managers
Register
B-Well BingoIt is important for our mental health and well-being to maintain social connections with colleagues. To help facilitate this, HSEWB has created a B-WELL Bingo that you can do as a team, or individually.Download Bingo card

For additional resources on ways to promote and sustain mental health and well-being, visit the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), HSEWB or Well-being at York.

To see more activities, or to learn more about the history of Safety and Health week, visit Safety and Health Week.

York University to mark National Day of Mourning

Vari Hall Plaza

Flags on York University campuses will be lowered to half-mast on April 26 and 28 in recognition of the National Day of Mourning, which honours individuals who have died, been injured, or suffered illness in the workplace.  

As the National Day of Mourning falls on a weekend this year, York University will recognize the event on Friday, April 26 with flags lowered to half-mast.

“On the National Day of Mourning, we remember those who lost their lives and those who became injured or ill in their workplace.  We reflect on the ways in which we can prevent future incidents and we reaffirm our commitment to developing and fostering a healthy and safe working environment for all York community members. Colleagues are invited to pause at 11 a.m. on April 26 to observe a moment of silence,” said Mary Catherine Masciangelo, assistant vice-president Human Resources and CHRO.

The National Day of Mourning was enacted on February 1, 1991, by an act of parliament. April 28 was selected because it coincides with the date of Ontario’s first Workers’ Compensation Act, approved by government in 1914. Canadian flags on Parliament Hill and at Queen’s Park will fly at half-mast on April 28. A minute of silence will be observed at 11 a.m.

To learn more about the National Day of Mourning, please visit: 

Employee Resources and Support

As a reminder, all York University employees and their immediate family members have access to confidential counselling 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), available at one.telushealth.com, or by telephone at 1-844-880-9142 (English), 1-844-880-9143 (French) and 1-877-338-0275 (TTY). There is also an online portal with 24-7 access and resources. Please visit yu link for additional information.

Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari

Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari SCOOP

Professor Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari has won the prestigious Google Research Scholar Program Award – worth $81,000 – to advance her work towards fair artificial intelligence in radiology

York U in the news: honey bees, Tim Hortons prizes and more

Honey bees face a multitude of complex stressors in the field
York University Professor Amro Zayed was mentioned on Earth.com April 18.

Tim Hortons blames ‘human error’ for false $55K Roll Up To Win prizes
York University Professor Suzanne Chiodo was quoted in the Toronto Star April 18.

Can Honeybees Adapt? New Research Examines the Resilience of Pollinators in a Changing World
York University was mentioned in Nature World News April 18.

See more ways York University is making headlines at News @ York.

Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change advances student learning and careers

Header banner for INNOVATUS

Welcome to the April 2024 edition of Innovatus, a special issue of YFile devoted to teaching and learning at York University. This month we showcase the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC), and its latest efforts to advance the creativity, learning, wellbeing, and careers of its students.

Innovatus is produced by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching & Learning in partnership with the Communications & Public Affairs Division.

In this issue, EUC invites York community members to share stories about its efforts in improving the learning – and lives – of its students.

As York’s newest Faculty, EUC takes pride in bringing innovative approaches to our teaching and learning environment. Less than four years into its existence, with a suite of newly designed programs, the Faculty is building a reputation for pedagogy that is inclusive, experiential and interdisciplinary, as well as being oriented towards shaping active citizens and changemakers. 

Our commitment to inclusion is most clearly manifested in the new Black Community Space that serves as a hub for Black students, staff and faculty from within EUC and beyond. Not just a place for relaxation and connection, the Black Community Space is also a site for the staging of discussion panels, dialogues and art exhibits, as well as our new Black Mentorship Program. An active approach to community inclusion is also evident in our Maloca Community Garden, where urban gardening is taught and practised, both for the York community and for adjacent local neighbourhoods. 

If the “hands-on” ethos of our community garden reflects our focus on experiential education locally, it is also found in field courses that allow our students to experience other urban settings and environments and to appreciate the circumstances of those who live there. This issue of Innovatus highlights an excellent field experience that takes students to Montreal. But it can also be found in many courses that integrate experiential components, and in our commitment to offering courses at the Las Nubes EcoCampus in Costa Rica. 

For a relatively small unit, EUC offers a unique breadth of ideas and approaches. Like many academic units focused on the environment, our teaching ranges from laboratory- and field-based science to the social sciences and the humanities, but we also go much further.  Unlike any equivalent Faculty in Canada, our teaching and research encompasses the arts as a form of understanding, expression and persuasion. This dimension of EUC’s teaching is manifested in our annual Eco Arts Festival, but is also found on a daily basis in our in-house gallery spaces and our newly renovated Wild Garden Media Centre, where Indigenous arts, languages and cultural production will be foregrounded. 

All of this work is intended to empower our students to make a real impact in the world. Our inaugural Green Career Fair in January was mounted in partnership with the Green Career Centre – founded by EUC graduate student Lauren Castelino. Such events help to connect our students with organizations that are fostering sustainable living worldwide. The same thinking lies behind our exciting new co-op program that will launch in the fall and will see EUC students placed in firms and organizations that are promoting a just and sustainable future. 

EUC is York’s smallest and youngest Faculty, but we like to think that our community – faculty, instructors, teaching assistants, staff, students and alumni – is making an outsized contribution to the University’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and a brighter future for both people and the planet. 

Thank you, 

Phillip Kelly
Interim Dean, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change 

Faculty, course directors and staff are invited to share their experiences in teaching, learning, internationalization and the student experience through the Innovatus story form.

In this issue:

Eco Arts Festival to showcase students’ environmental art
The Eco Arts Festival is an annual event that highlights artistic work from Environmental Arts and Justice students that looks to start conversations about ecological change.

Urban Studies students advance learning with Montreal field trip
In order to enhance her students’ urban studies learning, Professor Teresa Abbruzzese took a group of undergraduates to Montreal to apply their analytical skills.

Inaugural fair helps EUC students explore green career possibilities
The Green Career Fair, held in January, looked to welcome Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) and high-school students in order to help them pursue sustainability careers. 

Initiative provides community space for EUC Black students
Black students in York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) now have a dedicated community space in the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building (HNES) to use for meetings, workshops and informal gatherings. 

Eco Arts Festival to showcase students’ environmental art

artistic crafts earth hands heart BANNER

A banana fish is set to be one of the hits of the 2024 Eco Arts Festival, an annual explosion of artistic talent organized by the students in the Environmental Arts and Justice (EAJ) program in York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC), which marks its 30th anniversary this year.

The Eco Arts Festival is an environmental initiative where art is a catalyst for ecological change and a way to highlight the intersection of art and the environment in the EAJ program. It takes over the lobby and two exhibit spaces – Zig-Zag and Crossroads – in the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building, displaying visual arts and offering performances and readings.  

EUC_The Great Banana Fish migration cover 1

The banana fish, an organically shaped yellow creature, is the star of visual artist and an EUC master’s degree student Michael Bradley’s illustrated book, The Great Banana Fish Migration, a tale that he’ll be reading aloud at the festival later this year.  

This mythical creature fits well with this year’s theme, Beast Friends Forever, a title conceived by festival co-ordinator and EUC doctoral student Giuliana Racco and inspired by Professor Andil Gosine’s research into animal-human interactions and species loss. Gosine is an artist and curator who is the EAJ program co-ordinator. 

“Arts are a place for the students to contend with their anxiety about what is happening in the world, and to think about how we might respond to the crisis we face,” Gosine says. 

Many of the student-artists displaying their work in the festival were enrolled in one or both of Gosine’s two EUC summer courses: Environmental Arts Workshop (for undergraduates) and Cultural Production: Image (for graduate students). These three-week intensive courses are akin to “an arts residency,” says Gosine, who brings artists to class and encourages the students to take their research and passion for environmental issues and translate them in a way that challenges them to explore their creative instincts.  

A similar fourth-year course in the undergraduate EAJ program, Arts in Action, brings together both undergraduate and graduate students to realize the project they have been dreaming up.  

“Fourth-year undergrads and first-year master’s students use the course to deeply explore their interests, with dedicated attention to each of their projects,” Gosine explains. “It’s a rare opportunity to move from research on an environmental concern to exhibition of an artwork that might stimulate conversation and action.”  

As for the undergraduate EAJ program, Gosine considers it unique; he accepted a teaching position at York to be part of it. 

“It’s rare to have such a confluence of learning styles,” he says. “We are allowed to have an interdisciplinary approach. Here, you can be both an artist and a social scientist.”

Chrocheted Chickens

Among the art that festival attendees will see are Tess Thompson-van Dam’s crocheted chicken sculptures harking back to Victorian times when the elites brought chickens to tea parties; drawings by Andrew Carenza that reinterpret horses pictured in historical European paintings through a contemporary, Queer lens; work on historical and contemporary ideas of Eden; and the travelling banana fish. Bradley’s reading of The Great Banana Fish Migration and an Eco Arts collaborative workshop offer participatory opportunities. 

Bradley, an Ottawa Valley native, had a thriving art practice in Taiwan but returned to Canada for master’s studies. He has been drawing banana fish daily since 2018 and creating stories about them. The current book talks about the fish’s journey to find its place in the world and how that might always be changing. 

“I’m not commenting on the politics of migration in a direct way, but when people migrate they have a confused sense of place. I hope people can relate,” he says. “There are a lot of ways that art and environmental science can intersect,” Bradley adds. “I’m not a politician or a policymaker, but artists, creators and curators are part of the cultural community, so if the environment requires a cultural shift, artists are the best people to usher in this change.” 

Bradley’s work, and the Eco Arts Festival, will have that on full display.  

Urban Studies students advance learning with Montreal field trip

Montreal skyline

Living in the Greater Toronto Area, it’s not complicated for students in the Cities, Regions, Planning program at the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) to assess Toronto’s strengths and weakness, but an annual field trip to Montreal allows them to apply their analytical skills elsewhere.

For five years, Teresa Abbruzzese, an assistant professor and urban geographer, organized a field school – a short-term academic program consisting of mentored field research – in the fall for third-year Urban Studies students in her research methods course in the Department of Social Science in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.  

She was excited to bring this experiential learning opportunity to her new home in the Cities, Regions, Planning program for her third-year course, Doing Urban Research: Theory & Practice, for the Fall 2024 term. 

The initiative gives students a chance to experience another city, using participant observation while taking notes and photos and having conversations with local citizens. The trip is mandatory and the costs are low, but there is a day trip to Hamilton, Ont., for a cheaper alternative. 

“The trip enables our students see the historical and contemporary issues facing Montreal and to develop a comparative understanding of cities,” said Abbruzzese. “It’s also important to give them the opportunity to do preliminary fieldwork.” 

“The point of the trip is to prepare them to work on their own individualized research project,” she said. “It trains them to be social scientists and allows them to hone their academic skills, such as critical analysis, research and writing.” 

Members of the Montreal field trip
At City Hall, (Front Row, L to R): Prof. Doug Young,  Prof. Teresa Abbruzzese, Councillor Sterling Downey, Prof. Silvano de la Llata (Concordia University), and Prof. Mike Cado right (Music, York); other rows: third-year students in Urban Studies/Cities, Regions, Planning 

The Montreal field school emerged from a political moment in history when Donald Trump assumed the American presidency in 2017. Abbruzzese and her colleagues in Urban Studies at the time decided to halt the field school to Buffalo – the original international location of the field school for many years – and instead they chose Montreal as the setting.  

Once the Canadian city was decided, Abbruzzese thoroughly enjoyed the creative process of putting together a new field school.  

“Logistically, it’s never easy to execute, but I strive to enhance the field school experience each year,” she said. “All the guest speakers make this field school special and welcome our urban group from York University back each year.” 

She, her students, and other professors boarded a Megabus for the ride east and followed a packed itinerary that included historian/expert-led walking tours of neighbourhoods such as Saint-Henri, Montreal North, Little Burgundy and Mile End; a visit with City Councillor Sterling Hall – who has experienced homelessness – and a tour of City Hall; and talks by professors from Concordia University.  

The students packed a lot into the trip, getting a sense of the richness and diversity of Montreal. They saw poverty and affluence, arts and industry. They gained an understanding of some of the city’s challenges with issues such as housing, transportation, socioeconomic disparities, public spaces and heritage as well as the French-English divide, said Abbruzzese. 

“All of this sparks comparative analysis in their heads and they begin to ask a lot of questions,” she said. “They’ll use all of this to create a manuscript – a fieldwork diary organized around themes. They’ll organize, reflect, and analyze their empirical notes and contextualize their observations with broader scholarly conversations in Urban Studies.” 

Just as important, noted Abbruzzese, is that the trip serves to transform the class from individual students into a community.  

“It is a tradition for professors from the program to join this field school, so that students have an opportunity to get to know the other professors in the program, and professors get to know the students,” she said. “Professor Doug Young from the Urban Studies program has joined me on this field school from Buffalo to Montreal for the last eight years. Students have always appreciated sharing this experience with other professors from the program, which made the experience more memorable.” 

“In addition, students become a support network for each other and become more connected after this field school,” she said. “They’re all friends afterward.” 

Vanessa Reynolds
Vanessa Reynolds

Vanessa Reynolds, a third-year geography and urban studies major, confirms that. “This was a group that hadn’t talked to each other in class, but we all bonded and, now, we’re really friends,” she said. “It was such a great experience; I’d recommend that anyone do it.” 

She found the trip eye-opening in many ways, and changed her perspectives. 

“I’m so Toronto-centric, but seeing Montreal gave me deeper insights into how a city runs, and seeing different parts of the city that people often don’t was amazing,” Reynolds said. Furthermore, she added, “I want to travel more. It makes you want to see the world. It was an experience that made university different.” 

Shazde Mir, a fourth-year urban studies major who plans to pursue a career in policy development or community planning, said Abbruzzese’s passion for Montreal made her glad she took the trip, as she got to know the city and gain insights into city planning. 

“I saw a different perspective of what it means to be an equitable city,” Mir said. “You can’t treat people as less than.” 

After visiting a working-class neighbourhood with prominent community initiatives that reminded her of Toronto’s Jane and Finch area, Mir wondered why cities have areas where a lack of investment from the government is visible. 

“I’ve started looking into tours here in Toronto to get to know the history of the city’s development,” she said. “I want to go back to Montreal and I’d like to visit other cities to see how different governments went about developing them, what the priorities were. 

“The trip solidified my love for Toronto. I want to see more progressive policies so we can create a more equitable city.” 

Ultimately, said Abbruzzese, “our objective is to produce graduates who are informed, critically engaged, and sensitive to issues of sustainability, social justice, equity and diversity.” 

Given the feedback, it is apparent she is meeting that goal. 

Stephen Brooke

Professor Stephen Brooke has published London, 1984: Change and Conflict in the Radical City, which takes a close look at historical events within that one year in the capital of England

Inaugural fair helps EUC students explore green career possibilities

Briefcase with potted plant on it

Over 300 interested York University and high-school students attended the inaugural Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) Green Career Fair in January. 

In partnership with the not-for-profit organization Green Career Centre, the event welcomed students to the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building to explore possibilities for careers that aren’t often well promoted, but for which there is a growing need among employers. A recent worldwide survey by the Manpower Group found that 70 per cent of employers are urgently recruiting or planning to recruit green talent and people with sustainability skills. 

The idea for the fair came from Lauren Castelino, a master of environmental studies student at EUC and founder of the Green Career Centre, who organized a fair last year, attended by EUC staff. The centre focuses on providing under-represented youth with green career opportunities, advancement and inclusion. 

Organizers from both the Green Career Centre and Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. From L to R: Joel Famadico Jr., Emma Bramante, Kenneth Ebhomeye Oko-Oboh, Lauren Castelino, Gayathri Baiju, Joanne Huy, Rosanna Chowdhury, Shaniah Hutchinson, Tomisona Oludairo, Bottom: Lester Pinlac
Organizers from both the Green Career Centre and Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change.
From left to right: Joel Famadico Jr., Emma Bramante, Kenneth Ebhomeye Oko-Oboh, Lauren Castelino, Gayathri Baiju, Joanne Huy, Rosanna Chowdhury, Shaniah Hutchinson, Tomisona Oludairo, Bottom: Lester Pinlac

“We mutually thought it would be a great idea to expand the reach of the initiative by working together,” said Castelino, who is also pursuing a diploma in Business and the Environment from EUC and the Schulich School of Business. “EUC’s facilities were much larger than the first venue we used … and we were also appreciative of the staff support we could receive through the collaboration.” 

“We intentionally held our full-day event on the same day as the university-wide Career Fair hosted by the York Career Centre as a way of taking advantage of the synergy,” said Joanne Huy, an alumna who graduated in 2015 and is now the alumni engagement and events officer for EUC. “Staff at each event suggested that attendees visit the other fair, too. It was a win-win situation.” 

The partners invited EUC students and alumni to participate and invited everyone from York and the local community to attend. The day featured a morning of workshops followed by the career fair. The workshops included a presentation about net-zero programs given by staff from York’s Sustainability Office, a session focused on green job resources and a panel featuring EUC alumni. There was also a speed networking event matching alumni with groups of students for more intimate conversations. 

Participants speaking to vendor at the fair
Participants speaking to vendor at the fair

“I’m dedicated to empowering the next generation of changemakers, so it was great to invite our alumni panellists back to campus to share their career paths and discuss how EUC prepared them for the future,” said Huy. “We have 13,000 alumni worldwide and they are eager to contribute. It’s meaningful to them and to our current students.” 

The Green Career Fair itself featured booths set up by more than 20 organizations involved in environmental work, including the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority, the Community Climate Council and Outward Bound. Participating organizations focused on issues such as food insecurity, environmental policy, environmental arts and environmental education. Exhibitors showcased jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities. 

Muzamil Gadain, an alumnus who graduated from EUC in 2023, works as a project co-ordinator for the Black Environmental Initiative, an organization that works to foster change that considers cultural roots, including issues such as food security and food sovereignty. He, along with a co-worker and a volunteer, used their booth to recruit volunteers. 

“We weren’t actively hiring, but there were volunteer roles we needed to fill,” said Gadain. “About 20 volunteers signed up, so it worked very well. We also had an opportunity to network with other like-minded organizations and made some good connections. 

Muzamil Gadain and his colleagues from the Black Environmental Initiative boothing at the fair
Muzamil Gadain (left) and his colleagues from the Black Environmental Initiative boothing at the fair

“Our supervisor was very pleased to have access to university youth and we are happy to be able to help them develop their skills. Some of them have already made contributions by developing social media content and contributing to articles. It was a worthwhile event and we would definitely do it again.” 

Emma Bramante, an EUC work-study student who is majoring in sustainable environmental management, helped organize the event by doing outreach to organizations and potential employers. She also contributed to the development of marketing materials and helped to raise awareness to students, alumni and organizations. 

The high turnout delighted her and she is eager to see the Green Career Fair blossom and grow. 

“I anticipate an expansion in the scope of exhibitors, with a broader range of organizations participating, including both established environmental companies and emerging grassroots organizations and non-profits,” Bramante said. “Furthermore, I anticipate the integration of virtual components into the fair to increase accessibility and reach a wider audience beyond the local community.” 

Castelino, too, was thrilled by the interest the Green Career Fair generated. 

“I was so ecstatic to see this event come to life, and to reach more under-represented youth,” she said. “Some highlights included having three workshop presenters, four speakers, eight sponsors, 21 vendors and 300-plus attendees. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to share my knowledge through a Green Jobs Resources Workshop.” 

In June 2023, led by Castelino, Huy and Rosanna Chowdhury, the Green Career Fair was one of four applications awarded funding through the Sustainability Innovation Fund. The Faculty has now built the event into its annual budget. 

“Going forward, the fair will also give us a chance to build relationships with organizations as we develop our EUC co-op program,” Huy said. “The synergies are beautiful to see.” 

Initiative provides community space for EUC Black students

Two Black students walking inside on York's Keele Campus

Black students in York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) now have a dedicated community space in the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building (HNES) to use for meetings, workshops and informal gatherings. 

EUC's Black Community Space
EUC’s Black Community Space

The EUC Black Student Caucus spearheaded the initiative to obtain a dedicated community space, says Melissa Theodore, a decolonization, equity, diversity and inclusion (DEDI) advisor for EUC. It is one of the objectives stated in EUC’s Black Action Inclusion Plan 2020-25. The space was created to support a community of students, staff and faculty, providing them with a location where they can engage with one another on themed discussions and promote Black excellence, while furthering a sense of community and connection, as well as student academic and personal success.

The equity committee at EUC first held a space equity dialogue to determine what students’ needs were before approaching Dean Alice Hovorka. The dean allocated HNES 248 to them, and the caucus held a launch event there on Oct. 5, 2023. The space has been open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays ever since. 

“The space is important because Black students felt it was necessary to have a place where they could speak freely, be themselves, meet other Black students and form bonds,” Theodore said.  

“It also adds to our recruitment and retention opportunities, because it should encourage more Black students to enrol in our programs. There is a low number of Black students in some of our programs, but the numbers are increasing and we want to keep the momentum going. What better way than for them to have their own space?” 

The space will also serve as the central hub for Black Mentorship Program initiatives, providing students with support in fostering self-discovery to establish personal and academic goals that align with their individual identities and aspirations. 

Theodore hopes to form a sub-committee of the equity committee to guide the space and ensure that its care and programming are sustainable. Currently, programming is led in partnership between EUC’s Alumni Engagement and Experiential Education teams, and work-study students Shaniah Hutchinson and Tomisona Oludairo. Both are EUC undergraduate students who have taken responsibility for programming under Theodore’s guidance. 

Tomisona Oludairo
Tomisona Oludairo
Shaniah Hutchinson
Shaniah Hutchinson

“It is supposed to be a space for students run by students,” Hutchinson said. “It allows students, faculty and staff to celebrate their culture and heritage and it fosters solidarity and social justice.” 

Oludairo noted, “We want to promote cultural resilience, organize events and manage programs. We are looking for feedback from students about events and programs and are reaching out to the Black community.” 

The space has hosted a number of events to date.  

In November, a panel of EUC’s Black graduate students from various programs assembled there to share information about their pathways into their graduate program and their experiences of coursework, funding, research and the graduate community. EUC graduate assistants were also on hand to answer questions about graduate programs. 

In January, Black Voices, a film screening and storytelling event, was a collaboration between EUC and Black Excellence at York. It showcased Black filmmakers, including York students and graduates. The films screened focused on social and racial justice issues, and the films were followed by a discussion. 

For Black History Month in February, the Faculty sponsored a panel called Navigating Blackness Within the Workplace. The panellists, alumnus Masani Montague (managing director, Masani Productions); Muna-Udbi Abdulkadir Ali, an assistant professor at EUC; and Miquela Jones, a second-year interdisciplinary social science student, offered their insights into the working world and shared strategies for navigating the workplace. 

When the Faculty’s Eco Arts Festival takes place, the space is slated to be home to a collaborative art workshop, jointly sponsored by the Black Caucus, Black Excellence at York and Eco Arts. 

When the space isn’t hosting events, it is open to students as a gathering place. They can sprawl on the bean bag chairs and sip a cup of coffee made in the nearby kitchen, chat with each other or read. 

“We want people to enjoy the space,” said Hutchinson. “It’s a comfortable, relaxing area and a place they can unwind.” 

To use the space after hours, HNES 248 can be booked free of charge by reaching out to the Office of Student and Academic Services team at osasinfo@yorku.ca.