(Read my introduction post here)

comin’ at you from 20 000 feet… HERE ARE THE CANDIDATE SLATES!

The Names

STRONGER TOGETHER vs CHANGE

Folks. I am not going to lie. The first thing I thought of when I heard “Stronger Together” was gosh, that’s awfully FASCIST… lots of little sticks being tied together to make one big overpowering totalitarian stick…… But that might be a personal sensitivity, since I’m well-aware that one of my greatest flaws is cynicism about individual action. As one of my dear friends said to me, “if there’s a revolution, and they were going around asking for names, I would not nominate you to be Minister of Individual Rights unchecked and without supervision*.” But other than my hypersensitive FASCIST-dar, the name makes a lot of sense for the candidates running. They are all very committed to the idea of student solidarity, and the possibility for a student movement to accomplish great things together. As Utah Phillips sang, when it comes down to it, a union is just a way to get things done together that you can’t get done alone. And like it says on the tin, UTSU is the University of Toronto Student Union.

“Change,” on the other hand, hits me at a very visceral level. Damn right, you can keep your coins, I WANT CHANGE!! Change the poverty overseas and in Canada, change the course of catastrophic climate change, change unjust market access and market control, change discrimination and various forms of oppression, and damn right I’m going to devote my life to fighting and changing the unjust circumstances that many of us are in. But then I pulled back from the adspeak and though: hang on, change what? Do they want to change the same things in the same ways that I do? After 8 years of the Democrats in 2000, I’m sure George W Bush was calling for Change, and yet last November, Change was absolutely central to the messaging of Barack Obama, a Democrat with a very different vision for the United States. Thinking back to some of the fascinating ideas raised by Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Kingwell at the social change forum two years ago at ConHall, in combination with having read Professors Heath and Potter’s book The Rebel Sell, ‘change’ occurs to me as a concept that can be marketed to everyone and anyone, a ready-made content-free slogan that can be packaged and sold in next season’s high-top all-star converse sneakers, if need be. For someone who holds very dear the promise of social change in way that can alleviate suffering and undue injustice, I’m going to give the next hipster wearing a mass sweatshop-manufactured Che tshirt the stink-eye. Sorry CHANGE slate, that includes you.

Personal Preference: neither. yuck!
Predicted average-six-notebook Josephine Student Preference: CHANGE
Advantage: seeing blogUT is by students for students and thus ought to defer to the masses** rather than singular blogger quarks, CHANGE

Next up: THE WEBSITES!

*to be more academic about it – I think human rights must also include ‘collective rights’ and some of those collective rights might in some circumstances, trump individual rights.
**see, what did I tell you! there goes my unconscious collectivist again.

Hello World! Hello Internet!

My name is Jiayi (blog, twitter) and I will be one of your two blogUT correspondents for the upcoming UTSU elections. Joseph Uranowski (blog, Twitter), the other blogger, will soon have some posts up as well.

Now, first things first; declaration of intentions. I can’t promise my posts won’t be partisan since I’ve spent a few hours volunteer with one of the slates already, but I can definitely promise to be entertaining, forth-coming, and spirited. My election promise this year is to tell it like it is – bare bones, warts and all. Even (and maybe – especially) if it might make the team I support unhappy. After all, isn’t that what democracy and freedom of speech all about?

What else would you like to know about me? I’m in materials science engineering (but currently not enrolled in classes – ugh looong story, but anyone asks in the comments, I can do my best to answer /toothy smile); I recently cut my own hair; I have a cat named Sam Clemens; my academic interests are in civic participation, sustainable development, organizational management. On campus I’ve been involved with equity issues in engineering, Engineers Without Borders, Student Issues Director on the Engineering Society (another looooong story there), and environmental programming at the New College Residences.

Here’s what! To allow you fine folks to know me better I will answer up to three questions each from first five commenters (or time and energy permitting) – to the best of my ability, whatever they are, whoever they are! Scouts honour.

Now I’m going to wrap it up before my introductory post gets too long. Long live democratic participation! Vivre l’université libre!

United Against Cancer is organizing a Relay for Life fundraiser on Saturday, March 20th. This is the Canadian Cancer Society’s largest annual fundraiser and it’s coming to our St. George campus for the first time ever! From 10 AM to 10 PM at the Sanford Fleming Building, students and supporters will be taking part in a 12 hour non-competitive walk to support cancer research and programs. Organizers for this event are hard at work planning a day full of activities, entertainment, and games. In fact, the U of T Dance Club will be performing during the day and even providing lessons for those of you keen on doing a little 1, 2 step. The Hart House Symphonic Band will also be there for some musical entertainment and of course, lunch and dinner will be provided.

If you’re interested in joining a team, find out more on their website here. The event is coming up so be sure to register soon!

As the Canadian Cancer Society says, this event is much more than just a simple fundraiser…”it’s an opportunity to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and fight back in the hope of finding a cure”.

When I woke up on the first day of March, the sun was aggravatingly bright and then it hit me: the Olympics were over. I recalled hazily the train wreck of giant beavers and mounties with Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan singing songs I liked when I was an angsty pre-teen and shuddered as I tried to bury that image in the graveyard of forgetfulness. True, the Olympics and the figure skating that I so eagerly awaited was gone, but I could still enjoy my pretty red Vancouver 2010 mittens as I rolled snow into a ball and threw it at my darling friend and fellow blogUT writer, Julia. Speaking of Olympic attire, here are a few fashion highlights and splats of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Read on »

This weekend on March 5th and 6th, the students of the University of Toronto International Health Program (UTIHP) hosted the Health and Human Rights Conference at the J.J.R. MacLeod Auditorium. Gathering a smorgasbord of scholars, professionals, thought-leaders, and concerned and socially-conscious youth, the HHRights Conference was a two day affair that sought to tackle the crucial but highly problematic issue of international aid and development. Asking hard questions about the current impact of aid, its current flaws, and potential solutions, the event generated truly thought-provoking and insightful discussions and conversations. Some highlights include:

1. Opening performance of “Broken Land – A Song for Haiti” by JC and Karim.

I have no idea who these guys are (fellow U of T students, I presume) but what a way to start the conference! A soulful performance with equally riveting lyrics that set the mood for the rest of the evening. Have a listen to the song here…

2. Opening Keynote presented by George Roter

Engineers without Borders Co-founder and Co-CEO George Roter kick started the event by sharing his experiences during his time in various African countries, drawing the link between the rather abstract theme of aid and development to its human connection. After all, as he said, the conference is “about these human beings living in extraordinarily challenging conditions who want to see change for the better”. With a brief history of the development of aid and highlighting specific thought starters, George set the context for the conference reminding the audience that “we need to go beyond the idea of charity and start thinking about [aid] as opportunity, as partnership”.

Read on »

photo from blogTO.com

What can I possibly say that could even remotely capture the feeling that was the 2010 Olympic games? For seventeen days, this entire nation, the entire world, was glued to their TVs reveling in all the competition and the excitement. For seventeen days, Canada demonstrated to the world its incredible hospitality, the amazing talent of its athletes, and the absolute spirit of this great nation. For seventeen days, it was as if all the citizens of Canada were as one. We celebrated together when Bilodeau won that first gold on Canadian soil.  We mourned with Joannie Rochette after hearing about her loss and cheered her on as she courageously took the ice. We drank with Jon Montgomery as he marched the streets of Vancouver. Our hearts went a flutter watching the heavenly Virtue and Moir. We randomly burst into song, belting out our national anthem night after night. We rejoiced and wept together every time our athletes won (or lost). We groaned and moaned collectively when Parise scored that wretched goal in the last few seconds of last night’s game. And of course, we screamed, drank, celebrated and paraded down the streets together when Sid the Kid won us that glorious hockey gold! It has been riveting. Electrifying. Straight-up magical. Never before have I ever felt so proud to be Canadian and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve gotten misty eyed because of all this pride welling up inside of me! With a total of 14 gold medals, not only have our athletes set a personal best for our nation, they’ve set a record that the entire world has yet to beat! It’s been an amazing ride and regardless of whether you were watching the games from Vancouver, the local pub, or just your own living room, the feeling of euphoria has been undeniable and unstoppable.

And so, if I may indulge myself for one last time (everyone shout it with me now)…CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA!

photo from blogTO.com

Last night, jhr (Journalists for Human Rights) hosted its first ever tweet-up at the Cryptic Canvas Art Gallery. Now I already know the first thought that just ran through all of your minds: “What the hell is a tweet-up?”. Well, it’s a social gathering that gives the local online community the chance to come together and meet face to face…and if you’ve read any of my previous posts here at blogUT, you’ll know I’ve written a few posts about events like these.

As the co-organizer of #tweet4rights, let me give you the low down on what the whole night was about. The premise behind #tweet4rights was to educate jhr’s online followers, many of whom are avid users of Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, of how they could use social media as a means of sharing and promoting Rights Media – media pieces that create societal dialogue on human rights related issues. The whole idea for the event emerged with the realization that more and more ordinary citizens all around the world are using social media tools to reach out to a global audience to report on and expose the rampant human rights violations that are occurring every day. In the past few months, examples of this have been taking the headlines of major news sources (does Iran or China ring a bell?). The use of social media as a tool to raise and spread human rights awareness is becoming so much more prevalent these days that in 2009, a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that for the first time, more online based reporters were arrested and detained that traditional mainstream journalists.

Read on »