“Ring Around the Rosie” is not about the Black or Bubonic plague. Don’t believe me? Check it out.

Take a moment to think it over. Then, take a moment to realize just how much of your life you’ve probably spent believing this. You’ve just been Snoped.

Snopes.com is an American website run by Barbara and David Mikkelson dedicated to debunking urban legends and separating truth from public fiction. It’s one of many but undoubtedly the best, in no small part due to the thorough research done on all of the thousands of urban legends in its database. If it’s on Snopes, chances are it’s true.

Much of university life, especially towards the beginning, is rethinking and relearning what we thought we already knew. Our brains are stretched, our ideas tested, our political orientations switched around again and again. We are forced to reevaluate concepts and supposed facts we’ve taken to be self-evident our whole lives and inevitably conclude that they are false, that we were wrong. It’s scary and thrilling. Then again, that describes just about the whole UofT experience.

When, in September, I triumphantly produced a double-sided printout of the Snopes article on pop tab collecting for my family to gape at, I knew I was stirring up trouble. We’d been collecting pop tabs for years, making sure to pick them off the tops of cans before dutifully recycling the rest. We had a whole jar full of them waiting to be shipped off to that organization where they’re made into wheelchairs, or something. I’ll save you the time of reading the article and tell you that pop tabs have no special wheelchair property whatsoever. They’re just plain, old aluminum.

This moment briefly brought my family to a standstill. Years of what we thought was altruism down the drain. We recycled our collection and went on with our lives. We knew the truth and it made us miserable. The thing about debunking is that however important it may be, it’s not often desired. We don’t want to know that that cookie recipe we’ve been distributing is not sticking it to the man, or that the origin for an idiom we’ve been explaining to our friends for years has actually been false. It’s not so much a matter of enjoying self-delusion as it is aversion to uncomfortable truths; we wouldn’t prefer to be right but we don’t like that we’re not.

By the time you are an adult, you’ll probably have reached your own conclusions about the world and will have decided what you believe to be true. It will be difficult then to learn something contrary to what you already believe and, unlike when in university, you will probably react negatively to someone trying to tell you that what you believe is wrong. Now is the perfect time to explore the world of skepticism and debunking, when you’re open to new ideas and willing to accept that pop tabs probably aren’t going to get anyone a new kidney. The best place is to start is Snopes.com.

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it. - Albert Einstein

Not too long ago, I posted a press release for Green Dot Week and, this Wednesday, I decided to attend a Green Dot talk at Innis to learn more.

I’d first like to mention how impressed I was with the presenter, Cheryl. Incorporating personal experiences with violence to show how the Green Dot may actually be applied to everyday life, she also illustrated that the person doing the hurting is not necessarily the only one with a choice to make.

If you didn’t read the press release, you’re probably wondering what the heck the Green Dot is. Here’s a brief summary:

The Green Dot initiative focuses on ending act of power-based personal violence – Red Dots – which include partner violence, sexual violence, or stalking, through the use of the three Ds. As written on the postcard I received at the talk, the three Ds are:
Direct: ’If you think someone you know could be in an abusive relationship, tell them you’re concerned.’
Distract: ‘If you see someone trying to isolate someone else who has been drinking heavily, find an excuse to get that person safely out of the situation.’
Delegate: ’If you’re concerned for someone’s safety, but it feels dangerous to intervene, get other people to help, including security or police if necessary.’
(Please note that not all Ds will be appropriate for every situation – it’s up to you to decide which one will work best.)
The Green Dot initiative also works to support survivors and create a culture less tolerant of violence.

There’s a certain stigma when it comes to talking about violence. Yes, violence can be difficult to talk about, but it needs to be addressed if we ever want to see a world without it. Cheryl noted that you may need to overcome some personal obstacles, social/peer pressure, and/or the bystander effect (assuming that another person is going to deal with the problem), in order to work up the courage to put the Green Dot initiative into action. But you know what? In putting the Green Dot to work, not only could you be protecting someone from a dangerous situation, you could also be letting them know that you care about their wellbeing. In doing so, the Green Dot makes violence more visible, and offers survivors a sense of hope that they don’t have to suffer in silence.

I fully support this initiative, and I wear my Green Dot button to serve as a constant reminder of my duty to put the Green Dot to work and put an end to violence.

Are you interested in learning more? Check out Green Dot’s official website or Facebook Page, or attend the talk on January 24. Also, Green Dot is offering Green Dot Bystander Training Days, which are taking place on the following days:
January 28, 2012 at UTM
February 4, 2012 at St. George
Reading Week – All Campuses
Each training days will offer a full day of skills development and, at the end of the day, participants will receive a certificate of completion.

So, what’s your Green Dot going to be?

WHO: The Trinity College Dramatic Society

WHAT: Presents: God: A Play

WHEN: 8pm January 25-28, 2012

WHERE: George Ignatieff Theatre

Tickets
$10 adult
$5 student
general admission

Buy at www.uofttix.ca now!

————————–————————–—–

God: A play within a play about a play within a play.

Set in an Ancient Greek amphitheatre, God begins with a writer and an actor contemplating an ending for their play.

They soon realize that they are not in Ancient Greece, but in a University theatre in the present day.

Audience members become a part of the play, characters from other plays join in, and the line between theatre and reality is blurred as they all try to create something onstage with (literally) the help of theatrical devices from ancient greek theatre.

Stage, chorus, fates, ancient philosophy, and deux es machina, are affectionately torn apart in this comedy by Woody Allen.

Part parody, part postmodern, part satire, and part sincere, God is a hilarious and thought provoking picture of a play.

For more information, visit their Facebook group

Two things happened to me a few days ago that were ostensibly unimportant; but retrospectively striking.

The first thing that happened, was that a professor in a seminar I’m in this year asked the class, following our lively discussion of the week’s course material, what practical value we felt the course held, out of curiosity. At first, she was met with blank stares – this is, after all, a group of students taking a seminar, largely, I surmised, because this seminar so happened to be on an awesome topic. One student articulated this, noting that she was in the class out of academic interest – and what’s wrong with that, really? Undergrad would seem the time to learn about that which interests you, and not hesitate in that pursuit. There was some rambling about practical skills that could be gained from the course on my own part – and I maintain that beyond the value of the reading and assignments, any experience in a seminar setting has its own practical application – but it was agreed that it was a question perhaps worth returning to at the end of semester.

The second thing that happened, was that a cousin of mine, to whom I had recently sent a necklace I made in the mail, wrote on my Facebook wall thanking me for the jewelry. She added jokingly that perhaps I could make a career out of it – and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she meant that in the most complimentary, just-because-she-loves-the-necklace, not-at-all-related-to-the-value-of-my-undergraduate-degree sort of way. But still, it made me think. I absolutely love my program at U of T – I am beyond impressed with the amazingly precise, fascinating topics I have been able to study. But when I tell people what I’m studying, following a measure of curiosity, I am met with the question of what my plans are for after the completion of my degree. Will I need to find something else to make a career out of, when all is said and done? Will I end up doing something that is so far removed from my degree that these years won’t retain their meaning for me?

Which brings me to the present.

There is a certain preoccupation I have noticed for some time now with getting from point A to point B. Everything in life gets you from one point to another; everything is a trajectory. High school is a Point A that gets you to university, college, or whatever path you so choose or fall into – Point B. And the formula is easily applied specifically to university as well: undergrad is a Point A that can lead you to quite a selection of Point Bs: medical school, law school, graduate school, teacher’s college, straight into your career… There are many opportunities; but so far, in second-year, I don’t find that people (including third-years) have such a quick answer regarding what their plan is after undergrad, where as high school students seem to know their trajectory earlier on.

I’ve seen a lot of jokes lately on the internet and on television (notably on Daniel Radcliffe’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, in a hilarious and clever sketch called “You Can Do Anything”), poking fun at the age we live in for producing a generation that is ‘entitled’ in the sense of being encouraged to do anything we want, rather than forced into studying for obviously practical occupations. I do find it quite funny, and I think a lot of students share the sentiment that they can laugh at their lack of a clear trajectory or obvious practical application for their degrees. But that’s not to say that straight A science students who are obviously going to medical school, or political science majors who could have told you on your first day at U of T that they were going to law school, are any better than any other student, just because they have a very clear Point B.

A third thing happened to me, a few days ago. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, in a science program (but without a clear Point B as well), and she was telling me something really interesting she learned in a psychology class. It reminded me a lot of something I learned in a history class, which I then told her, and then we spent an hour or so discussing this historical anecdote I had offered in the context of this psychological phenomenon she had learned about.

Here’s what I’m getting at: there is a certain preoccupation with Point A and Point B – but for your undergrad experience to really resonate with you, you need to go beyond that line of thinking. This is a time to learn, so unique to any other academic experience you’ll ever have. This is about practical skills, certainly, and in any classroom at U of T, science, arts, engineering, you are guaranteed to gain those in one way or another, in the experience of attending lecture; taking notes; participating; writing, and so on. Of course, this is about Point B; getting the grades you need to get there, figuring out what you want that to be. But the essence of undergrad, as I see it, is developing a worldview; learning what your interests are and becoming a scholar in those fields; not just reading and writing about the world, but engaging with it, from whichever standpoint appeals to you. This is a time, more than to achieve high marks and get to the next step, to become intellectually actualized, establishing this new toolbox of knowledge that you can continually reference and build upon in your life.

U of T, for certain, is an excellent Point A; worth fully appreciating the pause, before rushing off to Point B. It’s not what you’re studying here, or where you’re going next, that makes your experience worthy: it is your engagement with your studies, the impressions that permanently mark your point of view; not the grades and the diploma and the plans you leave here with, but the person you leave here as.

This is a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the late 1940s, you could go to the Bank of Nova Scotia on the northeast corner of Spadina and Bloor, and then cross the street to buy some candy. In 2012, you can do the same thing!

The Rotaract Club of the University of Toronto, in collaboration with our sister and parent club, the Rotaract Club of Toronto and the Rotary Club of Toronto, are proud to present Purple Pinkies for Polio, a film screening fundraiser for End Polio Now.

For months, we have seen the “This Close” campaign at work. For years, Rotary
International, with the WHO, UNICEF and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention have worked together to eliminate polio. We are 99% of the way
there, but we need you to help eliminate the final 1%.

Invite your friends, family and colleagues, and enjoy a night of networking and fellowship. This film and event may be of special interest to students and faculty in health studies, development and international relations programs. Feel free to take advantage of this invaluable networking opportunity!

When: Friday, January 27, 2012 at 7:30pm (registration at 7:00pm)
Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox – Cinema 4
What: Screening of Benda Belili! - An informal reception will follow the screening
Why: Fundraiser for End Polio Now the Rotary $200 Million Dollar challenge

Tickets are sold online for $30 each. There is a limited number available.

Note: The original text has been slightly altered.

What kind of community do you want to live in?

The Green Dot campaign aims to create a community that doesn’t tolerate violence, one that cares about others, and supports a safer campus for everyone.

A Green Dot is any action that reduces the risk of power-based personal violence like sexual assault, partner abuse, and stalking. U of T is the first to implement the Green Dot strategy in Canada, and is supported by many different partners across the three campuses in student health services, campus safety, and beyond. Developed by Dr. Dorothy Edwards at the University of Kentucky, Green Dot is grounded in research that looks at the bystander effect, and why people do not get involved. Green Dot training helps students identify their personal obstacles in becoming an active bystander, and teaches specific skills to help students those obstacles, while staying safe themselves. The three Ds – Direct, Distract, or Delegate – are the skills students learn so that they can help their friends or acquaintances when they see the risk of violence.

The first annual Green Dot week, January 16-20, 2012, will showcase Green Dot and give students a chance to learn more.

Why a Green Dot? We start with the experiences of violence in our students’ lives – the red dots. A student has sex with another student when they are drunk and can’t give consent. A student is abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend, whether gay or straight, or stalked after a breakup. A red dot is an act of power-based personal violence, or choices to tolerate‚ justify, or perpetuate violence. The solution is the green dot – the individual choices that people make to do something – anything – to help others and make our community safer. A reactive green dot is pulling a friend out of a high-risk situation; a proactive green dot is striking up a conversation with a friend about how much this issue matters to you. What’s your Green Dot going to be?

To learn more about Green Dot and upcoming events, visit www.greendot.utoronto.ca.