Community

From the oil sands to politics: New grad Eli Rose aims to use his voice to empower others

siddiq22 — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:29:21 +0000

From the oil sands to politics: New grad Eli Rose aims to use his voice to empower others

siddiq22 Tue, 06/20/2023 - 16:29

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Eli Rose says his undergraduate experience taught him how to articulate his ideas as an advocate (photo by Shayla Anderson)

Cynthia Macdonald

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2023

Graduate Stories

Community

Faculty of Arts & Science

Innis College

Political Science

Student Life

Subheadline

Getting involved in student leadership helped underscore U of T political science graduate's interest in building community

Eli Rose has a reputation for asking challenging questions – and he intends to continue asking them, as an advocate for those who cannot.

A longtime mentor and community organizer, Rose – a member of Innis College – graduates this week from the University of Toronto with a degree in political science.

As he leaves the undergraduate life and prepares for graduate school, Rose spoke with Faculty of Arts & Science writer Cynthia Macdonald about how his many leadership activities have prepared him for his ultimate ambition: a career in politics.

How did you come to study at the University of Toronto?

I had a full life before coming to U of T, having graduated from college with a marketing diploma. I worked in the oil fields of Alberta, then went back to school for another certificate. But it was always my dream to go to U of T. When my mom’s sister, to whom I was close, passed in 2018, I decided to dedicate the next part of my journey to honouring her.

You’re going to do a master’s degree in political science in the fall. Why did you decide on that field?

I have my own political aspirations, actually! Being in government has always seemed very interesting to me. I grew up in Malvern, in the northeastern part of Toronto. It’s a part of the city with many issues such as street violence and a lack of essential services. I was advocating for solutions to problems like that even before I knew that I could be an advocate professionally. I was already thinking about different ways to make life a little more just for people there, supporting communities that needed a bit more help.

But it wasn’t until I came to university that everything came together. I started to see who I am and what I wanted to do – the kind of change and impact I’d be able to create.

You’re the winner of a student leadership award and you’ve improved the student experience at your college and beyond. What initiatives did you participate in?

I first got involved with the Association of Political Science Students. That led me to get involved with the undergraduate chapter of Black Future Lawyers, where I was vice-president of finance and helped the founder recruit the rest of the board.

But where things really took off for me was when I became a student mentor at Innis College at the tail end of my second year. I helped with training and offered support. I met a lot of good people and found I was able to empower others, especially first-year students. From there, I started building relationships and worked on the Innovation Hub to help redefine the student experience.

All these experiences gave me the confidence and the courage to go after things I wanted, or even just to voice my opinion. One of my ideas was to create an identity matching system for mentors: aligning students with mentors who matched their backgrounds and interests. I was also one of the first two Black orientation coordinators and was on the working group of the Black Student Experience at Innis, making a point of ensuring that the group would be sustainable after its founders had graduated.

You seem to have a real focus on empathy, identity and the empowerment of individuals, whether at school, work or elsewhere.

I think that comes from my own experience of feeling undervalued – showing up to the workplace in a way where I’m not bringing my true self. There’s a lot of overlap between my working world and my academic world – it’s just different language.

As a young teenager growing up in my neighbourhood, I saw how power dynamics could negatively affect my friends. Now that I’ve gone through university, I’ve been able to better articulate and visualize ideas in order to find solutions.

Why have you decided to pursue a future in politics?

My senior thesis really changed me. I chose to research political career structures – in particular, how identity conditions people’s lived experiences and careers. Working on that gave me the clarity to proceed with where I’m going next.

We’re in an era of political mistrust and multiple truths – and that’s a barrier for those who might consider a career in politics. But if you really want to effect change, the political arena is the best place to do that. We elect people to represent us, and those are the people making the decisions. Why wouldn’t I want to have a seat at the table, especially to act for those who haven’t been represented?

Opening myself up to criticism will be difficult – but that’s okay, because I’m coming at public service from a space of truth and care and support. And I want to use my experiences – as a mentor, as a team lead, as a facilitator of discussions around identity – to help empower others and give them a voice. And this is the way I know how to do it.

Architecture graduate finds inspiration for community-building in mentorship and representation

siddiq22 — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 19:45:39 +0000

Architecture graduate finds inspiration for community-building in mentorship and representation

siddiq22 Mon, 06/12/2023 - 15:45

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New graduate Zanira Ali plans to continue mentoring other young people as she pursues an architecture career rooted in community engagement (supplied image)

Tina Adamopoulos

Topic

Our Community

Black Research Network

Convocation 2023

Community

Graduate Students

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Mentorship

Subheadline

'I want to be that person for someone': When Zanira Ali didn't see role models in her field, she decided to lead by example

Zanira Ali chose the University of Toronto to pursue her master’s studies in architecture because it was a place that she could explore her community-based approach to the field.

“I enjoy the community engagement aspect of architecture. I want to understand and hear from communities about how they interact with public spaces,” Ali says.

Ali is graduating with a master’s degree from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, determined to continue work that fuses advocacy for communities and architecture. Most importantly, she has her sights on making her mark – and impact – in mentorship within the field.

As a graduate, Ali was a mentee with the nonprofit Black Architects and Interior Design Association (BAIDA), where she was paired with a mentor from Diamond Schmitt Architects. The program gave her a chance to enhance her portfolio and ask questions about the field.

During her time at U of T, Ali became heavily involved in mentoring students interested in a career in architecture through the faculty. For her, it was important that students saw representation in the field.

“Growing up, it was difficult for me to find mentors – I didn’t see anyone or know of someone who looked like me and studied architecture. I want to be that person for someone who is interested in the field.” Ali says.

Ali volunteered with Somali Scholars, an organization that provides mentorship for Somali youth and undergraduates. She was also a mentor with the Building Black Success Through Design (BBSD) program, a 12-week workshop series which offers weekly sessions for Black high school students interested in architecture to be mentored by Daniels Faculty students.

Ali’s thesis project demonstrated how funds could be redistributed to create neighbourhoods full of opportunity for communities that rely on public housing (photo submitted by Zanira Ali)

The program’s theme this year was "building for belonging." Mentees made sketches and models to envision how to restructure public spaces in Toronto neighbourhoods and understand equity in architecture – a value that is the foundation of Ali’s work.

For her thesis project, presented in April, Ali explored how the architecture of prisons contributes to oppression. When she considered her thesis topic, Ali knew that she wanted to shine a light on the social aspects in architecture not typically highlighted in the field, which led her to base her project on the critique of design.

“It’s about critiquing the spaces of confinement and control that are designed by architects. These are spaces that specifically affect racialized, Black and Indigenous communities in Canada,” Ali says.

For example, the Toronto South Detention Centre cost $700 million to build – money that could instead go toward community services to build vibrant neighbourhoods and housing, Ali explains. Using this as a source of inspiration, she developed a project titled “The $69-Million Block” for her thesis presentation.

Ali designed a model neighbourhood featuring 20 row houses and services such as a school, community centre, library and a park to demonstrate how funds could be redistributed to create neighbourhoods full of opportunity for communities that rely on public housing.

“By using those numbers, I was able to add up to $69 million to create this community block. This demonstrates how one detention centre could build nine of these community blocks – and that’s how we should be allocating the funds.”

By exemplifying how funding can be streamed to strengthen communities, Ali built a case as to why prison reform is needed to break the cycle of overrepresentation of minority groups in Toronto’s incarceration system.

After convocation, Ali plans to seek out opportunities to further her passion for social justice, equity and architecture and will continue her role as a mentor with Somali Scholars and the BBSD program.

Ali says mentoring has given her an opportunity to learn from others, and also help youth from underrepresented groups succeed – something she wants to continue throughout her career.

“I’d like to use my experience here to further my interest in community engagement," she says.

"I’d also like to continue my thesis in the field and use architectural tools to explore the injustices in the realm of architecture and public spaces.”

Ali's advice for incoming students is to remember that personal connections are just as important as academics – and it’s important to find the balance in both.

“Join a club or association to connect with different people," she says.

"Be open to trying new things – even though it may seem hard at first, especially in your first year. It will be worth it in the end.”

Seven ways to connect with campus life at U of T

mattimar — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 18:41:07 +0000

Seven ways to connect with campus life at U of T

mattimar Mon, 08/29/2022 - 14:41

Cutline

Students explore the Highland Creek Valley at University of Toronto Scarborough (photo by Matthew Dochstader)

Topic

Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

This year’s back-to-school season promises to be bigger than ever at the University of Toronto.

With many upper-year students returning to campus in earnest after two years of virtual and hybrid classes, tens of thousands of students will be looking for ways to connect – or reconnect – with campus life.

So, whether you’re a first-year student or a returning student coming to campus for the first time this fall, here are a few suggestions on where to make friends and find your community – a key part of the U of T experience.

Get connected at Hart House

A hub of activity at U of T, Hart House is a picturesque space with an almost Hogwarts feel. Beyond the eye-catching architecture, there’s an art museum with year-round programming, a theatre, fitness centre, pool, basketball court and running track – and places to grab lunch.

Students can find a wide variety of speaker events focused on arts and culture, literature, and wellness, as well as a plethora of clubs for those interested in everything from archery and scuba diving to jazz music and film.

On Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hart House is hosting Xplore Hart House, an orientation and open house featuring free food, music, games and activities and more.

Hart House is located south of Hoskins Avenue, between Queen’s Park Crescent and Tower Road. There is elevator access to all floors of Hart House and accessible washrooms on the main floor outside of the Great Hall and in the Hart House Theatre lobby. There are two accessible entrances and exits on Tower Road and on Hart House Circle.

(photo courtesy of Hart House)

Catch up with friends at Innis Café

Before the cold weather arrives, grab a bite to eat at Innis Café and enjoy the rooftop terrace with a friend. A beloved institution among U of T students, Innis Café is located at 2 Sussex Avenue on the St. George campus. The café and bathrooms are accessible.

Long-time café owner Gunash Agar along with her husband and son make everything from scratch. Students can find a selection of daily breakfast and lunch specials, with vegetarian, vegan and halal options.

Get fit with your friends on the three campuses

U of T students looking to stay active or participate in intramural sports have plenty of options across the three campuses.

At U of T Mississauga, the Recreation, Athletics & Wellness Centre has two gymnasiums, three squash courts, an indoor track, swimming pool, dance studio, weightlifting room, soccer fields, facilities to play tennis and beach volleyball – and more. Located on Outer Circle Road, the fitness centre features group fitness classes as well as women’s-only programs. The indoor running track at the centre is accessible by an elevator. At the swimming pool, there is a lift that can be accessed from the whirlpool or the pool for individuals who may be mobility impaired. The change rooms are accessible.

Students at U of T Scarborough have access to the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, which is co-owned by U of T Scarborough and the City of Toronto. It features a fitness and aquatic centre as well as a field house and climbing wall. There is a variety of drop-in programs, including badminton, basketball, table tennis and pickle ball. The centre meets the highest provincial accessibility standards with two accessible change rooms, oversized elevators, wide routes, powered door openers, as well as enhanced seating and tethering areas for service animals in all aquatic halls and the field house. The training pool has a moveable floor to accommodate various water depths and mobility levels.

(photo by Matthew Dochstader)

On the St. George campus, the Athletic Centre is home to seven gyms, three pools, a strength and conditioning centre, indoor track, field house, dance studio, cardio machines, tennis and squash courts, steam room, among other facilities. Some gyms at the Athletic Centre – located at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Harbord Street – are accessible, including the strength and conditioning centre, sports gym, field house court and track lane, and dance studio. The Varsity and Benson pools are also accessible.

Students on St. George can also use the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, home to the U of T Varsity Blues basketball and volleyball teams. The facility, completed in 2014, features a strength and conditioning centre, fitness studio, sport medicine clinic, research and teaching laboratories.

Membership to all facilities is paid through a students' incidental fees and can be accessed using a TCard.

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Be part of the U of T Scarborough student hub at Highland Hall

Highland Hall is a central location on the U of T Scarborough campus that is home to hundreds of study and hangout spaces, the social sciences departments, a recently opened café, the registrar’s office, exam and conference centre, admissions and student recruitment office, the international student centre and much more.

The space – located on Military Trail – also features the Hub, U of T Scarborough’s entrepreneurship incubator. Students are welcome to work in the Hub to create and launch new business start-ups.

A cool feature of the building is the two large north and south-facing windows that depict maps of Scarborough in the 1960s and in the 2000s. The building has an accessible entrance and exit as well as an elevator indoors.

The U of T Scarborough campus is surrounded by beautiful green space and several walking and running trails. The Valley Land Trail provides an accessible link for students and the community to the Highland Creek Valley. The 500-metre-long trail features charging stations for motorized accessibility devices, multiple raised lookout points with accessible seating and LED lights built in for evening strolls. It’s a great way for students to connect with the campus, each other and the city of Toronto.

(photo by Matthew Dochstader)

Start a study group at Robarts Common

An airy new addition to Robarts Library on the St. George campus, Robarts Common is a five-storey study and meeting space for U of T students.

The multi-year renovations resulted in 1,200 new study spots, soundproof rooms with big screens to practice presentations and charging stations everywhere.

There are also accessibility features for individuals with hearing loss, epilepsy, and those with autism spectrum disorder. The study rooms have dimmable lights, the walkways are wider in width and there are automatic curtains to block natural light to help with sensory output. There is a mix of fabric and non-fabric chairs as well as carpet to keep noise to a minimum. There are different heights and configurations for working stations, too.

The Fourth Floor Heritage Room is another revamped area of the library that’s newly opened for the fall semester. The space is an accessible and accommodating study area with features to give students a balance between wellness and education, including standing and sitting desks, lounge seating, acoustic panels to improve sound quality and two SAD lamp therapy lounges.

(photo courtesy of U of T Libraries)

Gather at U of T Mississauga’s Meeting Place

The Meeting Place – inside the William G. Davis Building at U of T Mississauga – is a great place for students to grab a coffee or tea, catch up with a friend or form a study group.

The Meeting Place received a recent makeover with a redesign of the food services area, student services plaza, a new entrance to the building and more seating indoors and outdoors. Located on Inner Circle Road, there is an accessible entrance and exit into William G. David Building, as well as an elevator.

Other services inside the building include a bookstore, an accessibility resource centre, conference and events services, a career centre and health services.

Socialize at the new Student Commons space

Student Commons is a new space on the St. George campus for students to study, meet and socialize. It will host its grand opening on Sept. 6 from 12 to 4 p.m. There will be food, movies and a disco party to celebrate the new space, which is run by the U of T Students’ Union.

There are several meeting rooms and study areas with Wi-Fi throughout the building. Programs such as bike repair, a food bank, club spaces, events spaces are available. The prayer room, which includes two ablution spaces and smudging rooms, is undergoing construction and will be ready by the end of the year.

There are two accessible entrances and exits to the building – one is on Huron Street on the west side of the building and the other is on the east side facing the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. There is an elevator located at the centre of the building that runs from the basement to the 5^th floor and barrier-free washrooms on all levels.

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For more information on accessibility services, each U of T campus has a dedicated Accessibility Services office that helps students navigate the university based on their needs.

Talk it Out: U of T students provide free mental health counselling through online clinic

lanthierj — Thu, 13 May 2021 14:30:58 +0000

Talk it Out: U of T students provide free mental health counselling through online clinic

lanthierj Thu, 05/13/2021 - 10:30

Cutline

The Talk it Out clinic, a partnership between U of T's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and community agencies, offers free online or phone counselling to GTA residents disproportionately affected by COVID-19 (photo by Grace Cary via Getty Images)

Topic

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Graduate Students

Mental Health

Mechelle Thomas, a student at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW), is providing weekly online counselling to a young man who would otherwise be on a long waiting list for mental health services. The young man has no privacy at home and does not want his family to know that he is seeking help – so he speaks to Thomas from a park bench near his apartment.

The unique connection is made possible by the Talk it Out clinic, a partnership between the faculty and several community agencies.

It offers free online or phone counselling to Greater Toronto Area residents who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including Black and other racialized young people. Students in the faculty’s master of social work program deliver the counselling as part of their practicum under the supervision of professional staff and faculty members.

“I wanted to be part of this clinic because of its priority populations,” says Thomas, a second-year student who is studying Indigenous trauma and resiliency.

Having worked as a community health nurse for over a decade, Thomas says she was inspired to return to school to study social work after years of seeing clients and families struggle with mental health issues without access to adequate support. “The Talk it Out clinic is reaching those individuals,” she says.

Lin Fang (Photo courtesy of Lin Fang)

The idea for the clinic came to Lin Fang, an associate professor of social work and the clinic’s founding director, during the early months of the pandemic.

“I and many of my colleagues were feeling paralyzed and powerless, and we started thinking about how the faculty could help,” says Fang, whose research focuses on mental health in racialized communities.

“It quickly became clear that marginalized populations were experiencing the most negative impacts from COVID-19, including mental health concerns. At the same time, our students were having trouble finding practicum placements because of pandemic restrictions.”

Fang recognized the mutual benefits of bringing the two groups together: COVID-affected community members would receive timely access to mental health services and social work students would gain much-needed experiential learning opportunities.

The dean, faculty and Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work Alumni Association quickly threw their support behind the initiative and the advancement office secured a major donation from Janis Rotman, in addition to support from CIBC and the Telus Community Foundation.

“FIFSW’s innovative faculty and dedicated students are helping meet an urgent need for increased mental health support through the Faculty’s new online clinic,” says Rotman. “I am delighted to support this initiative and the Factor-Inwentash Faculty, which is doing amazing work in communities and touching lives.”

One of the first challenges, says Fang, was finding a way to engage the target communities. She began consulting community health centres in neighbourhoods with large Black and racialized populations. “We discovered that many of these centres had clients on waiting lists for mental health care. Creating a program to bridge this gap fit perfectly within the faculty’s mission of increasing our community impact through training and service.”

The community health centres were receptive to the idea of referring clients to the new clinic, but wanted to ensure that centre staff would remain closely connected to the clinic team. Another priority was easing the transition to counselling for clients.

Basma Hakem, a youth wellbeing worker at the Jane Finch Community and Family Centre and U of T alumna, says many of her clients have little to no experience with therapy, let alone with an unknown provider outside their neighbourhood. “Affordability is a big issue, and so is the challenge of taking time off work to travel to an office,” she says. “Stigma around mental health is also a barrier in some racialized communities.”

For these reasons, Hakem says it’s vital for counsellors to foster trust from day one. To do this, the clinic team developed a “warm handoff” approach, where a community centre staff member attends the first online meeting with their client.

“We act as a middle person who introduces the client to the counsellor and the therapy process,” Hakem says. “The goal is to make the client feel as comfortable as possible, because we already have a relationship with them. It’s a way of saying, ‘You trust me, and I’m telling you that you can trust this person.’”

Sylvia Delgado (Photo courtest of Sylvia Delgado)

Sylvia Delgado, the inaugural clinic manager at Talk it Out, is a trauma counsellor at the Black Creek Community Health Centre, a graduate of the faculty’s Indigenous trauma and resiliency field of study. She ensures the community partners remain involved after the first session and schedules regular check-ins where the counsellors and faculty supervisors share non-confidential information about clients’ progress.

“We also work together as a team when clients have finished their counselling to make sure there’s a safety net of services in place at the referring community centre,” Delgado says.

In addition to the Black Creek Community Health Centre, the community partners include: Jane Finch Community and Family Centre, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, TAIBU Community Health Centre and Unison Health and Community Services.

Delgado is currently in discussion with other potential partners, but counselling capacity is still limited. To date, 33 clients have been referred to the six student counsellors.

The clinic uses a brief therapy model, which involves six to eight sessions designed for people who are experiencing mild to moderate distress. “These are the individuals who have been falling through the cracks in the system more than ever during the pandemic,” says Fang. “There tend to be more services available for people with serious mental illness, but we’re seeing a steep increase in those experiencing isolation, anxiety and depression.”

Before the clinic launched in March, students received comprehensive education and hands-on training – such as simulations on the online counselling platform – to prepare them for handling these issues and others, ranging from family conflict and peer bullying to policy and racial distress trauma. They also had to become deeply familiar with the centres and clients they would be serving through research and interviews.

For non-racialized students with no prior community experience, this is a crucial step, says Delgado. She shares her knowledge of intergenerational trauma and anti-Black racism based on over a decade working in child welfare in racialized communities.

“It is imperative that social work students gain the skills and knowledge of working from an anti-Black racist lens when working within these communities,” says Delgado. “I believe that this placement offers them this level of reflection.”

Both Thomas and Delgado hope that more Black and racialized students will choose to be part of the clinic in the future. “What I hear from my clients is that it feels good to be in the space we’ve provided, where they can talk to somebody who looks like them,” says Thomas.

Clients have also said the online or phone format is more accessible than in-person counselling because it eliminates travel time and expenses.

“So far, the feedback from clients has been very positive,” says Hakem of the Jane Finch centre. “They love the fact that they’ve been able to access services so quickly. Demand is already increasing through word-of-mouth.”

Professor Dexter Voisin, dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work says the free, online clinic is among the first of its kind for a faculty of social work in North America.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that telemental health is creating access to mental health services for persons who have been falling through the cracks, hesitant or unable to access traditional in person services,” he says. “There is increasing demand for this mode of delivey, and it is exciting that our students can be trained to be effective telemental health service providers.”

To assess the clinic’s success, PhD students in social work are collecting data on clients’ mental health before and after counselling. The long-term goal, says Fang, is to create a model that could be replicated by other social work faculties.

“We’re starting out small, but we want to be part of a much bigger rethinking of mental health care service delivery. The demand is only going to increase post-pandemic, and we need to be creative in building access for the people who need it most.”

U of T provides $8.9 million in financial relief to students impacted by COVID-19

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 19:27:10 +0000

U of T provides $8.9 million in financial relief to students impacted by COVID-19

geoff.vendeville Fri, 02/26/2021 - 14:27

Cutline

(Photo courtesy of Rajasekar Dhanasekar)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

School of Graduate Studies

Undergraduate Students

When Ontario implemented its first COVID-19 lockdown last spring, Rajasekar Dhanasekar found himself in a tight financial spot.

A master’s student in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Dhanasekar had been working about 20 hours a week at a Rexall store to cover his tuition and rent.

But once the pandemic hit, the pharmacy slashed its hours and Dhanasekar’s shifts – and paycheques – dwindled.

“I drained all of my savings,” Dhanasekar recalls. “My parents were also struggling themselves, so I didn’t want to ask them for help. I had nowhere to go.”

That’s when one of his friends introduced him to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Emergency Grant, which provides immediate, short-term financial relief to full-time graduate students who are experiencing a financial crisis or have incurred unexpected expenses due to COVID-19.

The program is part of a suite of financial aid offerings that U of T has in place to help students navigate financial challenges. They include the COVID-19 Emergency Undergraduate Grant, which was launched last March and is designed to help students cover basic expenses, including internet, but not educational costs such as tuition. It can be accessed by submitting an online application to the registrar in their college or faculty.

Approximately $8.9 million in emergency grants have been disbursed to more than 6,800 U of T undergraduate and graduate students since last March. That generally translates into anywhere from $500 to $2,000 in emergency aid per student, although disbursements can exceed that amount.

“Individual students’ circumstances have been affected in many unique ways as a result of the pandemic,” says Micah Stickel, U of T’s acting vice-provost, students. “Students in some cases were really in desperate need of that short-term relief.”

Expenses that are eligible for the emergency grant include living, travel and moving costs, as well as technology costs that have been incurred as a result of COVID-19. One student at U of T Scarborough, for example, received financial aid because he couldn’t afford to upgrade his computer and had been trying to access virtual classes through his smartphone.

It took Dhanasekar just one hour to complete the application for the SGS Emergency Grant and one week for it to be approved. Soon after, he received a direct deposit of $1,200, which covered his rent and other living expenses for the month of May. Since then, his hours at Rexall have returned to normal.

“The grant was very critical and very helpful to me – without any doubt,” Dhanasekar says. “If it wasn’t for the grant, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Thousands of other students who received emergency financial support during the pandemic shared similar stories of hardship with university registrars. For example, one mature first-year student at St. Michael’s College described herself as a single parent who wasn’t able to secure affordable child care for her infant, causing her to lose her part-time income. Another student –

an international student with a learning disability – says she stopped receiving support from her family after their business had to close as a result of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 fund operates alongside U of T’s regular Emergency Student Bursary Fund, which, for many years, has helped students who run out of money near the end of term – regardless of the reason.

Kousha Kavianitabar, a second-year student in the Faculty of Music, says he remembers clearly the stress of not knowing where his next paycheque would come from when the pandemic hit.

“I had lots of things to do and I couldn’t focus on any of them because this financial struggle was always at the back of my mind,” Kavianitabar says.

Prior to COVID-19, Kavianitabar had been working part-time as a piano instructor and as a line cook and bartender for a catering company. Kavianitabar began to offer his piano classes online – the catering company was completely shuttered by COVID-19 – but teaching piano remotely required expensive equipment such as a keyboard and a microphone, not to mention a stable Internet connection.

Like other students, Kavianitabar was initially at a loss for where to turn. His home country of Iran had been battered by COVID-19 and his father had to shut down his tool factory after workers contracted the virus. Kavianitabar had hoped to pay his own tuition that semester with his part-time income, but the pandemic made it difficult to even cover his day-to-day expenses.

Then he received an email from the Faculty of Music’s registrar’s office about the emergency grant.

“When I heard about this, it was like a light turned on,” Kavianitabar says.

With the financial support, he was able to free up money to purchase the necessary equipment to teach his online music classes. He has more students now, and he took on a part-time job at Wendy’s. With many moving out of the city as a result of the pandemic, Kavianitabar also managed to find a new apartment with cheaper rent.

“I was extremely relieved,” he says. “Now I can finally be less stressed and more focused on my studies.”

Stickel says the university is committed to supporting students during a difficult time.

“The pandemic is continuing on much longer than we all would hope,” he says. “From the outset, the focus of the university has been to really support our students the best we can so that they can achieve their academic goals and pursuits.”

U of T Varsity Blues host Japanese hockey team

rasbachn — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:04:15 +0000

U of T Varsity Blues host Japanese hockey team

rasbachn Tue, 08/22/2017 - 10:04

Cutline

The men's hockey team from Keio University is at U of T for a weeklong training camp (Twitter photo of Keio team)

Topic

Subheadline

Training camp to include an exhibition game between the two teams

It will be an unusual pairing for Thursday night’s exhibition hockey game at Varsity Arena: the home team will be the University of Toronto Varsity Blues; the visitors, all the way from Tokyo – the men’s hockey team from Keio University.

The game is the culmination of a training camp hosted by the Varsity Blues this week for the team from the Japanese private university located in Minato, Tokyo.

“The University of Toronto is invested in giving students international experience, so when this was initiated by Keio University for an exchange in men's hockey, we jumped at the opportunity,” says Beth Ali, executive director of athletics & physical activity for the Varsity Blues.

The training camp features on-ice practices with the Varsity Blues and head coach Ryan Medel, power skating sessions, strength and conditioning workouts at U of T's Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, and a lecture from Olympic gold medallists and Varsity Blues women's hockey coaches Vicky Sunohara and Jayna Hefford.

"We're excited to host Keio University and are looking forward to the experience with them," Medel says. "I think it'll be great for our student-athletes and coaching staff to interact and learn about the university hockey system in Japan, as well as their culture. An international relationship is so unique and beneficial for both programs involved."

Thursday night’s game is free and open to the public. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

These video games trick elementary and high school students into learning STEM

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 16:06:09 +0000

These video games trick elementary and high school students into learning STEM

geoff.vendeville Wed, 08/16/2017 - 12:06

Cutline

Computer science students in Steve Engel's class developed educational video games and play-tested them with elementary and high school students from summer camps (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Our Community

Undergraduate Students

Computer Science

Community

Video Games

Subheadline

U of T computer science students develop educational games on immunology, optics and more

It’s every high school student’s dream: playing video games instead of doing homework.

Steve Engels, an associate professor of computer science, teaching stream, predicts that one day games will not only replace traditional tests and assignments, but will do a better job teaching a range of subjects.

Games offer a number of advantages over paper assignments and tests, including immediate feedback, he says.

“If you have a lesson in game form, it tells you how well you’ve done, it allows you to retry it, which you maybe can’t do with assignments or tests, and you can do it again until you master it,” he says.

This summer, he's testing the concept with University of Toronto students who have been asked to develop games that trick students into learning some of the hard-to-teach topics on elementary and high school curricula: subjects related to science, technology, engineering and math.

The games by computer science students cover the basics of immunology, coding, optics and mitosis. Engels invited video game industry experts, teachers and grade school students, including groups from U of T’s Science Unlimited Summer Camp, to try out the games and provide feedback.

Here are four examples of the games that were developed:

Steve Engels teaches a class on developing educational video games. (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

1. Central Immune System

This game by computer science major and biology buff Alexander Chum puts bacteria and wounds in the players’ crosshairs.
As users move from one level to the next, they learn about the roles of platelets, macrophages and leukocytes (white blood cells). “What’s fun about this game is that you actually get to see things get destroyed,” he says. “In this case, the enemies are everything that make you sick.”

2. Crevice

In this unusual game, the player takes on the persona of an old glass maker trapped in a cave who must find a way to redirect a sunbeam to shine on his plants using reflectors. “A lot of times, at least when I was in high school in my (physics) class, a lot of people didn’t know how to make ray diagrams,” creator and computer science major Karl Cui says. “Here the players are able to move mirrors around and experiment without the pretense that it’s for a science lab.”

3. Clean City, Green City

It's “Clean-Up Day!” Players test their knowledge of what gets recycled, composted and sent to the landfill in this game. Each wrong answer floods the landfill until it’s game over.
Even adults sometimes put things in the wrong waste receptacle, says Monica Iqbal, a fourth-year computer science student. “I feel like this game isn’t just for kids. It’s for anyone, really.”

4. Deadlock

Learning to code isn’t always fun – unless the point is to hack one’s way out of a prison cell. The players use a block interface, which tells them which lines of code they can or can’t write, to open doors and control jail-busting drones. “When you unlock a door with the code we provided, the door will light up green and open in front of you,” says Raymond Gao, a third-year computer science student. “Watching your code have an effect in real time isn’t something you get in other learning environments in programming.”

U of T hosts Toronto Community Housing track-and-field meet for 300 kids

ullahnor — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 15:00:14 +0000

U of T hosts Toronto Community Housing track-and-field meet for 300 kids

ullahnor Mon, 07/24/2017 - 11:00

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100m race for boys aged nine to 12 (photo by Jelena Damjanovic)

Jelena Damjanovic

Author legacy

Jelena Damjanovic

Topic

About 300 children spilled out of school buses for a day of long jumps, ball toss and racing at Varsity Stadium last week as the University of Toronto welcomed children from 40 Toronto Community Housing (TCH) communities.

The event, a track-and-field-meet, was an expansion of a partnership between U of T's Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education and TCH that brought Midnight Madness basketball to TCH youths in the fall and will welcome another 300 children for a swim meet on August 10.

“We look forward to opportunities to assist our community partners in projects that make a real difference in the lives of young people,” said Beth Ali, executive director of KPE’s co-curricular athletics & physical activity programs. “The use of sport to provide leadership and educational development opportunities for young people is a perfect fit for our faculty and the University of Toronto.”

Event staff racing at the track-and-field-meet (photo by Jelena Damjanovic)

The track-and-field event was part of a seven-week free summer camp for TCH residents ages six to 12, called Rookie League camp, which is run in partnership between TCH and the Jays Care Foundation.

“We’ve been running the Rookie League camp for 29 seasons, helping build strong communities by teaching children life lessons about teamwork, leadership and fair play, on and off the field,” said Husein Ladha, supervisor for active living and centralized programs for TCH. “This year, U of T very graciously offered to host a track and field meet for the kids (free of charge), and we were delighted to add it to the program.

“To get them out of their communities, have them visit a world class facility like the Varsity Stadium is an experience that they’re going to remember for a lifetime.”

In her welcoming address, Ali shared with the crowd that the track they were about to run on is the same track where U of T Olympians like Gabriela Stafford and Sarah Wells once trained.

Cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd of fellow campers, the children took turns running 100 and 400 metres and then quickly returning to the stands to join the cheering squad.

Jahmiya, 8, and Ameerah, 6, said their favourite part of the day was eating pizza and cheering each other on.

“I really want my cousin to win,” said Ameerah.

U of T staff, faculty bring their kids to work

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 16:11:46 +0000

U of T staff, faculty bring their kids to work

geoff.vendeville Fri, 04/28/2017 - 12:11

Cutline

Madison Chotoo, in Grade 5, practices her engraving at a tinsmithing workshop put on by U of T trade services. The kids made planters in time for Mother's Day (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Human Resources & Equity

Employment

Subheadline

Close to 500 kids between Grades 4 and 7 visited U of T for Bring Our Children to Work Day

Under the watchful eye of her dad Raymond, Madison Chotoo carefully engraved an “I love you” into a strip of copper.

It was a practice run before decorating a planter that she made during a tinsmithing workshop hosted by U of T trade services on Thursday.

“I'm sweating,” she said, after about an hour labouring away.

The activity was one of many organized across the university for Bring Our Children to Work Day, a U of T tradition for more than two decades, according to Francesca Dobbin, director of family programs and services.

“Parents take pride from working at U of T, and this is a great opportunity to showcase their work to their kids,” she told U of T News.

“All the tours are really hands-on, so they get to experiment and come away with things.”

Along with Chotoo, whose dad is a plumber, three other children fashioned copper planters, many of which were dedicated to their moms for Mother's Day. Kaelin Haire, in Grade 6, came away from the experience with a newfound appreciation for her grandfather Murray Haire's work and others' in trade services.

“You have to love what you do to do as much as they do for the university,” she said.

From left, Orlando and Mara Luisoto, Raymond and Madison Chotoo, Murray and Kaelin Haire, Nik and Nektarios Angelinos (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Earlier in the day, U of T's Chancellor Michael Wilson, invited five kids to Simcoe Hall to try on university officials' Convocation robes and hold the ceremonial mace. Wilson emphasized the importance of lifelong learning.

“I am a lot older than you,” he said. “And I'm still learning – all the time, I'm learning. The reason I am is because I work with young people.”

U of T employees' children got to try on the president's and honorary degree recipient's robes at Simcoe Hall (photo by Krista Boniface)

And elsewhere on the downtown Toronto campus, 11-year-old Liam Staig learned to build a motor out of a battery, magnet and wire in a physics workshop.

His mom, Emma Scully who works in human resources in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, also showed him around.

“I loved the old buildings,” he said.

Emma Scully and her son Liam, 11, toured the St. George campus on Bring Our Children to Work Day (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Daphna Heller's sons are used to shadowing their mom on Bring Our Children to Work Day. This year, one visited the greenhouse with experts from the department of ecology and evolutionary biology while his older brother learned about chemistry.

Their mother, an associate professor in linguistics, brought them to her lab later that afternoon.

“They're going to do an experiment,” she said. “I can't collect the data on them because it's not a kid's lab, but they can do it just for fun. Then, they'll know what my experiments look like.”

Heller and her boys, 13 and 10 (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Over at U of T Mississauga, Dave Mazierski, an associate professor in biomedical communications and biology, led a lab demonstration – and found no shortage of volunteers.

U of T in the community: students make buddy bench and friends in St. James Town

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 16:17:39 +0000

U of T in the community: students make buddy bench and friends in St. James Town

geoff.vendeville Tue, 03/14/2017 - 12:17

Cutline

Architecture and urban studies major Josh Estrella stencils on a buddy bench that he and other U of T students helped make for Art City, a children's charity with after-school programming in St. James Town (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Experiential Education

Faculty of Arts & Science

Take some wood. Add styrene, wires and words of friendship. What do you have? A buddy bench for kids at the not-for-profit Art City in St. James Town.

The project was part of an introductory course in urban studies where U of T undergrads chose to work on one of 11 opportunities around the city.

In St. James Town, considered the largest high-rise community in Canada and one of 13 “economically deprived” neighbourhoods in the city, a group of U of T students worked with young artists to visualize and design colourful benches created with architecture software.

“It’s to facilitate friendship and allow someone who is feeling lonely to have a seat and be approached by someone else, so that everyone feels welcome in the community,” explained Josh Estrella, a U of T architecture and urban studies student in the course.

The Art City kids settled on an origami-style bench with right-angle triangles across the back. To make the bench more inviting, they chose a warm colour palette of oranges, yellows and reds and stencilled on hearts.

From planning to construciton, the young artists of Art City were the driving creative force behind their buddy bench (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

“For the kids, this is a meaningful project now and into the future,” said Orev Katz, Art City’s director.

If not for the extra help, she said Art City might not have had the time to explore different materials and designs to suit the children’s needs and tastes.

“We were able to make it in unique and fun ways because the students from urban studies had that skill set,” Katz said.

For the undergrads, the experience was an opportunity to get to know the neighbourhood. As part of their homework, Katz asked them to research the neighbourhood, walk around and take note of their surroundings.

“I hope they got to learn more about this neighbourhood and how it works, the amazing vibrant culture here and its kinship networks,” she said.

Before working on the buddy bench, architecture student Tashiana Lusterio had rarely set foot in St. James Town, she said.

“If you don’t understand the urban fabric and different types of people you’re dealing with – even for clients in architecture, for example – you probably won’t be as connected to what you’re going to build,” she added. “It comes down to getting to know your surroundings, and getting to know people.”

Students Josh Estrella and Tashiana Lusterio pal around with the kids of Art City (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

The Art City project was one of the projects students could choose from in assistant professor David Roberts’s class. They also had the option to help survey commuting habits of students and staff at U of T Scarborough, or to chart rising property values in Kensington Market to study gentrification. Students who preferred to write a conventional term paper instead, could do so.

For any students who are new to Toronto, the community project is a good way of getting the lay of the land, Roberts said.

“I think it’s also a way to connect what we’re doing in the classroom to actual real-world experiences, and identify needs that community groups put together,” he said.