This Week @ York

York is celebrating Black History Month. February is packed with virtual events to educate the community and celebrate Black culture at York, in Canada and around the world. Here’s a snapshot of what you can find this week:

• The Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion (CHREI) is holding a weekly Understanding Racism Workshop Series throughout February to provide students, staff and faculty the tools to understand racism and develop strategies to be anti-racist.

This week’s workshops:

• Intervening on Racism. Attendees of this highly interactive workshop will design strategies and practice tools to intervene on moments of racial discrimination, harassment and microaggressions. Tuesday, February 23, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Registration required. It is strongly recommended that participants have attended at least one of the other Anti-Racism workshops before attending this session.
• You can also attend this month’s Respect, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Workshops. These workshops are not only a great way to learn, but they are a professional development opportunity that will help you in your career beyond York. Attend at least three of the REDI workshops (90 minutes each) and complete the REDI Online Tutorial to receive a REDI Certificate of Completion!
• Recognizing Resilience in Communities. Engage in discussions about community resilience in the face of disadvantage and hardship, examining the ways barriers and discrimination shape our perspective of communities under duress. Learn strategies for how to engage and foster inclusivity across multiple groups and spaces. Wednesday, February 24, 1:30 to 3 p.m. Registration required.
• Why Black History (Month) Matters. The Faculty of Graduate Studies invites the York Community to attend an informal dialogue on "Why Black History (Month) Matters." As we honour and celebrate Black History Month, there is importance in continuing the conversation around Black history, cultural and lived experiences. Thursday, February 25, noon to 1:30 p.m. Registration required.
• Insights: A Speakers Series on Equity, Diversion & Inclusion (EDI). Organized by the President's Advisory Council on EDI, this series is designed to inspire community members to action, and provoke thought and conversation across the York community. This session's speaker is Naki Osutei, the Associate Vice President, Social Impact Canada in TD's Global Corporate Citizenship team. Thursday, February 25, noon. Registration required.
• Black Excellence and Grit Speaker Series. Athletics & Recreation (A&R) is offering a number of opportunities to celebrate Black Excellence with panel discussions, videos, events and profiles of the tremendous Black student-athletes. Visit the site every Monday for new spotlights and follow @yorkulions throughout the month for more exciting stories, videos and events.
• 2021 Virtual Black History Month Celebration. Gwyn Chapman and Ray Gover will be hosting this virtual celebration recognizing the 25th anniversary of the national declaration of Black History Month in Canada and the United Nations (UN) designating the decade from 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent. Friday, February 26, noon to 3 p.m. on YouTube Live.

More Resources for Black Students:

• The Career Centre offers specialized resources for Black students, aiming to help them with job searches, career guidance and post-graduate study options.
• To provide students with a safe space, Student Counselling & Development has created a support group exclusively for Black, Indigenous & People of Colour (BIPOC) students.
• As part of the Division of Student's work to address oppression and confront anti-Black racism, SCLD has compiled a working anti-racist resource document to inform and educate the student community.

Mental Health & Wellness Student Initiative Fund. In recognizing that wellness is a necessary pre-condition to learning and working, York has developed a new fund to support innovative and inclusive student-led initiatives that promote a healthy, inclusive and supportive environment. Applicants must be an undergraduate or graduate student in any year of study and part of a registered student club or a college-affiliated club at the University. Proposal Deadline: Sunday, February 28.

Workshop: Nutrition for Plant-Based Diets. Join the Peer Health educators as they discuss the importance of nutrition for those making plant-based, vegan or vegetarian choices. They will look at the important nutrients to focus on and how to get them from plants. Thursday, February 25, 10 to 11 a.m. Registration required. Bonus: Participants will be entered to win an Uber Eats gift card.

Mature Student Workshop: Student-Parents: Building Resiliency During the Pandemic. In this session delivered by York's Psychology Department's Dr. Louise Hartley, student-parents will learn strategies for how to build resilience during the pandemic. Wednesday, February 24, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Link will be sent to you after registration.

Writing Centre Workshop: Formulating Your Argument. Attend this online session and learn tips for developing a thesis statement and crafting a compelling argument. Thursday, February 25, 1:30 to 3 p.m. Drop-Ins welcome!

YSpace Event: Founder Fundamentals - Growth Marketing. In this workshop, you’ll learn about what growth marketing is (and how it’s different than traditional marketing or growth hacking), what growth marketers do, how to develop a strategy and the operational frameworks/tools that make it more effective. Thursday, February 25, 6 to 8 p.m. Registration required.

YSpace Technology Accelerator. Apply for this four-month virtual accelerator program designed to support entrepreneurs as they execute their go-to-market strategies and acquire customers for their tech-focused ventures. The program offers bootcamps, workshops, one-on-one mentorship and over $30K in cash awards plus perks. Application Deadline: Sunday, February 28.

Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Student 2-FA activation will proceed in alphabetical order through the rest of the term. Once your account is activated, you will be prompted to follow the 2-FA setup process to enable 2-factor authentication at your next Passport York login. Setup is fast and easy, but if it is not a convenient time you can skip the setup step for up to 14 business days. If you have not completed the setup within that time, you will be required to complete it at your next Passport York login. Learn more about York's 2-FA Authentication.

Student Accessibility Services continues to meet with students virtually! Students already registered with Student Accessibility Services can connect with their Accessibility Counsellor by email or via sasinfo@yorku.ca.