Lime Connect – The leading resource for talented candidates with disabilities

UBC Career Services and Access and Diversity Host A Discussion with Lime Connect on Disclosure

Not sure if you should disclose or discuss your disability during an interview or when starting work?

Want to build your confidence having this conversation?

Join Lime Connect for a discussion where we share tips on how to navigate this important conversation.

Tuesday, January 26th 12:00 – 1:00 PM at Brock Hall, CSI&C Boardroom.

Go to http://bit.ly/Lime-Connect to register

Lime Connect is rebranding disability through achievement by putting talent first and disability second. We encourage students and alumni with all disabilities to take advantage of The Lime Network for access to:

  1. Corporate recruitment receptions
  2. Additional internship, co-op and full time roles with our partners
  3. Lime Connect partner scholarships
  4. Professional development webinars, “The Lowercase d” blog and more!

Impact Lab Registration

Impact Lab is a semi-annual 1-day conference featuring workshops presented by a diverse group of UBC student leaders representing 40 globally minded clubs and organizations on campus. Ever wondered how such a small idea could spread and be impactful so quickly? Curious to take some grassroots initiatives to the next level and engage others at the same time? ‘From the Ground Up’ is all about honing our creative ideas and desire to make a difference into impactful projects and tangible change.

Featured Keynote: Miguel Rozo, Founder and Director of IdeasXchange

Free breakfast AND lunch included!

The event will be held at the Simon K. Y. Lee Global Lounge and Resource Centre which is located on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

 

Facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/429463730578395/]

 

Register here:

https://survey.ubc.ca/s/ImpactLab_2015/

 

The Revolution Starts at Home

maroon

maroon” by Humphrey King licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Post by Hannah Barath, Co-op Student Assistant at Access & Diversity

It seems like there are certain acts of violence that someone is always willing to talk about. Murder for example – there is an abundance of books, songs, films and television shows about just this. Other types of violence are deemed as private issues that are best dealt with behind closed doors. This means that even having experienced a particular act of violence can lead to shame and stigma. Sexual violence and intimate partner violence are two examples that fall into this category. However, there are many activists who are doing amazing work in raising awareness about and destigmatizing these issues. This blog post will primarily focus on intimate partner violence, what it is and how it affects different communities.

A few months ago I read an amazing book called The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence within Activist Communities. As the title suggests, this is a collection of essays and reflections on intimate violence in feminist, anti-racist, LGBTQ2I, and activist communities. It was an incredibly powerful read and I learned so much about intimate partner violence, allyship, and accountability. The anthology is edited by Chin-In Chen, Jai Dulani and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. I was also fortunate enough to attend a talk with Leah during UBC Sexual Assault Awareness Month in January 2015. In this talk, titled Strong Communities Make Police Obsolete Leah talked about the activism that she has been involved with, the importance of self-care, and justice methods that offer an alternative to the police.

Continue reading

The F-Word

F-Word

Post by Hannah Barath, Access & Diversity Co-op Student Assistant

In November 2014, TIME Magazine posted a poll with a list of words and expressions that they thought should be banned in 2015. Next to sayings such as “bae”, “om nom nom nom”, and “sorry not sorry” one of the words on this list was the f-word. Not that f-word! The other one… feminist.

The magazine faced an immediate backlash following the release of this poll, and before long an editor’s note was added to the article. In this note TIME Magazine apologized for including the word “feminist” on the list but insisted that it was a joke that people had taken the wrong way and that it was intended to start a debate on how the word was used. Notably, it was never removed and still remains on the list today. Listed next to nonsensical words such as “yaaasssss” it doesn’t feel like a criticism on the way media uses “feminist”, rather it feels like they are making light on a social justice movement for equal rights that has been going on for over a century. The suggestion to ban the f-word – jokingly or not – feels, as Robin Morgan puts it, uncomfortable.

Regardless of TIME Magazine’s reasons for including this word in the poll, it illustrates a problem that feminist movements have had and continue to face. Feminists constantly deal with people who refuse to take their cause seriously (often combined with claims of feminists taking everything too seriously) and people who have misunderstood what feminism really is about. This unawareness of what feminism(s) truly stands for, combined with the fact that so many people have very negative connotations with the f-word, is one of the reasons I think people may be reluctant to identify as feminists. Continue reading

Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2015

SAAM-fb-cover-photo-to-shareJanuary is Sexual Assault Awareness Month at UBC.

Sexual assault affects people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations. Help end the violence by participating in one of many Sexual Assault Awareness Month events this January. Learn more about sexual assault, how to help prevent it, and the supports available for survivors. And don’t forget to wear denim on Denim Day, January 21, to show others you’re standing up against sexual assault.

We would like to highlight our keynote speaker, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Her talk, “Strong Communities Make Police Obsolete” will take place on Tuesday, January 27 at 12.30 – 1.30pm at the Liu Institute of Global Issues. For full details regarding this event see our online events calendar or our Facebook event.

Please find a highlighted list of events during SAAM below. Read more for more information and events. If you attend or would like to follow what’s happening on social media, use and follow us at #saamUBC.

  • Thursday 15
    • BARtalk #14: Feminism in the Media, hosted by AMS and Terry Project UBC. 6-7.30pm, at the Gallery Lounge.
  • Tuesday 20
    • Anti-violence ally training, 10am-12.30pm. Contact Ashley Bentley at AMS Sexual Support Centre, sascprog@ams.ubc.ca to register.
    • AMS SASC is screening the film Stalled, followed by a discussion with film-maker Megan Gardiner. 7-8.30pm, Irving K. Barber 261.
  • Wednesday 21
    • Denim Day: Stand up for a respectful campus and ask the same of your friends. Wear denim, a Denim Day sticker, or both on January 21 to stand against sexual assault. Stickers provided by Access & Diversity, email students@ubc.ca
  • Sunday 25
    • Place Vanier: Start Talking art show, Shrum Lounge 6-8pm. For UBC residents.
  • Tuesday 27
    • Access & Diversity presents keynote speaker Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, 12.30-1.30pm, Multipurpose Room, Liu Institute.
    • AMS SASC, FUS and LFSUS are hosting a SAAM Showcase, 6-8pm, Agora Café.
  • Wednesday 28
    • AMS Speakeasy: Art Speaks – #StartTalking art exhibition, SUB Art Gallery, 5-8pm
  • Friday 30
    • Really? workshop: Anti-discrimination awareness response training, 3.30-5pm, Simon K.Y. Lee Global Lounge. Register at u@ubc.ca

For more information regarding events and to find resources related to sexual assault awareness, please visit students.ubc.ca/saam.

Memorial sites: places of remembrance and action

Memorial picture 1

Post by Hannah Barath, Access & Diversity Co-op Student Assistant

On December 6, 1989, an armed man walked into an Engineering class at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. After forcing the men to leave he said he hated feminists. He shot the women in the class, and then beyond it. At the end of his killing rampage, he shot himself. In total 28 people were injured, and all of the 14 people killed were women. Following these events, Canada established December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The day marks the anniversary of the massacre and reminds us about acts of gender-based violence against women in Canada and around the world.

We honour the memory of these 14 women and all other women who have experienced gender-based violence every year through memorial services and sites. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the tragic event at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. Perhaps it is especially noteworthy that this is the first year that the annual December 6th memorial service at UBC Vancouver will be held at a newly created memorial site in the Engineering Design Centre courtyard.

Considering the significance of this anniversary and the new memorial on our own campus, I have been reflecting on the purpose and importance of creating such memorials. In my opinion, the purpose of memorials are to create spaces for reflection, mourning, honoring, learning, and coming together as a community. With this in mind, I thought about how memorial sites, and in particular the one on our campus, can be places of remembrance but also places of action?

Gender-based violence is an ongoing issue, and the installment of this memorial site is one way that ongoing violence can be recognized and acknowledged each and every day. The physical location of the site also reflects that this tragic event is one that the Faculty of Applied Sciences identifies especially strongly with. Out of the 14 murdered, 12 were engineering students, the other two a nursing student and staff member of the school.

But gender-based violence is not an issue that is contained or relevant to only one Faculty or one gender. It is something that affects all people in one way or another. Regardless of the memorial’s location it is open and meant for all members of the UBC community.

The design allows this to be a place for reflecting and mourning, but it is also an open area that allows for social interaction and gathering, creating a place that lets us come together as a community and work for positive change. The 14 women who were killed are commemorated by a leaf-shaped table, which bears each of their names and the following inscription:

“On the 6th of December 1989, 14 women – 12 of them engineering students – were killed at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal because of their gender.

We mourn. We remember. We question. Together, we work for change”

I think that the last line is particularly important. December 6th is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The line “together, we work for change” signifies that there are actions that have to be taken. The shooting at L’École Polytechnique is one example from Canadian history, but it is not an isolated event. Gender-based violence is something that is ongoing and a problem in our society. December 6 will mark 25 years since a lone man walked into a school and shot 14 women to death, because of their gender. But we must remember that gender-based violence manifests in many ways and it is something that is still very common.

So let this year be the first of many to come where this memorial site is a place not just of remembrance, but also one of action. I invite you to reflect on ways that you can work against gender-based violence in our society and to join one or more of the related December 6th events that are hosted on campus.

14 NOT FORGOTTEN MEMORIAL SERVICE
Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 12:30 p.m.
The Wayne and William White Engineering Design Centre courtyard 

PANEL DISCUSSION: AN EXAMINATION OF DECEMBER 6TH: 25 YEARS LATER
Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 12-1 p.m.
Simon K. Y. Lee Global Lounge, Media Room, Building 1, 2205 Lower Mall

T-SHIRT SILKSCREENING WORKSHOP
Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 7-9 p.m.
Place Vanier Residence, Boardroom

CANDLE VIGIL
Friday, December 5, 2014, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
SUB Main Concourse

National Transgender Day of Remembrance(TDoR) – Events

Thursday November 20th – Candle Light Vigil
Time: 11am-3pm
Location: SUB Concourse

Thursday November 20th – TDoR Memorial Event
Time: 5pm-7.30pm
Location: SUB Art Gallery
Description: A discussion on what TDoR is, an opportunity for folks to share their experiences, spoken word pieces and a panel discussion of trans* issues.

Thursday, November 20, 2014 –  Allyship Discussion
Time: 3pm – 4:30pm
Location: SUB Ballroom
Description: This facilitated discussion creates space to examine how allyship is practiced in and out of queer communities. The focus is on allyship with trans folks and communities and how to transform our allyship into one that is better enacted and embodied.

Thursday, November 20, 2014 – Trans* Solidarity Discussion
Time: 3pm – 4:30pm
Location: SUB Ballroom
Description: This facilitated discussion is a space to examine solidarity within the trans communities. This space is created for trans-identified folks to discuss how to  navigate the range of experiences and needs that fall within this umbrella in a way that is active and intentional.

Violence Against Women, 25 Years After Dec. 6

By Helena Zhu, Women Students Program Assistant, Access & Diversity

During my time working as the Women Students Program Assistant at Access and Diversity, I have come to understand more deeply that sexual assault remains prevalent on campuses, women continue to be underpaid in the workplace, and violence, particularly domestic violence, persists to be a reality for many women.

December 6th is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Canada established the day 25 years ago following an armed man’s killing of 14 women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal on Dec. 6, 1989. These violent acts were against women in the School of Engineering. They were targeted solely because they were women studying a program that had been traditionally viewed as a male discipline. As a non-engineering student, I wonder how this impacted and continues to impact women in Engineering and what the resonances are for women in what has been termed “non-traditional” workforces.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Montréal Massacre. Some could argue that progress has been made but I question if it has. American news outlet the Verge reported two weeks ago that Anita Sarkeesian, creator of the popular Tropes vs. Women video series and who’s work challenges online harassment and sexist representations of women in video games,  received a mass shooting threat because of her feminist perspective and challenges to video game industry – which is largely male driven.

Sarkeesian was scheduled to speak at Utah State University’s Center for Women and Gender on Oct. 15. However, the Director of the Center, along with other individuals, received an email from an unknown author who claims to be a Utah State student. The author threatened a “Montreal Massacre-style attack” if the Center did not cancel Sarkeesian’s talk. Faced with security fears, Sarkeesian cancelled the talk. Sadly, this is only one of many incidents of this nature.

Violence against women is not a women’s issue, it is an issue for men and people of all genders, as Dr. Jackson Kats, an expert on gender-based violence, argues in his TEDx talk. Campuses should be safe places to study, socialize, and learn. They should not be places of violence. It takes a society to eliminate gender-based violence, and with University of British Columbia’s 58,284 students, 10,041 staff, and 5,130 faculty, let’s take up this call to action and make change here on campus and at home.

I deeply believe in the value of education and awareness. Through my work, and through researching this blog post, I have become more educated about gender-based violence and its prevention. As university students, we have the privilege that many others don’t have, which is to challenge our thinking by engaging in dialogue and taking action. Below, you will find four Dec. 6 related events that you and your friends can attend and participate in.

14 NOT FORGOTTEN MEMORIAL SERVICE
Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 12:30 p.m.
The Wayne and William White Engineering Design Courtyard

PANEL DISCUSSION: AN EXAMINATION OF DECEMBER 6TH: 25 YEARS LATER
Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 12-1 p.m.
Simon K. Y. Lee Global Lounge, Media Room, Building 1, 2205 Lower Mall

T-SHIRT SILKSCREENING WORKSHOP
Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 7-9 p.m.
Place Vanier Residence, Boardroom

CANDLE VIGIL
Friday, December 5, 2014, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
SUB Main Concourse

May I Kiss You?

Post by Hannah Barath, Access & Diversity Co-op Student Assistant

It’s strange to be in Totem Park Ballroom for the first time in over two years. The reason I’m back is to see a presentation called “Can I Kiss You?” byMike Dormitz. Travelling all across North America, he has done this presentation for audiences in middle schools to universities, and even in the US Military. The overarching theme of this presentation is consent, which is discussed alongside bystander intervention techniques, sexual assault awareness and personal responsibility.

The presentation starts by exploring why it is important that consent, which is the voluntary and enthusiastic agreement to sexual activity of any kind, is verbal. As Dormitz says, in intimate (and other) situations we often rely on body language and other nonverbal cues to be trustworthy indicators of what other people are thinking. Although this mode of communication is one that we use a lot, it is also very often misinterpreted. Any sexual activity, from kissing to intercourse and everything in between, that is not consented between partners classifies as sexual assault. Since body language is so often misinterpreted, communicating verbally is the best way to ensure that consent is present.

Throughout the “Can I Kiss You?” presentation it was emphasized that people of any gender and sexual orientation can be sexually assaulted. Although it could happen to anyone, I think it is important to recognize that the vast majority of people who experience sexualized violence are women and LGBTTQI folks. In a society where shaming, victim-blaming and silencing are common responses to survivors of sexual assault, it is great to see that the focus of this presentation is on the responsibility and accountability of perpetrators and bystanders is emphasized and addressed. By using humor to dismantle ingrained notions of why we rarely get consent verbally, or intervene in situations where we see someone being “taken advantage of,” everyone in the room realized that we have been socialized to not react in these particular situations. As Domitz explores, it is always the responsibility of the person initiating intimacy or any sexual activity to check that consent is present. By practicing consent in our everyday life, and intervening if we see a nonconsensual sexual situation, we can impact both individual lives and the culture around these issues.

Although people who are intoxicated or otherwise unable to make informed decisions cannot give consent, it is common to see people “hooking up” at parties. If someone who is less or not at all influenced takes advantage of the fact that another person’s judgment is clouded, they are sexually assaulting that person. This is a fairly common scenario, and it can be difficult to know how to intervene or realizing that we have a responsibility to do so. In response to this Dormitz shared some concrete steps and actions to use when intervening, the first being to identify the situation. Once you’ve done this, check in on the person, by yourself or with a group of friends. When intervening, stay calm and focus on preventing a potential sexual assault in a manner that is safe for everyone involved. By giving people clear guidelines on what to do it becomes easier as a bystander to recognize and do something next time one sees a similar situation.

Mike Dormitz’s “Can I Kiss You?” is an engaging and informative presentation that opens up really important conversations around consent, sexual assault, and personal responsibility. Hopefully it will spur more individuals to think more about what they can do to reduce sexualized violence and learn more about consent, and that those in attendance will pass on what they learnt to their peers. If you missed out on this event you can get Dormitz’s book “May I Kiss You?” There are also many local resources, you can attend a Really? workshop or find lots of resources for survivors, those supporting a survivor or those who are just interested in learning more at the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre.