cssj newsletter vol 7 no 1 (spring 2012)

8/2/2019 CSSJ Newsletter Vol 7 No 1 (Spring 2012)

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Centre for Stdes n Socl Jst

NEWSLETTER SPECIAL STUDENT ISSUE II Sping 2012


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If every student has a story to share, then the stories of student activists arecertainly some of the most vibrant, passionate, and sometimes the most heart-breaking. In this edition of the Centre for Studies in Social Justice Newsletter,student contributors share stories of involvement in international projects. Inthis edition, student contributors once again shed light on their activism andwork, but with the addition of a new themeThe Personal is Political.In the Introduction to Social Justice course offered by the Centre for Studies

in Social Justice in Fall 2011, Dr. Garth Rennie lectured about the power oftestimony for realizing Social Justice. Storytelling and testifying to the pas-

sion we, as student activists, have for our work from a rst person perspectivemay breach the barrier of what is dened as academic. Nonetheless, wehope to connect with readers on a personal level through articles which shareour motivations for the work we do.

Our experiences dene our lives as student activistsand we, in turn, helpto re-dene our communities. I encourage you to give yourself the space tofeel inspired.

In peace,

KaTELyN MuRRayBA(H) Woens Studies & Social JusticeGuest Edito, CSSJ Newslette

www.acebook.co/socjust

www.uwindso.ca/socialjustice

www.twitte.co/socjust

www.youtube.co/CSSJatUW

RE-Deningr Cmmnt

NEWSLETTEr STAff

Edito: Nicole NolLayout: Galina Yeveovich

NEWSLETTERSpRiNg 2012

SpECiaL STuDENT iSSuE ii

rE-DEfINING OUr COmmUNITYBy Katelyn muay

UNIONS AND mAINSTrEAm

DISCOUrSEBy Tavis reitsa-Lave

SPOTLIGHT ON TEACHINGBy D. Jaey Essex

mILK AND VODKABy meghan mills & Nicole Beuglet

THE STUDENT mOVEmENTBy Ian Clough

HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL JUSTICEfOrUmBy Ay Tesolin and Deanna fouge

TEACHErS fOr TANzANIA

By magaet maye-mcKnightCAmPUS COmmUNITY GArDENPrOJECTBy rita Haase

8TH GrADE SOCIAL JUSTICEfOrUm

TEACHEr, HOW DO WE PrOTECTOUrSELVES?By Lauen Quinn

IN PHOTOGrAPHSDoug macLellan

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DIrECTOrTanya Basok, PhD

rESEArCHCO-OrDINATOrNicole A. Nol, mA

ASSISTANTGalina Yeveovich

CONTACT US

Cente o Studies in Social Justice

Univesity o Windso

Windso, Ontaio N9B 3P4, Canada

Phone: 519-253-3000 ext. 2326

Eail: [email protected]

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strike and currently with the OccupyWall Street protests and sister protestsaround the world.The common strand in all of those phe-

nomena is a frustration with the policiesand ideology of free market fundamen-talism; an ideology that eats away at theliberties and freedoms of the workingclass in favour of immense centralizedwealth and power for the rich. Since theowners of the mainstream media arethemselves part of this elite class, theircompanies natural reaction is to treatthe working class and their strugglewith much malice and to distort theirmessage.

Igrew up in a union family. My fatheris an operator at Ontario Power Gen-eration, while both my uncle and grand-father are retired workers from OntarioHydro. My maternal grandparents haveboth been part of unions and I myself ama union member now also. My grandfa-ther once told me that our entire family

owes our modest middle-class standardof living to the union and to the solidar-ity of all working class people.

From that background, I grew up withan understanding that it was our dutyas members of the subordinate class toprotect the collective interests of thecommon good against that small factionof society that holds the majority of thewealth. This belief has helped me as Istudy the media here at the Universityof Windsor and how it relates to socialjustice. I completed my undergraduatedegree in Communication Studies andam now completing a Masters degreein Communication and Social Justice.Both have given me the critical un-derstanding needed to deconstruct themainstream medias role in the perpetu-ation of the dominant neoliberal ideol-ogy.

For my thesis, I decided to study theWindsor Stars coverage of the 2009municipal workers strike here in Wind-sor. The Star is wholly owned by Post-

media Network Inc., a company withimmense wealth as well as immensepolitical and cultural power. Postmediaowns several major daily newspapers inCanada, including the National Post, theCalgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal,the Ottawa Citizen, and the VancouverSun. It is the single largest purveyor ofprint news in North America.

It is no secret that the mainstream me-dia play an integral role in the formationof opinion and discourse in contempo-rary society. It follows that a responsible

media, one that is capable of challeng-ing dominant structures and ideology, isof extreme importance in any so-calleddemocratic society. The media, in a truedemocracy must inform the citizenryof abuses of power or anti-democraticdealings by those who possess it. How-ever, the corporate structure of the main-stream media is set up to serve the inter-ests of the owning class rather than theinterests of the public more generally.Nowhere has this been more evident

than in the mainstream medias cover-age of the actions, social movementsand uprisings of the working class sincethe beginning of the current economicrecession in 2008. The media fail tomake real and concrete connections be-tween the democratic uprisings of theArab Spring in Egypt, Syria, Libya, and

elsewhere and the working class strug-gles here in North America that havemanifested in the Wisconsin teachers

Here in Windsor, valuable insightspertaining to the mainstream mediastreatment of the working class can begleaned from the Windsor Stars cover-age of the Windsor city-worker strike inthe spring and summer of 2009. In re-sponse to concessionary demands fromthe Citys administration, 1800 munici-

pal city workers from garbage collec-tors, to park maintenance workers, toofce clerical staff and social workerswalked off the job. The strike betweenthe Canadian Union of Public Employ-ees (CUPE) locals 82 and 543 and theCity lasted 101 days and polarized thepublic until the City was eventuallysuccessful in stripping away post-retire-ment benets for new hires; the majorsticking point of the strike.

Coverage in the Windsor Star waspredictably negative toward the work-ers, a phenomenon that has been welldocumented by many scholars study-ing the medias coverage of organizedlabour. CUPE workers were framed bythe Star as separate from the citys citi-zens, while City administration ofcialswere framed as the unquestioned voiceof the public and safeguards of taxpayerfunds. The workers were also framedas greedy, violent, lazy, and generallyuncooperative and were presumed tobe the cause of the economic problems

faced by the city.In my study of the coverage of thisstrike, I found that the Windsor Star re-ected the same biases as other main-stream media concerning the strugglesof the working class. It is my assertionthat this was instrumental in cultivat-ing the publics distrust of the workersand therefore allowed the City to gain asignicant advantage in negotiations. Ibelieve it is extremely important for usto ght these discourses when they ariseas they are damaging to the movement

for a more socially just world; and thismovement requires a willing and ableworking class to ght for their rights inthe face of free market fundamentalism.The city-worker strike in Windsor was

a microcosm of the overall war under-taken by free market fundamentalismagainst the majority of the worlds citi-zens. I believe understanding the me-dias role in this war is very importantin the movement for a more equitableworld.

uNioNS &MaiNSTREaMDiSCouRSE:

an Ma Tess frte MssesBy Tavis reitsa-Lave, Stu-

dent in the mA Counication

and Social Justice Poga

STUDENT rESEArCH

www.uwindso.ca/socialjustice 3


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Beginning in September 17, 2011,peaceful demonstrators began toset up camp in Lower Manhattans Zuc-cotti Park and occupy Wall Street. Asthe next several days passed, the num-ber of demonstrators began to increaseas mainstream media outlets failed totake notice. Finally, when pressed by

media and critics to release demands,the organizers and participants of Oc-cupy Wall Street speaking on behalf ofwhat they call the 99 percent, releaseda communiqu that detailed their onedemand (you can read more at https://occupywallst.org/). This was, in fact, alist of several demands, set against thehard realities of poverty, war, and in-equality:

[] On September 21st, 2011, the rich-est 400 Americans owned more wealththan half of the country's population.Ending wealth inequality is our one de-mand.

[] On September 21st, 2011, roughlyone sixth of America lived in poverty.Ending poverty is our one demand.

[] On September 21st, 2011, Americahad military bases in around one hun-dred and thirty out of one hundred andsixty-ve countries. Ending American

imperialism is our one demand. []

If social justice is a slippery concept todene, it remains even harder to realizeand put it into practice. The kinds of de-mands made by the Occupy Wall Streetprotestors, who have been inspired bythe Arab Spring protests in Tunisia andEgypt, are not likely to be met in thenear future. But they nonetheless envi-sion a social, economic, and politicalorder that is quite different from whatcurrently exists, and which implies a

more just system that begins with theirpresence in the street and recognition ofthe way multiple injustices are linked.The university classroom is a long way

from Zuccotti Park, and even fartherfrom Tahrir Square, but not as far aswe might think. The kinds of questionsprotestors ask in those places and else-where, and the ways in which they askthem, are exactly the things I hope to getstudents thinking about in my courses.In a second-year course on Political Ge-ography, I teach a section on the geog-

raphy of social movements, democracy,and protest, and I ask students abouttheir own experience attending protestsand demonstrations. Some students haveconsiderable knowledge and experiencewith such events, while most have none.Discussion of students experiences andunderstandings of protests, demonstra-tions, and other mass events allows us

to bring the real world into the class-room and opens up a wider conversa-tion about the role such events play inlarger political movements, the mean-ings, uses, and control of public space,and the organization and exercise of de-mocracy and rights in place and acrossscales. All of these issues are central toany understanding of social justice andhow it might be achieved.

More importantly, this kind of dis-cussion helps students see where theythemselves might t into conceptions

of social justice, and how they canlink discrete local events like proteststo broader ideals and issues. In fact, Ihave fudged a bit above by saying thisdiscussion helps bring the real worldinto the classroom. A common impres-sion of the university is that it is not thereal world. Instead, it is often viewed asan ivory tower dened by objective,detached analysis and insulation fromthe harsh realities and hard decisions ofdaily life with which most people haveto contend. But this is incorrect, I think,

at least from where students stand. Theworld they move into after universityis the world they already live in, and atpresent it promises many of them bur-densome debt, pitiful job prospects, andlimited social and economic mobility.Teaching social justice concepts andideals can point students toward waysof re-engaging with this world in new

ways, with greater political literacyand with an understanding of how theymight shape it for themselves and othersin a more just fashion. The classroom,far from being an ivory tower, shouldbe viewed as a transformative space forstruggling with new ideas, questioningreceived wisdom, and igniting a new,maybe even radical imagination.

Does this mean I expect every studentto come away from my courses as arabble-rousing protester intent on tak-ing down Bay Street? Of course not. If

they choose to do that, I wish them luck.But I do expect students to come awayunderstanding that, if they did choose todo so - or if they go on after my class towork at changing OSAP policies, pro-moting international development, ad-vancing migrant workers rights, draft-ing environmental legislation, or evenspeculating on nancial markets as ahedge fund manager they cant do itby themselves, and they cant do it with-out taking seriously social structure, so-cial responsibility, and social justice.

SoCiaL JuSTiCE aND ThE

CLaSSRooMBy D. Jaey Essex, Depatent o Political Science

SPOTLIGHT ON TEACHING

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The University of Windsors cam-pus radio station, CJAM 99.1FM,once hosted The Womens Radio Col-lectivea feminist sub-group whoseresponsibility it was to maintain both aspoken word as well as a music-basedprogram. Unfortunately, the WomensRadio Collective dissolved. Although

the current radio shows such as TheShake-Up and All in a Days Work areconcerned with local events and politics,and while New Girl Order ensures thata feminist perspective on global issuesis provided, there is an undeniable gapbetween them. We would like to think

as we go along. Another challengingaspect is that we are limited to an houra week, and we dont cover nearly asmuch as we would like. Despite thesedifculties, this has been an empower-ing process of learning new skills andbeing able to have full control overcontent. We are incredibly fortunate to

have such patient and encouraging lis-teners as well as a very supportive baseat CJAM FM.

Windsor has a relatively small (butpowerful!) feminist community, so wetry to open up discussions by provid-ing contemporary perspectives on is-

by hosting local female and/or feministartists and activists. Weve been luckyto have had singer/song-writers CrissiCochrane and Den-Igan in the studiowith us. Having female representation(especially in the music scene) is reallyimportant, so we try to support them asmuch as possible. Additionally, weve

had local feminist activists StephenSurlin and Heather Lynds come into thestudio and talk about their own feministcontributions. Giving credit to such em-powering people is just as important asexamining feminist issues, and it alsoprovides multiple perspectives on social

Milk and Vodka lls that gap by relatingfeminist discussions to local issues inthe Windsor-Essex community. Essen-tially, through Milk and Vodka, we areattempting to take broad social issuesand relate them to the community.

We had intended to do this by pro-viding relevant coverage of both localevents and politics via a feminist per-spective, and contextualize them in the

current global environment. For exam-ple, we have discussed local issues (e.g.,the greenhouse industry, the access tofresh produce) and situated them with-in a global context (e.g., Internationaltrade and political economy). From thebeginning, however, this has been a dif-cult and challenging task for a numberof reasons, namely because of time con-straints due to our academic schedules,but also because there is a lot to cover!Also, with no prior experience in radioor journalism, we have been learning

sues (e.g., health, sexuality, and politi-cal representation). It isnt always easybalancing between creating a space fordiscussion and the possibility of alien-ating our listeners. Our intention is toprovide our listeners with resources thatcan help in their understanding of theintersectionality of social issues, such asethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Giventhe current political and economic situ-

ation in Canada and around the world,we also hope to encourage listenersto enact change in their own lives andwithin the community without seemingpreachy. As mentioned earlier, this is adifcult task, but we are always up forthe challenge!It is true, however, that our discussions

on Milk and Vodka can be dishearten-ing or overwhelming for our listeners.Indeed, feminist issues often involve in-tense analyses and/or controversial dis-cussions so we try to break the tension

issues. Moreover, we are able to dem-onstrate to our listeners that there arepowerful women and/or feminists in thecommunity who have carved out theirown niches in a turbulent world. Whether youd like to hear somethingin particular on Milk and Vodka or wantto get involved in our radio program,you can e-mail us at [email protected]. But denitely tune in

on Mondays at 4:00pm to catch M&Vlive!

Mghan Mlls s a graduat of th Psy-chology wth Thss/Womns Studsprograms at th Unvrsty of Wndsorand s currntly pursung a scond un-drgraduat dgr n poltcal scnc.Ncol Buglt s a studnt n th SocalJustc and Womns Studs programat th Unvrsty of Wndsor. Togthr,thy co-host Mlk and Vodka on CJAM99.1FM.

MiLK & VoDKa:bringing feminism into the communityBy meghan mills & Nicole Beuglet, co-hosts o milk and Vodka

mEDIA ACTIVISm



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During the 2008 faculty strike, 15students climbed up to the fthoor of Chrysler Tower and stayedthere for four days. The strike wasinto its third week and we were wor-ried about the quality of education wewould receive and whether we wouldget academic credits for that semester.Therefore we wanted to pressure the

administration to return to the bargain-ing table and bargain in good faith.We stayed in the tower until the strikeended. I met a lot of people during thatoccupation. For some of us, our stud-ies once again overtook our lives afterthe strike, but a group continued to ex-plore campus activism. That group, andothers, went on to create The Student

Movement.Fast forward to today: The Student

Movement (or TSM) is printed bythe thousands and distributed all overWindsor. The newsprint format is sixtimes the size of the original newsletter,has numerous sections, and allows for a

much wider variety of content. But thecore is still the same: at the center of

Student rally, 2011Photo by Ken Townsend

Te Stdent Mvement:Building a campus

cmmntBy Ian Clough, ebe,

the Student moveent

editoial coittee

STUDENTS ACTIVISm


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it, TSM is not about reporting news butbuilding a community.

In Fighting For Our Lives, an anar-chist primer by Crimethinc, the authorsseek to empower a readership of au-thors (sic). I feel that describes TSMperfectly. As a volunteer newspaper, itis impossible to cover everything thatshappening on campus: instead, we fer-vently encourage people to write in andshare with the campus their stories,whether it be ghting budget cuts intheir department, a tale of courage fromdevelopment work overseas, or even apoem calling comrades to resist. In thisway, people represent themselves ratherthan relying on others.

I see TSM as a forum for the campuscommunity where people can discussissues or publicize events. Democracy,

to me, has always been about informeddiscussion. Through this discussion, acommunity is built. People read aboutwhats happening in other departmentsand realize the similarities betweentheir own struggles and those of others.By getting involved with the newspa-peror even just reading itpeopleare learning about and meeting peoplewho can become allies in a struggle forsocial justice.A newspaper or the like is not the most

important piece to build a community,

but I believe it is an integral part. Manymainstream media set themselves up asan elite, professional vanguard, the de-fenders of truth, yet anyone who paysattention knows that it is their own truththat they protect. By giving media backto the community, by allowing anyoneto become a journalist, columnist, orphotographer, youre not only helpingto empower people but fostering a com-munity through the shared experiencesof those who participate.And we do need people to participate.

Sometimes TSM get requests or ideassent to us for an article or action, butmore often than not we just dont havethe people to cover it. Were happy toprovide resources and insight to help or-ganize an event (and, of course, a news-paper to print an article!), but overall Ifeel its far more important that peopletake the lead themselves. This way, in-stead of having a tightly knit group ofprofessional activists on campus, TSMfosters a whole university of activists!

Apart from the newspaper itself, Iwould say that the structure of our or-ganization itself is TSMs best feature.There is no editor-in-chief, no president,chairperson, or any other single author-ity. Editorial decisions for the newspa-per are made by committee, and thatcommittee is accountable to the generalmembership, as are all decisions forthe organization. We pride ourselveson a consensus decision-making modelwhere everyones concerns are validand discussed.By working towards such a structure, I

hope that other groups will use TSM asan organizational model. Its not with-out its shortcomings: often, meetingsdrag on as some discussions go aboutin circles, not ending until everyoneis satised. Yet I believe that working

until everyone is happy is far betterthan quickly going to a vote and havingsome be disgruntled.

As I said before, TSM is not the onlytool for building community, but today,with a government actively urging itscitizens to be apolitical and ignorant,with corporations pushing for peopleto be separated and alone, and with themainstream media ignoring or twistingour stories, I believe that we need toght tooth and nail to develop our re-lationships and create a strong commu-nity that will come together and ght todefend the people. In my way, I writefor The Student Movement and sleep atnight knowing that Im helping to buildthat community, helping to shape a bet-ter world.Ill see you in the streets.

ON APRIL 4, 2012 the Centre for Studies in Social Justice presented the Ninth

Annual Social Justice Award to the Charter Project. Formed to observe the 30th

anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, this group, made up

of University of Windsor Law students, promotes understanding of this landmark

document among the Canadian public.

At the award ceremony the Centres director, Dr. Tanya Basok, stated, University

is not just a place to secure a career, its a place to become a good global citizen and

break down the walls of injustice. We value the contributions of these law stu-

dents to raising discussion of the Charter and its role in advancing social justice.

Michael OBrien, a co-founder of the project, said the recognition was an honour.

He said the Charter Projects mission reects Windsor Laws commitment to ac-

cess to justice. We tried to meet that commitment through educational efforts in

schools, online, and through the media.

For more information on this award visit the Centres website at http://www.

uwindsor.ca/socialjustice



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EmPOWErING YOUTH


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On February 21 Teachers for GlobalAwareness (TGA) partnered withthe Centre for Studies in Social Justicefor the sixth year in a row to bring areahigh school students a day of thought-ful and informative discussions aboutimportant social justice issues.

This years High School Social Jus-tice Forum entitled Crime and Punish-ment: A Social, Political and HealthIssue achieved new levels of successwith an all-time high level of participa-tion from 350 senior students from 23of the local high schools in Windsorand Essex county and an 86% overallapproval rating. Teachers for GlobalAwareness is a group of local educatorsand community activists with membersfrom the Greater Essex County Dis-trict School Board, the Windsor EssexCounty District School Board, the Cen-tre for Studies in Social Justice, Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre and the

Faculty of Education at the Universityof Windsor.The forum was held at the University

of Windsor. The morning began with akeynote presentation by Jijian Voronkafrom the University of Toronto, a for-mer street youth, who shared a deeplypersonal account of her mental healthissues as they intersected with the crim-

inal justice system. She concluded witha brief history of mental health and itsconnections to social justice. As onestudent stated, "It was eye-opening."

Following this, students participatedin morning and afternoon workshops oftheir choice. They had the opportunityto choose from 16 workshops relating tosocial justice on such topics as: mentalhealth and substance abuse, First Na-tions' talking circles, the new Omnibuscrime bill, hip hop and prison culture,environmental justice in Detroit, childsoldiers in the Democratic Republicof Congo, transgender issues and thecriminal justice system and teenage

relationship violence. Workshops wereled by community activists from bothsides of the border, aboriginal leaders,police ofcers and a number of Univer-sity of Windsor faculty including Dr.Tanya Basok, Dr. Jim Wittebols, andDr. Gerald Cradock. One student re-acted to the workshops by saying, "The

speakers were so inspirational. I wishthe workshops were longer."

As students returned to their schoolgroups in the afternoon, the forumconcluded with a brainstorming andsharing activity that helped them putall the information gathered during theday into action. Students from severalschools shared their ideas for projectsto take back to their respective schoolsand communities with the others in at-tendance.Teachers for Global Awareness will be

sponsoring several student-led projectsthis year thanks to an Ontario TrilliumFoundation grant.If you are interested in applying for oneof these grants of up to $300 per school,

please ll out a TGA Grant Application.(http://socialjustice.govital.net)

Teachers for Global Awareness would

like to thank the following organiza-tions for their support of this event: On-tario Trillium Foundation, Centre forStudies in Social Justice and the VicePresident-Research at the University ofWindsor, Greater Essex County DistrictSchool Board, Windsor-Essex CatholicDistrict School Board, Ontario Second-ary School Teachers' Federation and theConseil scolaire de district des coles-catholiques du Sud-Ouest.

6th Annual High SchoolScl Jstce FrmBy Ay Tesolin and Deanna fouge

Co-chais, Teaches o Global Awaeness



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We have come a long way since the time when the pur-pose of education was solely to impart the three Rs(reading, writing and arithmetic) upon impressionable minds.In addition to imparting academic curriculum, broadeningawareness of social justice and equity at the global level has

increasingly received greater recognition within the eld of

education. Educators now, more than ever, have a responsi-bility and duty to help develop a social conscience address-ing a myriad of issues which extend beyond local or nationalboundaries within their student body.

The Global Education Research and Development Initia-

tive (GERDI) is one such program offered by the Faculty

Tecers fr Tnznby magaet maye-mcKnight, faculty o Education

STUDENTS ACT GLOBALLY


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of Education at the University of Windsor. This partnershipbetween the University of Windsor, Faculty of Educationand the Singida Municipal Council, the local governmentauthority, focuses on the vulnerable orphaned population ofthe town Singida in Tanzania, Africa. Teacher candidates andgraduate students are given the opportunity to participate inglobal research and educational development among vulner-able sectors of this population. GERDI fosters an awarenessand understanding of the culturally diverse backgrounds ofCanadas large, school age, immigrant population. GERDInot only allows an understanding of the relationship betweena students environment outside of school and the education-al experience, but it also gives the opportunity for teachercandidates to participate at a practical level which fostersan understanding of the interconnectivity between the two.This experience exemplies the much-needed awarenessof cultural knowledge outside our borders. The knowledgeand insight gained from this ex-perience can be communicatedto the teacher candidates future

students.In Tanzania, the future educatorswitnessed the contrast betweentraditional roles and values andthose of modernity during theirvisit to a Maasai village. Theyalso visited the publicly funded,English language instruction,OBrien School for the Maasaiin Kilimanjaro. This allowedthe future teachers to compare the educational systems oftraditional Tanzania against Ontarios western educationalsystem.

Members of the team visited the Sumoku Primary School,Kititimo Primary School and Mungumaji Secondary Schoolin Singida observing, teaching, and interacting with teach-ers, school ofcials and administrators. In addition to theschool visits, the team also provided assistance with school-work at the Kititimo Child Center. This gave the teachercandidates the opportunity to provide one-on-one tutoringand to have students participate in activities based on a va-riety of subjects.

One of the important aspects of the initiative is the devel-opment work the team embarks upon. This years ambitiousdevelopment work at the Kititimo Childrens Center includ-ed projects to improve the childrens daily quality of life.

These projects included: the painting of dormitories, build-

ings, and a mural; replacing mosquito netting on dormitorywindows (malaria is a highly ranked killer in Tanzania); re-pairing of desks; and, the purchasing of mattresses, linensand mosquito nets. The team also constructed a water towerfor the Center that now brings running water into the girlsdormitory. Future development work will provide runningwater to the boys dormitory and the kitchen.

As the orphanage relies largely upon food contributionsfrom the outlying community, their food security is uncer-tain. One of the primary goals has been to develop foodsustainability plan for the Centre. Food supplies were pur-chased to provide a secure reserve of food for the upcomingmonths. In addition, livestock and chickens were purchasedto breed; provide meat/dairy as well as a future source ofincome for the Center.

One of the most important aspects of the trip was the re-lationship developed between the members of the team and

the children of Singida. Prior toembarking on the journey, theteacher candidates had involved

their practicum schools in ac-tivities related to the upcomingtrip to Tanzania. Children in ourlocal schools wrote letters andprepared storybooks which wereread to the children of the Cen-ter upon arrival. They respondedwith notes and letters to theircounterparts in Essex County.Through this cultural exchange,

both groups of students learned to appreciate and understandeach others culture and lives in the context of their environ-ment, allowing them to gain a valuable global perspective.

The goals of this years trip were exceeded and the tripitself surpassed all expectations. These future educators de-veloped unbreakable bonds with the children of the Center.This experience will allow our teachers to carry forth themessage of a global responsibility we all bear unto our fu-ture generations.

In this harsh yet beautiful environment, survival is para-mount and all else becomes secondary, including merely be-ing a child. A primary concern was the social and emotion-al welfare of these children and a considerable effort wasmade to earn trust and to build self-esteem and condence.By simply spending time with them, being attentive to theirvoices, and engaging in social recreation, the children en-

joyed being just children.

The great thing about this experienceis that everyone takes something dif-ferent from it. Whether it be becomingmore passionate, more sensitive toother cultures or being more awareof ones own biases. Everyone will bechanged by this experience!

Fawne LoMascolo


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Garden clean-up event fall 2011

The Campus Community GardenProject (CCGP) is an attempt toamalgamate and raise awareness aboutthe issues of poverty and sustainabilityin a community-building approach tofood security in urban areas.

Food security, meaning the access

of all people to sufcient and nutri-tious food to meet their dietary needsand food preferences for an active andhealthy life , is a problem of increasingimportance in Canada and in our re-gion. The number of people who usedfood banks in Canada was 851,014 inMarch 2011 (food bank use in 2011was 20% higher than in 2001) and inWindsor-Essex County alone 235,000users in 2009 (242% increase from2006 to 2009) .

While multiple factors contribute tothis growing problem, both the com-modication of food and corporatecontrol of the food system can be iden-tied as the predominant threats to foodsecurity. The changes of the Canadianfood system over the past decades to-wards an industrialized mass produc-tion and distribution of food for exporthas resulted in a substantial increase offactory farms, both in size and number,and the dramatic loss of small farms,which has led to the impoverishment of

owners of small farms. This unjust andunsustainable situation has worsened.People working the land and producingor preparing food are underpaid andtheir work is devalued with the intensi-cation of the food industrys monopo-lization and manipulation of food and

its packaging. Moreover, the alienationof food consumers from farmers andfrom the food that they eat, along withthe loss of peoples abilities to growand prepare food and increased urban-ization are consequences of our currentfood system.

To create a food system that is moresustainable and just, that alleviates foodinsecurity and environmental degrada-tion, it is necessary to change from thecurrent corporate food system to a sys-tem that takes into account its environ-mental and human costs. By incorporat-ing all aspects such as food production,distribution, preparation, preservation,consumption, recycling and disposalof waste, and support systems, it mightbe possible to build sustainable andhealthy communities.

According to Power, two main ap-proaches towards such a food systemcan be taken: the creation of alterna-tive food distribution and marketinginitiatives such as farmers markets and

community-supported agriculture, andself-provisioning initiatives. Both ap-proaches are geared towards fosteringa healthy local community by circum-venting the corporate food system andempowering people in food matters.Projects to create such an alternative

food system can be found around theglobe and have been taken shape in thelast couple of years in Windsor-EssexCounty as well. The downtown farmersmarket, the Windsor Essex CommunitySupported Agriculture (WECSA), andthe Windsor Essex County CommunityGarden Collective, for instance, areinitiatives that promote an alternativefood distribution/marketing approach.Self-provisioning projects in Windsor-Essex County such as the communitygardens at Drouillard Road, the Down-town Mission, and the UnemployedHelp Centre, have also been created inrecent years.

In addition to these initiatives thatdismantle the divide between food pro-ducers and consumers and bring farm-ers from rural areas in Windsor-EssexCounty in direct contact with urbanresidents, I initiated the creation of acommunity garden that focuses on edu-cation, sustainability, and communitybuilding on the University of Wind-

Campus Community Garden Project:A Sustainable Food System ApproachBy D. rita Haase, Depatent o Woen's Studies & faculty o Education

STUDENTS ACT LOCALLY

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sor campus. The Campus CommunityGarden Project (CCGP) is a volun-teer-based grassroots initiative thatalleviates food insecurity in Windsorby teaching people how to grow theirown vegetables and fruits organicallyand by producing food for people inneed. The CCGP promotes sustainableurban agriculture and the building of ahealthy community by giving Univer-sity students, staff, and faculty as wellas members of the greater Windsorcommunity the opportunity to workthe land together and to meet regularlyfor gatherings and potlucks.

Participants are encouraged to takeresponsibility for themselves andtheir environments and to follow thepermanent agriculture (permaculture)approach by working with rather than

against nature, by reducing waste and(re)using everything, by producingfood in a small space and with limitedresources, by being energy efcient, andby conserving precious resources suchas water. Gardeners also have the oppor-tunity to learn how to build compostersand cold frames, to harvest and preserveproduce and seeds, to compost outdoorsand indoors (e.g., vermicomposting),and to enhance soil health and quality.

Project participants collaborativelymaintain the communal

area of the garden that isused for education andcommunity donations(70% of the lot), in ad-dition to the allotments(30% of the lot) that areused by individual gar-deners to produce foodpredominantly for theirown consumption.

The CCGP has been amajor success since itwas founded in February

of 2010. About 200 volunteers (85%students, 8% staff and faculty, and 7%community members) from the Uni-versity and the Windsor-Essex Countycommunity signed up for participationand about 20 of them actively supportthe project. Thanks to the remarkableenthusiasm and dedication of thoseparticipants, over 300 pounds of or-ganic produce were donated to variousfood banks/kitchens and communityorganizations in Windsor-Essex Coun-

ty in the 2011 growing season alone.Moreover, this committed group ofgardeners contributed substantiallyto the beautication of the Universitycampus and enhanced its environmen-tal sustainability by planting native andcultivated owers and shrubs, alongwith mostly heirloom herbs, fruits andvegetables.

The CCGP was also very successfulin bringing people from the greaterWindsor community and the campuscommunity together. About 140 highschool and elementary school stu-dents, community members, and stu-dents, staff and faculty from the uni-versity participated in special eventsthat helped maintain the garden. Someof the events were organized in part-nership with community organiza-

tions such as United Way, AssumptionChurch, Artcite Windsor, and Wind-sor Women Working with ImmigrantWomen while other events such as Sci-ence Rendezvous and University Wel-come Week were organized in collabora-tion with the University.

The CCGP, like a handful of oth-er initiatives, has helped reduc-ing food insecurity in Windsor-Essex County and fostered self-provi-sioning activties. These important activi-

ties, however, are just the

beginning and more ef-forts need to be undertak-en to further the develop-ment of a sustainable andhealthy urban commu-nity. Instilling an interestin organic gardening andencouraging urban resi-dents stricken by povertyas well as young peopleto come to the gardento learn hands-on aboutsustainability, steward-

ship, and the importance of well-beingof all citizens, are CCGP goals thatneed more attention and collaborativeeffort. The CCGP is currently in theprocess of seeking new collaborationsand strengthening existing partner-ships with community organizationsand school boards in Windsor-EssexCounty to build a sustainable and fairfood system.

It is my hope that the CCGP will at-tract more elementary, high school and

THE CCGP was founded in Februaryof 2010. It is located on California Av-enue (behind the Neal Education Build-ing), near the intersection with Fanch-ette Street. The University of Windsorprovides the land (0.39 acre), space for

storage and meetings, municipal water,and ground service support at no charge.More information can be found onwww.facebook.com/group.

university students in the future and thatpeople of all ages, ethnicities, and genderwill take advantage of the experientiallearning opportunities the campus com-munity garden has to offer. Educatingabout the link between community well-being, food affordability and sustainabil-ity is a way not only to raise awarenessabout poverty and social injustice but toeliminate these issues.To be able to enhance food security and

sustainability in our community, we needthe active support of many volunteers.So, come out to help us in our efforts together we can change the world.

RiTA HAASe s th foundr and currntcoordnator of th Campus CommuntyGardn Projct. Sh s an nvronmn-talst, actvst, and fmnst. Sh worksas a sssonal nstructor n th Facultyof educaton and th Womns Studsprogram, Unvrsty of Wndsor. Rtacan b rachd by emal: [email protected]

For more information:

1.FAO Practical Guide: Basic Concepts of FoodSecurity. www.fao.org/docrep/013/al936e/al936e00.pdf2.Food banks Canada: Hunger count 2011. http://

foodbankscanada.ca/getmedia/dc2aa860-4c33-4929-ac36-fb5d40f0b7e7/HungerCount-2011.pdf.aspx

3.United Way Windsor-Essex County. http://www.weareunited.com/img/campaigntoolkit2011/basic%20needs%20-food%20security.pdf

4.Statistics CanadaThe continuing urbanizationof Canada. http://geodepot.statcan.ca/diss/higlights/page7/page7_e.cfm

5.Power, E.M. Combining Social Justice andSustainability for Food Security. http://www.idrc.caen/ev-30587-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html.

Rita Haase flls composter



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On February 23, approximately 150students from the Greater EssexCounty District School Board and theWindsor Essex Catholic School Boardattended the 8th Annual Student SocialJustice Forum. The forum has growntremendously since it was rst held inMarch 2005 with just 70 students.

The forum is held every year at theUniversity of Windsor. Each partici-pant attends ve workshops throughoutthe day on a variety of themes relatedto social justice. This years workshopswere about the Holocaust, the right towater, poverty and homelessness, re-ducing the stigma of mental illness, as

ences to help students understand theseimportant issues. For example, duringthe poverty and homelessness work-shop with Adam Vasey from PathwayTo Potential and Maria Hamilton fromUnited Way Windsor-Essex (WE Vol-unteer Centre) students were faced withmaking decisions on how, if on social

assistance, they would make it througha month with the budget provided. Inan effort to break down stereotypes,Adam and Maria also educated stu-dents on the reality of citizens liv-ing in poverty and those experiencinghomelessness. In addition, during thewater workshop, Troy Brian, Luc Des-

well as an art activity.All the workshops were interac-

tive and highly stimulating drawingon students own thoughts and experi-

marais, Roger Dzugan, Rob McLeanand Chris Vilag from CAW Local 200educated the students on access to wa-ter around the world and how we all

can conserve this precious resource.The students had the opportunity tocomplete a work of art as a reection ofwhat they learned throughout the day.The goal of this forum was to encour-

age students who participated to be in-volved in projects that foster social jus-tice in their school and community.

The partners for this forum are theCentre for Studies in Social Justice, theHolocaust Education Committee of theWindsor Jewish Federation, the HumanRights Committee of CAW Local 200,in cooperation with the two area schoolboards.

SoCiaL JuSTiCE FoRuMEducates and Empowers Grade 8 Students to Make a Dif-ference n te Cmmnt

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ed, I was reminded of sexual assault sto-ries from back home. A Toronto wom-en's shelter, Nellie's, recently releaseda 2010/2011 annual report which high-lighted that Toronto police inltrated a

sex ring where girls as young as 14 werebeing auctioned off over the internet. Italso stated that last year, 20 women inOntario were murdered by their partnersand 60% of Canadian women with dis-Abilities are likely to experience someform of violence in adulthood.

Many of the girls in the group wereshocked at the thought of Canadianwomen continuing to combat sexualviolence. They viewed Canada as hav-ing a strong social welfare system and

When I decided to teach Englishin China for one year, I receivedmixed reactions; people expressed hope,excitement, and caution. Some friendsbrought up stories of hysteria and horrorabout women being captured when trav-elling alone and never being heard fromagain. My father, who was a young manwhen he travelled to Europe by himself,

was extremely wary when he heard I'dbe alone in Beijing for two weeks. Thesekinds of reactions reminded me of acommon message that our society instilsin women: because we are women, wemust protect ourselves and take precau-tions. Before I even stepped foot on aplane, questions probed in my mind:why does my society insist that womenshould be responsible for protectingthemselves from sexual violence?I taught in China for one year at Guangxi

University and in general I felt very safe

there especially as a foreign teacher. Thestudents, staff and local community peo-ple were welcoming and treated me likea guest in the country. I taught rst-yearuniversity in Nanning, Guangxi and be-came especially close with my students.

One night when I was hopping on mybike to ride home, a group of my stu-dents warned me to be careful becausethere were bad things that happenedon the campus. When I asked what theymeant, the girls told me about a recentattempted sexual assault in a campus

bathroom. I was appalled.The next day during the classroom

break, I brought it up to the students andmore sexual assault stories started com-ing out. A phrase that the girls continuedto make reference to was, women needto learn how to protect themselves. Iwanted to offer a space where the girlscould brainstorm and further discuss thisissue, so I asked them if they wanted toform a support group and they said yes.We met once a week until the end of the

year and gradually moved through thediscussion about women's challengesin the world. While we did not alwaysdiscuss such serious issues all the time, Ithink merely having the opportunity fora safe space was crucial. When my con-tract ended in July and I left China, thesupport group also ended, unfortunately.However, even though I cannot be there

to facilitate the group, I'd like to believethat I helped plant a seed, which willstay with the students and lead them tocontinue to question the status of femaleinequality throughout their lives.

During the period that the group exist-

thought that China was a country withthese kinds of problems. The groupwas not created for me as a foreigner toteach them about sexual assault andhow to solve this problem in their coun-try. It was to listen and provide a spacewhere females could express their fearsand ideas while practising English.Through this experience and by discov-

ering parallels between China and Can-ada it was reinforced to me that womenare at risk for sexual assault and vio-lence everywhere in the world. Sexualviolence towards women is not isolatedgeographically; it is systematic and af-fects women globally. While there arein fact differences among cultures andcountries, women's inequality is not asingle country's problem. Since womenin China and Canada are both at risk for

sexual violence, we must unite acrossthe world.As Canadians, we should not point the

nger at China with the idea, look howterrible women have it in that countryas a way to uphold the false notion that

women in Canada have rights equal tomen. Instead, I propose that we acknowl-edge our own country's inequality, probehow to address this problem, take actionwithin our own communities and genu-

inely attempt to listen and learn from thepeople of other countries. This kind ofmethod will unite everyone who wantsto see a safer world for women to live in.I also hope we deconstruct the womenmust learn how to protect themselvesrhetoric. Uniting together and question-ing this rhetoric, I hope, can lead us toalternative solutions that focus the re-sponsibility of sexual violence againstwomen on the perpetrators instead of thevictims themselves.

Teacher, how do we protectrselves?Addressing sexual violence as a teacher in ChinaBy Lauen Quinn, Univesity o Windso Student

STUDENTS CONNECTING



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Doug MacLellan is a Windsor based photographer. He is married and has one child. He discovered pho-tography at the age of ten when he found a print-making machine. He is basically a photojournalist andspends considerable time working on self-nanced projects in sub-Saharan Africa and in Windsor/Essex.

Previously he was the ofcial photographer for the Hockey Hall of Fame and Toronto International Film

Festival.

Many of his bodies of work deal with stories that on the surface look hopeless but which he con-siders hope-full, usually due to long term commitments by the subjects. He has created workabout a man running around the world to end hunger, a woman who helps street kids who havefallen through the social safety net, and a bush doctor working at a rural hospital in Zimbabwe.

"Occupy Windsorwork in progress" is part of a larger, thirty year body of work about "Public Protest." Most of his work is in-tended for book publication, much has been exhibited, and occasionally, some photographs raise signicant amounts of money for

a particular subject.

The perspective of this personal essay is that of a man with thirty years experience photographing protests, who thought he had seeneverything and was inspired when he took, for him, a much closer look and went beyond the signs and politics. To view more ofDoug's photography visit http://douglasmaclellan.photoshelter.com/

"Start Blvng n each Othr." Octobr 2011. "Occupy Wndsor." Day 13. Wndsor, Ontaro.

IN PHOTOGrAPHS

16

2011 Douglas MacLellan


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Ron s homlss and an alcoholc. H stops drnkng durng hs tm at Occupy and bgnsa daly journal wrtng routn usually accompand by havy mtal musc. Occupy Wnd-sor, Canada, Novmbr 2011.

Hangng out togthrat th camp.

Octobr 2011."Occupy Wndsor,"

Day 14.Wndsor, Ontaro.





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The latest issue of the journal Studies in Social Justice is now on-line. This special issue, en-titled "Democracy and Social Justice" was edited Dr. Bob Brecher, Professor of Ethics at theUniversity of Brighton in the UK.

Call for Papers

Special Issue o Studies in Social Justice

"Justice ate Violence: Citical Pespectives o the Westen Balkans"

Guest Edito: Diane Enns, Depatent o Philosophy, mcmaste Univesity

Two decades after violence broke out in the Western Balkans following the dissolution ofYugoslavia, the struggle for justice, sustainable peace and civil society politics continues toencounter imposing obstacles. The success of ethnic cleansing has led to an impoverished po-litical system starkly divided along ethnic lines, intolerance and hostility at the local level, and

lack of trust in, or indifference towards, political leaders. Justice mechanisms center on theprosecution of a select few war criminals, neglecting questions of broader responsibility andcausing resentment over the lack of justice at the community level. Postwar economic hard-ships, institutional breakdown, traumatized victims of war and inequality add to the challengesof rebuilding society and complicate the relationships between justice, peace and politics.

This issue of Studies in Social Justice will focus on the current status of justiceas a conceptand processin a region dealing with an egregious past and its contradictory legacies. Weinvite contributions that reect on justice and its relation to peace and politics in the aftermathof violent conict in the Western Balkans. Suggested topics include (but are not limited to):

The relationships between justice mechanisms and peace or peacebuilding, politics, hu-man rights, economics, or institutional infrastructure

Tensions between local and international peacebuilding efforts and justice processes Transitional justice paradigms and practices, and their effects on communities in theregion Critical responses to the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia The meaning of justice from the perspective of victims of the conict New approaches to the peace vs. justice debate

The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2012. Essays should be between 6000-8000words and must be prepared for blind review. Contributors should consult the stylistic guide-lines listed on the Studies in Social Justice website: www.studiesinsocialjustice.org.

Please send your essay electronically in MS word format to Diane Enns: [email protected]

Principal Contact

Nicole NolJournal ManagerCentre for Studies in Social JusticeUniversity of WindsorWindsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, CanadaPhone: 519-253-3000 ext. 3492Email: [email protected]

STuDiES iN SoCiaL JuSTiCE


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CoMBiNED hoNouRS

iN SoCiaL JuSTiCE

MiNoR iN SoCiaL JuSTiCE

TWO OPTIONS

For a Combined Honours in Social Justice students will be requiredto take 12 social justice courses, including 6 core courses.For a Mi-nor in Social Justice students will need to take 6 social justicecourses, including 4 core courses.

INTErDISCIPLINArY

The program is interdisciplinary in nature, and draws upon coursesand expertise from every department within the Faculty of Artsand Social Sciences, as well as the Faculty of Law and the Faculty

of Human Kinetics.

INTErNSHIP OPPOrTUNITIES

The Social Justice practicum will allow students in the Social Jus-tice program to apply their academic knowledge in a practical set-ting. Potential practical settings will include social movements andsocial justice-oriented community agencies ded cated to research,education, and community outreach.

WIDE rANGE Of COUrSES

Courses listed in the program include such a wide range of top-

ics as: feminist movements, labour rights and struggles, gay andlesbian liberation, anti-racism, Aboriginal justice, migrants' rights,environmental justice, and struggles for global equality.

OPPOrTUNITY TO COmBINE WITH OTHEr DEGrEES

The Degrees in Social Justice can be combined with any otheruniversity degree in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Sincethe Social Justice courses are drawn from virtually every programwithin the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, it will be easy forstudents to satisfy requirements for both degrees.

The University of Windsor Social Justice program offers studentsan opportunity to attain a critical understanding of the main issuesrelated to social justice (e.g. the meaning and ways of bringingit about) and an opportunity to apply their skills and knowledgein a practical setting (community agencies, government sectors,universities).

For more information please visit our website www.uwindsor.ca/socialjustice or call at 519 253-3000, ext. 2326.

iNVoLVED iN SoCiaL

JuSTiCE RESEaRCh?

Cntct te Centre fr Stdes

n Scl Jstce

if you want to form a research

interest group in your eld of

reserc.

FREE MEMBERShip!

If you are interested in joining

te Centre fr Stdes n Scl

Justice, you can join on-line byvisiting our website.

www.uwindsor.ca/socialjustice

Click on Membership Information for

frter detls.



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cssj newsletter vol 7 no 1 (spring 2012)

Documents