January 8, 2013

Volume 1, Issue 1

Upcoming Events:

SWAGS February/March 2013 Volume 1, Issue 2

The Academic/Student Affairs Committee of SWAGS is currently participating in the Staff Selection Promotion Tenure Committee (SSPTC) in search of candidates for teaching positions at the School of Social Work. In order to ensure that students’ voices are considered in the hiring process, we are inviting students to:

(1) Attend the scheduled job talks, and complete a feedback form (to be distributed at the job talk)

(2) Meet and greet with potential candidates following the job-talk and interview.

The next scheduled job talk is on the following date:

Dr. Nazim Habibov on Friday, March 1st from 12:30 - 1:30 at Wendy Patrick Room.

If you would like to meet with the candidate after their job talks, have any questions/feedbacks, or would like more information on the job talks, please feel free to email me at ilyan.ferrer@mail.mcgill.ca. Canadian Association of Social Work Education

(CASWE) Conference Workshop

Date: Wednesday, Feb 27th at 2:30 in Room 326, Wilson Hall Last year's SWSA and SWAGS student delegates (Andrea Palmer and Victoria Burns) will provide an overview of the CASWE conference, the role of student delegates and their role as co-chairs of the CASWE Student Committee. They will also share some highlights of their experiences at last year's conference in Kitchener/Waterloo. The aim of the workshop is to answer student's questions about the CASWE and start a dialogue regarding different models that will promote the involvement of McGill Social Work Students in future CASWE conferences.

Job Talks

SWAGS

Photos are from the Study Booster and

Intercultural Potluck organized

by the International and Out of Province

Committee.

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SWAGS Meeting Schedule: SWAGS meetings are held bi-weekly and are open to all members: Dates: March 1, 1:00pm -3:00pm March 15th, 5:00- 7:00pm (room 326) MSW and Q-year Town Halls: MSW Town Hall Date: March 22nd, 1-3pm Wendy Patrick Room. We are currently finalizing the date for the Q-year Town Hall. Truth and Reconciliation Commission Event: Date: March 25th, location and time TBA An event is being planned as an opportunity to learn more about residential school survivors’ experiences and perspectives on the TRC process. More information will be made available. Study Boosters: This popular event offering snacks and a place for students to relax before their final examinations will hold in March. A concise date will be provided by the International and Out of Province (IOOP) committee in March. End of Term Cultural Diversity Event The International and Out of Province (IOOP) committee will also be organizing an exciting end of semester activity slated for April, 2013 that will celebrate cultural diversity in the School of Social Work.

This is Our Life: Field Placements Workshop

Date: Friday, March 15 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm in Wendy Patrick Room As social work students, our field placements are often times our first experience of the social work profession. It is therefore important to arm ourselves with learning tools to understand and withstand a range of practice experiences. This workshop and dialogue will foster the sharing of positive experiences and challenges of social work student field experiences. This will be the first of this two part workshop series. o Did you initiate a new programme during your field placement? o Did you learn something new during your field placement that might be

beneficial to other social work students? o Are you interested in making your field placement experience a platform for

your first academic paper? o Will you like to be a sole presenter or contribute to a panel discussion on

specific field placement related issues? Let us know the strengths, weak points and major challenges associated with your field placements.

This workshop is coordinated by the International and Out of Province Committee and the

Racialized Students Network (RSN) To participate in the workshop, send an email to Ifeyinwa Mbakogu and Alex Beveridge

at: internationalandoutofprovince@gmail.com

SWAGS Page 3 of 5

Updates: MSW Advisory Group

The purpose of the January meeting was to generate a list of items and set them in order of priority as a way of identifying the work of the MSW Advisory Group for the winter term of 2013. The following items and beginning ideas to address these issues were identified:

- MSW class schedule can result in 9 consecutive hours of classes - Enhancing the experience of QY students as graduate students - Review admissions package - Alumni exit-survey, employment & recruiting

In the February meeting we worked on updating the exit survey. Other items discussed included: CASWE Accreditation, ISP workshop, scheduling an MSW Town Hall and Q-year registration fees. More information will be made available. The meetings are held in Room 326 from 2:30pm-4:30pm on the following days: March 20, April 17

Intra University Committee Update The SWAGS Intra University Sub Committee held a meeting on February 6th with 2 executive members of the FEUQ. In addition, 2 out of 3 SWAGS representatives attended the February PGSS council meeting. The agenda for this meeting included a motion that PGSS issue a statement supporting the McGill University administration's assertion that underfunding lays at the root of the financial crisis with Quebec universities. As this is a contentious issue, the SWAGS PGSS Council Reps created a survey and email send-out to solicit feedback from SWAGS members. This feedback was diverse but students generally felt that mismanagement was as important to consider as underfunding, and thereby supported the idea of calling for an independent financial review of Quebec universities. During this meeting, Council Members Naomi Hyba and Ed Lee suggested two amendments to the motion to reflect this feedback. The first amendment was unsuccessful but the second was passed, and the amended motion was voted through. To give feedback about this or any other PGSS-related matters, please speak to Ed Lee, James Guthrie or Naomi Hyba.

Post-Strike Community Building Event 29 students and faculty attended the post-strike community-building event held on January 18th. Following an icebreaker activity, participants engaged in a 15 minute personal reflection and writing exercise during which they were encouraged to explore their actions during the strike, the reasons for these actions, their feelings and what might things have been like if they had held an opposite opinion to the one they had. A discussion about what was learned through our experience of the strike and about looking towards the future concluded the event.

Academic & Student Affairs : Ilyan Ferrer Finance:

James Guthrie Intra-University & Community: Ed Lee International and Out Of Province: Ifeyinwa Mbakogu MSW Representative: Bonnie Pero PhD Representative: Patrina Duhaney

Social Justice & Advocacy: Alex Beveridge Q-year Representative: Marianne Leaune-Welt

SWAGS General Assembly

E-MAIL:

swags.pgss@ mail.mcgill.ca

SWAGS held a General Assembly on Thursday January 31st. With twelve students in attendance, quorum was not met. Thus we held a consultative forum in lieu of a GA. As such, all motions that were passed at the consultative forum were brought to the SWAGS executive meeting the next day, Friday February 1st and were voted in by the exec. The motions that were passed are as follows: 6.2 BIRT SWAGS advocate for the establishment of an equity committee within the school of social work 6.3 BIRT SWAGS write a letter of support to Provost Anthony Masi, Associate Provost Lydia White (Policies, Procedures and Equity), and Deputy Provost Morton Mendelson (Student Life and Learning), advocating for making SEDE a long-term priority at McGill and acknowledging SEDE's achievements and the invaluable service SEDE provides at McGill University. Marianne Arrived BIRT SWGAS AdHoc committee of James Guthrie & Gina Glidden & Ed Lee gather and disseminate SEDE’s operations and programming for the purpose of writing this letter of support 6.4 BIRT SWAGS endorse the current Idle No More movement; BIRT SWAGS develop a policy brief which outlines our support of the Idle No More movement and an opposition to Bill C-45 6.5 BIRT SWAGS take a position against the cuts to FRQ funding and advocate for reinstatement and augmentation of the funds through relevant channels.

McGill Idle No More Teach In #2 On Friday, Feb 8th, SWAGS collaborated with the First People’s House to present the McGill Idle No More Teach In #2. With a focus on “Lived Experiences”, this teach-in promoted relationship building and dialogue to build strategies for ways that we can all continue to participate in the Idle No More movement and push for First Nations treaty rights and sovereignty. Nakuset presented on behalf of the Native Women’s Shelter, while Dr. Elma Moses and BSW student Mary Shem provided valuable insight into their diverse experiences. It was a powerful and moving teach-in. Although there was a huge snowstorm, the event still drew approximate 40 participants, which included social work students and faculty members, in addition to broader McGill and Montreal community members. For those who were not able to attend, please feel free to check out the video coverage of the event, available here: http://www.livestream.com/idlenomoremcgill/

We’re on the Web!

See us at: http://www.mcgill.ca/socialwork/students/swags and on facebook

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Creating Safer Spaces in an Academic Environment: Racial Micro-aggressions,

Oppression and Colour Blindness Workshop “On Friday, February 15th, the International and Out-of-Province (IOOP) Committee of SWAGS, and the Racialized Students Network (RSN) collaborated with the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office to host a workshop titled: Creating Safer Spaces in an Academic Environment.: Racial Micro-aggressions, Oppressions and Colour Blindness. During the workshop, participants examined the ways that micro-aggressions, oppression and colour blindness exist in our everyday interactions, and discussed effective strategies that can be used to address such inequalities. The workshop was interactive, with interesting and engaging activities that encouraged participant discussion and the sharing of personal stories. Approximately 25 students from the BSW, MSW and PhD programs joined the workshop. Student feedback was very positive, with many expressing the need for similar workshops in the future. A number of students stated that such workshops allow an engagement and creation of safe and equitable spaces on campus. Students especially encouraged a continued dialogue with faculty, students, and community stakeholders in these spaces. Many thanks to Ifeyinwa Mbakogu who organized the event, Sarah Malik and Tynan Alexander Jarrett from SEDE, for facilitating the workshop, and IOOP, RSN and SWAGS - representing the student groups that supported the event.” - Workshop participant

SWAGS Executive Update SWAGS would like to welcome Patrina Duhaney as our new PhD student representative and Ilyan Ferrer as the new Academic and Student Affairs

representative. Congrats! Open SWAGS Executive positions include: Communications, and Social. If

you are interested in filling any of the positions, please contact us at swags.pgss@mail.mcgill.ca