PIRGSPECTIVES March 2016

OPIRG MCMASTER

MARCH-2016

PIRGSPECTIVES newsletter of OPIRG McMaster

Standing Room Only at March 9th Discussion of Race, Poverty, and Policing in Hamilton

By Caitlin Craven McMaster Community Poverty Initiative (MCPI) Coordinator It was a packed house last Wednesday at a panel discussion on the Criminalization of Poverty: Race, Poverty, and Policing in Hamilton. Panelists included Dr. Ameil Joseph from the School of Social Work and co-founder of Hamilton’s Anti-Racism Centre, Kayonne Christy, a student from the McMaster Womanists, Yvonne Maracle from the de dwa de dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, and Ian Jarvis, a Hamilton artist and advocate who has focused on HIV/AIDS, queer, and sex worker activism. Each spoke powerfully about how those who are racialized and live in poverty experience disproportionate targeting and violence by police.

This event was organized by MCPI with the support of OPIRG McMaster and the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community (PACIBIC).

For full details of the event, visit opirgmcmaster.blogspot.ca/.

Looking for volunteer opportunities with OPIRG? There are three streams of volunteering:

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WORKING GROUPS

GENERAL VOLUNTEER

BOARD OF DIRECTOR

Each social justice or enviro-themed group sets their own schedule and is free to join

Help with graphics, write for our blog or create a general resource centre: when you can!

Serve as a volunteer member of our board — all decisions made using consensus

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EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

check out OPIRG’s event calendar at www.opirg.ca/ calendar

CUP OF CONNECTIONS

Weekly drop in for tea/coffee #fairtrade Thursdays 2-3pm MUSC 229 OPIRG.CA

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PIRGSPECTIVES MARCH 2016

MORE IN DEPTH ARTICLES AT OPIRGMCMASTER.BLOGSPOT.CA Indigenous peoples and other minority groups, and the second one will be about treaties.

McMaster Indigenous Student Community Alliance (MISCA): Volunteer Profile — Sadiyah Jamal

Why do you volunteer, and what does it mean to you?

In my search for ways to get involved [at McMaster], I found OPIRG (which then led me to MISCA) and I've been heavily involved with both groups since. For me, volunteering is giving my time to support organizations or causes that I believe in, and I volunteer so I can use my time to do something worthwhile and make a difference.

By Takhliq Amir This will be a Volunteer Profile series of interviews conducted with some of OPIRG’s volunteers. The purpose of this series is to not only allow the readers to learn about the various working groups associated with OPIRG McMaster but to also gauge their own interests in the many causes that they can volunteer for. In this first interview, I had the opportunity to interview Sadiyah Jamal, a volunteer who has dedicated much of her time to working with OPIRG and the MISCA working group.

Why OPIRG? I've always had an interest in social justice, and finding a medium through which I could turn my concerns into action was what attracted me to OPIRG. I found out about OPIRG through Fossil Free McMaster, and upon reading about the organization and what they work towards I decided I would really like to be a part of it!

What is your role with MISCA? As the OPIRG Liaison for MISCA, I am in charge of some administrative tasks (like contacting the staff for booking rooms and tables at MUSC, and keeping the website calendar updated with MISCA events) and also making sure information is communicated between the two. Most recently, we have started a series of speaking events where we are inviting students to come and speak about the various issues Indigenous peoples face in Canada. The first of these talks was about media representation of

What is the best part of volunteering?

The best part of volunteering for me is the people.

Finding people who share the same passions as me and being able to work for a common purpose together has really helped me make some wonderful friends.

For the full article, visit opirgmcmaster.blogspot.ca.

A LOOK BACK INTO THE ARCHIVES: CONSTRUCTION CONCERNS Current on-going construction beside Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery (MDCL) raises memories of a similar sight back in 2007 that involved the creation of a new road at Cootes Drive and College Crescent.

That particular construction project raised many concerns about pedestrian safety issues due to the constant presence and activity of heavy-duty vehicles. A move to alleviate greater congestion along College Crescent, this led to worries about the use of the construction ramps by other unauthorized drivers, causing greater safety issues for pedestrians crossing the area.

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