Youth | Pass it to the Left

Apr 25 2013

Activism, Children, Communication, Community, Culture, Education, Equality, language, LGBT, Local, Social Change, Youth

Beyond Pink: Queer Straight Alliance Changing Minds at King George School

It may come as a surprise that King George Secondary School, just a stone’s throw from the vibrant Davie Gay Village in Vancouver, was without a Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) only six months ago.

“I was shocked,” says Student Support Worker Deona Zammit, describing the atmosphere of homophobia when she first started at the school. She recounts how some kids yelled out “Yes it is!” while she was tacking up a series of school board sanctioned “Sexuality is Not a Choice” posters.

“There used to be a lot of name calling in every classroom,” QSA Student Leader Sienna St. Laurent says. “Someone asks a question and another turns around and say’s ‘that’s so gay’. They don’t think about how they use these words as part of their vocabulary.”

When Deona and Sienna teamed up to start the QSA in November they rectified the noticeable absence of King George on the school board’s list of QSA’s. Now every highschool within the City of Vancouver has one.

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Tagged Activism, Children, Communication, Community, Culture, Education, Equality, Language, LGBT, Local, Matea Kulić, Social Change, Youth

Jan 24 2013

Art, Communication, Culture, Education, Equality, Feminism, International, Love, Media, Music, Progress, Social Change, Women, Youth

Riding on the Backs of Women: Big Words and Big Realities for the Snowboard Industry

by Chelsey Geralda Denise Armstrong

I recently attended a Masters defense entitled (deep breath) “An Analysis of White-Supremacist-Capitalist-Heteronormative-Patriarchy in the Graphics of Burton and Capita Snowboards” (by Kascindra Shewan) and while I found some holes in the authors arguments there is no question that the emerging discourse was vigorous and vivacious.

Some of you readers may indeed play a big part in the snowboard industry, many of whom are my dearest friends and colleagues. It is therefore imperative that you understand: Any investigation into the role of women in contemporary society should not be immediately deemed as femi-nazi bullshit. Rather, try to appreciate that ‘everything happens for a reason’ – the words in our language, the symbols, the conventions, the attitudes – all these exist because of the relations (past and present) between genders, classes, ethnicities and religions. For example, the term “Paddywagon”, although seeming relatively harmless, is actually deeply imbedded in the ethnic violence incurred against Irish people at the turn of the century. “That sucks” is an example of hetero-normative language, as it implies that being gay and ‘sucking dick’ is somehow unnatural and gross. I’m not arguing for the eradication of “you suck” in our everyday language (well, maybe)– I’m suggesting that while I explore the quiet violence of stereotypes against women in the snowboard industry, you should not feel offended, hopefully it should spring some healthy reflection and discourse.

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Tagged Art, Chelsey Geralda Denise Armstrong, Communication, Culture, Education, Equality, Feminism, International, Love, Media, Music, Progress, Social Change, Women, Youth

Jan 14 2013

Activism, Civil LIberties, Communication, Crime, Human Rights, Internet, Knowledge, Media, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Youth

Aaron Swartz and the Fight for Freedom of Information

by Tracy Giesz-Ramsay

I had the brief chance to meet Aaron Swartz two years ago while in New York, and was instantly drawn to his charismatic outspokenness and passion when talking about the freedom of the internet and it’s powerful capability to inspire revolution and organize youth activism around the world. The room was full of fellow advocates and friends who when Aaron spoke, listened with awe and intensity to his every word. It was a swift encounter but a truly inspiring one. The following is a collection of statements from his close friends, family, and acquaintances that I find summarize the tragic situation far better than I could hope to myself:

“Since his arresting the early morning of January 11, 2011 — two years to the day before Aaron Swartz ended his life — I have known more about the events that began this spiral than I have wanted to know. Aaron consulted me as a friend and lawyer that morning. He shared with me what went down and why, and I worked with him to get help. When my obligations to Harvard created a conflict that made it impossible for me to continue as a lawyer, I continued as a friend. Not a good enough friend, no doubt, but nothing was going to draw that friendship into doubt.

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Tagged Activism, Civil Liberties, Communication, Crime, Human Rights, Internet, Knowledge, Media, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Tracy Giesz-Ramsay, Youth

Jan 11 2013

Activism, Children, Colonialism, Colonization, Communication, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Environment, First Nations, Health, Human Rights, Knowledge, Politics, Poverty, Social Change, Sustainability, Water, Youth

Idle No More – Snowflakes, Drums and Thunder

by Sarah Spence

I’ll be honest, I have never been a very political person and I have struggled with finding my identity as a member of the First Nations. I can confidently say that both of these have been because of the barrier that separates the ‘Indian’ world from the ‘White-Man’s’ world. It’s sad to say that this barrier still exists and continues to shackle my identity in a state of limbo, as I assume it has done to many before me and will do to many after me. However, this is a reality that many Indigenous people throughout the world are faced with when going through the integration process into the non-Indigenous society. There are stereotypes and ignorance regarding these separated societies that get picked up, and the fact that individuals do not follow these stereotypical concepts about being of Indigenous descent can often make them feel fraudulent, ambivalent and confused.

When I first started hearing about Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike and the Idle No More movement regarding Bill C-45, I was slightly hesitant and skeptical of what my involvement should be. Then I watched a Youtube video of Chief Theresa Spence explaining the cycles of pain of the people in her community who are living in third-world conditions. One thing she mentioned in the video struck a chord with me: that children can’t even take a shower without the possibility of getting a rash because the water isn’t clean. It wasn’t until I heard those words come out of her mouth that I realized the ignorance that I had been carrying around throughout most of my life.

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Tagged Activism, Children, Colonialism, Colonization, Communication, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Environment, First Nations, Health, Human Rights, Knowledge, Politics, Poverty, Sarah Spence, Social Change, Sustainability, Water, Youth

Sep 18 2012

Activism, Community, Democracy, Education, Environment, Knowledge, Parliament, Politics, Progress, Social Change, Sustainability, Water, Youth

The involvement of youth is essential for the survival of environmental science in Canada

by Kate Patterson

With the budding of a new school year, university students across the country are eagerly starting out on the next chapter of their lives in pursuit of their passions, but for many in biological and environmental science, that future may be quite bleak. As science students, we are taught about the importance of collecting good data, which is only way to provide evidence to support a hypothesis, but that foundation is being systematically eroded from the political policy- making processes in Canada.

Over the last few months, the Harper government has drastically threatened the ability of scientists nationwide to conduct important biological and environmental research. Let’s first start with the Omnibus Budget Bill that purged the Environmental Assessment Act and the Fisheries Act. The Bill came into law in June and contained provisions in the Environmental Assessment Act that drastically reduced the number and scope of projects that will require evaluation before approval. The protection of habitat was removed from the Fisheries Act, designating protection of areas only containing economically or culturally important species, thus eliminating most of the regulations that would prevent private development of sensitive aquatic areas.

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Tagged Activism, Community, Democracy, Education, Environment, Kate Patterson, Knowledge, Parliament, Politics, Progress, Social Change, Sustainability, Water, Youth

Sep 06 2012

Activism, Children, Community, Equality, Family, Health, Legal, Love, Non-Profit, Politics, Poverty, Social Change, Women, Youth

Thinking about Grandparent’s Raising Grandchildren this ‘Grandparents’ Day’

by Sarah Allan

Grandparents’ Day is a day to appreciate, recognize and celebrate every grandparent everywhere in the world. Grandparents who share time, wisdom, energy and love with grandchildren and great grandchildren; who provide child care while their children work; who spend their savings making sure their grandchildren have “a better life”; who don’t see their grandchildren and miss them dearly; and those who are raising their grandchildren 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, month after month, year after year.

In Canada, more than 65,000 children are being raised by a grandparent or other relative without any parental involvement. In British Columbia, there are almost 10,000 children who are being raised by their grandparents. This is more children than are in foster care in BC. Many of these children end up being cared for by their grandparents as the result of a crisis situation involving the child’s parents, such as the involvement of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, neglect or abandonment, drug addiction, mental health issues, incarceration or death. These amazing ‘grandparents raising grandchildren’, or ‘GRG’s’, have been referred to as the province’s ‘invisible foster care system’ as without them, the taxpayer funded foster care system would be responsible for the care and well-being of all of these children.

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Tagged Activism, Children, Community, Equality, Family, Health, Legal, Love, Non-Profit, Politics, Sarah Allan, Social Change, Women, Youth

Jul 31 2012

Activism, Charity, Children, Colonialism, Community, Environment, Health, Human Rights, International, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Sport, Water, Youth

Shady Sponsorship and Bhopal’s Special Olympics

by Melanie Hadida

Photo Credit: Sanjay Verma

About a week ago I found myself in Cardiff, Wales searching for a place to have a tea and scam some free internet so I could do some work. The best option to meet those specifications (in the city centre of a big UK city) is always Starbucks. It was a rare beautiful and sunny day and I was desperate to get as much time outdoors as possible. When I went up to the counter to order my chai, I asked the barista why their neatly stacked patio furniture had not been placed outside yet. “We’re not allowed,” she told me, “this is the Olympic Park area and no one is allowed to set up outdoors—we could be fined £20,000.” (On account of not giving a crap about the Olympics, I had no idea that Cardiff is apparently one of the event locations.)

Turns out, that since Starbucks isn’t an official sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic games, they could not set up tables and chairs on the lovely sunny cobblestone walkway outside of the café because this would be un-sanctioned advertisement for Starbucks. And this would make Coca Cola and McDonalds angry….and you wouldn’t like them when they’re angry…

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Tagged Activism, Charity, Children, Colonialism, Community, Environment, Health, Human Rights, International, Melanie Hadida, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Sport, Water, Youth

Jun 25 2012

Children, Culture, Education, Equality, Feminism, Social Change, Women, Youth

How Teaching Got Its Skirt (And Why That Skirt is Knee-Length)

by Shmoo Ritchie

The feminization of teaching in 19^th century Canada was due to a variety of factors, most notably the growing demand for teachers created by increases in enrollment. Because, at the time, men had a greater range of employment opportunities open to them compared to women—in accordance with Victorian principles—they were frequently drawn away from education as a job, leaving a vacuum in the profession that needed filling. By drawing on Victorian ideals of women-as-mothers, and comparing teaching to motherhood, female teacher sympathizers argued in favour of women-as-teachers, successfully defending women’s employment outside of the house. Furthermore, since women’s work was undervalued in society and female teachers were seen as less prestigious, less competent, and less authoritative compared to male teachers, they commanded a significantly lower salary. Thus the feminization of teaching was justified along economic means as well as ideological ones.

If historically women began dominating the education sphere along pragmatic (economic and supply/demand) and ideological (teaching is mothering) lines, how have things changed in the wake of the feminist and women’s movements of the 20^th century? Now that women are purportedly equal to men, and theoretically have access to the same employment opportunities as men do, why is the teaching profession still dominated by women? The answer, we will see, is that things have changed less than we might imagine.

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Tagged Children, Culture, Education, Equality, Feminism, Shmoo Ritchie, Social Change, Women, Youth

Apr 05 2012

Activism, Communication, Community, Education, Environment, Equality, Health, Knowledge, Politics, Social Change, Sustainability, Youth

Take It Away, Canada

By Rebeccah Redden

Opportunities come by all the time, especially now with media so accessible. You can get an email for a contest and the next day you have a new gift card. You can listen to the radio and win tickets to see Justin Beiber. Sometimes those opportunities go nowhere. But opportunities that are solid, that are good, that are golden, that you will always be able to catch are extremely rare.

Insert Katimavik. Katimavik is Canada’s leading youth volunteer program. It has been around since 1977, as started under Pierre Trudeau’s government by Jacques Hébert. It has changed many times throughout its long standing Canadian career until reaching todays six month program, providing a stay in two Canadian communities. Each program annually consists of around 800 youth. Each group has 11 youth age 17- 21. Each participant volunteers for about 40 hours per week and completes a learning program that focuses on Canada’s official languages, protecting the environment, leadership, cultural diversity, and leading a healthy lifestyle. Each year, more than 500 non-profit organizations are assisted by Katimavik volunteers doing full-time work.

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Tagged Activism, Communication, Community, Education, Environment, Equality, Health, Knowledge, Politics, Rebeccah Redden, Social Change, Sustainability, Youth

Mar 12 2012

Activism, Charity, Children, Community, Environment, Homelessness, International, Non-Profit, Photography, Youth

Project Somos – Building a Children’s Village in Guatemala

by Deanna Alexander

Project Somos is establishing a village for abandoned and orphaned children in Guatemala near the town of Tecpán.

The Village will have seven homes with Guatemalan Foster Mothers raising a household of children.
The family homes are being built using earthbag construction.
This eco-sustainable Village will use alternative power, and will have organic agriculture & orchards.
The Village is being designed in collaboration with Guatemalan architect, Cecilia Rodriguez.
Education, leadership and arts will be key focuses of The Children’s Village.
The Village will work hand in hand with the local Guatemalan community.

Project Somos volunteers

The first two homes each of which house one den-mother and seven children

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Tagged Activism, Charity, Children, Community, Deanna Alexander, Environment, Homelessness, International, Non-Profit, Photography, Youth

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Project Somos – Building a Children’s Village in Guatemala

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