2nd annual Equity and Community Building Award - Winners
Student Category
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Jacob Sagrans has been actively, indeed proactively, engaged in equity issues since coming to Â鶹AV as a graduate student, showing an outstanding commitment to the promotion of inclusivity in a number of different ways. He is a member of the JBSCE Sub-Committee on Queer People, the PGSS Equity Committee, and is currently President of the Music Graduate Students’ Society. What stands out is the number and range of initiatives that he has promoted which are aimed at creating a more equitable and inclusive environment at Â鶹AV, including proposals that affect University policies and practices, such as the proposal for a University-wide response protocol in the case of bias-motivated incidents, changes to Â鶹AV’s mission statement to recognize diversity, and a survey on graduate students’ equity experiences, to name a few. |
Team Category
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Chelsea Barnett and Annie Preston were nominated for their joint work as coordinators of the Rez Project in 2013. This project is part of the Orientation for first year students in residences. It introduces and develops conversations about gender identity, sexuality and sexual assault, and teaches students to work together to create safer spaces. Annie and Chelsea were responsible for training facilitators, updating training materials and coordinating workshop sessions delivered to over 3000 students. While the Rex Project has been in effect for several years, Chelsea and Annie introduced a number of changes to make it more effective, overhauling the program to make it more accessible and relevant. |
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Emily Boytinck and Dan Moczula were nominated for their work as coordinators of the 2013 Community Engagement Day, the second such day at Â鶹AV. CED is day when members of the Â鶹AV community are encouraged to participate and volunteer in a variety of community projects in the Montreal area. In 2013, there were more than 600 participants taking part in more than 40 projects. The success of this day is largely dependent on the organization and leadership shown by the two coordinators. Months of careful preparation were involved, prior to the event itself, including finding suitable projects and liaising with them, finding group leaders at Â鶹AV, training and supporting them on an ongoing basis, and communicating with the Â鶹AV community in order to encourage volunteers (students and staff). |