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Monthly Archives: January 2009

AMS Election Endorsements… Priority Child Care

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ 2 Comments

So, this year we decided to get up off our butts and find out what campus politics is all about.  And make endorsements! But not just any endorsements, we’re endorsing the candidates we think have the best ideas at solving the child care crisis at UBC (because yes, it has officially become a crisis).

As a feminist publication based at UBC, we have chosen child care as our priority theme for the 2009/2010 school year. So, natually we want to make sure that we help elect a group of people who also support increased access to child care at UBC.

Why is Child Care important?

Why is this something that is important? Well, at last count, there were 1400 children on the UBC Child Care waiting list. The estimated wait time is 2-4 years (some women have done their whole degree without getting child care access). There are few other non-UBC options in the area because of UBC’s seclusion and though UBC has continually promised to increase child care spaces… they aren’t doing much about it. In fact, they just refused to cover the shortfall in the Longhouse’s child care program, thus causing 30 child care spots to vanish.

While child care isn’t just a woman’s issue, it is an issue that is especially important to female students and staff. We MUST do something about it now. Let’s help elect an AMS Executive who feels the same way. Here are our endorsements:

* Endorsed candidates are listed in bold. Candidates who have received Honourable Mentions (either because they did respond in time or because they are not our first choice but we would love to work with them) are in italics.

President:

Blake Frederick

Paul Korczyk

Alex Monegro

 

VP Academic

 

David Nogas

Sonia Purewal

Johannes Rebane

Jeremy Wood

VP External

Timothy Cho

Iggy Rodriguez

 

VP Administration

 

Crystal Hon

Tristan Markle

 

VP Finance

 

Ale Coates

Tom Dvorak

 

Board of Governors

Bijan Ahmadian

Andrew Carne

Michael Duncan

Blake Frederick

Tristan Markle

 

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A BREAKDOWN OF EACH RACE AND OUR REASONING FOR ENDORSING THE CANDIDATES WE HAVE ENDORSED.

 

————————

 

ONLINE VOTING: Thursday, January 29 to Monday, February 2
Please note the link for ONLINE VOTING will be posted here once online voting begins.

ON CAMPUS PAPER VOTING: Wednesday, February 4, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Presidential Endorsements

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

Candidates:

 

Blake Frederick

Paul Korczyk

Alex Monegro

 

——

Blake Frederick:

 

Could a feminist ask for a better AMS President candidate than Blake Frederick? Probably not. Not only is he a regular Antigone reader, but he has also volunteers for the Vagina Monologues at UBC.

 

It gets better. Child care is part of his platform AND his personal statement! In fact, if elected he plans to help create a united coalition of groups to lobby all levels of government to fund the creation of new childcare spaces (wait… isn’t that what Antigone is working to do? Synergy much?), increase the AMS Evelyn Lett Childcare Bursary AND call on provincial government to provide more money to student parents through the Child Care Subsidy program.

 

Go vote for this guy. Stop what you’re doing. Go to the student center, log in and vote. Now. This is a guy who understands child care and fights for it. Says Frederick:  “I’ve been fighting for affordable childcare on this campus for over a year now alongside AMS VP External Stef Ratjen. During the municipal election, I produced a lobby document (see attached) that argues for all municipal governments to commit to expanding childcare in the city. For the federal election, I produced a similar document and lobbied over a dozen federal candidates on childcare. As AMS President and UBC Board of Governors representative, I will continue to fight for the expansion of affordable childcare spaces.”

 

And he also gets the importance of having women in politics: “The AMS itself is vastly underrepresented by women. This is blatantly obvious by the fact that there are no women President or Board candidates. The problems of representation are complex, but the AMS must change the way it functions so that it can be accessible to all students. As AMS President, I plan on initiating a comprehensive indepedent review of systemic discrimination in the organization and ways to fix it. I consider this one of my top priorities.”

 

Conclusion:

Two words: Vote. Now.

 

Paul Korczyk:

Mr. Korczyk didn’t reply to our e-mails and does not mention child care on his website.

 

Conclusion:

We don’t endorse that which we don’t know. That should be a proverb. We also don’t support those who don’t make child care a priority.

 

Alexander Monegro

Mr. Monegro didn’t reply to our e-mails and does not mention child care on his website.

 

Conclusion:

Blake Frederick is a much better option. Not only does he directly address child care in his platform, but he also responded to our inquiries with enthusiasm. We are however encouraged by the fact that Mr. Monegro was endorsed by April Tam, the VP of the Women and Gender Studies Student Society.

 

VP Academic Endorsements

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

Candidates

David Nogas

Sonia Purewal

Johannes Rebane

Jeremy Wood

 

David Nogas:

 

In his e-mail to us, Nogas acknowledged the child care problem but does not have a solution for how he would work to help increase child care spaces on campus: “I recognize its a serious, serious problem. 3 year waits are ridiculous and unacceptable, limiting access to education for many women and families. It’s not right, it’s shameful that Canada and UBC have allowed this to happen, to let it continue and grow for so long. It’s a problem that’s fixed with money, and I don’t know how I would get it, I don’t see any path or argument I could use to actually help these people.”

 

While Nogas seems to support work to make child care a priority in the SUB Renewal project, he also admits “Childcare is an issue I’m unfamiliar with, and one that doesn’t personally resonates with me.” Still, he does seem amenable to working with us: “Maybe it would be best if I met with you to discuss it, I’m sure you have some ideas. I’d love to hear them, what you think would be the most effective way to help, how the Vp academic could be used, what the best approach is.”

 

Conclusion: As far as child care goes, there are much more sympathetic candidates in the VP Academic race.  We appreciate the response though!

Johannes Rebane

Mr. Rebane sent us a late response, so although the rules of our endorsement competition state that we cannot endorse him, we will however give him an honourable mention. We were very encouraged to see Mr. Rebane mention child care in his personal statement AND in his platform.

His e-mail to us shows that he has put some thought into child care issues on campus and we would be more than happy to work with him in the future. Our only concern is that he didn’t mention including child care as part of the SUB Renew project or concrete ways he would get the university to expand their child care offerings, BUT he did support a proposition that we at Antigone are fond of: getting developers to pony up for child care: “As VP Academic and University Affairs, one of the greatest places I would have to effect positive change for increasing child care would be in my position on the Board of Directors for the UNA. This board decides what can be built where with regards to the University neighbourhood areas (this includes most of the development happening in south campus). One of my approaches to the committee will be to make sure that, as more residential development takes places, that developers will be required to also provide child care facilities or provide funding for child care commensurate to the amount that they are building. The land that is being developed right now is incredibly valuable, so more child care is something they should be able to afford, and something we cannot afford to ignore.”

Conclusion:

We would be more than happy to work with Mr. Rebane to help increase child care access at UBC.

Sonia Purewal

Ms. Purewal is a great candidate (and a female candidate!) who has child care in her platform. We definitely support her and are excited about her ideas for an AMS child care service. Since she articulates them so eloquently, I will let her tell you about them:

“I have discussed this with Stefanie Ratjen and Tim Chu and we agree that a non-profit AMS child care centre be created along side a community service learning program such that students in departments such as family studies and education can also benefit by gaining experience working in a related field. […]. Thus, I would work with the VP Administration to allocate space in the space program for the new SUB for a child-care facility that would meet and exceed government standards and would be run as a non-profit AMS business before the architects begin designing in the next few months. In the short term, I would work with the VP External to lobby for increased funding in childcare and I would push to create a drop in child care area in the SUB where students can leave their children in the care of a qualified child care worker for a few hours as they attend class. This plan can be implemented far quicker than a full service daycare and students can leave their children there during class and pick them up once they are done.”

Conclusion:

Endorsed.

Jeremy Wood:

The VP Academic candidates are apparently an embarrassment of riches as Mr. Wood is yet another candidate that we MUST endorse. Childcare is one of the central issues of his platform.

He definitely gets the reason why child care is so important: “Childcare is one of the central issues of my platform and campaign this year. Expanding childcare is absolutely integral towards creating a framework of equity for all students on campus. Failing to do so systematically excludes both women and families, often forcing them to terminate or prolong their studies.”

He also plans to make women’s issues an intrinsic part of his work:  “I want to make my office’s work with Equity one of the most important foci of my term. The newly founded Equity Office needs to be expanded in scope and power. I want an absolutely zero tolerance policy on exploitation of women, LGBT people and minorities on campus as well as firm penalties for any who violate this policy. I want to help create a UBC consciousness that does not believe the solution to gender based violence is to just encourage women to watch their drink but that takes a strong hand in making campus a safe environment, whether through education or by demanding Frats, Frosh committees and any organizations against whom accusations of exploitation have been made be accountable for their actions by financial means, permission to advertise events or other penalties.”

And not to leave Women’s Studies out… “ UBC does not express itself as an institution that values feminism or even women when it continues to consign Women and Gender Studies to a shack on the side of Brock Hall. Along with other small vital departments like First Nations Studies I intend to fight for increased funding where it is needed so that we may say in sincerity that we feel those issues studied in these programs are worth our attention and our concern.”

Conclusion:

Is this guy endorsed by us? Um… heck yeah!

VP External Endorsement

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

Candidates

Timothy Chu

Iggy Rodriguez

Various joke candidates

——

Timothy Chu

 

We love Timothy Chu for his enthusiasm for child care on campus. Child care is part of his platform and he has some great ideas, however as VP External, we would have loved to see more plans for him to lobby the government to get increased funding.

 

Regardless, we are excited about this idea:

“I want to … create a childcare centre on campus that is administered by the AMS. This childcare centre would be revenue neutral and must be completely non-profit to ensure that these spaces are accessible regardless of socio-economic background.

 

I also want to work with the VP-Academic and the Senate to implement a CSL (Community Service-Learning) at the childcare centre. A CSL is a course where for two weeks the students are removed from the lecture setting and given an opportunity for some hands-on experience. If we implement a CSL at the childcare centre, we would put students in the centre to help out and learn some hands-on experience. By implementing a CSL in the childcare centre, not only would we be able to have our at-large students who are studying in fields like Family Studies, Education and Psychology receive hands-on experience but we can maximize the number of childcare spaces if enough CSLs are implemented in the childcare centre because then the students can play a part in caring for the children.”

 

Totally awesome idea! Plus, he wants to work to get more women involved in the AMS.

 

Conclusion:

Endorsed!

 

Iggy Rodriguez:

 

Mr. Rodriguez did not respond to our e-mails or mention child care in his platform.

 

Conclusion:

Sorry, Iggy. No endorsement for you.

VP Administration Endorsement

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ 1 Comment

Candidates:

Crystal Hon

Tristan Markle

——–

Crystal Hon

Although child care is not part of her official platform, Ms. Hon seems to support work to increase spaces:

“My contribution to the solution would be to ensure that the plans for the new SUB sets aside enough space to comfortably house a daycare facility, something that allows for outdoor and indoor facilities. It would also need to be situated in a spot where the children would be allowed to make as much noise as they would like (as they are children) and not disturb their neighbours. As this issue is something that the entire AMS executive team would need to pull together to work on, if elected VP Admin, I will support and help carry out some of the other innovative ways we could make this childcare facility work for as many students as possible. The idea of implementing a Community Service Learning program where students from different faculties could come in and work at the daycare and also forming a committee to look at the types of things that students with children would want out of an AMS daycare.”

Conclusion:

While we would love a VP Admin who felt more passionately about the issue, we would definitely look forward to working with Ms. Hon!

Tristan Markle

Mr. Markle does not mention childcare in is platform, but that doesn’t stop him from being a strong advocate for it.

Among his ideas is to use the old SUB for child care on top of creating child care spaces within the new SUB: “decisions will be made by the Board about what uses to put in the old SUB, and I’ve been pushing for proper child care (using the second floor courtyard for play area). I think that is a really good possibility if we continue to push for it.”

Mr. Markle seems to understand the problem and it’s importance: “For me, the goal is simple: there should be no waitlist for child care spaces for (potential) students. That is a clear financial barrier to education, and is furthermore discriminatory to a particular part of the population we should be reaching out to the most (single parents). Increasingly, post-secondary education is necessary for people to pursue their dreams, and denying that opportunity to single parents hurts everyone and does little to address the issue of child poverty (that everyone on all areas of the political spectrum claims to want to eliminate).”

Conclusion:

Although Antigone would love to endorse the female candidate, we feel that Mr. Markle is the better choice here, as he seems more interested in and more engaged in the debate about child care on campus.

VP Finance Endorsement

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ 2 Comments

Candidates:

Ale Coates

Tom Dvorak

——

Ale Coates:

Ms. Coates seems to support child care services on campus:

“As VP Finance, I will work to create and support a committee that will represent the demand and need of students for a more affordable and available childcare system to the University and the province. With $180 000 in funds directed to childcare, we need to make sure that they are employed and administered effectively. The committee and the available funds should be used to promote, support and impulse solid and sustainable solutions that seek to increase the amount of services and to decrease or subsidize rates for childcare resources on campus.”

Conclusion:

Endorsed.

Tom Dvorak:

Mr. Dvorak didn’t respond to our e-mails and didn’t mention child care in his platform.

Conclusion:

Not endorsed.

Board of Governors Endorsements

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

Candidates:

Bijan Ahmadian

Andrew Carne

Michael Duncan

Blake Frederick

Tristan Markle

Our endorsement is going to go to Blake Frederick and Tristan Markle.  The truth is that they’re great candidates when it comes to child care. Also, no one else running bothered to e-mail us back.  Or talked about child care.

Dreams for Women – SLC Edition 2

25 Sunday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

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Assistant editor Kaitlin and I presented at UBC’s Student Leadership Conference in early January.  Contrary to popular belief, our presentation, which was entitled ‘The Power of Dreaming’, did not involve patchouli, incense or yoga poses but did involve cutting and pasting Dreams for Women postcards (we’re totally bringing arts and crafts back).  So, while we had a slick powerpoint, great jokes, and a well rehearsed presentation, we were totally upstaged by the work of the participants. As you can see, the postcards that were made are absolutely gorgeous, thoughtful and creative. Thank you to all the cool people who made postcards during our session!  You all rock. We’ll also be posting more two weeks from today, so check in. Also, we just got some great postcards from a wonderful university (will it be yours? Tune in to see!).

I would also like to remind everyone to pick up their Dreams for Women 2009 calendar! Check it out here! They are now on SALE for only $5, plus shipping and handling.  Buy one for yourself, buy a bunch for your friends as gifts or buy copies to sell as a fundraiser for your non-profit organization!

Antigone Magazine is facilitating a Feminist Postcard art project! We want to know what your Dreams for Women are.What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below:
Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA UBc
Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T 1Z1
OR
antigonemagazine(at)hotmail.com

With your postcard submission, we ask that you make a donation (if you can!) to Antigone Magazine for anywhere from $1 to $10. You can send your money along with your postcard or donate on our blog: http://www.antigonemagazine.wordpress.com/
But don’t worry… if you don’t have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.
What is Antigone Magazine? We’re a grassroots national magazine that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics in Canada. We work to empower young women to engage politically and civically and to actively take part in leadership roles.We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!

Why Are We Still Talking About This? Gender issues in higher education

15 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

Here is a great event that will be happening next Tuesday at UBC from 12:00-2:00. Is there anything that has been bothering you about how gender issues are dealt with at UBC or in higher education? Come on out! I’ll be there…

Why: As a woman student at UBC what are your experiences on campus? This event is designed to pull on the experiences of women students in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of what women students from across the campus – from different faculties, from both undergraduate and graduate levels  experience in terms of campus culture, campus climate and issues of concern for women students at UBC. This event will be the first of a series of events and initiatives to pull on the experiences of women students in order to encourage and foster and inclusive campus learning and living environment.

When: Tuesday January 20th 2009 from 12 to 2pm

Where: Theas Lounge, Graduate Student Centre, 6371 Crescent Rd.

Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Location: Thea’s Lounge
Contact: CJ Rowe
Tel: 604-822-2415

Dreams for Women – Student Leadership Conference Edition…

11 Sunday Jan 2009

Posted by Amanda in women's issues

≈ Leave a comment

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This weekend Kaitlin and I presented at UBC’s Student Leadership Conference.  Contrary to popular belief, our presentation, which was entitled ‘The Power of Dreaming’, did not involve patchouli, incense or yoga poses but did involve cutting and pasting Dreams for Women postcards (we’re totally bringing arts and crafts back).  So, while we had a slick powerpoint, great jokes, and a well rehearsed presentation, we were totally upstaged by the work of the participants. As you can see, the postcards that were made are absolutely gorgeous, thoughtful and creative. Thank you to all the cool people who made postcards during our session!  You all rock. We’ll also be posting more two weeks from today, so check in. Also, we just got some great postcards from a wonderful university (will it be yours? Tune in to see!).

I would also like to remind everyone to pick up their Dreams for Women 2009 calendar! Check it out here! They are now on SALE for only $5, plus shipping and handling.  Buy one for yourself, buy a bunch for your friends as gifts or buy copies to sell as a fundraiser for your non-profit organization!

Antigone Magazine is facilitating a Feminist Postcard art project! We want to know what your Dreams for Women are.What are your own dreams for yourself, your friends, your sisters, your daughters? Paint, draw, write, sketch or decoupage your dreams on a postcard and send it to the address below:
Antigone Magazine
C/O WILLA UBc
Box 61-6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T 1Z1
OR
antigonemagazine(at)hotmail.com

With your postcard submission, we ask that you make a donation (if you can!) to Antigone Magazine for anywhere from $1 to $10. You can send your money along with your postcard or donate on our blog: http://www.antigonemagazine.wordpress.com/ .
But don’t worry… if you don’t have the money, just send along the postcard and tell people about this program.
What is Antigone Magazine? We’re a grassroots national magazine that works to encourage young women to get involved in politics in Canada. We work to empower young women to engage politically and civically and to actively take part in leadership roles.We are raising the money in order to help launch the Antigone Foundation, a national foundation that will encourage young women aged 10-30 to get politically and civically engaged. Help support Antigone as we help to make the dreams of young women come true!
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