Photo Essay: Vigil for Phuong Na (Tony) Du
On November 22, at the intersection of Knight Street and 41st Avenue in East Vancouver, Phuong Na (Tony) Du was shot dead by Vancouver police. He was unarmed and had been tapping a fence with a piece of wood. Witnesses say that he was shot within a minute of the police arriving on the scene, sparking the hashtag […]
UBC-hosted mining institute a threat: an open communiqué for directly affected communities
Introduction Critical analysis of the limited information that’s been released over the last year and a half from the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI), hosted at UBC in coordination with Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the École Polytechnique de Montréal (EPDM), leads to some damning conclusions. CIRDI is a mining, oil, and gas […]
The Lift to Lima: A UBC Student’s Experiences at the UN Climate Talks
It seems counter intuitive to fly to South America to sit in a military installation to negotiate climate change action, but so it goes in the world of the United Nations Climate Change negotiation process. As a delegate of the Youth Arctic Coalition and Polar Bears International I am following the 198 parties into negotiations […]
#ReasonsToResist at UBC: Fossil Fuel and Mining Investments
When mining companies like Goldcorp use the auspices of “Responsible Mining” to invest millions into our Mineral Research Deposit Unit, our Earth Systems Science Building, or a Women in Engineering initiative, the University and its students become indebted to companies and industries wholly designed to profit from the continued destruction of our environment. SFU doesn’t have a Goldcorp Centre for the Arts out of the generosity of a mine manager’s heart. UBC’s Goldcorp Inc. Teaching and Learning Wing isn’t an investment in students’ futures as much as it’s an investment in Goldcorp’s future. These are institutional investments to secure the field-specific knowledge base and specialized labour necessary to expand resource extraction.
3 Talon-Approved Events: Dec. 8-15
1. Save the Sacred Headwaters Fundraiser “An evening of music, speakers, food and discussion” presented by Beyond Boarding in support of the Klabona Keepers in Tl’abane (Sacred Headwaters), located in the north-west of the province. The Klabona Keepers are a group of Tl’abanotin elders and families who have been defending the area around the source […]
The Legacy of December 6 at UBC: Moving Forward
Trigger warnings: Misogynistic Violence, Murder, Suicide, Mental Illness, Slurs Note: This is being published today, instead of actually on Dec 6, as to leave time for reflection, and concentrate on moving forward. Twenty-five years ago, as of December 6, 14 young women, most of them engineering students, were killed. Their names were Genevieve Bergeron, Helene […]
Social Justice Synonyms #11: “OCD” and “Bipolar”
Although persons living with OCD and bipolar disorder are often high functioning individuals, many have at some point felt debilitated by their diseases, or have encountered feelings of distress, depression, and alienation. In contrast, a person without bipolar disorder who has a mood swing, or enjoys being punctual, does not have to live with these same symptoms. This type of misappropriation can prevent someone living with mental illness from speaking up or reaching out for help since they might fear not being taken seriously or being met with ignorance.
The Four Pillars Revisited: A Look at Vancouver Drug Policy
In 2001, after much campaigning by activists, academics and public health officials, Vancouver’s municipal council approved the boldest, most progressive drug policy in North America: A Framework For Action: A Four-Pillar Approach to Vancouver’s Drug Problems. The Four Pillars‘ philosophy was simple but revolutionary: the government should lessen the harms associated with drug use, even […]
violence on the land, violence on our (student) bodies
this redwood tree is wearing a protective covering because it was literally beaten to a pulp. on our campus. by ubc students. the tree, which stands on the north side of the first nations longhouse, is long known to some students as “the punching tree”. one blogger even advised the world wide web that, “you […]
