A pancake breakfast, served up by York University President Lorna Marsden, kicks off this year's United Way campaign on Friday, Oct. 9. This event marks the official start of York's campaign and organizers are encouraging you to participate and to make a donation. Breakfast will be served between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. in the Central Square cafeteria and senior administrators will be on hand, along with Marsden and York's vice-presidents.

Marsden has challenged the president of Ryerson Polytechnic University, Claude Lajeunesse, to see who can flip the most pancakes and see which school can raise the most money for the United Way. All students, staff and faculty are invited.

The United Way campaign is targeting increased participation as its main goal. We are looking for "508 donors in '98." This should lead to $115,000 raised. Last year, York raised $106,137 and had a participation rate of 12 per cent. The participation rate is the percentage of York full-time faculty and staff who donate through a pledge card. The University of Toronto raised $568,229 and had a 24 per cent participation rate.

"We are hoping to close the gap between ourselves and U of T, but to do that, of course, we need to increase the number of donors," says Charles Kennedy, York's Director of Alumni Affairs and member of the United Way organizing committee. "Even a few dollars each pay period can make a big difference."

"This year we want to increase awareness through a high-profile campaign and an organized team of canvassers who will attempt to reach as many York staff, faculty and students as possible," says Gillian Sewell, York's United Way campaign coordinator. "The committee is hoping to add a personal touch this year by hand delivering as many pledge cards as possible."

The United Way's work is fundamental to this community's health and vitality. The United Way helps to fund battered women's shelters, child development centres, seniors home care programs, family resource centres, and much more. In fact the United Way of Greater Toronto funds more than 200 agencies and provides the core funding source of many services.

Giving to the United Way has never been easier, and if there are certain agencies people want to donate to, the United Way can accommodate their requests. "Donations can be designated to any of the United Way agencies or to any registered charity, simply by filling out the back of the pledge card," Sewell says.

by Sandra Guiry

Challenging Racism in the Arts: Case Studies of Controversy and Conflict, is the title of a new book written by York anthropology course director Carol Tator, co-authored by York anthropology professor emerita Frances Henry, and Toronto employment lawyer Winston Mattis.

The book was the topic of a public forum held at Metro Hall on Sept. 20.

More than 150 people attended the forum, which featured five panellists representing active and well-known members of the arts community. The panel included: acclaimed author Cecil Foster, filmmaker Richard Fung, playwright Daniel David Moses, artist Lillian Allen, and writer Ramabai Espinet.

Members of the panel responded to questions inspired by the book such as: how are cultural products produced, legitimated, and disseminated, by whom, and with what political, social, and economic implications? How do cultural institutions perpetuate cultural racism? Some panellists chose to discuss the case studies upon which the book is based. For example: efforts to establish a Black/dance music FM station to serve Toronto, the Barnes Exhibit ­ an Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition of 83 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings ­ the American production Show Boat, and the American musical Miss Saigon.

Filmmaker Richard Fung spoke about the Barnes Exhibit, which was protested by minority groups. The protest centered around the omission of non-European artists encompassing the Barnes collection from the exhibit. While the mainstream press did report the protest, the perspective was one which discredited the activism, he said.

Lillian Allen spoke of art and culture as a fundamental right of every human. "Culture is voice," said Allen. She posed the question, "Can voice exist outside of culture?" In Allen's view, the success of minorities in gaining power and presence in mainstream culture is dependent upon three principles: "resources, representation and redress."

Perhaps the most powerful argument came from writer Ramabai Espinet, who chose to offer her thoughts on this topic in the form of a narrative, specifically three vignettes describing the existence and experience of racism in everyday activities.

She also pointed out that many minority university students have never read a non-white writer. This is crucial to the movement to abolish racism as the fighters of an earlier generation "are growing weary, and no one is replacing them," Espinet said. Her suggestion is to continue to address more diverse curriculums in schools.

Daniel David Moses, a First Nations playwright, spoke about his personal experience of being the only First Nations individual in his university seminars. "Do I always have to be part of the educating process?" Moses asked. He also asked why traditional First Nations art and dress are consistently referred to by the mainstream press as "crafts" and "costumes" respectively. One step toward abolishing racism in art and culture is for people to realize that cultural productions with racist intentions and assumptions are not art, but propaganda, Moses said.

Cecil Foster, arguably the most widely accepted panelist by mainstream press, not surprisingly took a comparative approach to how artists of colour are accepted in the mainstream and alternative presses. Foster spoke of how barriers which face minorities in the alternative press exist to a greater degree than in the mainstream. In his experience, fewer minorities occupy positions in the newsrooms of alternative press outlets than the mainstream. Foster noted that the Toronto Sun has the most racially diverse newsroom of Toronto's mainstream papers. Artists of colour who become accepted into such press outlets are expected to be "sensitizing voices, forward voices and faces," said Foster. And while they may feel pressure to toe the line in a mainstream newsroom, they must speak out against racism where they see it.

Jill Sinclair has worked extensively on issues of international peace and security

by Don Evans

"This is very new diplomacy," says Glendon College graduate Jill E. Sinclair, of her role as Canada's Ambassador for Mine Action. "It entails taking a dry document [the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, known as the Ottawa Convention], and making it a living, breathing instrument of positive change.

"The Ottawa Convention has given hope to mine-affected countries worldwide," Sinclair said. "It has delegitimized the use of anti-personnel mines. Now governments are very hard-pressed to justify their use."

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy appointed Sinclair (BA, political science and history, Glendon, '80) to her ambassadorial post in May 1998. At the same time, to support her in her work, the government created the Mine Action Team within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Sinclair is a key advisor to Axworthy in working toward a coordinated mine action strategy. The foreign affairs minister and his colleagues from the Canadian International Development Agency, National Defence and Industry Canada together manage the
$100-million Landmine Treaty Implementation Fund, which was established at the time of the signing of the Ottawa Convention, December 2 to 4, 1997, in Ottawa.

Sinclair also is charged with reaching out to engage the support and interest of the Canadian public and ensuring that Canada is able to continue to provide international leadership on the landmines issue.

After graduating from York, Sinclair undertook a year of graduate studies at Dalhousie University before joining the Department of External Affairs in 1981. She has had diplomatic postings in Prague and Havana, and has worked extensively on issues of international peace and security in other key positions nationally.

From 1994, Sinclair served as director of the Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, with responsibilities including nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional arms control and disarmament, missile proliferation and regional confidence and security-building mechanisms, and dialogue within the Middle East peace process.

In that position, she played a crucial role in the Ottawa Process from its inception and the October 1996 Ottawa meeting where, on Canada's behalf, Axworthy challenged the world to conclude a comprehensive global ban on anti-personnel mines within a year, to the signing of the convention in December 1997.

Her ambassador's position "gives me the ability to do something for Canada and the world that has a direct resonance with Canadians," said Sinclair. As to the eventual success of the Ottawa Convention and its aim of eliminating the production and use of anti-personnel mines by all countries, she is "eternally hopeful," Sinclair told the Gazette.

York Vice-President (University Advancement) Gary J. Smith (BA Glendon, '68), himself a former Canadian ambassador, has worked with Sinclair on international arms control and disarmament issues and co-wrote a paper with her: Arms Control and Security Building in Asia Pacific: A Canadian Perspective (East West Centre, Hawaii). "Jill Sinclair has done an outstanding job of gaining recognition for Canada in an area of considerable complexity and political sensitivity, and in a profession that traditionally attracts the military and is populated preponderately by males," he said.

A reading of Rum & Coca Cola, a play-in-progress written by York theatre professor Judith Rudakoff, will be held at York on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre, Centre for Film & Theatre.

The text will be read by York theatre department graduates Anna Mackay-Smith (MFA) and Jason Jazrawy (BFA). The admission price is Pay What You Can (suggested $5 minimum) with all proceeds going to the Cuban theatre company, Teatro Escambray. Tickets are available at the door or in advance from Judith Rudakoff, email rudakoff@ yorku.ca

The play centres on two people ­ Juancy, a Cuban transvestite performer, and Suzanne, a Canadian tourist ­ who experience Cuba from both sides of the fence. And watching them, guiding them throughout, are the orishas (spirits of the Afro-Cuban pantheon) of the Santeria religion masquerading as local residents. The play is described as a journey home and a journey to figure out what home means.

"The play deals with people who leave home without ever leaving home ­ those who support tourist apartheid," said Rudakoff. "It also deals with coming to terms with the notion that you can't figure out who you are until you understand where you are, what context has shaped you, and what your roots are."

Teatro Escambray is an internationally renowned professional Cuban theatre company celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The company is undergoing severe difficulties as a result of the current economic and social circumstances and this benefit evening is one of several being held by Canadian friends of the group to help them survive into their next decade.

English as a Second Language Tutoring Centre

The York University ESL Tutoring Centre offers support on a one-to-one basis for ESL students, mainly by appointment, but some drop-in tutoring will be offered. Students may request help in any aspect of English, including listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Tutors are available in various locations, including the Arts Centre for Academic Writing, Atkinson Writing Programs Centre, and Glendon Writing Workshop. For a schedule of tutoring times or for more information, call Marie Kopf at (416) 650-8046, or (416) 736-2100, ext. 58046 or email: gradling @yorku.ca.

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Modern art expert to lecture on Rodney Graham

Alexander Alberro will be at York on Thursday, Oct. 8 to discuss the topic of "Virtual Time in the Work of Rodney Graham." Some of Rodney Graham's work is showing in the Art Gallery of York University until Oct. 25. Alberro's lecture will take place at 7 p.m. Curtis Lecture Hall D (around the corner from the AGYU). Alberro is assistant professor of modern and contemporary art at the University of Florida. He is a frequent contributor to Artforum, Frieze and October. His forthcoming publications include Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology (MIT Press: 1999) and Two Way Mirror Power: Dan Graham's Writings on His Art (MIT Press: 1999). This talk will be preceded by a screening of Rodney Graham's Two Generators (1984), a continuous film loop of approximately 10 minutes, which will be shown between 3 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. in the Nat Taylor Cinema, N102, Ross Building.

Haynes to receive honorary degree

York University biology professor Robert Haynes will receive an honorary degree from the University of Alberta next month in recognition of his long and celebrated career as a leader in research and scientific policy in Canada. The U of A will confer honorary degrees at its fall convocation ceremonies on Nov. 18 and 19. The other honorary degree recipient is Claude Ryan, the prominent journalist, social activist, and former Quebec Liberal leader. Haynes is best known for his pioneering research on how cells repair the many different types of damage that chronically afflict the DNA of all organisms. He is the immediate past president of the Royal Society of Canada and served for two years as its 104th president. Currently a Distinguished Research Professor of Biology at York, Haynes has received numerous national awards.

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