York University sociology Professor Margaret Beare placed importance on the conduct of the police, both as a force and individual officers. She raised concerns about cops walking the beat who may be racist, or bullies. “A tone has to be set by the new chief, in terms of what will be tolerated,” she said in the Toronto Star Nov. 5. Read full story.
Why big projects’ final bill always makes us ill: Keenan
The opening of the York University subway extension has already been postponed a year and will likely be postponed further, we hear, because of funding delays, tunnelling issues, weather problems and contractor complications, reported the Toronto Star Nov. 6. These seem like problems that could have been avoided or anticipated by better planning in the initial phases of the project. Read full story.
Hazardous material from infamous U.S. environmental disaster to be shipped to Ontario
"How fitting that Sarnia should have to receive this waste from Love Canal, the notorious U.S. example of the devaluing of low income people's health that is sometimes credited for giving rise to the anti-toxics movement," said Dayne Nadine Scott, an environmental lawyer at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, in the Sarnia Observer Nov. 5. "In Sarnia, air quality is already the worst in the country and members of the neighbouring Aamjiwnaang First Nation are already embroiled in constitutional litigation with Suncor and the Ministry of Environment over the heavy burden of pollutions in the area." Read full story.
What is blended learning?
Blended learning, in a nutshell, combines online and in-class components that allow students many ways to engage with a topic, reported University Affairs Nov. 5…. York University, University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan, among others, contributed to a recent report from the Collaboration for Online Higher Education Research that documents their efforts to introduce blended learning. Read full story.
When Marshall McLuhan met Northrop Frye
They were two of Canada’s central cultural and intellectual figures. They were also colleagues and rivals “whose careers unfolded in curious harmony even as their intellectual engagement was antagonistic,” writes York University English Professor B. W. Powe in his new book, Marshall McLuhan and Northrop Frye: Apocalypse and Alchemy. In this excerpt, Powe begins by imagining the meeting of these two great minds, reported University Affairs Nov. 5. Read full story.
TTC got what it paid for on Spadina subway, says transit chair
The TTC is considering two alternatives to delaying the opening of all six stops on the subway, reported the Toronto Star Nov. 5. One would be to open the line without stopping at Pioneer Village Station, one of three station projects that is behind schedule. But temporary piles would need to be removed from the track area there to allow trains to pass through. The other would be to run the trains only as far as York University, leaving the northern stops to open later. Read full story.
Urban Hero Awards: celebrating North York recipients
The annual North York Urban Hero Awards event was held Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Centerpoint Mall to celebrate and acknowledge local residents, organizations and businesses for giving back to the community, reported the North York Mirror Nov. 5…. “I’m really grateful,” said York University graduate student Talisha Ramsaroop, whose commitment to social justice for youth in the Jane-Finch community was recognized by her colleagues as well as the youth in the NOISE mentoring project. Read full story.