The Faculty of Arts recognized the achievements of 34 outstanding students at an award ceremony Nov. 21 in The Underground restaurant.
Following a welcome by Marilyn Lambert-Drache, associate dean of the Faculty of Arts, and congratulations from Robert Tiffin, vice-president students, Dean Robert Drummond and others presented arts students with a variety of awards and bursaries.
Above: Ted Bluestein (left) and Dean Robert Drummond (right) with Dean’s Award recipients Jennifer Hann (second from left), Hamza Dawood and Anna Rolbin
Dean’s Awards
Faculty of Arts Dean’s Awards for Academic Excellence went to five students with the highest sessional grade point average in their year. Dean Robert Drummond and Ted Bluestein, alumnus and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, presented the awards to first-year student Anna Rolbin, second-year student Chris Araujo, third-year student Hamza Dawood and fourth-year students Françoise Guigné and Jennifer Hann, who tied for first place in their year.
Graduating student awards
Two students won the Helen Vari Award, which recognizes graduating students for outstanding academic achievement and community service. Drummond and Lambert-Drache presented the award to Christopher Janca and Grace-Emily Saati.
Essay prizes
Essay prizes went to 10 students. The competition underlines the importance of writing as a vehicle of critical thinking. Lambert-Drache and Professors Alina Marquez (Division of Social Science), Janet Webber (Division of Humanities), Thomas Loebel (Department of English) and Anne MacLennan (Division of Social Science) presented the following prizes:
- First year – William Charbonneau; Fabiola Carletti (honourable mention)
- Second year – Michael Walsh; Sacha Russell (honourable mention)
- Third year – Elliott Pobjoy; Christina DeLuca (honourable mention)
- Fourth year – Jennifer Hann; Kristyn McGuire (honourable mention)
- Senior honours thesis – Jonathan Gaboury; Gina DeGasperis (honourable mention).
Student caucus awards
Six students also received Faculty of Arts Student Caucus Awards for initiative, outstanding contribution and service excellence as members of the caucus. Caucus Chair Hamza Dawood and Lambert-Drache presented the following:
- Initiative Awards – Byron Alvares, Kristian Rajroop and Krisna Saravanamuttu
- Outstanding Contribution Awards – Hamza Dawood and Matt Harris
- Service Excellence Award – Nimmy George.
Entrance awards
Four students received Faculty of Arts Entrance Awards, presented by Drummond and Ken Singh, alumnus and member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. The renewable awards offer financial support to arts students entering first year. The recipients were Liza Kolesnik, Alina Pilin, Mohammed Sohail and Anna Veprinska.
Two students received the George and Catherine Fallis Entrance Award, established by the Fallis 
family to offer financial support to promising students entering first year. Drummond and Catherine Fallis presented the award to Ganga Kaur and Jonathan Pettit.
Right: George and Catherine Fallis (left) and Dean Robert Drummond (right) with Fallis Entrance Awards recipients Ganga Kaur and Jonathan Pettit.
Latoya Hamilton won the Hyacinth Taylor Owen Entrance Bursary, offered to a student entering her first year from a high school in the Jane-Finch 
community. Mathew Harper, manager of student relations at York, and Hyacinth Taylor Owen presented the award.
Left: Hyacinth Taylor Owen (right) presents the entrance bursary named in her honour to Latoya Hamilton.
Salma Ali accepted the Malcolm Streete Memorial Bursary and Habon Ali won the Malcolm Streete Memorial Scholarship. The bursary and scholarship go to students entering the Faculty of Arts from a high school in the Jane-Finch or Regent Park communities. Harper and Mark Anshan, alumnus and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, presented the awards.
Two students received Randal Dooley Memorial Entrance Bursaries, presented in memory of an abused child who died in 1998. The bursary was established to encourage mutual respect through education. Harper and Chris Bullen, president of the Toronto-based Association of Black Law Enforcers, presented the bursaries to Rita Aboraah and Ali Daud.