HartHouseAnnualReport-2017-18
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
March 20<strong>18</strong>: Personal Strategies for<br />
Promoting Peaceful Pluralism<br />
Scene Setters: Rima Berns-McGown,<br />
Max FineDay<br />
HANCOCK LECTURE<br />
“From its inception, the Hart<br />
House Lecture has inspired<br />
debate about visions of our<br />
place in the world.”<br />
– Margaret Hancock, Hart House Warden 1997–2007<br />
Organized by students and open to the<br />
public, the annual Hancock Lecture<br />
ignites public conversation and debate<br />
about issues important to the evolution of<br />
Canadian society as seen through the lens<br />
of young adults. The lecture was named<br />
in honour of Margaret Hancock’s decade<br />
as Warden of Hart House, which ended<br />
in 2007.<br />
20<strong>18</strong> Topic: Black & Educated?<br />
Unveiling the Contradictions and<br />
Redesigning the Future<br />
The 17th Annual Hancock Lecture<br />
took place on January 23, 20<strong>18</strong>. It was<br />
delivered by Chizoba Imoka, a Ph.D.<br />
candidate in the Educational Leadership<br />
and Policy program at U of T’s Ontario<br />
Institute for Studies in Education (OISE),<br />
and moderated by Dr. Kofi Hope, a<br />
noted community activist and youth<br />
advocate. The lecture explored how<br />
within an education system based on<br />
Western values and knowledge, Black<br />
students often go through school feeling<br />
alienated and risk graduating ill-equipped<br />
to bring about transformative changes<br />
in their communities. Chizoba advanced<br />
an alternative vision of education<br />
that acknowledges colonial history, is<br />
responsive to socio-political concerns and<br />
enables a new generation of social justice<br />
leaders to make real change.<br />
Accompanying the lecture was a Talking<br />
Walls exhibit, “In Their Own Words”, that<br />
sought to reveal the Black experience at<br />
U of T. Students from all three campuses<br />
were interviewed and their responses<br />
were captured in a rich and thoughtful<br />
exhibit with the goal of generating<br />
dialogue, reflection and a sense of<br />
kinship. Other programming included<br />
a screening of the film The Hallmark of<br />
Tolerance, a radio interview with Chizoba<br />
Imoka, and a workshop ,“Lessons in Selfcare<br />
for the Black Soul”, led by lecture<br />
moderator Kofi Hope.<br />
HART HOUSE DEBATES<br />
AND DIALOGUE COMMITTEE<br />
EVENTS<br />
Every year, some of the most engaging<br />
conversations held at Hart House are<br />
convened by the student-run Debates<br />
and Dialogue Committee. In <strong>2017</strong>–20<strong>18</strong>,<br />
their passion, creativity and curiosity<br />
about the world inspired them to organize<br />
a compelling series of topical events that<br />
were enjoyed by both the University and<br />
the broader community. Some highlights<br />
included:<br />
Marie Henein<br />
The Hart House Debates & Dialogue<br />
Committee presented Marie Henein, one<br />
of Canada’s most prominent litigators, in<br />
Below (clockwise from left): Marie Henein speaking at Hart House; Global Commons discussion with universities from around the<br />
world; Chizoba Imoka and Dr. Kofi Hope at the 20<strong>18</strong> Hart House Hancock Lecture<br />
conversation with Kim Stanton, a lawyer<br />
at Goldblatt Partners LLP and former<br />
Legal Director of the Women’s Legal<br />
Education Fund.<br />
The sold-out event held on February 14,<br />
20<strong>18</strong> garnered a lot of media coverage<br />
for its timely discussion of the #metoo<br />
movement. Ms. Henein called the<br />
movement a wakeup call that obliges<br />
us to ask hard questions, examine our<br />
conception of “normal” behaviour and<br />
question the underlying patriarchal<br />
structures that try to put women into<br />
neat boxes. For her part, Dr. Stanton<br />
called attention to the many murdered<br />
and missing Indigenous women and girls<br />
from across Canada, and challenged<br />
both governments and the public to<br />
recognize the systemic issues facing all<br />
Indigenous people.<br />
Premier Kathleen Wynne<br />
On March 1, 20<strong>18</strong>—four months before<br />
the most recent provincial election—<br />
the Hart House Debates and Dialogue<br />
Committee invited the then-premier of<br />
Ontario, Kathleen Wynne to deliver a brief<br />
keynote address on issues of concern to<br />
students. Almost 400 people filled the<br />
Great Hall to take part in a Q & A session<br />
with the Premier moderated by Debate and<br />
Dialogue Committee Chair, Aceel Hawa.<br />
Topics included the province’s controversial<br />
minimum wage increase to $15 by January<br />
2019. Wynne said the change would come<br />
closer to proving a living wage for workers.<br />
Another topic of discussion was mental<br />
health. Wynne said that more government<br />
investments would be made in order to<br />
provide more services on campus and in<br />
the community.<br />
Rule of Law in an Age of Fear/Freedom<br />
of Speech<br />
On October <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2017</strong>, the Hart House<br />
Debates & Dialogue Committee hosted<br />
Mr. Dennis Edney, the defence lawyer<br />
for former child soldier Omar Khadr in<br />
a discussion about Canada’s political<br />
and legal systems in light of Mr. Khadr’s<br />
internment and conviction on terrorismrelated<br />
charges. Mr. Edney spoke in front<br />
of a sold-out crowd. In fact, the event<br />
proved so popular that it had to be moved<br />
outside of Hart House to an even larger<br />
venue. The wide-ranging discussion<br />
that followed examined the effects of<br />
Islamophobia, American geopolitics, the<br />
news media and the culture of fear on<br />
democracy and the rule of law.<br />
The Future of Canadian Mental Health<br />
Moderated by The Honourable Michael<br />
Wilson, former Canadian Minister of<br />
Finance and Chancellor of U of T, this<br />
January 20<strong>18</strong> panel discussion examined<br />
the current state of mental health in<br />
Canada. Speakers deliberated on the<br />
shortcomings of the system, lack of<br />
options available and the need to focus<br />
on marginalized communities. The roles,<br />
both positive and negative, of technology<br />
in mental health were discussed as was<br />
the ability of social media to spread<br />
awareness, alleviate isolation and provide<br />
information on accessing services.<br />
The panel was introduced by Dr. Andrea<br />
Levinson, Psychiatrist-in-Chief, University<br />
of Toronto and included Dr. David Wiljer,<br />
Associate Professor, Institute of Health<br />
Policy, Management and Evaluation;<br />
Dr. David Goldbloom, OC, Professor of<br />
Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Dr. Carol<br />
Hopkins, OC, Executive Director of the<br />
Thunderbird Partnership Foundation; Ms.<br />
Louise Bradley, President, Mental Health<br />
Commission of Canada; and Dr. Catherine<br />
Zahn, CM, President, Centre for Addiction<br />
and Mental Health.<br />
Top (clockwise from left): Free Speech on Campus: Expression or Oppression a National Conversation with the Canadian<br />
Race Relations Foundation; Global Commons; Rule of Law in an Age of Fear<br />
12 HARTHOUSE.CA<br />
13