Spotlight on Student Organizers-Micah from The PEARS Project

Spotlight on Student Organizers is a series of conversations with students who are community builders, change leaders, advocates, and community carers. In the fourth and last instalment of the series, Muzna chats with Micah Kalisch, founder and director of the Prevention Empowerment Advocacy Response Project (PEARS) for survivors at the University of Toronto.  Micah shares their experience creating a peer-led, grassroots support organization while still an undergraduate student, the need to be nimble and responsive in this work, and the compelling reasons they are called to create a community of care and support for survivors. 

This episode comes with a content warning. In this conversation we talk about sexual assault and abuse, which we know can be distressing topics. We offer this content warning to empower you, our audience,  to make healthy decisions about how, and if, you should consume this podcast content. Please take care.

Micah is a fourth year undergraduate student doing a specialist in gender studies, a major in sociology, and a minor in equity studies. They have been doing survivor advocacy work for over half a decade and are the founder and director of The PEARS Project.

Heartfelt thanks to Micah for sharing their story, and for all the amazing work you do.

To learn more about the PEARS Project follow them on instagram @thepearsproject 

Safety and Support Resources

If you or anyone you know needs support around experiencing sexual or gender-based violence, Visit safety.utoronto.ca for a list of safety resources, or reach out to one the organizations listed below. 

Other Community Resources 

24/7 Crisis Support Peel

905-278-9036

Assaulted Women’s Helpline

1-800-863-0511

Canada Suicide Prevention Service

1-833-456-4566 (or text: 45645)

Fem’aide

1-866-860-7082

First Nations, Inuit and Metis Hope and Wellness Line

1-855-242-3310

Gerstein Crisis Centre

416-929-5200

Good2Talk – Helpline for Post-secondary Students

1-866-925-5454

Hope 24/7: Sexual Assault Centre of Peel

1-800-810-0180

LGBT Youthline

1-800-268-9688

Info & Referral Services for Male Survivors of Sexual Violence

1-866-887-0015

Talk4Healing (For Indigenous Women)

1-855-554-4325

Toronto Rape Crisis Centre

416-597-8808

Trans Life Line

1-877-330-6366

Spotlight on Student Organizers is a series of conversations with students who are community builders, change leaders, advocates, and community carers. In the third installment of the series, Muzna chats with Etienne Oshinowo, the President of the Black Students' Association at U of T. In this convo, Etienne shares how he catalyzed his longing for Black community on campus into getting involved in the BSA, decolonizing the curriculum, and the power of asking for help from your team.

Etienne Oshinowo is the President of the Black Students' Association, a Mentor for Black students at U of T through Student Life. He is a 4th year Life Sciences student double majoring in Human Biology and Cell & Molecular Biology with a minor in Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity. He's also a  Research Assistant at St. Michael's Hospital.

To learn more about the BSA or to get involved visit their website or follow them on Instagram

Heartfelt thanks to Etienne for sharing his story!

Spotlight on Student Organizers is a series of conversations with students who are community builders, change leaders, advocates, and community carers. In this installment of the series, Muzna chats with Jadine Ngan, the Editor-in-Chief of The Varsity.  Jadine talks candidly about self-care, community, and how her involvement in The Varsity has shaped her path. 

Jadine Ngan is a National Magazine Award-nominated writer and photographer whose bylines include The Walrus, Macleans, and Toronto Life. She is currently Editor-in-Chief of The Varsity, U of T's tri-campus newspaper of record since 1880.  

Instagram and Twitter: @jadinengan

Learn more about Jandine at her site

The Varsity's website

Photo credit Averyn Ngan

Heartfelt gratitude to Jadine for sharing her story with us, and for all the amazing work she does on campus and beyond.

Spotlight on Student Organizers is a series of conversations with students who are community builders, change leaders, advocates, and community carers. In this installment of the series, Muzna chats with Alicia Corbiere, one of the the Marten Clan Leaders in the Indigenous Students' Association at UofT.  In this convo, Alicia shares her favourite aspects of getting involved (friends!), the role ISA plays in creating a safe space for Indigenous students on campus, and shares how non-Indigenous students can support in allyship and community. 

Alicia is Anishinaabe, Mohawk, and white and she is from Toronto. Alicia is a  double major in Indigenous Studies and Criminology. Outside of school, Alicia is an Anishinaabemowin language learner and she loves to bead!

You can learn more about the Indigenous Students' Association at U of T @isa_uoft on instagram

Check out Alicia's beading on instagram @ac.beading 

Heartfelt gratitude to Alicia for sharing her journey with us, and for all the amazing work she does on campus.

In recognition of International Women's Day, Hart House Podcaster Muzna sat down with fellow students Beatriz, Cindy, Aimi, Khaleda, and Rodrigo to hear their reflections on what IWD means to them. From their moms to Beyoncé, it's clear women have taught our guests by example through their courage, resilience, strength and tenderness. 

Heartfelt thanks to each of our student guests, Beatriz, Cindy, Aimi, Khaleda, and Rodrigo for sharing their stories of the women who motivate, empower, and inspire them to keep growing, and working for change. 

Produced, recorded, and edited by Muzna.

Happy International Women's Day!

Peace! It's another Hart House Hip-Hop Education Takeover(!), and the first of a three-part series with our Inaugural Community Connector. Rarely do we get the chance to connect, let alone build and intersect on so many levels with a guest, but Marcus Singleton a.k.a. iomos marad  is just that type of dude. He’s an emcee, scholar, activist, and changemaker who has dedicated his life to empowering and uplifting others, whether through music, the academy, or the community. Episode 1 focuses on his start with music and Hip-Hop, the tape that changed his life, his personal journey growing up in Chicago, and how he defines Hip-Hop.

@iomosmarad

iomos marad on Spotify

More info Hart House Hip Hop Education here

Hosted and written by Marco Adamovic

Music: Underrated (Instrumental) by Vic Adamo

Edited by Shaela McCracken

Eric joined us over Zoom to read us his poem Weatherman Elegy, a poem of mourning he wrote after realizing how many years it's been since he flipped open the Weather Channel. This poem is a reflection on the mysterious phenomenon of family,  looking back through child's eyes.  Eric is a student and aspiring writer residing in Scarborough. He is the recipient of the Jasun Singh Memorial Award in Creative Writing from UTSC, and he also won first prize in the 2020 Hart House Review Poetry Contest. This fall, Eric will be pursuing a master's degree in creative writing on the west coast.  You can find some of his work in publications such as Guernica, PRISM International, Contemporary Verse 2 and elsewhere. Follow him on twitter at @poemaroo

In this special episode featuring GTA artists from the Asian Diaspora, Patrick de Belen shines his light.  A Filipino-Canadian storyteller, arts educator, spoken word poet, writer, and director, Patrick is most known for his collaborations with the Toronto Raptors, the NFL, CBC. He has released 3 spoken word EPs and multiple cine-poems, written and directed by himself. He was the youngest poet to win a national poetry slam championship, awarded both the national poet of honour and youth poet of honour title, and a few more storytelling accolades throughout his career.  When he is not writing or sharing, he is an educator and youth mentor, partnering with many institutions like addiction centres, mental health focused organizations, libraries, schools, jails and more - advocating for storytelling opportunities in as many spaces as possible.

You can find more of Patrick's work at PatrickdeBelen.com, or follow him on Instagram @patrickdebelen, and he's also on Spotify!

Sheniz Janmohamed was born and raised in T'karonto with ancestral ties to Kenya and India. A poet, nature artist and arts educator, she regularly visits schools and community organizations to teach and perform.  Sheniz's writing has been featured in Arc Poetry Magazine, Cv2 and Canthius. She has three collections of poetry, published by Mawenzi House:  Bleeding Light (2010), Firesmoke (2014) and Reminders on the Path (2021). Sheniz recently served as the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. To learn more about Sheniz, visit: shenizjanmohamed.com 

Kristal's song and all songs from the Pandemic Playlist Series can be found our Spotify playlist

AJR’s Bang video here