Vanier Intercom March 16, 2015

Nursing Students off to Malawi
Holocaust & Totalitarianism Study Trip
Volume M14, Issue No. 9, March 16, 2015
Intercom is published regularly and serves to inform Vanier staff and teachers of notices and special events. It is posted on the Vanier College Website and distributed
electronically. Submissions should be sent to intercom@vaniercollege.qc.ca. Submissions should be in WORD, and sent as an attachment. No formatting or bullets. Deadline:
4:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding publication.
Vanier Hosts MusicFest Québec during study week
for 16th Year
th
Performances will begin on Tuesday, March 17 in both the
Auditorium and A250, following which the performers will be
given a workshop in another venue (A254, B325), ending with a
group photo in the Student Mall, which will also house displays by
some of the festival sponsors (Groupe Archambault, Twigg
Musique, Long & McQuade).
These visiting students have been preparing their performances
since September and we encourage and applaud their dedication,
discipline and team spirit.
We thank the Vanier community in advance for welcoming these
young visitors and wish them a successful festival.
Nadia Turbide, Music Department Scholar in Residence
Malawi Nursing Exchange
All this week the Music Department will be welcoming 5,798
elementary and high school students from across the province in
this year’s MusicFest Québec (March 17-20).
Students from as far as Sept-Îles, Mont-Joli, Gatineau and MontTremblant will be performing in 135 ensembles featuring
symphony and chamber orchestras, concert bands, choirs and
classical guitar ensembles. Several of these ensembles will be
representing such anglophone schools as F.A.C.E., Laval Liberty,
John Rennie, St. Thomas and Westwood high schools.
The panel of twenty judges this year will include four Vanier
teachers: Sylvie Allaire (violinist), Philippe Bourque (choir
director), Christopher Smith (Concert Band director) and Zaven
Zakarian (clarinetist).
More than 100 student volunteers will be involved as guides,
security, program announcers and entertainers.
Since 2011, the Nursing Department at Vanier College has offered
third-year Nursing students an opportunity to complete their 160
hour stage course in Malawi, Africa. On March 14th, 6 students
accompanied by Nursing teacher, Melodie Hicks, set off on their
journey to Lilongwe, Malawi. They carried with them $65,000
worth of medication including antibiotics and anti-malarial drugs.
The students are excited that they will be in Malawi for the
inauguration of the Mobile Clinic where 5,000 people from 33
villages are expected to be present. The clinic is jointly funded by
the Makupo Development Group (led by former employee, Doug
Miller) and the Ministry of Health in Malawi. The students will
have the opportunity to examine patients and participate in
awareness activities such as health promotion and disease
prevention at the clinic.
th
Thursday, March 26 11:30am (Auditorium) – NEW ADDITION
“Environmental Chemistry: by sea, land, and air” by Patrick
Hayes, Ph.D., Université de Montréal
th
Friday, March 27 11:30am (Auditorium)
“Decoding Life: DNA Barcodes for Species Identification” by
Edward Awad, Ph.D., Vanier College Biology Department
Activities
We invite you to share in their journey by following their blog
posts and posting encouraging comments.
Also, stay tuned for more information about the Vanier College
Nursing Conference, What Difference Does Difference Make?,
which takes place on May 8th. Students from the Malawi Nursing
Exchange will participate in a panel discussion regarding the longterm impacts of this exchange. This year’s Keynote speaker is
former Nursing Exchange student, Kara Redden. Registration for
the conference will be available April 7th on the Vanier College
website. We hope to see you there!
th
Tuesday, March 24 2pm (F-540/MSC)
Student Science & Technology Fair
th
Wednesday, March 25 12pm (F-540/MSC)
Science Coffeehouse ft. performances
th
Thursday, March 26 1pm (Student Marketplace)
Pi-Day Activities
th
Friday, March 27 1pm (Student Marketplace)
Science, on tourne! Engineering Competition
Jennifer Joseph, International Education
If you are interested in bringing your class to any of the talks
listed above, please send an email to msc@vaniercollege.qc.ca to
confirm a spot. All classes are welcomed.
Math and Science Centre
Science Week 2015: Reserve a spot for your class!
Do you have any questions? Please feel free to contact us at
msc@vaniercollege.qc.ca with any inquiries. Furthermore, please
encourage your students to visit us.
Haritos Kavallos, Math & Science Centre
Call for volunteers – Fire Wardens
rd
th
The College is currently looking for volunteers to play the role of
fire wardens during emergency evacuations.
This year, Science Week will take place from March 23 to 27 .
We would need two wardens per floor in the main building (A-K),
and one per floor for the G, H and N buildings.
Science Talks
rd
Monday, March 23 10am (Auditorium)
“McGill IEEE Student Branch – Opportunities That Await You” by
Mohammad Hossain Mohammadi and Ahmad Muannaki, McGill
undergraduate students
th
Tuesday, March 24 10am (Auditorium)
“Politics + $$ - science = climate change status quo” by Richard
Dugas, Vanier College Sustainability Office
th
Wednesday, March 25 1:30pm (Auditorium)
“Mastering Nature: Using Biotechnology to Investigate Chitosan
Production” by Liem Dam-Quang, Honour’s Science student &
BioGENIUS participant
th
Thursday, March 26 10am (Auditorium)
“The Strange Paradoxes Found in Mathematics” by Julie Plante,
Vanier College Mathematics Department
The duties of fire wardens include alerting, directing and
providing assistance to occupants during the evacuation of their
designated section of a building. As a warden, you would also be
invited to proceed to visual inspections of fire exits and
extinguishers, and inform Security of any fire safety issues you
might have encountered.
As a warden, you would need to be (or become) familiar with
your assigned area, its occupants, the location of exits and the
fire equipment available in the area. You will also be invited to
participate in a short training (date to be determined) to ensure
you have all the information you need to play this important role
in the best and safest manner for all involved.
If you would like to be a warden for your area, please contact me
at robertj@vaniercollege.qc.ca or by phone at extension 7030.
Thank you!
Joanie Robert, Safety and Security Services
DIY days, March 23rd and 24th
Vanier 2015 Science and Technology Fair:
Participants and Projects
Do-it-Yourself! In an age of specialization, some students are
longing to learn basic skills that will help them better manage
their own things and lives. Students involved in sustainability at
Vanier have put together a “house” concept in which you can visit
different rooms to get tips about how to do and make things for
yourself in the bathroom, garden, kitchen, office, bedroom and
garage.
Experts have been recruited and will give a series of short
informal workshops on a variety of subjects including making
your own cosmetics and cleaning products, gardening,
meditation, getting your bicycle ready for spring, cleaning your
computer, and making wholesome, easy and cheap food.
rd
As you probably know, the Vanier Science and Technology Fair
will take place on March 24.
Here are the names of the participants and their projects
(http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/msc/science-week/ ) and it is
with pleasure to announce here the names of participants and
their projects.
1)
Vanier “Biomechanics” Group: Gabriel Alexander, Veselko
Bakula, Mathieu Corbett, Anna Gostevcic, Annika Lesage,
Osama Rehman and Elizabeth Siciliani together with a group
of McGill Engineering students: Abdullah Abdelghani, Imran
Jameel, Asal Kaveh, Yely Lapina and Maged Yassin will
present a project on: “Biomechanics Study And Creation Of
A Prosthetic/Robot Hand”.
2)
The “Florescence” group: Michael Pratte, Davindra Singh,
Qinyang Du and Maricel Dizon Soriano will present “A Study
Of The Photosynthetic Efficiency Of Lima Bean Plants When
Grown In A Zero Electrical Field, Non-Magnetic Field And An
Emulsifiable Concentrate 0.01% Pyrethrins Pesticide
Treated Soil”
3)
The “Water quality group”: Eric Zimmermann, Ghassan
Maraouch, and Frédéric Abou Azar will present their findings
on “The Quality Of Tap Water At Vanier”
4)
The “Green Energy” group: Christapor Torossian and Jason
Eddrief will present a project on “The Creation Of A LowWind-Speed Windmill” that will be installed at Vanier.
th
Please come visit, in the Student Mall, March 23 and 24 , 10 am
to 2 pm.
Richard Dugas, Student Services
Services and Maintenance
Services and Maintenance can be reached at local 7977 and are
located at C-103.
Work orders can be processed online through our Vanier College
webpage under forms (Online Work Orders). Please complete
one to request for light bulbs to be changed, electrical/ventilation
problems, broken desks, missing/defective blinds etc. Should you
require more information regarding online work orders please
contact local 7977.
Note: For any emergencies or situations which could affect the
health or safety of community members, please contact security
at local 7575.
Brendan Flynn, Services and Maintenance
Vanier Indigenous Circle
Part of the Vanier Indigenous Circle’s mission is to increase
cultural and linguistic awareness of Indigenous cultures on
campus. We will be presenting relevant facts and, since we are on
unceded Mohawk territory, Mohawk words.
5) The “Ecologic Island” group from the National College
“Mircea the Elder” Constanta, Romania will present their
project on “The Design Of An Ecological Island In The Black
Sea Europe”
Please come and watch our “junior scientists” in action during
their presentations on Tuesday, March 24, from 2:00pm to
4:30pm in the Math & Science Centre (F-540).
Did you know that Indigenous Peoples in Canada were only given
the right to vote in 1960?
For more information about their findings and projects please
visit:
http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/student-research-centre/vanierscience-fair/vanier-science-fair-2015/
ó:nen ki wahi, pronounced:: o nuh gee wah hee: means goodbye
in Kanien’kéha (the Mohawk language)
Haritos Kavallos, Math and Science Center and
Gabriel Bulgarea, Physics Department
Follow the link to find out more:
http://www.usask.ca/diefenbaker/galleries/virtual_exhibit/enfra
nchisements_of_aboriginals/
Marya Grant, David Piercey, Lisa Sparkes, & Jacky Vallée
Vanier Indigenous Circle Steering Committee
Teaching Tip:
Already halfway there! Now that
we have passed the midpoint in
the semester and submitted our
mid-term assessments, it may
also be a good time to reflect on
ourselves as teachers and
consider ways that we could hone
up our teaching skills. Below are
Image courtesy of renjith
ten previously published Teaching
kirshnan / freedigitalphotos.net
Tips that may be helpful. We
expect our students to improve as
the semester progresses – how about ourselves? By sharpening
the pedagogical tools in our teaching toolbox, we can finish the
term as strong as, or stronger than, it started.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Maintaining Your Enthusiasm for Teaching
Some ideas for you as a teacher to stay motivated so that
you can remain keen until the last day of class. Some may
even be transferrable to your students!
After the Test… What Now?
The last order of business before the Study Week may have
been a midterm exam. Your students may have seen their
mark but not necessarily their work. Here are some
strategies on how to improve the debriefing process.
Communication Skills in Your Discipline
Being able to communicate in the language that is used in
your specific discipline, whether it is spoken or written, is
crucial to student success in the future.
Get ‘em Thinkin’ with Bloom
We know that our students can memorize our notes or the
text. Here are some activities to help them to understand,
apply, analyze, evaluate, or create some material or product
at a deeper level.
Designing Active Learning Activities
If our students are ‘applying, analyzing, evaluating, and
creating,’ designing some new active learning activities and
strategies may be in order! Getting the students to work in
dynamic and engaging ways will help them truly learn the
material.
Participation in Lectures
Lecturing is still a powerful teaching tool. Here are some
lecturing strategies to increase students’ participation and
reduce classroom silence.
CATs (Classroom Assessment Techniques)
In order to test the effectiveness of our teaching, we should
periodically assess our instructional methods with CATs.
These can tell us if our pedagogical activities were engaging
and if our teaching is effective.
8.
The Power of Peer Review
Sometimes getting feedback from a peer/student, rather
than a teacher, can be a valuable process. Peer feedback
can help students receive information from a different
viewpoint, as well as give students an opportunity to review
and analyze someone else’s work.
9.
Evaluating More Fairly: Essays, Papers, Long Answers,
Term Projects
The end of the semester often seems to appear suddenly
and we will be grading end-of-term work. Here are some
strategies to make sure that this is done as fairly as possible.
10. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Here are some UDL ideas and examples of teaching
strategies that can benefit all types of learners, whether
they face a learning disability or have a preferred learning
style.
Do you have a favourite Teaching Tip? Do you have any teaching
or learning issues or questions and that remain unanswered or
unaddressed? Contact us at the PDO anytime!
For this and more Teaching Tips, please visit the PDO web page
Tim Campbell-Comerford, Jennifer Mitchell, Wilma Brown
Pedagogical Development Office
French Ciné-Club
Would you like a fun way to improve your French? Every Friday at
lunch time we’re offering a French Cine-Club
during witch we’ll watch French movies from
Quebec, France and other French-speaking
countries in the world!
Our first movie is “Paris, je t’aime”, a French
movie about La Ville Lumière, also kwon as the City of Love.
Twenty filmmakers bring their own perspective to a wide variety
of people and lifestyles in the different neighbourhoods of this
mythic city.
The movie features well-known actors and actress like Juliette
Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Gérard Depardieu, Natalie Portman, and
many more.
So don’t miss our first movie “Paris Je t’aime.” It will be
presented in three parts, on April 10, 17 and 24, in room D-541
from 12:00 to 1:00 PM. English subtitles will be provided to help
your understanding. Bring your lunch and let the fun begin!
For more information, please contact Isabelle Rivest, French
Department, extension 7853
Isabelle Rivest, département de français
News from VTV
Vanier College Band Competition
Meet the Vanier Cheetahs Cheerleading Team:
https://youtu.be/of-QA0_diDY
In conjunction with the Holocaust Education and Genocide
Prevention Foundation and the Vanier College Music
Department, we will be hosting the Vanier College Band
th
Competition, which will be taking place on Friday, March 27 at
8:00 pm at Le Rouge Bar (7 Prince Arthur).
Bands will be competing head to
head for cash prizes. Audience
members will be voting in real
time using the MyVote mobile
app. Bring your friends to vote
for your favourite band!!!
Watch the full (18 min) VTV interview with Elizabeth May:
https://youtu.be/gEn4ta5ECVs
Our own Glen Ethier (Coordinator
of the Music Department) will be
performing as the opening act
with his band. Come hear him
play, live!!
All proceeds will go directly to
fund
the
Vanier
College
Symposium on the Holocaust and
Genocide. Come join the fun!!
Tickets are on sale at the Bookstore, online at
www.preventinggenocide.org and at the door the night of the
event.
VTV was happy to give Vanier students the opportunity to
interview an important figure like Elizabeth May. They asked her
many questions about various topics such as Women's issues,
social issues, youth voting, immigration and Canada's position on
the environment. Thank you Evangeline Caldwell and Richard
Dugas for making this interview possible.
Check out a video recap from the BDC Case Competition that
took place last month: https://youtu.be/A5T2Gu7j6M0
Marlene Grossman, Psychology Department
Vanier Business French Workshop
Would you like to feel more confident when you write
professional emails, memos and letters in French? Do you want
to improve your French speaking skills for your daily professional
tasks?
If so, come and join this college sponsored workshop on
Thursdays from 1:00 PM to 2:00 starting from March 26 to April
16, in room A 313. Please note the date has changed from the
last Intercom.
These workshops will help you communicate in real-world
situations as well give you a quick grammatical review, all in a fun
and encouraging atmosphere!
Come and join the fun on Thursday, March 26 for our first
meeting. We’ll help you to evaluate your French level and offer
you a workshop that is designed for your needs.
Enjoy!
Melodie Le Siège, Vanier Communications
For more information, please contact Isabelle Rivest, French
Teacher, Vanier College Office K 307; Extension #7853.
Isabelle Rivest, département de français
Invitation au lancement d’Écrits interculturels 2014-2015
Vous êtes chaleureusement conviés au lancement d’Écrits
interculturels 2014-2015, œuvre collective d’étudiants du Collège
Vanier qui ont participé au concours d’écriture sur l’interculturel
« Ouvrons nos fenêtres »!
Le lancement aura lieu le mercredi 25 mars pendant la pause
universelle, de 12 h à 13 h 30, au B-325. Les noms des gagnants
seront dévoilés et les prix remis aux finalistes. Venez faire un tour
et entendre les auteurs lire leurs chefs-d’œuvre!
Des rafraîchissements seront servis!
Rachel Jobin et Josée Tamiozzo, Département de Français
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and
Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium
rd
The 23 Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and
Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium will be taking place
th
April 13-17 . Our speakers list in now available at the end of the
Intercom. Please note some highlights…
Important update regarding competition to choose new
slogan for Vanier College
The selection committee has reviewed the over 400 entries that
were submitted as part of the slogan competition. The committee
has chosen eight finalists. These entries will now be subjected to
a vote via an on-line poll on Omnivox. The choice that receives
the most votes will subsequently become the new slogan for
Vanier College and will appear on select official college
documents. A total of $450 in prizes will be awarded to the top
three entries.
All members of the Vanier community, including full-time and
part-time students, staff and faculty, are invited to vote. Voting
th
will start on Friday March 13 2014 as of noon and will continue
th
until Sunday March 29 2014 at midnight. To cast your ballot
simply log on your Omnivox account and click on Surveys and
Votes service or click on 1 survey or vote not completed in your
What’s new section (upper right corner) of your Omnivox
account main
page.
Of Many a film produced by Chelsea Clinton, out of New York
University, follows an Imam and a Rabbi on an interfaith journey
following Hurricane Katrina. It is a hopeful narrative of two
communities coming together. This film has been shown at the
United Nations and is stopping here for the Canadian debut. The
Imam and Rabbi featured in the film will be present for the
viewing.
Holocaust Survivors including Hermann Gruenwald, Yehudi
Lindeman, Paul Herczeg, Eva Kuper, and Al Gilbert.
Jack Jedwab will be discussing racism in the Canadian context.
Morton Weinfeld will be speaking on the topic of Anti-Semitism
in Canada.
Hedi Berger who offers a 40 minute interactive video
presentation that chronicles her mother’s experiences during the
Holocaust.
Jacky Vallée will be discussing the persecution of gay people
before, during and after the Holocaust.
The eight finalists are:








Your Future Starts Here
Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow
Your Pathway To Success
Be Part Of It
Make Your Own Mark
Imagine The Endless Possibilities
Education For Life
Take The Challenge, Shape Your World
st
The contest winners will be announced Tuesday March 31 2014.
Darren Becker, Communications and Corporate Affairs
Nakuset will be discussing the residential school system for
Aboriginal people in Quebec
Please book your classes early to ensure space at:
grossmam@vaniercollege.qc.ca
Marlene Grossman, Psychology Department
Capsule de français
Bonjour à tous et à toutes! Vous désirez vérifier vos connaissances en français? Rien de plus facile avec les capsules linguistiques.
Voici les réponses de l’exercice de la semaine dernière :
1. Josée et Hélène allaient dans des endroits TELS que cette carrière.
2. Le pilote prenait de TELLES précautions qu’il nous inquiétait.
3. Que faire avec de TELS cheveux.
4. Je cherchais des associations TELLES que Kiwanis ou Richelieu.
5. De TELS gestes n’ont pas leur place ici.
Bravo à tous ceux et celles qui ont participé au concours!
Cette semaine, l’exercice est de niveau avancé. Voici une nouvelle règle et l’exercice correspondant :
L’accord du mot « même »
« Même » peut être adjectif, pronom, nom et adverbe. Lorsqu’il est adjectif ou pronom, il s’accorde en genre et en nombre avec le mot
auquel il se rapporte. Par exemple : « Vous aimez les mêmes activités. » « Nous avons fait le travail nous-mêmes. » « Ce sont les mêmes qui
arrivent en retard. »
Lorsqu’il est adverbe, le mot « même » signifie : « aussi » ou « jusqu’à ». Il est alors invariable. Par exemple : « Ces enfants sont gentils,
même polis envers les personnes âgées. » « Même ceux qui éprouvent des difficultés réussissent ce cours. » « Il est joyeux, même les jours
de pluie. »
Exercice
1. Nous avons les ___________ goûts.
2. ___________ les plus studieux ont quitté l’école pour aller à la plage.
3. Pendant tout l’été, vous verrez les ___________ visages à la télévision.
4. Ce sont les ___________ qui ont cambriolé les banques l’an dernier.
5. ___________ les autres garçons lui semblaient sans intérêt.
Remplissez le coupon de participation suivant. Apportez vos réponses avant le vendredi 20 mars 2015 à Isabelle Rivest, Département de
français, soit par courrier interne, soit dans l’enveloppe que vous trouverez sur la porte du bureau K 307. À la fin de la session d’automne, un
prix au goût de la France sera décerné à la personne ayant apporté le plus grand nombre de bonnes réponses.
Bonne chance à tous et à toutes!
Isabelle Rivest, département de français
Coupon de participation
Nom_______________________________________________________
Adresse courriel/email_________________________________________
Numéro de téléphone_________________________________________
List of speakers at the 23rd Annual Holocaust
Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation
Symposium
Our World, Our Responsibility: Your Action
April 13-17, 2015
CANADIAN DEBUT, Auditorium, April 14, 1-2:30 PM
Set against the dramatic backdrop of violence in the Middle East and the tension
between Jewish and Muslim students on college campuses, Of Many focuses on the
surprising and transformative relationship between an orthodox rabbi and imam, who
serve as university chaplains in New York City. Through a series of voyages to
communities struck by catastrophe, we witness young religious Jews and Muslims
working together and overcoming long-standing divides. Timely and humorous, this
short documentary offers an inspiring and hopeful narrative in the face of a seemingly
irreconcilable conflict.
www.ofmanyfilm.com
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Imam Khalid Latif will be available after the
screening to answer questions.
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium
Holocaust Survivors
Hermann Gruenwald
Born into privilege in Hungary, Hermann Gruenwald's idyllic childhood
came to an end in 1944 when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz.
During incarceration, Mr Gruenwald’s instinct for survival helped him
live through three concentration camps. In the book After Auschwitz he
recounts his story not only as a witness to history but as a human actor
determined to make his way in whatever situation he finds himself. Mr
Gruenwald paints his life story onto the larger canvas of some of the
great conflicts and movements of the twentieth century. He offers a
vivid portrayal of growing up affluent and Jewish in class-conscious Hungary in the
interwar period and of the initial promise and disillusioning reality of Hungarian
communism.With his wife, also a survivor, Mr Gruenwald immigrated to Canada in 1950
to rebuild his life. His budding business instincts quickly took over and the same
toughness and determination that kept him alive in Europe served him equally as well in
Canada. While his Holocaust experience is never far from his thoughts, Mr Gruenwald's
instinct to succeed is as much a part of his story as his survivors tale. Please request
booking into your classes.
Yehudi Lindeman
Born in Holland in March 1938, during the week of the German
invasion and occupation of Austria know as the Anschluss, Yehudi
Lindeman was four years old when he went into hiding. “It was the
beginning of an itinerant existence that would take me to at least
fifteen different locations, none of them stable or permanent. I
stayed at several other farms, both poor and prosperous, at a dentist’s house, a flower
shop, a butter factory, the list goes on and on, and I don’t even remember all of them.
only sense of stability I felt was when yet another stranger, some young man or woman
(a courier working for the resistance, no doubt), would take me once again to a new
place of hiding, usually on the back of a bicycle." Please request booking into your
classes.
Paul Herczeg
When the Nazis came for him, 15-year-old Paul Herczeg was a fifthgeneration Hungarian Jew, very assimilated into the life of suburban
Budapest. During dark, hopeless days in the camps, an important
incentive to survive was to be able to tell the world afterward what
happened, as well as to honour and remember those who didn't make it.
Paul Herczeg provides his eyewitness, first-person account of history in
an effort to help tomorrow's leaders avoid repeating the horrors of the
past. Please request booking into your classes.
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium
Eva Kuper
Born at the start of WW II in Warsaw, Poland, Eva survived the war by
a series of miraculous events involving luck, coincidence and the
courage and faith of several individuals, both family members and
virtual strangers. She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1949
where she grew up "practically Canadian" with the history of the
Holocaust always there in the background. She was educated at Sir
George Williams University and Concordia, spending the major part of
her work life in education and educational administration. Eva has taught children and
adults in a variety of settings from pre-school centres and schools to Vanier College and
Concordia University, was Principal of one branch of Jewish Peoples' and Peretz
Schools. She has also led workshops on a range of topics dealing with human
development and education. In this talk, Eva will present the film Hidden Children,
Unknown Heroes (2009). Please request booking into your classes.
Al Gilbert
Mr. Gilbert is going to speak about his experiences of escape and survival from Belgium
to England in 1940. He survived the war years in England and emigrated to Canada
with his family in 1947. Please request booking into your classes.
Others
Heidi Berger
Heidi Berger, is an award-winning producer, who created an exciting educational tour to
present a unique, 40-minutes interactive video presentation to high school and
university students, and adults, that chronicles her mother’s experiences during the
Holocaust. Please request booking into your classes.
Jacky Vallée
Jacky Vallée teaches anthropology at Vanier College and is a
co-founder of the Open Door Network and the Vanier Indigenous
Circle. His areas of interest include Indigenous societies, gender
and sexuality, and activism - especially regarding Indigenous,
LGBTT2IQA (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/transsexual/TwoSpirit/Intersex/Queer/Asexual), and autistic rights.
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium
This talk will address the social, political and ideological contexts of the persecution of
people perceived as gay before, during and after the Holocaust and the ways in which
the symbol of the Pink Triangle has been reappropriated today among many
communities formed by sexual minorities in western societies. Please request booking
into your classes.
Corrie Sirota
Corrie Sirota MSW, PSW is a Clinical Social Worker in private
practice, who has worked with numerous schools and organizations
helping address the issue of bullying.
This workshop will focus on empowering individuals, who find
themselves in bullying situations as well as provide techniques and
strategies for bystanders so that they can support those being targeted
by bullying behavior. Please request booking into your classes.
Gina Roitman
Gina is a writer and poet. Author of "Tell Me a Story, Tell Me the
Truth," she has published short stories, reviews and poems. She is
also co-producer and the subject of the documentary, "My Mother, the
Nazi Midwife, and Me," and has had several of her stories air on CBC
Radio One. Please request booking into your classes.
Nakuset Thursday, April 16th 2:30-3:45, Auditorium
Nakuset Nakuset, the Executive Director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montréal, is
Cree from Lac la Ronge, Saskatchewan. She is the co-president of the Montréal Urban
Aboriginal Community Strategy Network. Her most recent accomplishment include
creating, producing and hosting the television series “Indigenous Power”, as well as
being voted “Woman of the Year” by the Montreal Council of Women. Nakuset is
dedicated to improving the lives of urban aboriginals.
Morton Weinfeld April 15, 10:00-11:15, Amphitheatre
Antisemtism in Canada
Professor Weinfeld holds the Chair in Canadian Ethnic Studies, and directs the minor
program in Canadian Ethnic Studies. He is the winner of the 2013 Marshall Sklare Prize
for outstanding career contributions to the field by the Association for the Social
Scientific Study of Jewry. Among his recent publications are an edited collection The
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium
Jews in Canada, with Robert Brym and William Shaffir, 2nd edition, (Oxford, 2010); Like
Everyone Else But Different: The paradoxical success of Canadian Jews (McClelland
and Stewart, 2001) which was featured in One Hundred Great Jewish Books, by Rabbi
Lawrence Hoffman (Blue Bridge, 2011), Still Moving: Recent Jewish Migration in
Comparative Perspective, with Daniel Elazar (Transaction, 2000); Ethnicity, Politics, and
Public Policy, with Harold Troper (University of Toronto Press, 1999), and Who Speaks
for Canada? with Desmond Morton (McClelland and Stewart, 1998). He has published
Old Wounds: Jews, Ukrainians and the Hunt for Nazi War Criminals in Canada (with
Harold Troper), Viking/Penguin, 1988, a case study of ethnicity and public policy. In
1989 he published Trauma and Rebirth: Intergenerational Effects of the Holocaust (with
John J. Sigal), Praeger, 1989. He wrote The Social Costs of Discrimination in Canada, a
research report for the (Abella) Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, 1983.
Current research and thesis supervision interests are in areas of ethnicity and public
policy, notably the role of minority-origin professionals in various policy domains.
Professor Weinfeld has taught undergraduate courses on the sociology of ethnic
relations, Jews in North America, an undergraduate seminar in Canadian ethnic studies
and graduate seminars on the sociology of ethnic conflict, and social inequality and
public policy.
Jack Jedwab April 16, 9:30-10:45 Auditorium
Racism in a Canadian Context
Jack is the Executive Vice-President of the
Association for Canadian Studies and the
Canadian Institute for Identities and
Migration. Holding a Ph.D. in Canadian
History from Concordia University, he taught
at Université du Québec à Montréal and
McGill University. He taught courses on the
history of immigration in Quebec, on ethnic
minorities in Quebec, on official language
minorities in Canada and on sport in Canada.
He also wrote essays for books, journals and
newspapers across the country, in addition to
being the author of various publications and government reports on issues of
immigration, multiculturalism, human rights and official languages.
Benedikt Baratsits-Gruber
This multi-media educational programme is concerned with the need to oppose the
worldwide threat engendered by ignorance, indifference, discrimination, racism, and
moral cowardice. The theme, Abuse of Power is addressed with specific reference to
Austria’s role in the Holocaust and the subsequent view of Austrians as the first victims
of Nazism.
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium
The role of the Internet in disseminating information is contrasted with the media during
the time of the Shoah. In addition to the immediacy of the information on the Internet,
reference is made to its destructive potential for fomenting and proliferating hatred in
this digital age. The need to think critically underscores the dialogue. Addressing the
difference between fact and fiction in order to comprehend propaganda underscores the
programme.
Discussion Topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
the role of media in shaping and creating images of national identity;
the influence of media in creating and prioritizing social issues;
the effects of immigration policies on refugees and would be immigrants;
minority and ethnic rights;
the moral responsibility of individuals and the collective responsibility of governments;
to examine the standards which societies apply when addressing how much
“tolerance” is acceptable? For example, do Western societies allow the female genital
mutilation of young women? Is it acceptable for a Sikh student to wear the ceremonial
dagger (kirpan) in school?
• to address the distinction between advertising and propaganda.
Please request booking into your classes.
Commemoration Wednesday, April 15, 12-1:30, Boardroom
Vanier Music students
Candle lighting
Students from the course “Holocaust and Totalitarianism”
Benedikt Baratsits-Gruber: My World, My Responsibility: My Action
Commemoration prayers
23rd Annual Vanier College and Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention Foundation Symposium