STRIVE subcommittees

Subcommittee on Antisemitism

Subcommittee membership:

• Lead: Naftali Cohn, Chair, Dept. of Religions and Cultures
• Faculty representative: Shelley Reuter, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology
• Staff representative: Arwen Fleming, Enrolment Services
• Student representative: Aaron Rosenbaum, Dept. of Political Science

The antisemitism subcommittee sets the following tasks out for itself, based on President Carr's directives:

• Through listening sessions and written descriptions submitted via an online form and by email, we will gather information about experiences and incidents of bias, prejudice, discrimination, hate, harassment, and/or violence against Jews at Concordia, and about Jewish experience in University life more generally.

• We will compile a report summarizing our findings; we will aim to identify any patterns in the data and provide analysis of where the problems allowing these experiences and incidents to persist and grow, lie.

• Informed by the data and participants’ input, we will make recommendations and offer strategies for achieving a more respectful and inclusive community and general discourse at Concordia.

• Through STRIVE, we will make public our findings, analysis, and recommendations.

The Antisemitism subcommittee is gathering information about concerns and experiences with bias, prejudice, discrimination, hatred, harassment, and/or violence against Jews at Concordia. Find out how you can participate. 

Subcommittee on Anti-Arab Racism & Islamophobia

Subcommittee membership:

• Lead: Sarah Ghabrial, Associate Professor, Dept. of  History
• Faculty representative: Norma Rantisi, Dept. of Geography, Planning and Environment
• Staff representative: Rania Attir, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science
• Student representative: Varda Nisar, Dept. of Art History

The subcommittee is tasked with: 

• Examining existing campus policies and processes to establish Concordia as a safe and inclusive space for Arab community members to flourish. 
• Examining existing campus policies and processes to establish Concordia as a safe and inclusive space for Muslim community members to flourish. 
• Researching trainings on anti-Arab racism protocols and best practices to address it from other Canadian universities and institutions. 
• Researching trainings on islamophobia protocols and best practices to address it from other Canadian universities and institutions. 
• Examining the distinctions between anti-Arab racism and islamophobia as well as how these forms of discrimination sometimes intersect.
• Examining systems in place for complaints and evaluating the community’s access to university services. 
• Consulting with relevant Concordia and Montreal communities to recommend measures tailored to the needs and concerns of students, faculty and staff, including attending relevant discussions organized by the Campus Engagement subcommittee.  

The AARI subcommittee is gathering information about concerns and experiences related to violence against Arabs and Muslims at Concordia, as well as the general ways in which forms of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab erasure and aggression are manifested and experienced on campus. Find out how you can participate. 

Subcommittee on Anti-Asian Racism

Subcommittee membership:

• Lead: Felice Yuen, Professor, Dept. of  Applied Human Sciences & Director of the Individualized Program (INDI)
• Faculty representative: Gillian Sze, Dept. of English
• Staff representative: Shin Ling Low, SHIFT
• Student representatives: 
  • Manan Rajendra Patel, Dept. of Mechanical Industrial and Aerospace Engineering
  •  Jon Marvin Reyes

The subcommittee is tasked with:

• Examining existing campus policies and processes to establish Concordia as a safe and inclusive space for Asian community members to flourish.
• Researching trainings on anti-Asian racism, protocols, and best practices to address anti-Asian from other Canadian universities and institutions.
• Examining systems in place for complaints and evaluating the community’s access to university services.
• Consulting with relevant Concordia and Montreal communities to recommend measures tailored to the needs and concerns of the Asian students, faculty and staff, including attending relevant stakeholder discussions organized by the Campus Engagement subcommittee.

The Anti-Asian racism subcommittee is gathering information about concerns and experiences related to bias, prejudice, discrimination, hatred, harassment, and/or violence against Asians at Concordia, and about Asian experience in university life generally. Register for our kick-off event before Jan. 8, or find out how else you can participate. 

Subcommittee on Transphobia

Subcommittee membership:

• Co-leads: 
  • Cael Marcas Keegan, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality; Film & Moving Image Studies; Graduate Program Director, Film
  • Kim Manning, Principal, Simone de Beauvoir Institute; Professor, Political Science & Women's Studies
• Student representatives: 
  • Kat Matheson, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science / Computer Science
  • Alex Francavilla
  • Belen Blizzard, 2SLGBTQIA+ student support coordinator

The subcommitte is tasked with:

• Examining existing campus policies and processes to establish Concordia as a safe and inclusive space for transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming community members to flourish. 
• Researching trainings on transphobia, protocols, and best practices to address gender-based discrimination from other Canadian universities and institutions.
• Examining systems in place for complaints and evaluating the transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming community members' access to university services.
• Consulting with Concordia and Montreal communities to recommend measures tailored to the needs and concerns of transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming students, faculty, and staff, including attending relevant discussions organized by the Campus Engagement subcommittee.

Campus Climate

Subcommittee membership:

• Lead: Jessica Bleuer, MA Drama Therapy Lecturer, Supervisor & Researcher
• Faculty representative: Anna Sheftel, School of Community and Public Affairs
• Staff representative: Eddie Jude Hareven, Dean of Students Office
• Student representatives: 
  • Mani Asadieraghi, Dept. of Biology
  •  Ana Bedoya, Dept. of Social Sciences

The subcommittee is tasked with:

• Examining existing campus policies and processes that support rigorous exchange and challenging discourse and make recommendations with respect to relevant policy and procedural gaps or limitations. 
• Examining existing and developing new supports and spaces that promote reflections on identity-based violence and strategies to counteract it. 
• Developing a network and expanding tools for faculty when faced with in-class discourse or assignments that are hateful and/or contravene codes of conduct. 
• Identify other on-campus communities impacted by identity-based violence and propose areas for the Task Force to investigate and address. 
• Attend relevant discussions organized by the Campus Engagement subcommittee.