SFPIRG Presents… Dis/Orientation Week 2019! Dis/Orientation is an alternative orientation week of panels, workshops, and other events, intended to connect SFU students and community members to critical analysis, insight and research about a range of social and environmental justice issues. Come to one workshop, or come to them all – and bring a friend!

All Dis/Orientation events take place in the SFPIRG Lounge (TC 326), located on the main level of the Rotunda (aka the Transportation Centre). Events below are organized by date.

Tuesday, September 17th

• Tips ‘N Tricks for Surviving University!
  • 12:30-2:30pm
  • Learn some tricks for successfully getting through your degree with YOU intact!
  • With Aleks Besan, SFU alum and Valedictorian, former SFPIRG Board member, and presently the Coordinator for Professional Development and Academic Services at the SFU School for International Studies
• What’s THAT?! – Social Justice
  • 3:30-5pm
  • Learn about:
    • Social and environmental justice
    • Oppression / Anti-Oppression
    • Capitalism / Anti-Capitalism
    • Colonialism / Decolonization
  • With Kalamity Hildebrandt, SFPIRG Director of Research & Education, and community organizer / educator

Wednesday, September 18th

• Warning! Received Knowledge* is Dangerous!
  • 12:30-2pm
  • *Received knowledge is knowledge taken as valid simply because it comes from an authority.
  • Learn why approaching your education, your academic department, and the University itself, with a critical lens is good for you, your education, and for society at large!
  • With Kalamity Hildebrandt, SFPIRG Director of Research & Education, and community organizer / educator
• What’s THAT?! – Prison Justice
  • 3:30-5pm
  • Learn about:
    • Prison Justice
    • Prison Abolition
    • Anti-Carceral Politics
    • Transformative Justice
  • With Meenakshi Mannoe, Prison Justice Day organizer

Thursday, September 19th

• Putting STUDENTS Back in “Student Union Building”!
  • 12:30-2:30pm
  • Learn the history of the SUB, and why several student organizations are now at risk of being kicked off campus!
  • With Craig Pavelich, SFPIRG Director of Communications
• What’s THAT?! – Migrant & Racial Justice
  • 3:30-5pm
  • Learn about:
    • Migrant and Racial Justice
    • White Supremacy and Colonialism
    • Resisting Border Detention
    • Fascism / Antifascism
    • Allyship and Solidarity
  • With Ayendri Riddell, organizer with NOII and the End Immigration Detention Network

Accessibility

• The event is nut-free and peanut-free. Absolutely no nuts or peanuts will be permitted within the event space in order to create an allergen-free environment for all participants. This includes (but is not limited to) products like hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts, walnuts, coconut oil, coconut milk, and peanut butter.
• The SFPIRG lounge is wheelchair/scooter accessible with access to an accessible washroom nearby.
• Gender-neutral washrooms are available just down the hall from the event space.
• In order to enable people to attend without experiencing hardship, Compass tickets and money for dependent care (this can include childcare, eldercare, etc.) are available upon request. Please email admin@sfpirg.ca with inquiries.
• While we cannot ensure a fully scent-free event in this setting, we’re aiming to create a scent-reduced environment by not bringing additional scents into the space. Exposure to laundry products, colognes, hairspray, and many other scented products can trigger serious health reactions in individuals with asthma, allergies, migraines, and/or chemical sensitivities. We ask that you not wear/ apply/ or bring any scented products into this space. If you do so, we may need to ask you to leave so others can safely stay in the space. If you find yourself being impacted by someone’s use of scented products during the conference, speak with any one of the organizers. We know that this can be a big step for many people. As Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha says in Fragrance Free Femme of Colour Realness, “Cutting out scents may seem like a pain in the ass, but it means that awesome, ass-kicking community members you love can attend events you’re at and make out with you without having seizures, throwing up or otherwise getting really sick.” Please, bring your amazing self, and keep the scents at home!(More info here: http://thinkbeforeyoustink.com/howtogofragrancefree.html, http://www.brownstargirl.org/blog/fragrance-free-femme-of-colour-realness-draft-15, http://eastbaymeditation.org/accessibility/scentfree.html)
• If you have any other allergies or sensitivities that we need to know about so that you can participate fully and safely, please let us know at admin@sfpirg.ca.
• We regret that ASL is not available for Dis/Orientation Week 2019 events.
• If there is any other way we can make this event more accessible for you, please let us know at admin@sfpirg.ca!