OPIRG BROCK WEEKLY EVENTS NEWSLETTER

OPIRG BROCK
WEEKLY EVENTS NEWSLETTER
December 13-19

People from all walks of life are invited to participate in the research, education, and action facilitated through OPIRG Brock – including not only students but interested community members.  All events listed occur in St. Catharines unless indicated otherwise.  For a map of the Brock Campus please see:  http://www.brocku.ca/parking-services/campus-map.  To learn more about OPIRG Brock please see our website at: www.opirgbrock.org.  To submit events for inclusion in the newsletter please email opirgbu@gmail.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Volunteer Opportunities!

 

FreeSkool Educators:

 

The OPIRG Freeskool is a project that is designed to challenge the hierarchical and institutional way learning is primarily conducted in our community. We reject the notion that only some kinds of knowledge are valuable, or that only certain people are 'accredited' enough to share information. We embrace radical accessibility and critical consciousness.

 

We are looking for teachers for our winter term lineup.  If you’ve got a passion for sharing what you know – be it zine making, physics, knitting, creative writing, and so on - send us word.  We are looking for folks interested in hosting a class, be it on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. 

 

Please contact Lisa at opirgbu@gmail.com

 

Travel During Reading Week - Mississippi Gulf Coast, Helping a Community in Need

Are you interested in spending Reading Week building houses? Interested in travelling to a community in need? If you said yes to these, then we have the trip for you!
Join 50 other students this February in Mississippi and make a difference by participating in the Alternative Spring Break program! The week will be spent building houses, doing a small beach clean-up project on the Gulf Coast, and enjoying the sunshine! We’ll embrace the community and culture of this location and also have chance to have some fun in the evenings when the work is complete!  The trip is being offered at a great low cost of $475 for the entire week (travel, accommodation, most meals, supplies for building, etc. included)!
Applications are open on-line and there are 15 spaces left on a first-come, first-serve basis so check out www.brocku.ca/residence for more details or contact Sandy Howe (showe@brocku.ca, ext. 4126).

 

Events!

Free! Documentary Screening: The Union: The Business Behind Getting High

Tuesday December 14, 8 pm, OPIRG Brock InfoShop, 10 Summer St.

Come down to the InfoShop for riveting film and delicious popcorn and refreshments.  Film to be followed by discussion.
The Union is a Canadian documentary that explores the illegal growth, sale and trafficking of marijuana. The film follows host Adam Scorgie as he examines the underground market, interviewing growers, police officers, criminologists, economists, doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, revealing how the industry can function despite being a criminal enterprise. The history of marijuana and the reasons for its present prohibition are discussed, often comparing it to the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s, suggesting that gang drug warfare and other negative aspects associated with marijuana are a result of prohibition, not the drug itself. The gangs that grow and traffic the drugs are likened to those that appeared in major U.S. cities during the Prohibition, with the intention of profiting from the sale of illegal alcohol.

Friday December 17, 5pm, Candlelit Vigil at Totem Pole Park (Centennial Park), St. Catharines, bring a red umbrella

Terry's Evergreen Addiction Recovery Services & The Sex Trade Task Force are holding the first in the region event, a candlelit vigil at Totem Pole Park, St. Catharines, Ontario beginning at 5 p.m. This region has experienced the murders of 6 sex workers. Family of one of the murder victims will speak at the vigil, as will academics from Brock University's Women's Studies and Sociology Departments. Advocates, academics, social service agencies and community members are banding together in solidarity - all welcome!
December 17th is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This event was created to call attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers all over the globe. Originally thought of by Dr. Annie Sprinkle and started by the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle Washington. International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers has empowered workers from cities around the world to come together and organize against discrimination and remember victims of violence. During the week of December 17th, sex worker rights organizations will be staging actions and vigils to raise awareness about violence that is commonly committed against sex workers. The assault, battery, rape and murder of sex workers must end. Existing laws prevent sex workers from reporting violence. The stigma and discrimination that is perpetuated by the prohibitionist laws has made violence against us acceptable. Please join with sex workers around the world and stand against criminalization and violence committed against prostitutes.