Emmanuel College

U of T community members mobilize aid for Türkiye and Syria earthquake survivors

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 15:17:50 +0000

U of T community members mobilize aid for Türkiye and Syria earthquake survivors

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 03/03/2023 - 10:17

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Ayşenur Ince, a graduate student in a program offered conjointly by U of T and Emmanuel College at Victoria University, is counselling residents and rescuers following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria (photo courtesy of Ayşenur Ince)

Tabassum Siddiqui

Topic

Global Lens

Türkiye

Emmanuel College

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

When a catastrophic series of earthquakes hit Türkiye and Syria, graduate student Ayşenur Ince knew she had to do something to help alleviate suffering in the wake of a tragedy that has now left more than 50,000 people dead, thousands injured and millions more without homes and other necessities.

Ince, who is in the first year of a master of pastoral studies program offered conjointly by U of T and Emmanuel College at Victoria University, is currently living in Istanbul. Seeing shock and grief all around her, she decided to put what she was learning about spiritual care and counselling into immediate practice.

“The devastation is so widespread that even though the government is exhausting all the power they have, we still need civilian help,” Ince said by phone from Istanbul. “I started doing counselling for people, including those who have worked in the rescue operations, because they’re really unwell – these are people who had to triage; to pick and choose who they saved. Many others have earthquake nightmares – there’s a lot of post-traumatic stress right now because they're constantly scared that an earthquake will happen again.”

Residents walk amid the rubble in Hatay, Türkiye (photo by Yavuz Ozden/dia images/Getty Images)

Ince is just one of many U of T students, faculty, staff, librarians and alumni who have pitched in to help raise awareness and funds, as well as mobilize resources to help in the aftermath of the earthquakes – from fundraisers by student groups to donation drives by individual programs and faculties.

In a statement on Feb. 6, Joseph Wong, U of T’s vice-president, international, urged members of the U of T community to support each other and to reach out for help if needed. Student Life units at the university have been touch with student groups and individuals from affected regions to offer support.

Ince, who completed her undergraduate degree at U of T Scarborough, says she drew on the skills she was learning in her master’s program and sought the advice of her professors about how best to counsel people going through so much trauma.

“When this first happened, I was in fight-or-flight mode. And then I reached out to my professors to ask them what I should do and to send me some sort of training specific to crisis management,” Ince said.

“At the college, I had classes that gave me a universal approach to everything – I even had the chance to take some disaster training. At the time, I felt like, ‘When am I ever going to need this?’ But being here when this actually happened, I felt like I was prepared. I keep wondering what I would have done if I hadn’t started the program.”

Tents errected by the Turkish disaster and emergency management organization (AFAD) for earthquake victims in Kahramanmaraş (photo by Yan Zhigang/VCG via Getty Images)

One of the professors Ince contacted was program director Nazila Isgandarova, who was able to advise her on trauma resources and connect her with peers who also wanted to help. “The damage due to the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria is beyond any imagination. Ayşenur met many people who suffered and continue to suffer from earthquake-related experiences and losses,” Isgandarova said. “As a psychotherapy student, Ayşenur volunteered to help people not only with trauma-focused counselling and spiritually integrated grief counselling, but also tried to arrange support for people who faced financial hardships.”

Ince received financial donations from her fellow students, which she used to purchase dozens of portable coal stoves for those left without electricity following the earthquakes. Emmanuel College also sent boxes of nonperishable food overseas and held a vigil a week after the disaster to remember the victims.

Efforts to raise funds to assist people in Türkiye and Syria and increase awareness about the scale of the disaster continue across U of T on all three campuses, particularly among student groups.

Bake sales and fundraising drives by the tri-campus chapters of the Turkish Students’ Association (TUSA), Syrian Students’ Association, Muslim Students’ Association and Amnesty International, among others, have raised more than $25,000 to date – much of which is being matched dollar-for-dollar by the student groups.

Immediately following the disaster, the Turkish Students’ Association at U of T Scarborough began collecting funds and in-kind donations on campus, raising close to $9,000 and 18 boxes of donated goods, said TUSA-UTSC co-president Yasmin Din.

“Staff and students have generously contributed to our campaign,” Din said, adding that student volunteers can be found overseeing the donation location with their schoolwork in tow. “There are no words to describe this level of dedication and support.”

From left to right: Turkish Students Association members Lilaf Salman, Irem Demirel, Selcuk Maslak, Elif Baran, Yasmin Din and Sedika Salman at their donation table at U of T Scarborough (photo supplied)

A fourth-year psychology student, Din first heard about the earthquake from her father, who was in Ankara, Türkiye’s capital. While her family in the region remained safe, Din lost a friend in Malatya, one of the most-affected provinces, and heard from another U of T graduate whose father was among the casualties.

“She had to patiently wait for 11 days for the rescue teams to recover her father’s body,” Din said. “At the same time, as there was no electricity in the city, she and her husband had to stay in their car at night or rest in the semi-collapsed buildings, which was very tough because aftershocks were constantly happening. So many millions of people have been affected by this mega-quake – for them, life will never be the same.”

TUSA has been working with the Turkish Consulate General in Toronto to arrange for airlifts of the donated goods – including winter clothing, hygiene kits, baby formula and diapers – to the region, while cash contributions will be transferred to organizations in Türkiye who are managing the situation on the ground, including Turkish nonprofit Ahbap. Din noted that some of the financial support will go toward temporary shelter and repairing damaged homes in the region, which is crucial to rebuilding while so many are living in makeshift housing following the earthquakes.

Providing shelter is also a major issue in neighbouring Syria, which has been destabilized by a 12-year-long civil war.

“There is still a great need for housing for those who have been displaced, as well as the allocation of medicines and other requirements. This is especially important in Syria, where the infrastructure has been greatly strained,” said Oya Mercan, an associate professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering who received her undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.

Kenana Al Kakouni

“If the building safety assessment indicates that the structural components – the beams and the columns – of a building are not damaged, it will be cost-efficient to fix the damage to the nonstructural components such as the partition walls. As such, it is an important initiative to raise funds and awareness for this purpose.”

The Syria Solidarity Collective (SSC), co-founded by U of T PhD graduate and staff member Kenana Al Kakouni, is also raising funds at St. George campus to assist with rebuilding homes in Syria, among other aid efforts. Funds raised will go to the Molham Volunteering Team, an international organization that works in northern Syria to rebuild homes for displaced people.

Al Kakouni, who currently works as an imaging facility lead technician in the department of cell and systems biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, said while her relatives in Syria are safe, they are mourning the loss of a family who were their neighbours.

The earthquake only further exacerbated the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria after more than a decade of conflict in the country, Al Kakouni said.

“People there were already suffering from lack of food, heat, medical supplies – right now, what we’re hearing is that what is most needed is tents, given that so many are still without shelter.”

At U of T’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Dean Erica Walker, advancement staff and the OISE Alumni Association Student Advisory Committee (SAC) organized an in-kind donation drive for non-perishable food, winter clothing, equipment such as tents, blankets, sleeping bags and thermoses, as well as hygiene items including menstrual products and diapers. The donation bins will be available in the OISE lobby until March 6.

“OISE has a really diverse student body, and we wanted to not only send a message of hope to our U of T community, but also to take action,” said SAC chair Seema Hooda, a graduate of OISE’s master of education program. “The donation drive is an extension of our purpose and mission, and it has been a joint effort from both students and staff. It’s a way to show support for our Turkish and Syrian peers – and also to engage people to make a contribution that could help save lives.”

From left to right: OISE staff Sim Kapoor, Latifa Soliman, Helen Huang, Dean Erica Walker, Perry King, Reesa Barkhouse, Biljana Cuckovic (photo supplied)

SSC co-founder Al Kakouni urged U of T community members looking to support aid efforts on campus to follow student groups’ social media accounts for upcoming fundraisers and other initiatives, write to political representatives to raise awareness of the disaster, and donate to reputable organizations such as the White Helmets and Syrian American Medical Society in Syria, as well as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders internationally.

For Türkiye, TUSA co-president Din recommends donating to Ahbap, the disaster and emergency management organization AFAD and search-and-rescue non-profit AKUT.

Students have also recognized the need to support their peers who may have been affected by the disaster, creating a “solidarity space” for reflection and connection at the Multi-Faith Centre on the St. George campus.

“The students' idea was to allow students from the region to get help in their own languages: Arabic and Turkish,” said Adrien Zakar, assistant professor in the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations. “With the support of the department, the Turkish Students’ Association and the Syria Solidarity Collective, more than 50 Turkish- and Arabic-speaking volunteers from U of T received health and wellness training to provide further guidance to visitors.”

In addition to donating money and goods to help people affected by the earthquake, it’s equally important for those far away from the region to recognize and amplify the sheer scope of the disaster, Emmanuel College student Ince said.

“The aftermath of this is going to be huge. We can see physical injuries, but no one sees psychological wounds,” she said. “Right after the earthquake, one of my professors, Angela Schmidt, changed the whole subject of her class to focus on the issue – it was just what I needed. She explained what to do when you face certain situations. After a situation like this, we have to think about how to view calamity. Why do bad things happen to good people? It really makes us question everything in life.”

Resources for U of T students, staff, faculty and librarians:

Student groups can post their fundraisers and other events on the Student Organization Portal to broaden awareness
The university has emergency funding available for students in need, which can be accessed by completing the U of T grant application:

Undergraduate students

Graduate students

Students can access mental-health supports through:

Mental Health Portal

My SSP (24/7 support via phone or chat)

Faculty, staff and librarians may contact the Employee and Family Assistance Program at 1-855-597-2110
The Scholars at Risk Award Program, established in part in response to the Syrian refugee crisis in 2016, remains open for applications each year from students who are accepted to U of T

Ottawa honours U of T literary theorist Northrop Frye with commemorative plaque

Romi Levine — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 19:02:47 +0000

Ottawa honours U of T literary theorist Northrop Frye with commemorative plaque

Romi Levine Fri, 12/07/2018 - 14:02

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U of T literary theorist Northrop Frye is pictured here in 1974 (photo by Boris Spremo/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Topic

City & Culture

Department of English

Emmanuel College

Faculty of Arts & Science

Humanities

Victoria College

Victoria University

Famed literary theorist and ��Ƶ Professor Northrop Frye was commemorated on Thursday by the Canadian government with a Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque.

The plaque will be installed at Victoria College, near a life-size bronze statue of Frye that was commissioned in 2012 in celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday.

Frye first came to U of T as a student in 1929, studying at Victoria College and Emmanuel College before attending Oxford for his master’s degree. He returned to U of T in 1939, teaching in the department of English at Victoria College until his death in 1991.

His seminal works Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake and Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays cemented his place as one of the 20th century’s most important literary critics.

“His systematic approach to literature examined the underlying myths and symbols that inform all of literature, challenged existing critical paradigms, and had a significant international influence, as did his work on the Bible as literature,” reads the plaque.

The Northrop Frye commemorative plaque is unveiled on U of T's downtown Toronto campus (photo by Liz Taylor)

The plaque-unveiling ceremony, which acknowledged Frye as a “person of national historic significance,” was attended by members of the U of T community and the Canadian government. They included: Richard Alway, chair of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Carolyn Bennett, a U of T alumna and the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, William Robins, president of Victoria University, and Angela Esterhammer, principal of Victoria College and a professor in the department of English.

Celebrating U of T's 'rich mosaic' of religions: Multi-Faith Centre marks its 10th anniversary

geoff.vendeville — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 20:41:38 +0000

Celebrating U of T's 'rich mosaic' of religions: Multi-Faith Centre marks its 10th anniversary

geoff.vendeville Mon, 11/12/2018 - 15:41

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U of T's Multi-Faith Centre, in Koffler House, was founded through the effort of students who approached the university’s senior administration in the mid-1990s. It is celebrating its 10th anniversary (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Graduate Students

Multi-Faith Centre

Religion

Rotman School of Management

“Love to all, peace to all, life to all.”

Those were the words of Sikh Chaplain Guru Fatha Singh as he finished the opening prayer at the 10^th-anniversary celebration of the ��Ƶ's Multi-Faith Centre last week. Then he asked the congregation who filled the centre to repeat the words together.

“Love to all, peace to all, life to all,” the participants recited in unison.

It was a fitting opening to an evening that featured a series of speakers, all of whom praised the role of the Multi-Faith Centre (MFC) as, in the words of founding director Richard Chambers, “a place for public discussion of spirituality and faith to affirm students’ identities on campus.”

Located on Spadina Avenue in space formerly occupied by the Koffler Institute of Pharmacy Management, the MFC was founded in 2007 as the result of students who approached the university’s senior administration in the mid-1990s, “asserting that the 12 Christian chapels on the downtown campus did not sufficiently recognize or serve the religious identity and experience of the diverse U of T student population,” as the event’s program noted.

“There were so many students from backgrounds who had not found representation on our campuses and they had to create personas that were formed to a level that others would find palatable or impressive,” says Nouman Ashraf, who was U of T’s anti-racism and cultural diversity officer at the time and is now an assistant professor, teaching stream at the Rotman School of Management.

“It was not that people were saying, ‘We don’t want to see the real you,’ but there was a sense that not all of the students’ selves were fully seen as valuable.”

Ashraf says this need to express the diversity of the student community was palpable. “When I was doing student programming, we had these dialogues across different faith traditions. This was before the MFC. We had the Spirituality and the Student Experience series and another called Food and Faith where we had 140 students in the Great Hall of Hart House. They were Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu – talking about what it feels like when you can’t find your kind of food on campus. We had another called the Feminine and the Divine and women spoke about being rooted in spiritual traditions but they were seeking expression outside of it. That said something to me.”

Ashraf and Susan Addario, at the time director of student affairs, joined with a large group of U of T community members to begin a process that would eventually lead to the founding of the MFC. That early group included the U of T student union, the Muslim Students' Association, the Hindu Students' Council, the True Peace Sangha, the U of T Buddhist Community, the Sikh Student Association, the Hart House Interfaith Dialogue and the Campus Chaplains Association.

“There was not only something here to build on, but we realized that if we didn’t build something purpose-built to engage these important conversations, then we wouldn’t be allowing for the expression of the full selves that make our student community the rich mosaic that they are,” says Ashraf.

Richard Chambers (second from left) and staff at the Multi-Faith Centre (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

After approval of the MFC by U of T’s Governing Council, the space in Koffler House was renovated, based on a design by architectural firm Moriyama & Teshima (also known for the Toronto Reference Library). Architect Carol Phillips’ design went on to win a number of awards.

Today, 10 years later, the MFC is a beehive of activity. The mindfulness meditation program holds 20 sessions weekly and Chambers is particularly proud of the centre’s internship program, which provides students with opportunities to explore themes in community such as student identity, equity, racism, eco-spirituality, sexual orientation, gender, faith and social justice. Opportunities occur in a variety of contexts, such as with the Muslim Chaplaincy, the Ecumenical Chaplaincy, St. Michael’s Chaplaincy and Hillel.

Andi Yumansky, who is completing her master's degree in theological studies at Emmanuel College, has been an intern supported by MFC and Hillel.

“I was given an opportunity to run a multi-faith program for Jewish students and other faith groups. I was able to run whatever programs I felt most passionate about,” says Yumansky, who will soon start a career in psychotherapy.

“That included a series related to exploring gender and religious diversity and bringing students of a multiplicity of faiths together to discuss themes around gender, and giving them the opportunity to talk about their lived experience and what it feels like to embody the religious identity that they hold. Providing an opportunity for students to do that facilitated a lot of deep learning as well as helping cultivate my leadership skills and being able to step into to my own professional identity.”

Pamela Klassen, vice-dean, undergraduate and international in the Faculty of Arts & Science and professor in the department for the study of religion, believes this ability of the MFC to bring different people together is central to the centre’s contribution.

“The importance of the space of the Multi-Faith Centre as a place to bring people from diverse traditions together, face-to-face, cannot be emphasized enough,” she told the congregation at the event.

“At a time when the agora of social media threatens to drive people apart through invective and falsehoods, the role of the university as a space in which people can come together across difference with our powers of reasoning and dispositions of respect at the fore is even more critical. The Multi-Faith Centre, as a sanctuary for spiritual practice and for experimental, critical study, justly deserves celebration for the ways that it has helped the university to live up to this responsibility.”

Susan Addario, a member of the original organizing team who attended the Nov. 5 celebration, beams when asked how she feels about the MFC 10 years later.

“I am in awe of what Richard and his team of staff and student interns have been able to accomplish since the centre opened in 2007. We envisioned the centre as making space for inter-faith dialogue and discovery, and for critical discussion of the role of religion and spirituality in current issues. But we did not imagine the impact the centre clearly has built. The level and breadth of activity in the centre is inspiring, and it's clear it has become a vital place where students are making profound connections, personal and intellectual.

“I am very proud of what the centre has become.”

Eboo Patel spoke at an event marking the 10^thanniversary of the Multi-Faith Centre (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

And the impact and excellence of the centre wasn’t lost on Dr. Eboo Patel, who was the main speaker during the anniversary event. Patel is the founder of Interfaith Youth Core and served on former U.S. President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council.

“Thank you for setting the standard that I will return down south and spread,” he told the audience, noting that he visits about 20 universities annually and he will be telling those he visits about the achievements of the MFC.

The anniversary evening closed with a stirring performance by U of T’s Spirit Singers. The choral ensemble of students sang I Choose Love, written by Mark A. Miller after a mass shooting where nine people were killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015.

“In the midst of pain, I choose love,” they sang. “In the midst of pain, sorrow falling down like rain, I await the sun again, I choose love.”

Principal of Emmanuel College instrumental in bringing world’s largest interfaith event to Toronto

Romi Levine — Mon, 08 May 2017 16:01:40 +0000

Principal of Emmanuel College instrumental in bringing world’s largest interfaith event to Toronto

Romi Levine Mon, 05/08/2017 - 12:01

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Mark Toulouse is co-chair of a committee that brought the Parliament of the World's Religions to Toronto (photo by Romi Levine)

Romi Levine

Author legacy

Romi Levine

Topic

Subheadline

Parliament of the World's Religions comes here in 2018

The Parliament of the World's Religions, a global event bringing together leaders from the world’s major religions, is coming to Toronto in 2018, thanks in large part to a group led by Emmanuel College Principal Mark Toulouse.

The world's largest interfaith event has taken place six times since 1893, but this will be the first in Canada. The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter have all attended past gatherings. More than 10,000 people representing 30 faiths are expected to attend the seven-day Toronto event that will include workshops as well as art exhibitions and cultural performances.

Register for the Parliament here

Emmanuel College is part of Victoria University in the ��Ƶ. U of T News spoke with Toulouse, who is also co-chair of a committee of interfaith groups that helped to bring the event to Toronto.

What did it take to convince parliament organizers to bring the event to Toronto?

One of them told me this was the shortest period of time from a site visit to a press conference. When they came to Toronto for the first time in 2016, they fell in love with the city and the diversity and pluralism of religious presence resonated with them. It wasn't hard to convince the committee – they really were so enthusiastic about Toronto. There were other cities bidding, but Toronto was just natural for the parliament.

Is it too early to know who will be attending this year?

It's too early – but the Dalai Lama has often been to the parliament and spoken, and I think so long as the Dalai Lama's health is good, it's likely he will be present.

From left to right, Parliament of the World's Religions' Board Chair Robert Sellers, Mayor John Tory, Andras Corban Arthen, founder of the EarthSpirit Community, and Larry Greenfield, executive director of the parliament, at the City Hall event announcing Toronto as the host city for the event Nov. 1 to 7, 2018 (photo courtesy of Enterprise Canada)

What makes the parliament such an important event?

I think there's nothing more important these days than understanding one another, dispelling myths and rumours about various religious groups, coming to a genuine understanding of each other, and hearing people explain and define who they are on their own terms, instead of defining people by stereotypes or impressions.

One thing the parliament accomplishes is increased understanding between religions, and that creates ambassadors who go back to their own communities and help to dispel the stereotypes with their friends and neighbours and colleagues. Another major dimension of the parliament's work is that [participants] tackle really important social issues – they deal with climate change, poverty. It's bringing together various religious leaders and people who are members in these religious traditions. Many of them become activists on particular social issues, and then apply whatever drives them from their own religious traditions and the values or ethics associated with their beliefs.

The parliament really is driven by a program that enables people to understand the issues across the globe and familiarizes them with important things happening that they might not be aware of. You just get media soundbites, and these days with CNN so driven with analysis of everything Donald Trump does, you really don't hear much about the importance of what's happening in other parts of the world. The parliament lifts up issues of concern that are really afflicting people across the world.

Do people who identify as atheist or agnostic have a place at the parliament as well?

They do, in fact. I think the parliament is recognizing the importance of this category, which is defined as “nones.”

On the one hand, recognizing that even nones and people who might identify with agnosticism or atheism have their own forms of connection to something beyond themselves. Some of them have various spiritualties that get expressed in one way or another that aren't connected with any traditional religious expression.

I think the nones are just as important as any other religious tradition. We shouldn't stereotype anybody, and therefore conversations between religions is not where this thing should stop. The parliament is increasingly developing a section of the program that can address how we hear what it means for atheists and agnostics who are defining values that address social justice issues, and how we can work together to accomplish important ends.