Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber are committed to the principles of human rights, equity & inclusion. Wednesday, March 8 marks the celebration of Holi. Holi is the Hindu festival of colour and marks the beginning of spring. Many Humber students, faculty and staff will be celebrating Holi which is often celebrated through the throwing of coloured powder, spraying of coloured water, gatherings with families and friends.  

The Humber community is encouraged to learn more about and experience Holi.  

Please be mindful that students, faculty and staff may require accommodations, such as time off or extensions, to celebrate. If you have questions regarding the duty to accommodate based on creed, please contact the Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion at humanrights@humber.ca.  

On behalf of the Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion and Student Success & Engagement, we wish you a happy Holi!  

In the latest edition of AMViews, Dr. Vaughan discusses the importance of supporting women and girls and gender equality this International Women’s Day.

Read the blog on the President's Blog webpage.

The Centre for Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion would like to wish you a Happy International Women’s Day (IWD)!

This year’s theme is Embracing Equity. 
 
International Women’s Day takes place on March 8 and has been observed since the early 1900s, when the oppression and inequality faced by women came to the forefront. While these conversations reflected on better working conditions and voting rights, they excluded Indigenous, Black, and Women of colour for many years. 

Our conversations must take into consideration intersectionality, and the systems of inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class, and other forms of discrimination which “intersect” to create unique experiences. Woman who are at the intersection of multiple systems of oppression, disproportionately experience discrimination.  As the conversation about all women’s rights have expanded, IWD is an opportunity to speak about the achievements of women while continuing to call for gender equity and bring light to the ongoing oppression and discrimination women continue to face to this day. It is important to highlight and celebrate the accomplishments of the many Canadian women who have made significant contributions to the Canadian history. A few notable women of the many to be celebrated include:  

• Dr. Cindy Blackstock – Dr. Blackstock is one of Canada’s foremost Indigenous children’s rights advocates. She is the executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and a professor of Social Work at McGill University. She has spent her life speaking out and fighting against the injustices and structural violence Indigenous people and children face in Canada  
• Dr. Lila Fahlman – Dr. Fahlman was an accomplished educator, social justice activist, and the founder of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. She was the first Muslim woman to Canada to serve on a public school board.  
• Dr. Notisha Massaquoi – Dr. Massaquoi has been a vocal advocate of equitable healthcare of Canadian Black women. She was the Executive Director of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Centre – the only health centre that focused on specialized care for Black and Racialized women. She has been called upon frequently for her expertise in building equity responsive organizations.  
• Deepa Mehta- Deepa Metha is  an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005). Many of Mehta's films across her career have focused on the duality of her national and cultural identity, which has informed much of her filmmaking. She is a member of the Order Canada and the Order of Ontario.  
• Senator Ratna Omidvar: Senator Omidvar is a Canadian politician and academic, who was named to the Senate of Canada to represent Ontario on March 18, 2016. In 2016, CivicAction awarded her with their Lifetime Achievement Award for Civic Leadership in the Greater Toronto Area. In 2014 she founded the Global Diversity Exchange at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University where she was a distinguished visiting professor. Omidvar is the current co-chair of the Global Future Council on Migration hosted by the World Economic Forum. 

Equity should be at the forefront of all our conversations as we continue to build a Humber community that is equitable and inclusive. We all have a collective responsibility to build a working and learning space that creates opportunity for all women to continue to thrive.  
 
Happy International Women’s Day to the Humber and University of Guelph Humber community.

Humber College and University of Guelph-Humber (Humber) know that the safety of our community is paramount to ensuring our students and staff can study and work in the safest space possible. When incidents do occur, however, a quick, efficient and reliable response from our security staff is imperative to ensuring a quick resolution. As part of its ongoing goal of continuous improvement, training and education, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has implemented a training exercise program for security guards. The aim of the exercise program is to provide real-life scenarios to guards that allows them to practice their response to various scenarios in a safe, controlled setting.

Front-line security guards will be participating in a series of short exercises during the month of March. Exercises will take place every Wednesday evening. In an effort to minimize the impact on the campus community, exercises will take place at times when fewer people are expected to be on campus. Therefore, the exercises will take place as follows:

• Lakeshore Campus - March 8 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the 2nd floor of L Building
• North Campus - March 15 and 22 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. in the KB cafeteria

Signage will be placed in the exercise area to identify that an exercise is taking place. Exercise participants will be identified by wearing orange vests that indicate “Exercise Participant” on the back. Any community members who may be in the area are asked to not interfere with the exercise activity.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kathy Branton, manager, Business Continuity and Emergency Management at kathy.branton@humber.ca or extension 5550.