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91��ɫ experts have got you covered for Paris Olympics

egamulin — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 17:23:22 +0000

July. 26, 2024, TORONTO – While the Olympics are a show of international friendship and athletic excellence, they are also about politics and diplomacy, tourism, social change and spectacle, and sometimes even espionage.

Hernán ��ܳ��ñ��, three-time Olympic coach and expert on the History of the Olympics, is in Paris cheering on his daughter in beach volleyball.

“The Olympics has the potential to be such a positive force for good in the world,” says 91��ɫ Faculty of Health Associate Professor , a three-time Olympic coach who teaches a course on the history of the Olympic Games and will be in Paris July 26 onward cheering on his daughter, . “Every Olympics strives to meet its ideals, and every Olympics falls short — but I am an optimist, I believe each Olympics gets better and better.”

��ܳ��ñ�� and other 91��ɫ experts are available to give comment to media on everything from nationalism in sport and why the economic pressures on athletes are getting even worse, to branding and tourism opportunities, the evolution of women’s basketball in Canada and how large sporting events intersect with sex tourism and displacement of low-income people, and more.

Hernán ��ܳ��ñ��

��ܳ��ñ��, who helped Canada secure a bronze in the Atlanta ’96 games, teaches in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science at 91��ɫ. He was an early coach for his daughter, who along with her Canadian beach-volleyball partner and fellow 91��ɫ alumna Brandie Wilkerson, is currently ranked fourth in the world and is in Paris competing for a medal. ��ܳ��ñ�� played for the Chilean national volleyball team and came to Canada as a political refugee during the Pinochet years, a journey which he documented in his book Playing Under The Gun: An Athlete's Tale of Survival in 1970s Chile. He is available from Paris to comment on the history of the Olympics and how political and social events intersect and affect the modern games from their inception in the late 1800s to now. ��ܳ��ñ�� can also offer interviews in Spanish.

Topics he can speak to include:

History of the Olympics
Sport and nationalism
Gender issues in sport
Compensation and treatment of athletes

Parissa Safai, expert in the sociology of sport, health and social inequality.

Parissa Safai

The Canada Soccer drone-spying controversy is, in part, a great example of how much more aggressive Canada has become on the international sport scene in pursuit of wins, says , professor in the Faculty of Health and Chair of the School of Kinesiology and Health Science.

“In many ways, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics marked a pronounced shift in Canada’s attitudes towards success on the Olympic stage and our high-performance sport system became even that much more intentional about ‘owning the podium’,” says Safai. “For an athlete, gold medal-winning performances demand not just an unconditional commitment to physical training and skill development, but presuppose disposable money and disposable time, as the financial support from governments is just not enough.”

Many athletes are highly reliant on their parents for financial support, and the costs of producing a gold-medal winning performance has gone up, adds Safai, putting more pressure on high-performance athletes, and making their finances even more precarious. Safai is an expert in the sociology of sport, health and social inequality. She is available for phone and video conference interviews and can speak to:

Sports medicine and sports related pain and injury
Sport risk-taking
Sport and social inequality and gender equity in sport
Barriers to physical activity in communities
Sport policy and governance

Danielle Howard, an expert in race, sport and performance.

Danielle Howard

In 2018, a U.S. conservative news commentator said that LeBron James should just “shut up and dribble,” after the NBA star gave his views about then-President Donald Trump in an ESPN podcast.

Those comments inspired a documentary by the same name that explored the social and political influence of NBA players through the history of the league, which in turn was an inspiration for AMPD Assistant Professor ’s latest research at the intersection of race, sport and performance.

“The documentary got me thinking, does dribbling have more to say about politics, about Black life, then we have initially given it credit for?”

Howard is working on a book called Making Moves: Race, Basketball, and Embodied Resistance that spans the twentieth and twenty-first centuries of basketball history. She examines America’s history of white supremacy and how comments like “shut up and dribble” reflect a continued dismissal of Black lives and experiences, images of the Black body on display through history from slave auctions to NBA drafts and how audience and media surveillance impacts movement. “The majority of bodies in the NBA are Black. So from a media standpoint, the majority of the media consumption we have of basketball is represented by Black bodies.”

She also looks at how Black athletes speak with their bodies, and how politics, history and social movements are embodied in athleticism, from the New 91��ɫ Renaissance basketball team to present times.

“Black performance in sport is not merely aesthetic, it has potential and purpose to be disruptive to the political and to ultimately incite change and liberation.”

Howard is available to comment on:

Race, politics and sport
Sport as performance, particularly basketball
Theatre and spectacle in the opening and closing Games
Aesthetics and virtuosity in Olympic sports such as gymnastics, diving, synchronized swimming and breaking

Vijay Setlur, expert in sport marketing and tourism

Vijay Setlur

“France is already the most visited country in the world, but hosting the Olympics would diversify the destination and its visitor economy,” says , a marketing instructor at 91��ɫ’s Schulich School of Business specializing in sports marketing and tourism marketing. “People visit the country for its museums, galleries, architecture and culinary offerings, but Paris will now be able to attract more international sporting events to capitalize on the growing sport tourism segment and elevate its status as a sports city.”

Setlur attended and gave commentary at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and is also a consultant for Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football). Setlur is available to comment on:

Canadian soccer drone scandal and how it might affect the perception of Canada Soccer and sponsorship activity
Sponsorships and the Paris Olympic Games
How the NFL and ICC are hoping to leverage flag football and cricket, making its debut at the LA28 Games, to engage younger consumers
TV ratings and viewership of the Games
Use of technology at the Olympics

Sarah Bay-Cheng, expert on the history of women's basketball in Canada

Sarah Bay-Cheng

“For me, sports is another kind of performance: It's aesthetic, it's time-based, there's an audience,” saysProfessor , dean of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design at 91��ɫ and a former NCAA basketball player. “As the playwright Sarah Kane once said, the difference between theatre and a football (soccer) match is that you don't know how the football match is going to end.”

Bay-Cheng’s research focuses on the intersection of performance and media, including how digital technologies create performance conditions in museums and other cultural heritage sites. In this capacity, she is co-curating a gallery exhibition for the Museum of Toronto on the history of basketball in Toronto that will open in the spring of 2025.

“In Toronto basketball didn’t follow a linear development. Different versions of the game emerged at different times and in different places. Part of the work of preparing the exhibition has been to dig into the history of basketball in Canada and what has made Toronto such an exceptional place for the sport. As a former player, I’ve been very interested in learning more about the history of women's basketball in Canada as relation to, but also very distinctive from the history of the sport in the United States.”

Bay-Cheng is available to comment on the history of basketball in Canada, particularly the women’s game:

The American and Canadian roots of the game
How women’s basketball started among primarily white, upper-class women in the U.S., Ontario and eastern Canada, and why they were no match for a team from Western Canada that adopted a more aggressive style of play
How Title IX in the U.S. was a game-changer for women’s basketball
How both the men’s and women’s games have become more international, with training concentrated in NCAA schools
Sports as mediated performance

Amanda De Lisio, expert in sport mega-events, sex work, displacement and migration

Amanda De Lisio

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, Faculty of Health Assistant Professor partnered with researchers in Rio de Janeiro to examine what happened with sex workers during the games.

“One of the narratives that follows the sport mega event is related to the involvement of human trafficking,” says De Lisio in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science. “We work with people who are often the target of these anti-trafficking strategies to find out what is actually happening on the ground, are they being trafficked or exploited in their labour? And how their patterns of labour and migration in the city may change as a result of the mega event.”

De Lisio is working with groups in Los Angeles, which will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympic Games to examine what is happening on the ground there ahead of the games. Her , published earlier this month, looks at the security apparatus of the Rio Olympics, and argues that “despite the enormous investment and facade of newly militarized host communities, insecurities remained, and ‘security’ as a practice failed to be guaranteed.” De Lisio is also available for interviews in Portuguese.

She can comment on:

Understanding sex work as labour in a vulnerable sector and how displacement brought on by mega-events affects sex workers and other communities
Sport mega-event construction and the financialization of housing
Local groups in Paris decrying Olympics-related displacement of low-income people

J-Rebel (Joseph Hersco), a youth worker in the Jane and Finch community in Toronto and expert in breaking.

J-Rebel

A half century after the birth of Hip-Hop among mostly Black and Latino, working-class youth in the South Bronx, breaking makes its debut as an Olympic sport. For longtime breaker (Joseph Hersco) from the Supernaturalz Crew, who helped develop and co-taught a course on the art of breaking at 91��ɫ with AMPD dance professor Mary Fogarty, he’ll be watching the competition on Aug. 9 and 10 with a mix of emotions and criticisms.

“There is a political side of Hip-Hop — it comes out of particular socio-economic conditions, right? I think a lot of that can easily get washed out, when the focus is around just who's winning in the competition,” says J-Rebel, who lives and works in the Jane and Finch community in Toronto. “But those things are intertwined in breaking — the politics, the cultural aspects, race, class and gender.”

J-Rebel, who teaches kids breaking and has travelled the world by competing in international breaking competitions comparable to the caliber we will see at the Olympics, picked up the practice himself decades ago with peers and in community centres in Jane and Finch, Lawrence Heights and Malvern where he grew up and lived. He says that while breaking is more accessible to the youth in his community — predominantly low-income and working-class — than a sport like hockey or football, there are still barriers to who might be able to compete at the highest level due to social inequalities that are still present in many communities in Toronto.

“It's not necessarily a predetermined thing because youth from these particular places have become resilient out of necessity, but your proximity to privilege and having resources is going to give you a better chance at developing your competencies.”

J-Rebel is available to comment on:

Origins and connections of breaking to hip-hop; roots in New 91��ɫ and Black diasporic cultural expression
Why the Olympics need breaking and not the other way around
Technical, cultural and social aspects of breaking
Ensuring access to breaking and sport in low-income and racialized communities.
History of breaking in Toronto

Martin Breaugh, an expert in French politics.

Martin Breaugh

France was on shaky grounds ahead of the Olympics, politically speaking, but the ruling parties dodged a bullet in the snap election by blocking the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party from taking power, says Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies and an expert in French politics.

“The presence of RN ministers at the Olympics would have been an impossible situation to manage with the potential of athletes boycotting such ministers, as well as local officials and maybe even delegations from elsewhere, especially the former French colonies, doing the same,” he says.

Breaugh is available for email, phone and teleconferencing videos and is currently on Central European Time six hours ahead of Toronto. He is also available for interviews in French and can speak on:

The political situation in France in the leadup to the Olympics
How the handling of the Olympics will impact public perception of the government
History of politics in France

Satinder K.Brar, an expert in water contamination.

Satinder K. Brar

Despite France spending more than $1.5 billion in cleanup efforts to get it in good shape before the start of the Olympics, the Seine continues to experience problems with water pollution, with the men’s triathlon posted this week due to unacceptably high levels. Lassonde School of Engineering Professor is an expert in environmental biotechnology and decontamination, with particular expertise in water. Brar is also available for interviews in French, Hindi and Punjabi, and can comment on:

Cleanup efforts of the Seine
Waste water contamination and potential risks to athletes
Other pollutants sometimes found in urban bodies of water

Lyndsay Hayhurst

Lyndsay Hayhurst, an expert in community sports programming.

For 15 years, Faculty of Health Associate Professor��has been��collaborating��with��self-identified women and youth��in��Canada,��Uganda and��Nicaragua��to��investigate the role of sport for social justice and ‘development’. This includes examining cycling as a possible catalyst for achieving mobility justice and gender equity; investigating how community sport for development programs may create novel possibilities for feminist climate-justice activism; and addressing physical inactivity among marginalized youth and women (cis and trans) through the use of trauma-and violence-informed approaches.

“We're arguing that these , and that certainly flies in the face of some of the approaches to coaching and sport that we sometimes see are taken up at the Olympics,” says Hayhurst, also the 91��ɫ Research Chair in Sport, Gender and Development & Digital Participatory Research.

Hayhurst and collaborators just launched a short documentary film - - and she is available to comment on:

Sport and gender equity
Gender-diverse youth and sport
Trauma-and-violence-informed approaches to sport, recreation and leisure

Sexual and gender-based violence prevention��in/through sport for development
Climate change initiatives��and ‘greenwashing’��at the Paris Olympics
Sport for development and peace initiatives and NGO activisms
Community sport and recreation initiatives, especially cycling and soccer

Please check your inbox or online for updates to this roster.

For a list of some of the 91��ɫ-affiliated athletes and medical team members participating in the Games, .

About 91��ɫ

91��ɫ is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91��ɫ’s fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario’s Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91��ɫ’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91��ɫ Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

About 91��ɫ

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91��ɫ Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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Sankofa Square? What's behind the proposed new name for Yonge-Dundas Square

egamulin — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 16:40:48 +0000

The post Sankofa Square? What's behind the proposed new name for Yonge-Dundas Square appeared first on News@91��ɫ.

Why do some brands change racist names and logos, but others don’t? Here’s what the research��says

egamulin — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 20:45:42 +0000

The post Why do some brands change racist names and logos, but others don’t? Here’s what the research��says appeared first on News@91��ɫ.

How should parents talk to their kids about anti-Black racism?

roshanp — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 12:34:59 +0000

(UPDATED) How should parents talk to their kids about anti-Black racism?

91��ɫ educator available to discuss killings and injustices against Black people

TORONTO, June 1, 2020 – Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rash of anti-Black killings and racists acts in the U.S – including George Floyd who was killed after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by pressing his knee on his neck, and birdwatcher Christian Cooper who was accosted in Central Park by a white woman who falsely accused him of threatening her.

These incidents are opening doors for Canadians to talk about anti-Black racism, police brutality and the nationwide protests against the deaths of unarmed Black people – which are all happening on both sides of the border – but parents need to remember that their children are watching these events unfold too, says , a professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Education who is the .

“People are angry, tired and in pain, and today’s generation of young people, no doubt are trying to make sense of the anti-Black racism they are observing,” says James, a leading education expert on Black youth and race relations. “That’s the reason why parents need to talk to their children to help them understand what is happening.”

“It’s very easy in the Canadian context to think of what is happening as simply a product of racism in America,” says James. “There is enough evidence of Black Canadian people’s experiences with racism so we need to understand the Black experience if we’re going to effectively address racism.”

He is encouraging parents to talk about why injustices against Black people are wrong and how systemic racism works. It also helps to put this in the context of Black history, the legacy of slavery and segregation, and the power of the civil rights movement, Black leadership and the Black Lives Matter movement.

“White parents need to talk to their white kids about white-skinned privilege and how to not take that for granted,” says James. “White families, non-Black families and Black families all need to help their children interpret what is going on around them and the role that race plays. Explain why this is happening and what Black people are experiencing that triggered these anti-police protests. Ask questions like, ‘Why did the white police officer think he could kneel on the neck of a Black man for nine minutes?’”

James is encouraging teachers to talk about anti-Black racism with their students, even if it’s through teacher-led online learning which is occurring across Ontario because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’d also like to see schools and school boards organize online sessions for students to talk with each other about race and racism.

For those parents thinking that their kids are too young to see colour, think again.

“Children as young as age three understand the difference between Black skin and white skin,” says James.

Researchers have shown that when given a choice of Black dolls and white dolls, children – including Black children – show a preference for white dolls, says James, who made a similar finding in 1992 when he co-led this experiment at Toronto childcare centres. The Black and white children in James’ study neglected the Black dolls.

A former youth worker and community worker, James has led extensive research on the lived experiences of marginalized community members within the framework of equity, inclusivity, and social justice. In 2017, he led a report,��, which found Black students in the GTA are disproportionately being streamed into applied instead of academic programs, often times below their ability, and are being suspended at a much higher rate than their counterparts.

James is the author and co-author of several books including and . Currently, he is exploring the relationship between race and COVID-19 noting the impact of the virus on Black people as part of a study led by the University of Toronto. James is also leading two research projects – one on the Black justice system and the other on Black students who left university without completing their studies and enrolled in college.

He can comment on:

Anti-Black racism and racialization
The lives of Black youth in Canada
Multiculturalism and race relations
Equity, inclusivity and social justice related to marginalized Canadians
Masculinity and young Black males
Education and schooling of minority students

91��ɫ champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

��Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452,��vthomps@yorku.ca

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What does it mean to be Black Canadian in a multi-racial Canada?

roshanp — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 15:30:48 +0000

91��ɫ scholar available to discuss Blackness in Canada research project

TORONTO, February 6, 2020 –��It’s no accident that Professor Lorne Foster – one of Canada’s top scholars on racial profiling and anti-racism laws – chose to kick off his research project exploring Black Canadian identity during Black History Month.

is a time to celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians and��learn how people of African descent have helped to shape Canada’s heritage and identity.

is leading a first-of-its-kind, national research project exploring what it means to be a Black Canadian man, woman or youth.

“In many communities across Canada, Black Canadians experience isolation, anti-Black racism, school disengagement, youth incarceration, racial profiling, gun violence, poor health outcomes and greater levels of unemployment and underemployment,” said Foster. A professor in the Department of Equity Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Foster also serves as the director of 91��ɫ’s Institute for Social Research.

“To address these barriers within Canada’s Black population, and to advance racial equity in society, we need to study their first-hand-perspectives and listen to their diverse voices,” he said.

The goal of the multi-year study is to investigate the Black Canadian population as a national ethno-racial identity and explore how the experiences of Black Canadians are shaped by social, political and economic factors. The study also seeks to find the most promising ways to alleviate anti-Black racism.

Part of the Blackness in Canada project will involve a national survey of thousands of Black Canadians who will be asked about 40 questions related to several themes including: childhood upbringing, demographic characteristics, and experiences with anti-Black racism and discrimination. The results of the study and survey are expected to be released in early 2021.

The project is being done through the , the country’s largest university-based survey research centre. The $291,072 study is being funded through a $199,980 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant, with additional funding from 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Institute for Social Research, Multicultural History Society of Ontario (MHSO)and Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF).

Foster teaches in the areas of public policy, social justice, race and ethnicity and has written more than 200 published articles, journal articles, book chapters and books, including , released in 2018.

He can comment on:

The Blackness in Canada project
Black History Month and the Black identity
Black Canadians in the human rights movement
Racial profiling, police carding and anti-Black racism
Public policy reform and workplace diversity

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

��Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452,��vthomps@yorku.ca

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Stopping the stigmatization of Chinese classmates in response to coronavirus

roshanp — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 14:49:22 +0000

91��ɫ educator is available to explain how to teach children to challenge fear

TORONTO, January 31, 2020 – Parents need to avoid transferring their own fears about the coronavirus to their children, and instead encourage them to condemn racism and xenophobia against their East Asian Chinese classmates, says , an assistant professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Education.

Shah, an education expert on issues of equity and justice, is concerned that some elementary school parents are spreading misinformation to their children about the coronavirus. Instead, parents and teachers should learn the facts about the coronavirus from public health officials and empower young people with facts, she says.

“The fear and worry of parents may cause their children to unfairly blame, stereotype, and stigmatize their East Asian classmates and to treat them unfairly and��inequitably,” says Shah. “Fear and panic can often lead to racism, xenophobia, and other forms of oppression.”

While parents can acknowledge the fear they’re feeling, they must stress the facts: the risk in Canada remains low, the Canadian government is taking the necessary precautions to protect people from the spread of coronavirus, and everyone can take action by washing their hands more regularly.

“Parents and educators have a responsibility to teach young people to challenge the racist and xenophobic treatment of East Asian Chinese people through conversations and curriculum that debunk stereotypes,” says Shah. “Children should be encouraged to intervene when they hear racist comments or witness racist behaviours by calling it out and disrupting these harmful stereotypes.”

Shah was a teacher in the Toronto District School Board. Currently, she leads classes for prospective teachers, including Teaching for Diverse & Equitable Classrooms in Ontario, and teaches in the Master of Leadership and Community Engagement program.

She can comment on:

How to talk to children about the coronavirus
The best ways to stop kids from stigmatizing their Asian classmates
How to stop harmful stereotypes about Chinese people
Tips for disrupting racism, xenophobia and demeaning and derogatory comments against marginalized and minority children in schools

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452,��vthomps@yorku.ca

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