The Glendon Ceremony will take place on the West Quadrangle lawn, Glendon Campus, with faculty marshalling in the Gallery Glendon/Glendon Galerie. The ceremonies on the Keele Street Campus will be held at the Convocation Tent Site, east of the Centre for Film and Theatre (CFT), with faculty robing and marshalling in Room 130A, CFT. There will be no alternative facility for inclement weather.

Schedule

#1. Glendon College

Saturday, June 9, 2:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Prof. Henry S. Harris

Reception: The Rose Garden, immediately following the ceremony

#2. Winters College (Arts), Faculties of Fine Arts & Graduate Studies

Monday, June 11, 2:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Mr. Moses Znaimer

University Professorship:
Prof. Seth Feldman

Receptions: Winters/Fine Arts: Main Lobby, Centre for Film and Theatre;

Graduate Studies: Atkinson College Dining Hall, Atkinson College, immediately following the ceremony

#3. Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies

Monday, June 11, 6:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Mr. Mark Starowicz

University-Wide Teaching Award (Full-time):
Prof. Brenda Spotton Visano

Reception: Atkinson College Dining Hall, Atkinson College, immediately following the ceremony

#4. Vanier College (Arts)

Wednesday, June 13, 10am

Distinguished Research Professor: Prof. H.V. Nelles

Reception: Vanier Hall, lower level Vanier College, immediately following the ceremony.

#5. Norman Bethune College (Arts), Pure and Applied Science & Environmental Studies

Wednesday, June 13, 2:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Dr. Lap-Chee Tsui

University-Wide Teaching Award (Full-time): Prof. Leesa Fawcett

University-Wide Teaching Award (Part-time): Ms. Judy Libman

Reception: Norman Bethune College Dining Hall, immediately following the ceremony

#6. Calumet College (Arts)

Wednesday, June 13, 6:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Prof. Alistair MacLeod

Reception: Rm. 100, Calumet College, immediately following the ceremony

#7. Schulich School of Business

Friday, June 15, 10am

Honorary Graduand:
Mr. Jack Cockwell

Reception: The Terrace between Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business, immediately following the ceremony

#8. Osgoode Hall Law School

Friday, June 15, 2:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Madame Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé

Reception: The Terrace between Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business, immediately following the ceremony

#9. Stong College (Arts)

Monday, June 18, 10am

Distinguished Research Professor: Prof. Reg Whitaker

University-Wide Teaching Award (Senior Full-time): Prof. Silviu Guiasu

Reception: Stong College Dining Hall, Stong College, immediately following the ceremony

#10. Founders & McLaughlin Colleges (Arts)

Monday, June 18, 2:30pm

Honorary Graduand:
Mr. James Houston

Receptions: Founders College: Founders Assembly Hall, Founders College;

McLaughlin College: Winters College Dining Hall, Winters College, immediately following the ceremony

#11. Faculty of Education

Tuesday, June 19, 10am

BEd Concurrent, BEd Consecutive by District: (Barrie, Halton, York Region - Bloomington)

Honorary Graduand:
Prof. Mary Ashworth

Reception: Main Lobby, Centre for Film and Theatre, immediately following the ceremony.

#12. Faculty of Education

Tuesday, June 19, 2:30pm

BEd Consecutive by District: (Durham, Bainbridge, Yvonne, Seneca@York - MST, IS Peel, IS Toronto), MEd

Honorary Graduand:
Mr. Paul Volcker

Reception: Main Lobby, Centre for Film and Theatre, immediately following the ceremony

For faculty interested in attending any of the ceremonies, please submit a robe request online using the convocation Web site at www.yorku.ca/convocation/.

Daryl Vocat, with his test prints, Perfectly Normal

Students in the Graduate Program in Visual Arts were on hand to guide visitors through the labyrinth of rooms and walkways that house their studios in the Centre for Fine Arts. Their open studio was the culmination of a week of activities called "Celebrating the Visual Arts at York", which enabled the public not only to see the work being done by the University's talented artists, but also to meet many of them.

One student, Daryl Vocat, explained that his work-in-progress, Perfectly Normal, stemmed from his time as a boy scout. He took imagery from boy scout manuals and "put them in different contexts. The pieces express me, re-examining not just what I've been taught but what the social and sexual realities are for boys and boyhood," he said.

Brian Cardell with his work, Card Shark

Standing beside a sculpture of a shark suspended from the ceiling, Brian Cardell explained that his art work, Card Shark, is dealing with animals known as "predators of the sea. Biblically, the sea represents masses of people and I was thinking that, in today's world, banks are predators of people. We're all on the hook for it." He pointed out his shark is covered by the cards that most people rely on for banking, credit and borrowing books, not to mention playing cards, postcards and, of course, student cards.

Sheila Gruner will remember the Quebec Summit as random acts of police violence - tear gas lobbed into crowds sitting down, at people reading the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on a side street, at people wearing bandannas and cameras.

"I saw random acts of extreme violence on the part of the police," the York environmental studies graduate student told about 15 students and professors at a post-summit forum May 9. "These random acts didn't characterize the event for the media whereas, for me, they did. It was a whole weekend of acts like that."

Police repressive

Violence - by the police, at the fence, of the free trade policies - surfaced as the overriding experience at the April Summit of the Americas. The fence, especially, came to represent a threat to democracy, the theme of the forum organized by Mark Dickinson, a graduate assistant with the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC).

"The FTA (Free Trade Agreement) itself represents a trend towards uniformization of police violence and the kind of repression that is to come," said Gruner. Police around the world are sharing strategies for repressing protesters, she added.

"The fence was the greatest symbol of violence," said Katia Berdishevsky, a political science graduate student. She said she was shocked by the fence, by being excluded and frightened by the tear gas-throwing police, which she compared to repressive force former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet would have used. "We should be worried. This is a huge wake-up call."

"What happened in Quebec was a big step backwards in terms of democracy," said Ricardo Grinspun,CERLAC Fellow and York economics professor. He attended - and found hope in - the Second Peoples' Summit, a gathering of people from the Americas interested in alternatives to free trade.

Grinspun also found reason for optimism. "It was a big step forward" in how it brought together a fledgling social movement and youth - literally. The Peoples' Summit march merged with students marching toward the fence. "Building a social movement is a major step forward."

The media were perceived as threats to democracy.

Media failed

CERLAC founding Chair Louis Lefebre said: "The media did not fulfill their democratic function." They minimized police violence and wrongly equated protesters' opposition to free trade as opposition to all trade. "No one in his right mind would say this," he said. This is evidence of a total undemocratic failure of the press, which is why I feel the future democracy of this country and of North America in general is threatened."

When political leaders appropriated protesters' language, using phrases such as 'our principal goal is democracy' and 'our goal is protecting the poor,' the media never "explained how our views are different," said Annabel Pinero, a political science graduate student. The media "made us seem irrational and misinformed."

Ignoring constituents

The media portrayed protesters as "Luddites pushing some 19th-century idea that is out of date," said Steve Dylag, a fourth-year humanities student. The media characterized demonstrations as un-Canadian, said another student, therefore "dismissing the message by dismissing the process."

"I think the state showed its trump card," said Mustafa Henaway, a third-year political science student. The Canadian government showed it was on the side of power not the people who elected them, he suggested. The "CEOs of media corporations were behind the fence" where they could protect their power."

Likewise Frederick-Guillaume DuFour, researcher for York's Centre for International and Security Studies, said the use of force at the summit made the government position explicit: that parliamentary power is not legitimate and that police will throw tear gas whenever there are protests. The Montrealer also said Quebec's nationalism appears out of step with Europe and the rest of the world which is moving towards a post-nationalist era.

Rob Stewart, a Jamaican graduate history student, warned of the danger of the Canadian government getting too cosy with corporations. International agreements, such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, are the genesis for civil unrest in Latin America and the Caribbean, he suggested. "If this powerful organization made them [political leaders such as Jean Chretien] feel so secure...that it made them ignore their constituencies, that says something about what will transpire when we have to give deference to corporate interests and demands at the citizens' expense." In Jamaica, where the government imposed neo-liberal policies to please the International Monetary Fund, "our politicians became instruments of faceless institutions. It's a slippery road taken."

"Viable solutions do exist" to the inability to voice their opposition, said Gruner. "I think the prime concern is to have dissenting voices at the table." Repression is growing in Canada but "spaces do exist" for expression and debate, she suggested. "We don't need violence [to make our voices heard]. We have to figure out when it is appropriate."

The Birds with a Canadian flag given to them by Heritage Minister Sheila Copps (photo by Xinzhao Chu)

John and Jennifer are Birds of a feather. They were of one mind when given an opportunity to fly south. But instead of heading to warm weather and more abundant food as most birds do, they found an eternal winter where food supplies have to be flown in - only possible for four months out of the year.

Last July when John heard about a job opportunity at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, he surprised his wife Jennifer by asking her if she wanted to go there. She was in the middle of her master's degree, but her answer was a decisive "yes".

Hauling her precious keyboard and a disk of her own composition, Millennium Oratorio, she arrived at the station in October 2000. Her senses were unprepared for what greeted them: a temperature of -55°C, 24-hours of blinding sunlight, "paper dry" air and an altitude of 11,000 feet which, with the extreme cold, made it hard to breathe.

"There was snow and sky. The dome (station) was off in the distance, and I was supposed to somehow walk there. However, now that we're into 'real' winter, I find such a temperature warm and I'm fully altitude-adjusted."

John, who arrived nearly six weeks later, marvelled at the same new sensations. At the start of the new year he was moved to write: "Here we are meant to stand: in the footprints of giants. Giants of adventure. Giants of science. Amid the stark tranquility and bright sunshine, we sense biting cold as we face the wind, and as we face the forthcoming darkness.

"With the geometrical perfection of the skies above, we are in the middle of the heavenly spheres as envisioned by Aristotle over two millennia ago.... Overlooking the vast emptiness, we see in our hearts a destiny - our destiny to explore."

John believes some of nature's most beautiful displays can been seen at the South Pole: the aurora, halos, sunsets and stars. The aurora he described as "icebergs of the thermosphere, sculpted by solar wind, floating in waves of atomic oxygen, bestowing their alluring and ethereal brilliance...."

"...a proper good-bye"

Say good-bye to regular sunrises and sunsets - and moon risings and settings and time zones - when you are at The South Pole. There is one main sunrise and sunset per year. When each occurs it is celebrated by most people at the station, as was the last official sunset of the season in March. However, the next morning an astonishing phenomenon occurred for the Birds: the "sunrise"- again.

John and Jennifer at sunset

Transfixed, John captured the last rays in a photograph, later striving to find the right words to talk about the magical sight: "rectangular, billowing, orange fire"; and "like watching a fireworks display every time a burst of blue appeared". He also captured the "bright green edge...a dynamic streak which was like the surface of a rough sea, with waves throwing brilliant green flames."

"The specific 'day' of sunset is hard to say," explained John. "It can rise and set a few times over the course of days when it is skimming the horizon because of the uneven shape of the earth and the temperature changes which change the refraction."

The moon takes on a greater importance to those facing the long darkness of a South Pole winter. Over a two-week period it spirals up in the heavens to 23.5 degrees then down as it gradually changes phases, remaining below the horizon for the following two weeks. "When it's gone we have brilliant aurora australis," said Jennifer. "Today light clouds were rushing by the moon. Yesterday morning there were moon dogs beside the sun. It's definitely not the drab winter-in-the-city effect."

As for time zones, there aren't any. All the lines of longitude come together at that point. The people at the Amundsen-Scott station arbitrarily chose New Zealand time by which to set their clocks, "because that's where all the aircraft come from in the summer," said John.

Life with the Birds

---

John's office pod, similar to the Bird's living quarters

If ever a place was conducive to Seasonal Affected Disorder Syndrome, the South Pole is it. Jennifer said she suffers from a mild form of it even in a Toronto winter. To combat it now she sits near a full-spectrum light each morning, keeps to a strict wake-sleep cycle and exercises vigorously each day. John is symptom-free so far.

In the summer, Jennifer and John faced an exhausting six-day, 10-hour-day work week. The more than 230 residents has shrunk to about 50 in winter, alleviating their workload, although John now must run many experiments alone.

John's work is technical. By means of an "intensified optical, all-sky imager operating in several wavelengths", he and colleagues study waves in the atmosphere, examining different altitudes in an effort to discriminate between different types of electron precipitation. In his off hours, he enjoys photographing images from his camera sent aloft on a parafoil kite made of nylon, which he describes as resembling a pillowcase containing three "cells".

When Jennifer is not channelling her creative urges into concocting imaginative desserts, baked goods and salads (lettuce is grown hydroponically), she is composing a piece is about the long Antarctic winter nights. "I trace the rising, then setting, then rising-again sun. I think of it as a glorified sine wave."

What else do the Birds do with free time? They practise headstands in the powdery snow, exercise on a treadmill, ride a specially-designed all-terrain bike and exercise bikes, listen to music, knit (Jennifer), and make plans for their future when they leave the pole later this year.

"In the afternoons now, I wander off to a place called 'skylab' - a tower connected by an arch to the dome," said Jennifer. "Up there I practise the piano and compose or take a nap." A few months ago to herald the new millennium she used her energy to whip up enthusiasm among other residents to play her Millennium Oratorio (which chronicles the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang through the Middle Ages, up to the present), but without the large choir.

"I had a handful of singers, an electric guitar, flute, tenor saxophone, glockenspiel and tenor drum," she recalled. "It was quite a challenge to pull it together without pulling out my hair. People wouldn't show up at rehearsals - they were very tired at the end of summer. However, they did a fine job on performance night." For her efforts, the South Pole crew presented her with artificial flowers.

Life at the South Pole has given John and Jennifer more time together without the distraction of shopping and other diversions. They love "the ever-present nature" and the adventure. "I've always planned my life to the nth degree", said Jennifer, "but under the inspiration of the people here, I want to live more in the moment and be open to many ideas."

John sees his life at the South Pole as "not a destination but a journey. From this point we can go in any direction, for the spirit of adventure that brought us here will carry us to further explorations. The difficulties we discover will reveal us to each other."

At its 477th meeting held on March 22, 2001, the Senate of York University:

Nine varsity alumni and one former coach will be honoured as York University resumes its Sport Hall of Fame inductions at a dinner on Thursday, May 31. The Sport Hall of Fame honours individuals who have significantly contributed to York's inter-university sport program as athletes, coaches and administrators; and who have exemplified the spirit and ideals of York University sports in professional and community life.

The selection committee consisted of three varsity alumni, two student-athletes and several university administrators, including the Chair of Kinesiology and Health Science, and Director of Sport and Recreation.

For tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner, contact the Sport York office at (416) 736-5183 or visit the Hall of Fame Web page at www.sport.yorku.ca.

2001 Inductees

Mark Applewhaite was the goalie on the Yeomen hockey teams that won three CIAU National Championships in the 1980s. He was twice MVP in the OUAA Playoffs; three times the All Star netminder at the CIAU National Championships and CIAU Tournament MVP in 1988-1989. Now a CGA, Applewhaite is revenue analyst with Apple Canada in Markham.

For three consecutive years in the late 1970s Marc Epprecht captured the individual All Round title at the CIAU gymnastics championships. In each of his five years as a student-athlete, York's gymnastics team won five OUAA Championships and five CIAU Championships. A former national team and Canadian Olympic team member, Epprecht is now a member of the teaching staff (history/development studies) at Queen's University in Kingston.

In the 1970s when the football Yeomen would struggle to post even a single season victory, talented running back Bill Hatanaka stood out as one of the very best in the country. An OUAA All-Star and one of York's first players to be drafted by a CFL team, Hatanaka played three years in the Canadian Football League. He is now chief operating officer of RBC Investments in Toronto.

A two-sport athlete from 1972 to 1977, Ev Spence was twice York's male Athlete of the Year. A four-time OUAA rugby All-Star, Spence was also three times named OUAA All-Star in basketball. His Yeomen rugby team won three OUAA championships. His excellence on the court attracted many top players who later brought York national basketball prominence. After teaching high school physical education for 23 years, Spence is now a financial consultant with the Investors Group in Oakville.

Head Coach of the gymnastics Yeowomen from 1974-1993 Natasa Bajin's teams won 12 OWIAA gold medals and four CIAU National Championships. In her pre-York days, as an athlete, she had been the Yugolsav national champion for 11 consecutive years. A tenured York faculty member, Professor Bajin teaches fitness and gymnastics in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science.

York's first truly outstanding, national-level field hockey player, Sheila Forshaw led the Yeowomen to two OWIAA gold medals and two CIAU silver medals. Highlights of her playing career include All-Canadian selection four times, MVP at the CIAU National Championships, York's female Athlete of the Year twice, national team from 1976 to 1988 and selection to three Canadian Olympic teams. Forshaw is now York University's coordinator of inter-university sport.

Between 1983 and 1986, sprinter Molly Killingbeck won six gold and two silver medals at the CIAU National Championships and was twice named York's female Athlete of the Year. A four-time national champion, Killingbeck represented Canada internationally, winning a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics as a member of the 4x400m relay team. Killingbeck is now man-ager of athlete services with the National Sport Centre, Toronto.

Marla Taylor was a member of Yeowomen volleyball teams that, between 1978 and 1984, captured three OWIAA gold medals, one CIAU silver medal and two CIAU bronze. Her record includes two CIAU and three OWIAA All-Star selections. Taylor proceeded to the coaching ranks as York assistant and eventually as head coach at Alberta and Calgary. She is now information technology recruiter at CTC Computer-Tech Consultants in Calgary.

Regarded as perhaps the finest male basketball player in York's 40-year history, David Coulthard was named All-Canadian five times. Twice he won the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in Canada and twice he was selected York's male Athlete of the Year. Led by Coulthard, York won four OUAA Championships between 1977 and 1982. He is now associate vice-president, real estate sercure lending products, TD Canada Trust, in Toronto.

Nancy (Rooks) Tinari competed in both cross country and track & field for York. Her medals in cross country include a CIAU gold, two OWIAA golds, and two OWIAA silvers, while her medals in track & field include three CIAU bronze, and 10 OWIAA golds. A former Canadian Olympic team member, Tinari was York's female Athlete of the Year in 1978-79. She now resides in Coquitlam, BC and is still heavily involved in competitive running.

Inaugural event of Toronto alumni

President Lorna R. Marsden with York alumnae at the inaugural event of the Toronto Branch

The inaugural event of the Toronto Branch of the York University Alumni Association (YUAA) was held on April 5, 2001 at Gallery One in Yorkville. In attendance were Lorna R. Marsden, president and vice-chancellor, Gary J. Smith, vice-president university advancement, and over 35 York alumni reconnecting with fellow graduates. York alumna Goldie Konopny graciously offered the use of her gallery for the evening, with entertainment provided by York student and harpist, Alys Howe.

The Toronto Branch of the YUAA was founded in November of 2000 to provide an opportunity for the 80,000+ York alumni residing in the GTA to socialize and stay connected with York University.

If you missed the inaugural event of the Toronto Branch and are interested in future events, or in volunteering with the branch, please contact Mary Pawlus at (416) 736-2100 ext. 20886, or e-mail mpawlus@yorku.ca.

School of Women's Studies Alumni Chapter Event

At the School of Women's Studies (SWS) Chapter event, left to right, Chair Varpu Lindström, keynote speaker and York alumna Dianne Garrels, and SWS Alumni Chapter President Louise Mahood

The School of Women's Studies Chapter of the York University Alumni Association (YUAA) hosted a dinner and keynote address on Thursday, May 3, 2001 in the Faculty Club. The keynote speaker was York alumna Dianne Garrels. Garrels' topic was "Guilt is NOT our destiny". Alumni in attendance enjoyed an informative and thought-provoking evening.

If you would like to participate in future events, or volunteer with the School of Women's Studies Alumni Chapter, please contact Mary Pawlus at (416) 736-2100 ext. 20886, or e-mail mpawlus@ yorku.ca.

The Office of the Advisor to the University on the Status of Women has published a "Resources for Women at York" pamphlet.

For a copy, please call the Status of Women Office at 416-736-5380, or ext. 55380, or e-mail womenyrk@yorku.ca, or simply drop by the office at room 309, Founders College.