Alberta Street News' New Website

I used to always post about my new projects here, pretty much as soon as possible after the project was finished or went live. However, these past few months have been absolutely crushingly busy.

One project I definitely want to mention briefly is that I designed a new website for Alberta Street News. I had worked on a very scaled-down site for its previous incarnation, Edmonton Street News, since 2009.

However, when the paper expanded into Calgary last year, a change was in order. Hence, the birth of the new site. As well, I brought the paper further into the social media world with its own Facebook page. ASN has been on Twitter for some time now.

I am a huge fan of street newspapers. They are a way for the marginalized to earn a living while giving them an outlet for their thoughts and creativity. I was involved for a while with the now-defunct Our Voice, and made the transition to Edmonton Street News shortly thereafter.

Enjoy the new site, and be sure to buy a physical copy of Alberta Street News from a badged vendor.

Daughters Day Celebrates and Makes History

On September 1, history was made in Edmonton.

The first ever Daughters Day took place in Churchill Square. Organized by a grassroots group of community members from different cultures and walks of life, Daughters Day was in the making for over a year. Its purpose is to celebrate the lives and achievements of girls and young women, while raising awareness of human rights abuses against them. The idea actually materialized amongst some older men in the Indo-Canadian community, and it was not hard to get support from other groups and organizations.

Almost an entirely volunteer effort, we met regularly to plan the event, as well as two community engagement sessions leading up to it. The first took place on March 8 (International Women's Day) and had an Aboriginal theme. The Carrot Community Coffeehouse was packed to listen to Phyllis Sinclair sing, and then get advice about life from a session of "Ask Your Auntie."

The second was closer to Mother's Day. "Rebuilding Lives" featured a panel of immigrant women discussing their experiences, moderated by Global's Lesley MacDonald, as well as a main talk from REACH Edmonton's Jan Fox. Held at NorQuest, it was also well-attended.

However, September 1 was the main event. We got a lot of buzz from the media in the two weeks leading up to it. Two days before that Saturday, we got word that Premier Redford would be attending with her daughter Sarah. This shot the buzz to an entirely new level. Over 400 people attended the event, we got lots of media coverage, and lots of positive feedback.

What happened? Well, greetings were brought from the different levels of government and organizations like the EPS and RCMP. Four women were awarded as "Daughters of the Year," including our keynote speaker, Karina Pillay-Kinnee, the mayor of Slave Lake. There were performances of dance, drama, and music. I had the privilege of performing the official Daughters Day theme song I wrote especially for the event.

Daughters Day is important to anyone who is or has a daughter. All women, regardless of who we are or how old are are, are someone's daughter. We need to keep striving for equality and human rights, especially now in current events where women are being told by men how and why their bodies work - something very "akin" to ignorance. The organizing committee is currently reviewing the event and making decisions about where to go from here. To learn more about our future plans, join our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter or keep checking back at our website, which is going to be revamped in the near future.

An Independent Jewish Voice

On Friday, August 17, I took part in a rally at the Alberta Legislature to support the people of Palestine. The date of August 17 was significant as it was Al-Quds Day, the final day of the month of Ramadan observed by Muslims. Rallies were held throughout the world.

I was asked to speak as a representative of Independent Jewish Voices. The organizers wanted someone who was Jewish to speak on the subject of Zionism and Judaism not being the same thing. The Edmonton Coalition of War and Racism was also contacted for speakers, and since I am also part of that organization, I was the natural choice.

Admittedly, I was quite nervous. Although I have written a couple of songs about this topic, I have never given a speech on it before and I had no idea how well I would be received. Thanks to some sage advice from both IJV and friends at ECAWAR, I was able to succinctly summarize my stance and discuss what IJV is all about. Afterwards, numerous people came up to me and said they appreciated my words and presence.

Here is my speech, and below it a video of my giving it at the event. Here is a playlist of most of the speeches from the rally, and photos from the event are here.

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I am with IJV as well as ECAWAR. I’m an example of someone who grew up seeing the Middle East in a certain way, and then reexamining it and realizing that there is another side that includes many contradictions and inconsistencies out of line with the idealized representation of the supposed land of milk and honey. Here is an example: I was born and raised in Canada, and have never been to the Middle East. Yet because I am Jewish, if I ever moved to Israel I would get automatic citizenship, just because I happen to be Jewish. However, there are people who have lived there all their lives, for generations even, who don’t even have basic human rights. That, to me, just doesn’t make sense.

However, I also soon learned that challenging the status quo is often suppressed and marginalized by organizations that consider themselves the Jewish establishment and claim to speak for the entire Jewish community, including on a national level.

Independent Jewish Voices offers another perspective. Independent Jewish Voices consists of Canadian Jews who share a strong commitment to social justice and universal human rights. Although we come from diverse backgrounds, occupations, and affiliations, we all believe that the broad spectrum of opinion among the Jewish population of this country is not reflected by institutions that claim to represent Jewish communities as a whole. We further believe that individuals and groups should feel free to express their views on any issue of public concern without incurring accusations of disloyalty.

We have therefore resolved to promote the expression of alternative Jewish voices, particularly in respect to the grave situation in the Middle East, which threatens the future of Palestinians and Israelis as well as the stability of the whole region. We hereby reclaim the tradition of Jewish support for universal freedoms, human rights, and social justice. The lessons we have learned from our own history compel us to speak out.

Independent Jewish Voices is also the first national Jewish organization in the world which formally adopted BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) in 2009. We exist to stand in solidarity with Palestinian rights which have been systematically violated by Israel and by Zionist forces since before the founding of Israel. Zionism does not equal Judaism (and vice versa), and historically Zionism was opposed by almost all organized branches of Judaism. And, in fact, there are some very strong Jewish voices today from within Israel who have remained fierce critics of Israeli colonial settlement policy in the Occupied Territories for many years.

True Judaism represents diversity of opinion, intelligence of thought, and a commitment towards values that include social justice. There is a principle in Judaism called Tikkun Olam, which means “healing the world” or “repairing the world.” As a Jewish woman, I would be a hypocrite if my effort at Tikkun Olam did not extend to the Palestinian people, and as part of this, speaking out about the contradictions and inconsistencies in what is supposedly our promised land. Thank you.

Buena Vista/Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park Master Plan: Share the Trails

Dog walkers and cyclists need to cooperate. The future of the Buena Vista off leash area is at stake.

The City of Edmonton is proposing some pretty significant changes to the Buena Vista/Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park area in the west end. Buena Vista in particular is significant because it is an off leash park that is very popular with dog owners.

I have often enjoyed riding my bike around Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park and attending picnics there. Other than maybe some road upgrades and modernization of the washroom facilities, I don't really have any complaints.

I do have some concerns with the plans for the Buena Vista area. They include adding lots of parking stalls, paving trails, and building fences to separate dog walkers and cyclists.

Buena Vista is one of the few areas of natural green space in the city. There are some places where you can stand amongst the trees and bushes, and it literally feels like you are out in the countryside. Adding a plethora of parking will diminish this green space. As Joni MItchell sings, they plan to "pave paradise and put up a parking lot."

Paving the trails and building separation boundaries seems to favour cyclists. I personally enjoy riding on the gravel trails - again, it makes me feel like I am somewhere else. I can ride on paved roads almost anywhere else in the city.

What the area needs is more cooperation between the dog walkers and cyclists. As a cyclist, it pains me to say that there are many irresponsible people on two wheels riding through Buena Vista. They speed through there with little regard for anyone else, and paving the trails will only encourage this behaviour.

Instead of separations, education and communication aimed at sharing the area is needed. The City should not be trying to change something that is already wonderful - I am also a dog walker, and most of the people I have spoken to down there are not in favour of the changes at all.

The one change I support are adding washrooms to the Buena Vista off leash area. There are a couple of porta potties here and there, which are not sufficient for a park of that size and usage.

The City should better use its planners and funds to improve the road leading down to Buena Vista, Sir Wilfried Laurier Park, and the Valley Zoo. It is in terrible condition and is an embarassment to the City, that people heading to one of Edmonton's main attractions should have to experience it. As a cyclist, I find all of the potholes and unevenness dangerous.

The City is asking stakeholders to complete a survey by August 3. Dog walkers and those otherwise not in favour of what could potentially happen are being encouraged to support Concept 1 (more off leash to the north) and oppose Concepts 2 and 3. Be sure to fill out the comments and explain why dramatically changing the face of Buena Vista is a bad idea.

Absolute Zero

I am shrugging my shoulders and rolling my eyes like an unimpressed teenager, at my alma mater Ross Sheppard Composite High School.

The school has apparently adopted a "no zero" policy over the past few years. One teacher, Lynden Dorval, has chosen to continue giving zeros to students who do not complete or turn in assignments, and has been suspended as a result. Here is a link to the article at the Edmonton Journal concerning this situation.

According to the Edmonton Public School Board, the no zero policy varies from school to school and is not an official policy of the EPSB. On a post on its Facebook page, it also claims that the reason for Mr. Dorval's suspension had to do with a more serious disciplinary issue and could not comment further.

Perhaps something more serious is at issue here. I don't know Mr. Dorval personally, but I am gleaning from the media reports I am reading that if his violation of Shep's no zero policy is not the only reason he was suspended, it was a major one. It took a lot of courage for him to come out so publicly against a policy clearly against his principles as a teacher with 35 years' experience.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I spent my high school years at Ross Sheppard. And, I am willing to admit, I got a zero on an assignment. It was a biology lab report that I failed to turn in on time because I misheard the teacher's instructions. Or maybe I was not paying close enough attention; I don't remember. However, I did not argue with him - I made a mistake, which proved costly to my final average, but it was my mistake. I took responsibility for it. I worked extra hard to try to compensate for it.

Advocates of the no zero policy claim that a zero is often a behavioural issue, not a knowledge one, and should be dealt with as such. I am pretty sure my lab report represented my understanding of the topic, and had I handed it in on time, I would have gotten a decent grade. Was my zero due to a behavioural issue? Maybe - maybe I was not paying enough attention. I was a teenager - it was possible. Whatever way I choose to analyze it, I lacked knowledge of the proper instructions. So it was both a behaviour and a knowledge issue. The consequence was a zero.

Learning to follow instructions is part of a well rounded education, regardless of the specific class subject matter. I did not follow the instructions. Learning to take responsibility for your actions is another part of getting an education. In my biology class, the lesson was learned. The fact I can remember as much of it as I do now means it made an important impact.

By the way, I went in to the University of Alberta and earned a Bachelor of Education a few years later. The idea of avoiding giving a student a zero never came up either in my classroom work or student teaching.

I will be watching with interest as the future of Mr. Dorval's teaching career is decided, as well as the future of this policy. If anything, Mr. Dorval has brought attention to a school policy that does not help students for the real world. And isn't that supposed to be one of the major functions of our educational system? If it isn't, it should be.