ACS Student @ Sunrise Records TONIGHT, September 10th @ 5pm

Tuesday September 10, 2013

Sunrise Records Young and Dundas location)

Time: 5:00pm

Admission: FREE

STORY BY JAKE BRUNT

Image: Bokor Hill Station, Kampot, Cambodia.

Photo credit: Nathaniel Brunt

Stephen Lewis captivated a packed house at Ryerson last week with a moving lecture on gender equality – the final instalment of this year’s International Issues Discussion Series. As what Lewis cites as the most important struggle on the planet, gender inequality is a problem that subjugates 51 per cent of the world’s population. On Wednesday night, the Companion of the Order of Canada – and Ryerson’s visiting distinguished professor – carried his audience through a stirring discussion on social inequality to sexual violence at home and abroad.

Last week’s event drew a wide-ranging group. Filling the ENG building’s Atrium to the brim, the audience was made up of students, to be sure, but also members of the community who came out to hear the activist speak. For those unfamiliar with the work of the series, the IID hosts free, public events at the university, for anyone interested in taking part and it is fundamentally dedicated to non-partisan, open discussion about international issues that are relevant today. We have, this year, covered 12 different topics ranging from cyber crime to the Congo; from the American election to prospects of military intervention abroad.
For over a dozen students currently working with the IID at various levels, the Series provides unprecedented opportunities to engage with experts from around the globe. Imagined and facilitated by Ryerson Prof. Arne Kislenko, the series prides itself on being entirely student-run. This year, together with fourth-year Journalism student Touria Izri, I have had the great pleasure of hosting and organizing the series.

It’s a job that requires researching and choosing topics and speakers, managing more than a dozen volunteers at Ryerson and the University of Toronto, and designing unique posters for each talk. But, the Series is so much more than its distinct parts. The IID is an experience that has provided Touria and me – and the rest of the team – with an invaluable opportunity to apply our interests, skills, and creativity. What’s more, the IID has given us something that, for many students, would be unimaginable: access to an inspiring range of experts, and the opportunity to engage with them. It’s been an honour to continue the wonderful tradition that Dr. Kislenko and a handful of Ryerson students imagined eight ago.

When Stephen Lewis took the stage at last Wednesday’s event and gave his impassioned talk, it reaffirmed for me everything that the IID team had been working for. The International Issues Discussion Series is becoming a staple of the Ryerson community and just one week after my last time hosting, I already miss it dearly.

The IID Series is always looking for new ideas on speakers and topics, and for more students to get engaged. For more information, please email the team at iidseries@gmail.com or visit iid.kislenko.com and facebook.com/InternationalIssuesDiscussionSeries

On March 6th, I had the pleasure of talking with ACS student Rudhra Persad who recently brought an idea and an initiative to Ryerson University in the hopes of supporting and providing a pathway to excellence for his fellow Ryerson students by ensuring they look the part by launching Suit Up for Success!

 
Suit Up for Success aims to provide gently used professional clothing to students for their job interviews. As Rudhra explains: “You can give someone the skills for an interview, but without the clothing, …. Well… you are dead in the water!” In light of this and in partnership with the Careers & Employer Partnerships Centre housed at  Ted Rogers School of Management, the project quickly gained much attention. The volunteering, student, and donation responses were immediately successful and continue to grow.
 
Rudhra is no stranger to helping others. His background in Social Services, Pathways to Education, and his current role as a Mentoring Officer with the Tri-Mentoring Program in the Department of Student Services, speaks to his commitment to others and to their pursuit of excellence.
 
Rudhra’s own pathway to success was through the Spanning the Gaps program. Under  Dr. Rona Abramovitch’s leadership, this program provided Rudhra with the opportunities and skills he needed to bridge over to the Arts and Contemporary Studies program.   
 
Suit Up for Success is, as Rudhra explains, a simple idea, but, “great ideas are often simple ones” he declares. He contributes his understanding of this to his learning of the great ideas that have shaped the world through the ACS 100 and 200 courses. Rudhra is passionate about great ideas and hopes to continue to improve, directly and indirectly, student life.

Rudhra Persad is a Mentoring Officer, First Generation Project,Tri-Mentoring Program , Department of Student Services, Ryerson University and a First Year ACS Student.