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Newsstand: March 17, 2015
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. While it a pint of beer probably won't make these headlines any more enjoyable, no one will stop you from trying. In the news: controversy after two Ryerson journalism students were denied entry into an on-campus meeting for racialized students, a first look at the design for the Pan Am Games torch, and new statistics about Tasers.
Two journalism students at Ryerson University were asked to leave an on-campus meeting after admitting that they had never felt marginalized by racism. Both Trevor Hewitt and Julia Knope had been assigned by associate professor Anne McNeilly to sit in on a public meeting. They selected a meeting hosted by the Racialised Students’ Collective, which was advertised as an opportunity to discuss concerns and issues which affect students of colour. When both Hewitt and Knope—who are both visibly Caucasian—arrived at the meeting, they were asked by an organizer if they felt they had been marginalized or racialized; when they said they had not, they were told the meeting was only for students who felt they had been. Since the incident was reported in the in the Ryersonian last week, a heated debate exploded online as to whether or not Hewitt and Knope should have been granted access to the meeting. McNeilly takes issue with the fact that the meeting was billed as being open to the public and that journalists were denied entry to what was supposed to be a public meeting. Rajean Holiett, a representative for the Racialised Students’ Collective, defends the group’s stance by saying that it helps to foster an environment where people experiencing racism can speak about it in a more comfortable way.
Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield helped Pan Am Games organizers reveal the design for the torch that will travel throughout Canada ahead of the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto this summer. The torch is decorated with the orange-and-yellow glorified stick-figure event icons of the games, and will travel some 5,000 kilometres before arriving in Toronto. Organizers announced that the torch relay will last 41 days and make stops in several Canadian provinces, but will mainly focus on making 130 visits across Ontario communities. Mum’s still the word on who will light the Pan Am Games cauldron at the opening ceremonies, and organizers say they will not make that announcement until closer to the launch of the games.
New statistics released on Monday show that Toronto police’s use of Tasers increased slightly in 2014, with 205 incidents reported last year compared to 188 in 2013. The report to the Toronto Police Services Board shows that instances when officers unholstered their Tasers but did not deploy an electric charge accounted for 58 per cent of the reported incidents. Tasers were activated to deliver a shock in one-third of the cases, with the remaining incidents using something called “drive stun mode,” which means that the weapon was actually placed against a person’s body but no shock was administered. The statistics also reveal that 108 of the incidents involved “emotionally disturbed people” whom police believe were suffering from mental illness or were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.