Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Resources for Undergrad Students
If you are in crisis, there is help and one place to start is: The 24/7 Peel Crisis support line: 905-278-9036
The link below to the Sexual Violence and Prevention and Support Centre also has a number of helplines to find support including helplines including: Trans Life Line (877-330-6366), LGBT Youthline (800-268-9688), Hope 24/7: Sexual Assault Centre of Peel (800-810-0180), Info & Referral Services for Male Survivors of Sexual Violence (866-887-0015), First Nations, Inuit and Metis Hope and Wellness Line (855-242-3310) and many others. https://www.svpscentre.utoronto.ca/resources/24-7-emergency-or-crises-support/
Within the University
UTM’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office (https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/edio/home) they have a number of resources available including workshops and training initiatives, they host events, and they can assist with conflict resolution and complaints related to discrimination
They can be reached at: 905-569-4916 or email: edio.utm@utoronto.ca
UTM Indigenous Centre: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/indigenous-centre/
Sexual and Gender Diversity Office: https://sgdo.utoronto.ca/
This office can help with issues like a need to change your name for email and other U of T identifications: https://sgdo.utoronto.ca/resource-category/identification/
Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre: https://www.svpscentre.utoronto.ca/
The centre offers support on a number of levels including helping you decide what steps to take next and helping you navigate those steps including medical support, counseling, accommodations, and legal aid.
Resources for taking care of yourself
Health and wellness resources available through UTM: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/health/
For students who are face challenges related to their disabilities or who have faced discrimination related to their abilities or who may need modifications to classes or other aspects of their study and research Accessibility services is a place to start: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/accessibility/welcome-accessibility-services
Particularly important for students dealing with bias may be mental health services to handle the stress of those experiences. UTM offers links to a number of resources including personal counselling: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/health/our-services/personal-counselling
Field courses are university credit courses that take place away from the university campus, usually at a research station in a rural or wilderness location. Most field courses have a very small class size (usually 20 students or less), so they provide an opportunity for students to interact closely with the course instructor(s), and to collaborate with other students who share the same interests.
There are two ways in which UTM students can join a field course:
- University of Toronto courses
- The University of Toronto offers several field courses through its three campuses in such locations as the arctic, New World tropics, southeast Asia, Maritimes, and U of T’s scientific reserve and field station in the Greater Toronto area.
- These courses are very popular and enrollment is limited. Students interested in taking these courses (some are not offered every year) should contact the department of the campus that is offering the course well before the deadline.
- For information about the courses offered by the St. George Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department (EEB) including deadlines and information sessions, visit the EEB field course site (this page also contains information about the Ontario University Program in Field Biology (OUPFB) courses but UTM students do not apply to EEB for those courses).
- Ontario University Program in Field Biology (OUPFB) courses
- Through a cooperative arrangement amongst Ontario Universities, UTM students have access to field courses taught by professors throughout Ontario. UTM students can register for some of these courses using the UTM BIO 316H and/or the St. George EEB 306H1 designation.
- These courses are also conducted world-wide in the tropics, the arctic, the mountains as well as many in Ontario.
- Each field course has its own particular requirements and students should examine the syllabus for each course for details and pre-requisites.
- Courses usually last 1 week (1/4 course credit) or 2 weeks (1/2 credit) so you will have to take two 1 week courses or one 2 week course to satisfy your course load requirement. Students and faculty work intensively together making measurements and examining organisms. Often the courses also provide the opportunity for students to conduct and report on a short research project.
- Visit the OUPFB course site for a listing of all courses. OUPFB courses for the coming year are announced on the bulletin board outside Room 3032 in early January each year and applications are accepted soon after to Ms Yen Du (phone: 905-828-3999; email: yen.du@utoronto.ca), Rm 3030 (do not apply to EEB for these courses). Students should check this bulletin board starting in the new year.
- Students can also contact Diane Matias at any time for information.
2020
Due to the escalating health concerns relating to COVID-19, the McMaster University Ontario Biology Day (OBD) Local Organizing Committee, has made the decision to cancel OBD 2020 (originally scheduled to take place on March 21-22, 2020)
2019
On the weekend of March 23rd &24th, 2019, Western University was the host of the 32nd annual Ontario Biology Day student conference. The fantastic Ontario biology community gathered at Western University's London campus.
Ontario Biology Day provides a fantastic opportunity for biology students to share and showcase their research. As student approaching the completion of their undergraduate careers, Ontario Biology Day serves as a venue to make connections, engage with other researchers, inspire others and to be inspired by current research. Ontario Biology Day is about providing a welcoming environment for students to share their passion and accomplishments.
The participating students had the opportunity to hear lectures by Dr. Brock Fenton, a distinguished academic and long time member of the Western biology family, and Dr. Bonnie Schmidt, a program alumnus and Founding President of Let's Talk Science. Also, the Ontario Biology Day 2019 Banquet provided an incredible networking opportunity, while enjoying great food, drinks and live entertainment.
Congratulations to all UTM Biology students who participated at #OBD2019
Talks:
Mario Filice (Prof. Tim Westwood)
Sian Milne (Prof. Sasa Stefanovic)
Amy Dao (Prof. Bailey McMeans)
Arifbillah Sarowar (Prof. Bryan Stewart)
Jessica Balgobin, Thomas Younen and Tiger Wu (Prof. Christoph Richter and Prof. Monika Havelka)
Jona Gjevori (Prof. Helene Wagner)
Sandy Chau, Haya Habib (Prof. Helene Wagner, Prof. Christoph Richter and Prof. Sanja Hinic-Frlog)
Zaleena Akheralie (Prof. Ted Erclik)
Ahmed Akhlaq, Hasnaan Katal (Prof. Steven Chatfield and Prof. Christoph Richter)
Andrew Crozier (Prof. Sanja Hinic-Frlog)
Anuj Kaushal (Prof. Bryan Stewart)
Agatha Tymczak (Prof. Voula Kanelis)
Posters
Samuel Fung (Prof. Mary Cheng)
Ravneet Jaura (Prof. Ho-Sung Rhee)
Samar Abou-Khrebieh, Kiana Gashas, Neel Mistry, Gill Onate & Denys Pushenko (Prof. Sanja Hinic-Frlog)
Catherine Burzynski , Zahra Syed (Prof. Jade Atallah)
Dharyia Bhatt, David Devcic (Prof. Jade Atallah)
Alex Merianos, Nasif Iqbal (Prof. Steven Chatfield and Prof. Sanja Hinic-Frlog)
Our students won 3 out 6 awards at #OBD2019:
Award of Excellence - Best Overall Poster: Sam Fung (Prof. Mary Cheng)
Award of Excellence - Best Science Education Poster: Samar Abou-Khrebieh, Kiana Gashas, Neel Mistry, Gill Onate & Denys Pushenko (Prof. Sanja Hinic-Frlog)
Award of Excellence - Best Ecology & Evolution Talk: Jona Gjevori (Prof. Helene Wagner)
UTM STEM Fellowship - Student chapter is a part of a larger, national, youth-led charity organization that aims to empower STEM students pursuing both undergraduate and high school education. UTM STEM Fellowship aims to create mentorship and experiential learning programs to equip students with skills in data analytics, research, and scholarly communication. With our various workshop and equity initiatives, we strive to provide accessible STEM educational opportunities to youth.
You can learn more about our national organization and the initiatives we aim to provide to STEM students here: https://stemfellowship.org/
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For any questions, inquiries, or looking to get involved, please email us at utmstemfellowship@utmsu.ca
