We are in the dead of winter here in Winnipeg and a month into the Winter term.
I’m just now finding time to do a post after far too many months since the last one.
In a few weeks it will be one year since we relocated to Merchants Corner, so it seems to be a good time to reflect on the past year.
We’ve had no shortage of drama over the past year—some good some not so good—but we’re happy to be here. It’s a fabulous space and the number of students choosing to study with us has grown significantly. Our two classrooms are full nearly every day, and it’s great to see students hanging about in our student lounge. In this picture, Dr. Myra Laramee, instructor of our very popular “indigenous Ways of Knowing” course, visits with students at the end of the fall term.
Dr. Myra Laramee with students Lauren Webster, Shawna Peloquin, and Lara Hunter
In 2018, we had our largest group of graduates to date. Aligned with our efforts to appeal to a diverse group of students, and in particular Indigenous students, we were pleased to see that diversity reflected in our graduates. In 2018, 2 students graduated with a 4-year degree (double major), 10 with a 3-year degree. 3 completed the 2-year certificate program and are continuing as UIC students aiming to obtain a degree. It is notable that 5 of the students began with our Beginning University Successfully (BUS) program and 7 students identify as Indigenous.
While not all of our graduates were able to attend our ‘mini’ graduation ceremony at Merchants Corner, those that could are pictured here with UIC Faculty, Staff and the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts.
We were also thrilled to attend the official graduation ceremony at the University of Winnipeg. Two of our graduates are pictured here. Nikki Weselake (left) began as a BUS student. She met Binesi Belanger (right) when enrolled in our Inner-City Work Study program.
Nikki Weselake and Binesi Boulanger, graduation 2018
They did their internship together at Onashowewin Inc. Nikki has since been hired at Onashowewin and Binesi has gone on to pursue a Law degree.
Binesi and Nikki, 2018
The City of Winnipeg continued to provide funding for Urban and Inner-City Studies, Inner-City Work Study program in 2018. (See the April 2017 post for more information about this program). We are hopeful that we will continue to receive funding so that we can offer this innovative and unique program again in the summer of 2019.
Inner-City Work-Study cohort, summer 2018
An important part of our work at Urban and Inner-City Studies is to do outreach in the community to encourage individuals who might be interested in the idea of university, but too intimidated to give it a try. Beginning their post secondary education journey In Urban and Inner-City Studies and Merchants Corner, can give them the confidence and inspiration they need to pursue their dreams.
In 2018 we were fortunate to work with the folks at UWinnipeg’s media services, who made this great outreach tool for us.
This year we hope that Greg Chase and Chris Sabel will work with us again to produce ‘part 2’ of our story. In our efforts to break barriers and build bridges in our ‘divided city’ we encourage students from ‘south of the tracks’ to study with us in the North End. Many of these students have very negative perceptions of the North End and they know very little about the day-to-day realities of those who live here. Many of these students also describe their ‘UIC’ experience as transformative, and they feel better equipped to challenge the negative stereotypes, damaging narratives and injustices that they encounter in their daily live.
From a pedagogical perspective, teaching in the Department of Urban and Inner-City studies can be challenging, but always rewarding. With diversity, can come difficult conversations and I’m always impressed by students willingness to hear other perspectives and respectfully challenge each others world views.
It’s become a tradition of mine to ask students to reflect at the end of each term on something that they ‘learned’. They share their reflections with their peers during the final class and they submit them to me in writing. Students are very open and honest. Some from the ‘south side’ of the city describe (often with a bit of embarrassment) the fears they had when first coming to class on Selkirk Avenue. Many have not previously been, and held all of the stereotypes of the North End as a terrible and dangerous place. Typically students talk about the importance of learning with students from different backgrounds and experiences in the unique learning environment that UIC provides, and they tend to emphasize how much they learn from each other.
I love reading these reflections and each year there are a few that stand out. This year a student summed up what she learned. She gave me permission to share some of her her words.
“…I now realize why I was led down this path… It’s not the people who have a problem. It’s policies put into place years before any of us were born. We need amendment’s made to policies that include the Indigenous perspective. The indigenous youth need to heal from the pain of the past and we have to work together for equal opportunities and social justice for everyone. I use to feel like a failure because I lived in poverty. I never realized it wasn’t I who had failed, it was a system of policies who had failed me.”
Enough said. This is what makes teaching at Urban and Inner-City Studies, in the heart of the North End, such a special experience.
