Founders College Newsletter

THE PHOENIX – FOUNDERS COLLEGE Winter 2017/2018 FOUNDERS COLLEGE NEWSLETTER founders.laps.yorku.ca VOLUME 1 / ISSUE 5 SELF, CULTURE AND SOCIETY Connections Editor The fifth issue of The Phoenix has as its theme, “Connections”. In this issue, you will find poetry, articles and artwork that all relate to how we connect to each other and to the world of which we are a part of. Why “Connections”? “Connections” emerged as a somewhat natural sequitur to our last edition, which focused on “The College Idea”. The heart of the College System at York is to create smaller communities within the larger community of York University. And at the heart of all communities are the connections that exist between the individuals and groups that comprise those communities. Not only that, but the opening of the York subway station brought with it a very tangible and real connection between the university and the GTA. Connections, therefore, exist not only in the realm of the intangible (Friendships, Family, Love, Culture, Religion, Language) but through the tangible (Roads, Walkways, Air Travel), the audible (Music, Speech) and the edible (the binding and bonding effect of sharing a meal comes readily to mind). We hope that in reading this issue of The Phoenix that all these various forms of connections enlighten and inspire you to make connections of your own. “Lounging Shapes” - Matt Panzini, 2018 1 THE PHOENIX – FOUNDERS COLLEGE Winter 2017/2018 Community Messages A Message from the College Head A Message from the President Prof. Pablo Idahosa Marlon Gullusci If the transition Connections. Connec- I myself have had the opportunity to from Master to tions are everywhere. branch out and make a wide range of con- Head is thankfully Connections are or- nections with peers, alumni, staff, faculty now over, it in no ganic in nature that members, and community members. way changes our we create through These connections are ever evolving. As I constant reaffirma- adversity, family, conclude my final term as College Presi- tion of our College’s friendship, and com- dent my connections shall continue to core functions. In- munity. These con- grow outward and into new and unchart- deed, whether nections routinely ed territory. With your time at school, through Academic and effortlessly cross boarders, traverse take time away from readings to connect Orientation, the first year transition, our vast geographic landscapes, unite cul- with new people. You never know where academic success programming, the peer tures, and bisect individual and shared and what they might lead to. leadership and support, student engage- experiences. ment and leadership development, the Founders is the embodiment of diversity, support we give to College Council and the not only in respect to program affiliations, affiliated student support, along with our but also home to people with diverse ex- student-faculty interaction, and our broad periences and ideas on a global scale. The and specific intellectual commitments and community sews together an insurmount- social and communities, here at Founders able amount of connections into one we will maintain our obligations to ensure place. Connections are free flowing and our mandates are met. dynamic, constantly altering their trajecto- ry. To this end, the theme of connections, notwithstanding the unfortunate labour dispute, is an appropriate one for this issue of The Phoenix. Indeed, it perhaps Remembering Professor Emeritus signals a moment to reflect on the connections that we have, we want to sustain, and the newer ones that we intend to Michail Vitopoulos make. In the coming months, one of those connections we will be making is to local It is with great sadness that we in- schools, in reaching out to them about the meaning and value of university in gen- form the Founders Community of eral, as well as finding ways to reconnect the passing of Professor Emeritus with the communities that surround Michail Vitopoulos on February 18, York. Additionally, considering the inter- 2018. In addition to his scholarly nationalization initiative which the Univer- sity is re-undertaking, we here at the col- work as associate professor of lege are reaching out to students to estab- Modern Greek Studies in the De- lish partnerships with Universities in Tan- partment of Languages, Literatures zania and Italy. Study can be a lonely, singular practice. It & Linguistics, Professor Vitopoulos need not be, however. Despite and maybe was also an active member and leader in Toronto’s Greek community. because of the labour disruption, we hope that in thinking about the connec- To those of us who had the pleasure of meeting Professor Vitopoulos, tions with our core values and our practice he will always be remembered for his kindness, warmth and laughter of reaching out beyond ourselves – to oth- and will be dearly missed. er students, to other communities and to other students in other countries-- we can find a way of re-grounding ourselves. 2 THE PHOENIX – FOUNDERS COLLEGE Winter 2017/2018 Community Messages How does Founders maintain con- cannot be replaced by electronic means. to his teammate that in turn links them to nection with the community? That is why beginning this September each other? Do we really exist in a world 2018, our Peer Mentors will have the add- of connections or is it a world where we Erica Alusio ed responsibility of Class Ambassador. A inhabit different separate states of being? College Programs Assistant Class Ambassadors role will be to visit var- An overly compartmentalized jigsaw that Technology moves fast, ious classrooms throughout the academic fits together but whose pieces remain this isn’t news. There year to interact with and promote our inherently singular? are always new apps upcoming events, workshops and re- I remember as a university student a par- and mediums for social- sources to faculty members and students. lor game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Ba- izing, sharing and mes- We hope that this new initiative will give con” [I suppose it was the early 2000s hip- saging. So how does students who are not familiar with our ster version of “Six Degrees of Separa- Founders connect with college a chance to better understand tion”, assuming of course that hipsters their community? who we are, what we do, and in addition, were even around back then. Who 1. Facebook: become familiar with our Peer Mentors. knows]. As an example, let’s take Humph- https://www.facebook.com/ Our aim is to put a face to Founders Col- rey Bogart, who connects to our man Kev- FoundersCollegeAtYorkU lege. This initiative is also in conjunction in as follows: Kevin Bacon => Apollo 13 => 2. Instagram: founderscollege with our longstanding and continuing Bill Paxton => Titanic => Kathy Bates => open door policy, where students, faculty Misery => Lauren Bacall => Key Largo => 3. Twitter: @FoundersYorkU and staff are always welcome to see us. Humphrey Bogart. Impressive? I suppose. 4. Weekly event emails to Founders One should not underestimate the value Useful? I’ll get back to you. So what does listserve of human interaction. this have to do with connections? Wheth- er or not “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon can As you can see, we use various platforms Threads to connect with our student body and truly link every actor to Mr. Bacon is not faculty members. We use these outlets to Marco Sestito important [Although if you have time to advertise various sponsored and cospon- College Administrative Coordinator kill, do visit https:// sored events and workshops. These The theme of this edi- bacon.mybluemix.net/]. What is im- platforms allow us to stay connected and tion of The Phoenix, portant, however, is the clue it provides as reach out to hundreds, sometimes thou- “connections”, is a we search for our “United Field Theory of sands, of people. So, what is the issue? broad one. After all, Connectedness”. A theory with a fairly According to our students, it’s overwhelm- connections exist every- simple answer. ing. Being bombarded by countless emails where and in a myriad The thread that links the tapestry that is and posts from their programs, depart- of different forms. To the life of one individual to that of another ments, faculty and college can be so over- name just the first few and theirs to others still until they are all whelming that plenty of students end up types of connections linked to the tapestry that is existence is ignoring this information altogether. We that come to mind there are interpersonal us: me, you, that guy you just passed on are now living in a digital generation, and connections, biological connections, physi- the subway this morning, etc. If connec- although there are many positive aspects cal connections, religious connections and tions exist it is because we want them to, to today’s technology and mediums for symbolic connections. What’s more, actually, we need them to. In an age communication, this may sometimes these categories are broad in and of them- where social media and the Internet have cause a lack of authenticity as well as in- selves. Take, for example, interpersonal promised infinite connections and deliv- formation overload. Through our own connections. The connection that exists ered instead unprecedented levels of iso- means of communication, we have wit- between a parent and child is different lation, perhaps it is time to remember that nessed firsthand, due to their overuse, the than that which exists between co- we are—if we choose to be—the thread ineffectiveness of digital communication. workers, that in itself is different than the that can tie people together. connection that exists between lovers, Although, we will continue to use these In elementary school we learned about siblings, or teammates.

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