Intercom is published regularly and serves to inform Vanier staff and teachers of notices and special events. It is posted on the Vanier College Website and distributed electronically. Submissions should be sent to intercom@vaniercollege.qc.ca. Submissions should be in WORD, and sent as an attachment. No formatting or bullets. Deadline: 4:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding publication.

Don’t Miss Premier Violinist Tara Montour to

perform in Benefit Concert on March 28th in

Support Indigenous Students at Vanier

On March 28th, Tara-Louise Montour, a Vanier graduate and North

America’s foremost classical Aboriginal violinist will perform in a

benefit concert at Vanier to support scholarships for Indigenous

students studying at the college.

This event is a MUST! The concert will feature a piece of music

commissioned by Ms. Montour entitled “Farewell to the

Warriors,” which is based on a Chippewa song by Quebec

composer Régent Levasseur. The Vanier Chamber Orchestra

composed of current Vanier music students and conducted by

Sylvie Allaire will accompany Ms. Montour.

Appreciated for her rich musicality, her heartfelt interpretations

and winning stage presence, Tara-Louise Montour is the founding

violinist of the Clivia Trio, winner in 2008 of the Sunburst Artist of

the Year Award. She has performed as guest soloist with the

Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal under its director

Yannick Nézet-Séguin as well as other orchestras across Canada.

Ms Montour is currently a member of the Virginia Symphony

Orchestra (JoAnn Falletta, conductor).

The concert will also feature children of St. Willibrord School in

Chateauguay who will perform “Dreamchild” a song whose lyrics

they composed and which they sing in English, French and

Mohawk.

The concert is open to the public and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the

Vanier College Auditorium (A-103).

Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased at the door or by visiting F-

224. To reserve tickets call at 514-744-7500 ext. 7322.

Marguerite Corriveau Vanier Communications

Call for Vanier College 50th Anniversary celebration ideas

In August 2020, Vanier will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Since it first opened its doors in 1970, more than 200,000 students

have studied at Vanier. If you have ideas or suggestions of projects

or events to help celebrate Vanier’s 50th, please send them to me

at beckerd@vanier.college.

Darren Becker, Communications and Corporate Affairs

Volume M20, Issue No.9, March 19, 2018

2017

8

Stand Up and Slam Vanier’s Stand Up and Slam, our very own spoken word

competition, is back for the 3rd year. Love spoken word? Want to

support students? Come out and cheer on our spoken word artists

as they get on stage to compete for the top 3 spots to go on and

represent Vanier in our Intercollegiate English Cegep Slam.

When: March 29th at 7pm (doors open at 6:45)

Where: Auditorium

Cost: Free

Questions: contact Marya Grant in Student Life,

grantm@vanier.college

Marya Grant, Student Services

Referral Form: Early Alert Support The Early Alert Support referral form is available online for teachers to refer at-risk students to the Academic Success Advisor. Teachers are encouraged to fill out the online referral form as soon as it becomes noticeable that a student is likely to fail and requires support beyond help understanding course content. Referred students will be invited to meet with the Academic Success Advisor, who will work with students, or refer them to the relevant resource(s), and follow up to help ensure the student receives the necessary support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you want further information: extension 7568 or cloughc@vanier.college. Referral form: Early Alert Support: https://goo.gl/forms/k2MxXEMbkFwjVXyd2

Cari Clough, Tutoring and Academic Success Centre, E-308

Sustainability on Campus Earth Week

This year we’ll be celebrating Earth Week between April 23-27.

Would you like to be involved? Do you have students/projects you

think should be showcased during this week? Have suggestions or

a wish list of things you’d like to see? Drop by B205C or send me a

line and let me know: grantm@vanier.college

Community

Interested in finding out more about what your colleagues are

doing? Join the Vanier Sustainability Group in Outlook to connect

with other employees looking to foster Sustainability on campus:

https://outlook.office.com/owa/vaniersustainability@eduvanierc

ollegeqc.onmicrosoft.com/groupsubscription.ashx?action=join&g

uid=fb9aba84-1076-42f8-89ae-599bcccbf069

You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram

Marya Grant, Student Services

Needed: Homestay families

The Language School is hosting several groups this June and July and is looking for homestay hosts. Students are here to learn French, so a French-speaking or bilingual environment is preferred.

As a host, you must provide the following:

Private bedroom (2 students per room is acceptable)

3 meals per day (packed lunch to school)

Airport pick-up and drop-off

A warm and welcoming environment

Access to laundry facilities

OPUS pass

Families are compensated $200 per week, plus the expense of the OPUS pass. If you are interested, please click on this link to complete an application form: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/homestay/family-application-form/

Georgiana Guica, Language School

2017-2018 Teaching Excellence Award – Call For Nominations Academic Council’s 2017-2018 Teaching Excellence Award Committee is calling for nominations for this year’s award. Here is an excellent opportunity for a student to show a teacher or for a teacher to show a colleague appreciation for his/her work and commitment to the profession. Nomination forms are available on the College website at http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/teachers/files/2018/02/teaching-excellence-form.pdf Copies are also available at the Faculty Deans’ Offices, the Academic Dean’s Office, Student Services and the V.C.S.A. office. You are strongly encouraged to submit the nomination form to the 2017-2018 Teaching Excellence Award Committee, c/o Office of the Academic Dean (F220), or academicdean@vaniercollege.qc.ca, by Friday, April 6, 2018. In addition to the nomination form, all supporting documentation must be submitted to the Committee in a sealed envelope by Monday, April 20, 2018. All nominations and selection deliberations are kept strictly confidential.

Olga Mardas, on behalf of Academic Council’s 2017-2018 Teaching Excellence Award Committee

The Belize group thanks you!

A huge THANK YOU to the Vanier Community, and particularly to the Vanier Foundation, the VCSA, Jakes' Coop, Vanier Aquatics, International

Education, and the many individuals who generously contributed to make our study trip to be Belize affordable to our 23 students. This travel

experience is part of a universal complementary course entitled “The Tropics: Opportunities and Challenges - An Exploration of Human-

Environment Relationships in Belize” and takes place from March 14-24. We invite you to consult our website to view our itinerary and

eventually the trip photos: http://www.belizevanier.com/

Best,

Myriam Mansour, Geography Brandee Diner, Environmental and Wildlife Management

Quentin Van Ginhoven, Environmental and Wildlife Management

Seeking nominations for a 2017-2018 Valedictorian The Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2017 – 2018 is scheduled for Wednesday evening, June 20, 2018, 7:30pm in Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts. Your assistance is requested in choosing a valedictorian from the graduating students (Autumn 2017, Winter 2018 and Summer 2018 projected).The valedictorian is presented at Graduation as being representative of our graduates and addresses the audience on behalf of the graduating class.

Here are indicators of importance: • Academically strong: approximately an 80% average, • Positive about Vanier, • Articulate, • Comfortable speaking in public, • Broad experience at Vanier

Nominations from faculty and staff are now being accepted by the Valedictorian Selection Committee. If you know of a suitable candidate, please send his or her name (I.D. number if possible but not necessary) and a few lines about the nominee, to: Valedictorian Selection Committee C/O Darren Becker, Vanier Communications, or: beckerd@vaniercollege.qc.ca Deadline April 13, 2018 Suitable candidates will be asked to a selection interview. The Vanier Community will be advised of the outcome of the Selection Committee deliberations. Thank you for your assistance in choosing a valedictorian for the Vanier College Class of 2017 – 2018.

Darren Becker, Vanier Communications

Volunteer Recognition Gala

The Volunteer Recognition Gala will be held on April 16th, 2018 from 5:30pm – 8:30pm. This annual event recognizes and honours the vital

contribution of student volunteers at Vanier College.

This year TASC and Vanier Student Life will jointly coordinate the event. We would like to ensure that all departments and programs that

have student volunteers will be able to recognize the efforts of their volunteers. Program Coordinators will also be expected to attend the

event in order to give out certificates and introduce their volunteer initiatives.

We are therefore asking all departments and programs that wish to recognize their volunteers to contact Ourania Zafiri at

zafirio@vanier.college by March 26th, with a list of the names of their volunteers, in alphabetical order by last name.

Marya Grant, Student Services, Ourania Zafiri, TASC

The Vo Van Tho Memorial Scholarship The Department of Mathematics is proud to present the second annual Vo Van Tho Memorial Scholarship. Created in memory of Vo Van Tho, a Mathematics professor at Vanier College from 1982 to 2013, this scholarship recognizes two graduating students, one from Commerce and one from the Sciences, for demonstrating academic excellence in mathematics. For more information on the Scholarship, eligibility requirements, and to download the application form, go to http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/scholarships/scholarships/vo-van-tho-memorial-scholarship/ The deadline is April 20, 2018. Please encourage your students to apply.

Sandi Mak, Mathematics

Ali Alousi Memorial Scholarship Vanier physics teacher Ali Alousi was a steadfast supporter of women in science. He felt that much more had to be done to encourage female students to pursue science at the post-secondary level, with the hope that gender parity could become a reality. Ali died on November 8, 2016 at the age of 58. Soon afterwards, his family and colleagues in the Physics and Math Departments at Vanier College created an annual scholarship to honour Ali’s commitment to promoting women’s enrolment in STEM studies, specifically in physics, chemistry, physical sciences, engineering, computer science or mathematics. In June 2017, the first Ali Alousi Memorial Scholarship was awarded to a graduate of Vanier’s Computer Science and Math program. She went on to study Software Engineering at Concordia University this past fall. Any female student who is graduating in a given year and who has applied to university in a STEM program as described above in this given year is eligible for the Ali Alousi Memorial Scholarship, valued at $1,000. The application form with instructions will be available online at: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/scholarships/scholarships/ali-alousi-memorial-scholarship/ as of Monday, March 26. The completed application, along with all supporting documents (e.g., transcript) should be submitted no later than 12 noon on Friday, May 17, 2018 by email as a pdf to Qi Luo, coordinator of the selection committee, (luoq@vanier.college). The selection committee will evaluate submissions and choose a winner of the award during the month of May. The scholarship winner will be announced at the graduation ceremony in June 2018. Students can contact Qi Luo, Physics Department (A481, 514.744.7500 ext 7872, luoq@vanier.college) or Sandi Mak, Mathematics Department (D268, 514.744.7500 ext 7553, maks@vanier.college) with any questions concerning the application process.

Karen Tennenhouse, Physics, for the scholarship committee

International Women’s Week 2018: Thank You and Our Woman of the Year! Thanks to everyone who made this year’s IWW a success! Many thanks to all our guest speakers who gave generously of their knowledge and their time.

It Takes a Village The success of this event is entirely attributed to the participation of the Vanier community. Special thank you to Sasha Weigens and Carlos Avila for their patience and energy in the auditorium. I would like to acknowledge and thank Alena Perout, Nora Soukiassian and Ivanka Hillel for their support during the weeks that lead up to IWW. I would also like to thank the members of the organizing committee, who made such amazing suggestions for speakers and activities, and whose efforts made it possible to offer so many of the week’s activities: Jessica Andrews, Leila Bdeir, Natalie Carlino, Cheryl Donison, Stephanie Felkai, Jane Hudson, Judy Ingerman, Lisa Jorgensen, Lalai Manjikian, Krista Riley, Jacky Vallee, and Alan Wong. Several events would have not known their success without the support of Ashley Rankin and the STEM Centre. A shout out goes out to the Micropublishing and Multimedia program and the staff in Printing Services for producing beautiful work! I would also like to acknowledge the support of these groups to the success of the week: the Academic Dean’s office, FABSS, VCTA, the Open Door Network, and the Indigenous Circle. Finally, I would like to thank all the teachers who shared International Women’s Week with their students, whether it was through announcing events in class or bringing their entire class to the auditorium. This support is invaluable, and I am truly grateful for your efforts. Survey If you attended an event during International Women’s Week, we would love your feedback. Please complete this short survey: https://goo.gl/forms/ojZCEiTNoQQTYYcW2. It should take no more than five minutes. It will help us immensely as we plan next year's event, celebrating 40 years of women's and gender studies at Vanier.

Woman of the Year This year’s Woman of the Year is Evelynne Barten, chosen for her pioneering efforts in establishing and maintaining gardens on-campus well before the advent of the sustainability program. Friends and colleagues gathered on Thursday, March 8 to toast Evelynne’s many contributions to the college. Colleagues remarked on her complete dedication to Environmental Wildlife students—in fact, Evelynne is a graduate of the program and works side by side her former teachers. Colleagues commented on how meticulously prepared lab experiments were, easing pressure and ensuring successful semesters. Other colleagues shared stories about Evelynne’s vast knowledge of animal behavior. Evelynne herself remarked on her own assertive attitude, never shying away from saying what needed to be said and doing what needs doing! This is the spirit we look for in Vanier’s Woman of the Year, and Evelynne embodies it every day. Congratulations, Evelynne!

Maggie Kathwaroon, Coordinator (kathwarm@vaniercollege.qc.ca)

STEM Centre News

Science Week 2018: March 26-29: Reserve a spot for your class! Our annual Science Week will take place March 26th to 29th.

If you are interested in bringing your class to any of the talks listed above, please send an email

to rankina@vaniercollege.qc.ca to confirm a spot. All classes are welcome.

The full program and schedule is attached to this issue of Intercom.

Thank you for passing on the information to your students.

Ashley Rankin, STEM Centre

Monday, March 26th 1:00-2:30 pm, Speaker, Auditorium Toward a Cardio-Protective City Dr. Francois Reeves, Université de Montréal Since the Industrial Revolution, dietary and airborne nano-aggressors have been shown to have a direct effect on our cardiovascular system, causing atherosclerosis and thrombosis. They have also been shown to increase conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity. Together food and airborne nano-aggressors create what’s been called a ‟perfect cardiovascular storm.”

Numerous studies have demonstrated the multiple wide-ranging effects of green spaces on all aspects of human health, from dementia and depression to cardiovascular disease. Cardio-protective cities that have an optimal urban canopy promote an environment free of nano-aggressors in food and air. These cities are essential to reducing the prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

2:30-4:00 pm, Speaker, Auditorium Brain Imaging, Big Data, and Neuroscience: Insights on the incredible plastic brain Dr. Mallar Chakravarty, McGill University In the last three decades, magnetic resonance imaging has been used to get insights on how the brain is structured and how it is wired. The accompanying explosion in computing and information technologies have allowed for an improved understanding of how the brain changes through maturation, through ageing, and in response to environmental factors (learning, pharmaceuticals, early life adversity, etc). Here I will demonstrate how these neuro- and computer sciences come together to allow us to gain better insight into how the brain changes and why.

Tuesday March 27th 2:00 -3:30pm, Speaker, Auditorium The Math of Artificial Intelligence Dr. Alain Tapp, Université de Montréal Will computers ever be as smart as us? In 1950, at the dawn of computer science, the famous mathematician Alan Turing was already proposing a test to verify it. Recently, several celebrities from the scientific and technological world, including Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, signed a public letter exposing their fears of rapid advances in artificial intelligence. The question is certainly more serious than the many novels and science fiction films might suggest. Computers are already surpassing us in just about every game and they are making us more sophisticated and clever. Today's artificial intelligence is mostly machine learning, the science that studies how a computer can learn to solve a problem from examples. In recent years, we have even been talking about deep learning, an area where the Université de Montréal is at the forefront. The domain is much more accessible and rigorous than one might think. In this presentation, we will explore different technical and philosophical aspects of learning and intelligence. The presentation is intended to be accessible to all and aims to stimulate an informed reflection on the subject.

Wednesday, March 28th 10:30 am-12:00 pm, Speaker, Auditorium Fractal Sets Dr. Dmitry Jakobson, McGill University We all know that the dimension of a set can be equal to 1 (line), 2 (plane) or 3 (space). In the talk, I will describe some unusual sets (called fractal sets) whose dimension is not integer: we shall see examples of sets whose dimension is between 0 and 1, or between 1 and 2. Fractal sets are often self-similar: if you magnify a small piece of a fractal set by a large factor, you will get an exact copy of the original set! Fractal sets describe many interesting objects in nature. We shall look at several examples of fractal sets and discuss their properties.

12:00 -1:30pm, Performances, STEM Centre (D-301) Science Coffeehouse For this special event, the STEM Centre will be transformed into a cozy coffeehouse venue. Science students and faculty will be showcasing their musical and artistic talents. Baked goods will be on sale as a fundraising event for the 2018 Robotics Team.

Thursday, March 29th 8:30 -10:00 am, Panel, Auditorium University and Life after CEGEP – Perspectives from Vanier Science Student Alumni

Come meet with Vanier Science Student Alumni to find out about their experiences in University and beyond.

Juan Carlos Borges: Recently graduated from McGill with a bachelor in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Software Engineering. I have been involved in several technical design teams such as McGill Robotics. I am currently working as a Research Specialist at Automotive Data Solutions (ADS). Vicky Liparri: I'm in my second year of my master's degree in biology, studying genes involved in ivermectin resistance in nematodes and next year I'm starting vet school.

Mitch Dumont: I'm in my final semester of my degree in my fifth year of Electrical Engineering with a minor in Software Engineering. I've taken on several positions in student societies and event planning where I met many of my now closest friends and developed skills like leadership and project oversight. Currently on the job hunt exploring Technical Sales, Project Management and Consulting. Stephanie Wiseman: Current year of study: first year dentistry at McGill (DMD 1). Academic history: BSc. Exercise Science with minor in multidisciplinary studies in science at Concordia, 1 year of masters in physical therapy at McGill. I will be doing research related to oral care and oral health services in long term care facilities and undergraduate research in promoting angiogenesis following a myocardial infarction through pharmaceutical modalities. Annie Xue: Studied health science in Cegep and then completed a B.A in Economics and minors in International Development and Management. Afterwards did one year Grad Program in Applied Marketing - graduated with Dean’s Honour. During my undergrad, I established a student organization (K-RAVE) from scratch and grew the organization from a team of 5 to over 20 during my presidency. Currently working in retail banking at TD and recently accepted a promotion as Financial Service Representative in Toronto. Sabrina Quiles: I completed a BSc at McGill in the Honours Biology program in 2016. During my undergrad, I did a research project in Dr. Alanna Watt's lab investigating the potential benefits of exercise on motor coordination in a mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia type 6. I then joined Dr. Michael Hendricks' lab, where I helped to write code that could extract analyzable, quantitative data from video recordings of foraging behaviour in worms. Currently, I am in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience doing a masters in Dr. Jean-Francois Cloutier's lab at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where I've been working on characterizing a craniofacial developmental defect in one of our mutant mouse lines, as well as developing a new project to explore axon guidance mechanisms in the olfactory system. My research interest is in Neurobiology.

11:30am - 1:00 pm, Speaker, Auditorium Wastewater Cleanup to Mustard Gas Detoxification: Surprising Applications for Molecular Sponges Ashlee Howarth, Concordia University Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are complex molecular sponge-like materials. These materials are structurally diverse and can be constructed using several combinations of building blocks found on the periodic table. Through careful choice of building blocks, the chemical and physical properties of MOFs can be elegantly tuned and materials with very high surface area and porosity can be obtained–just like a sponge! As a consequence, MOFs have been explored for many potential applications including, but not limited to, gas storage, chemical separations, catalysis, drug delivery, light harvesting and energy conversion, chemical warfare agent detoxification, and the remediation of contaminated water. In this presentation, the bottom-up assembly of MOFs will be described and the important physical and chemical properties of these materials will be explained. Lastly, two very different applications of MOFs will be discussed to emphasize the diversity of these molecular sponges: (i) wastewater cleanup where MOFs can be compared to activated carbon found in a Brita® filter and (ii) mustard gas detoxification where MOFs can be incorporated in uniforms and gas masks for the protection of soldiers.

For more information about Science Week contact Ashley Rankin (rankina@vaniercollege.qc.ca)

26th Annual Symposium on the Holocaust and Genocide

The 26th Annual Symposium o the Holocaust and Genocide, April 9-13, 2018 entitled Civic Responsibility: Toward Dialogue is quickly approaching. Although we don’t have all the speakers lined up, I would like to give an advanced view of the speakers we have available so that teachers can begin booking speakers into their classrooms. Please contact me as soon as you are able to ensure that we can get you the speaker of your choice. Speakers that will present in the Auditorium

Our Honorary Chairman is Dr. Charles Asher Small, one of Vanier’s Social Science alumni who later received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McGill University; M.Sc. in Urban Development Planning in Economics, Development Planning Unit, University College London; and a Doctorate of Philosophy (D.Phil.), St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. He also completed post-doctorate research at the Groupement de recherche ethnicité et société, Université de Montréal. He is the founding Director and President of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). He convened ground-breaking academic seminar series in the emerging field of contemporary antisemitism studies at Columbia University, Harvard University, McGill University, amongst others. He will be speaking in the Auditorium.

Dr. Wahied Wagnat-Hagh, Past President of the International Human Rights League. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh was born in Ludwigsburg, Germany (October 20, 1957). In the 1960s, he resided in Tehran, with a one-year interruption in Hamburg. He is a German citizen and has lived in Germany since 1971. He has a Diploma in Sociology, with the subsidiary subjects of Psychology and Education. He has a second Diploma in Political Science, as well as his PhD in Political Science. He was a fellow with Memri and European Foundation for Democracy. He will be speaking on the topic of Religious Discrimination in Iran, from Antisemitism over Anti-Bahaism to the Persecution of New Christians. He will be speaking on Monday, April 9th at 2:30.

Dr. Barbara Perry, a Professor in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She has written extensively on social justice generally, and hate crime specifically. She has published several books spanning both areas, including Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada, and In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crime. She was the General Editor of a five volume set on hate crime (Praeger), and editor of Volume 3: Victims of Hate Crime of that set. Her work has been published in journals representing diverse disciplines: Theoretical Criminology, Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences; Journal of History and Politics; and American Indian Quarterly. Dr. Perry continues to work in the area of hate crime, and is making substantial contributions to the limited scholarship on hate crime in Canada, including work on anti-Muslim violence, hate crime against LGBTQ communities, the community impacts of hate crime, and right wing extremism in Canada. She will be speaking on Right-wing Extremism in Canada. She will be speaking Thursday, April 12th at 2:30.

Professor Frédéric Mégret, McGill Law Professor at Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. He was Canada Research Chair in Law, Human Rights and Legal Pluralism from 2006 to 2015. Professor Mégret is the author of Le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (Pedone, 2002) and a co-editor with Professor Philip Alston of the second edition of The United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal (Oxford University Press, 2010). His talk is entitled "What Can Be Done to Stop Genocide?" Genocide prevention is frequently hailed as much preferable to genocide repression. However, how that prevention should operate is not entirely clear in a context where the definition, detection and avoidance of genocide remain challenges. This is evident for example in the failure of UN Peacekeeping mission to do much to prevent atrocities. The talk will highlight a number of legal and policy issues that are relevant to understanding how genocides might be stopped in their tracks. He will be speaking on Tuesday, April 10th at 10:30.

Cheryl MacDonald, as the Liberal government holds the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, people like Cheryl McDonald, a Mohawk woman from Kanesatake, are sharing their painful stories. McDonald's sister, Carleen Marie McDonald, went missing in Akwesasne in 1988 and a deer hunter found her sister’s remains seven weeks later. It is Cheryl's intention in speaking out is to go beyond being angry at the past injustices and to find peace and help Indigenous people and Canadians to work and live together. This has always been a silent dream of hers that she has only recently spoken of. She will be speaking on Friday, April 13th at 10:00 on the topic Working Together Toward Healing: One Indigenous Woman's View of Multi-Generational Trauma in Indigenous Communities. This is in conjunction with the Vanier College Indigenous Circle.

Speakers available in the Classroom:

Workshop entitled Being a Refugee in Canada (conducted by the Montreal Holocaust Museum). This activity about forced migration during the Second World War and today, offers the opportunity to consider why an individual might leave everything behind to start a new life elsewhere, as well as the responsibilities of states and civil societies. It highlights primary and secondary sources, and offers several analytical charts. Throughout the workshop, students discuss the issues inherent to becoming a refugee, make links between the past and present and engage with concepts of active citizenship. Workshop available in English and French. Available for classes on Monday April 9th at any time or on Tuesday April 10th in the afternoon.

Guided tours through the exhibit entitled Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible? This is an exhibit by Yad Vashem on loan to Vanier College for the week. The exhibition deals with major historical aspects of the Holocaust, beginning with Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe and ending with the liberation of Nazi concentration and extermination camps across the continent and the remarkable return to life of the survivors. The panels feature explanatory texts, interspersed with personal stories of the victims, quotes, original photographs and images of relevant artifacts.

“The making and remaking of a German 20th century composer: Kurt Weill (1900-1950), Threepenny Opera, and the legacy of 1933” (Thursday, April 12, 14:30) Marlene Eberhart (Music, Vanier), and Doug Price (National Theatre School) will discuss Kurt Weill’s career before and after 1933, with a focus on his hit, Threepenny Opera of 1928 (being performed by NTS this February 2018). Weill was committed to a renewed German opera that spoke to timely social issues in a musical style that was modern and both sophisticated and popular. He had begun to make his mark in the German, and European, cultural scene with works like Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the State of Mahagony, and through his published music criticism. But he and his works were increasingly reviled by Nazi propaganda: he and his wife were forced to flee to France in early 1933 after the Nazis came to power, and then on to the U.S. From the mid 1930s, he wrote music considered important to the development of the American musical, among which Street Scene. His songs have been widely recorded and remain popular today. We will illustrate with musical examples and extracts from Weill’s writings, and Doug Price will elaborate on the performance aspects of Threepenny Opera, with footage from the NTS recent production.

Raphael Wibmer’s presentation, What do Quebec and Austria have in common? Raphael is an Austrian Holocaust Memorial Intern

who will be speaking on: The role of media in shaping and creating images of national identity, the influence of media in creating

and prioritizing social issues, the effects of immigration policies on refugees and would be immigrants, minority and ethnic rights, the moral responsibility of individuals and the collective responsibility of governments, and to address the distinction between advertising

and propaganda.

Holocaust survivors are available to come into your classrooms, we have access to some of the survivors that speak at Vanier annually such as Sidney Zoltak, Ted Bolgar and Ben Bicher. We also have access to survivors new to Vanier including survivors that speak French. This includes: 1. Paula Boltzmann (English speaking) was born in 1935 in Warsaw, Poland. The German army invaded Poland in September 1939 and Paula’s father was called into the army and was never heard of again. Paula and her mother, Bella, fled Warsaw a few months after the German occupation. They managed to get across the border to the Soviet Union but were discovered by the Soviet authorities. They were arrested and sent to a Soviet labor camp in Siberia. Paula, a little girl of 4, spent her days alone in the barracks, while Bella was cutting lumber with the other prisoners. In 1940 they were sent from Siberia to Uzbekistan, where they remained until the end of the war. 2. Elie Dawang (French or English speaking) was born in 1934 in Paris, France. The German army invaded the northern part of France in 1940. In 1941 the French police arrested Elie and his parents and imprisoned them. Elie’s parents were sent to Auschwitz. His father managed to get Elie out of prison before they were taken away. Elie went into hiding with a Jewish acquaintance of his parents, Genia Ginsburg. For a while they hid in the suburbs of Paris but after a big roundup of Jews in Paris in July 1942, they fled to a small village and they stayed there until liberation.

3. Leon Celemencki (French speaking) was born in Belfort, France, in 1940, the youngest of three children. His parents were originally from Poland and moved to France in 1932 in order to escape increasing persecution facing Jewish Poles. Leon was two years old when his mother was deported to Auschwitz, in 1942, where she was murdered. Only narrowly escaping deportation, his father placed Leon and his two older sisters in the care of O.S.E. (Organisation Secours Enfants) in order to protect them from being found and deported by the French police. 4. Fishel Goldig (French or English speaking) was born in 1933 in Mielnica, Ukraine. The German army occupied the town in 1941 and many restrictions were imposed on the Jews. In 1942 the Germans murdered many Jews in town and forced the rest to move to the ghetto of the nearby Borszczow. When news spread that the ghetto would soon be liquidated, people started fleeing. They found a Ukrainian farmer who was willing to hide Fishel, his parents and his aunt’s family. They spent almost two years in a hole dug out from the potato cellar. They spent two years in a Displaced Person’s camp and arrived in Montreal in 1948.

Marlene Grossman, Psychology Department