Good afternoon! My name is Brandon Moores, and I'm the YUGSA's Management Board Chair. As you may already know, I have been trying since October to have the old Grad Café space reopened; those efforts are continuing and should bear fruit, but in the meantime I'm having the Space opened up for a one-day Tea & Coffee party on Thursday, March 21, from 1:30-5:00. We'll be serving free tea and coffee (we should even have the espresso machine working again), and there will be pastries and snacks available. In addition, we're inviting candidates in the upcoming GSA elections to come by so that they can talk with graduate students about their ideas and concerns; this would be a great chance to interact with the people who will be running the YUGSA next year! I hope that you can make it, but whether you can or not, please spread the word to the graduate students of your department. I know that people have missed the Cafe space very much, and hope that as many as possible will get a chance to take advantage of the one-day (for now) opening! Feel free to write to me at yugsambchair@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments, & hope to see you there, Brandon

Disruption! Decades of resistance, decades more to come! For several decades, OPIRG-Toronto, OPIRG-York and the York University Graduate Student’s Association have been agitating and demonstrating for social change. OPIRG-Toronto and the Graduate Student's Association are reflecting on 30 years, and OPIRG York on 20 years, of student organizing, grassroots education and action on social and environmental justice. We have been disrupting the normal run of things since our inception, and we don’t plan to stop anytime soon! We invite you to Disruption! An anniversar y party recognizing decades of resistance, and decades more to come! Join us as we celebrate our achievements and reflect on our involvement in so many amazing and influential campaigns over the years. What better way to end two packed weeks of DisOrientation than sharing stories and dancing the night away with friends and comrades! With performances from LAL, Progress, Maiko Watson and Wolf J, this night is sure to be one to remember! DJs Zehra and Saira Chibber will end off the night and keep you on your feet with their sweet beats. Take a look at the archived posters and materials from 30 years of Toronto's political work, and don't forget to grab your anniversary swag: silk screened birthday t-shirts, buttons, patches and a collaborative mural, to be produced the night of the party. Good food, drinks and great friends! SAVE THE DATE Friday September 28th, 2012 DOORS at 8 PM MUSIC FROM PROGRESS, LAL, MAIKO WATSON, WOLF J DJ SETS FROM ZEHRA & SAIRA CHIBBER Location: United Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street (near College and Spadina) *Venue is wheelchair accessible with fully accessible washrooms. *Childcare available $5 suggested donation or pay what you can *No one turned away for lack of funds* This isn’t your everyday birthday party- This is a story-sharing, art making, eclectic musical celebration! We've worked with so many fantastic organizations over the years, and we are incredibly grateful for the years of support and collaboration from our allies. If you would like to send a statement of support or some kind words about our work on our birthday, please do. Video testimonials are also welcome. We want you to tell us about your time and experience with YUGSA and/or OPIRG, and we will be screening the testimonials at the party. *For more information, including childcare requests and accessibility inquires, get in touch with us at opirg.toronto@gmail.com. ----- OTHER CONTACT INFO: OPIRG York: opirg@yorku.ca OPIRG Toronto: opirg.toronto@gmail.com YUGSA: info@yugsa.ca Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/events/341439582609870/

On Tuesday April 24th, YUGSA will be hosting a discussion on the influence of corporations on higher education and potential sites of resistance. The panelists are: Erika Shaker - Education Project Director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Claire Polster - Professor, University of Regina Elise Thorburn - PhD Candidate, University of Western Ontario The event will take place from 2:30-5:00PM on Tuesday April 24th in Founders College Rm 305. Please contact campaigns@yugsa.ca for more information.

Masculinities. A panel organized by the York University Graduate Students Association and Graduate Students in Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies. Monday March 26, 2012, 5:30-8pm. Graduate Students Cafe, Ross South 167. Join us for a free dinner and dialogue on the social construction of masculinity, with York Professor Bobby Noble, and PhD students at York, Laine Hughes and Reese Simpkins. Critiques and challenges to the sex and gender hierarchies existing in our current cultural frameworks often face resistance from those hostile to women and the feminist movement. Recently, hostilities sometimes take form in anti-feminist, conservative "men's rights" groups. However, these hierarchies limit not only female-bodied people in their self-expression and pursuits, but male-bodied people as well. Definitions of masculinity often include expressions of racism and homophobia. You are invited to a GSA-sponsored and Graduate Students in Feminist, Gender and Women's Studies-organized panel. For more information about the panel or about childcare re-imbursements for the event, please feel free to contact Tanya at gender@yugsa.ca.

Entertainment: Mohawk Spoken Word Artist, Kahsenniyo ‘Gus’ Wilson, and musical acts, 'Lesbian Song Club' and 'Emilina.' Speaker: Dr. Andrea O’Reilly is an Associate Professor in the School of Women's Studies at York University and is co-editor/editor of twelve books on Motherhood. In 1991, she designed the first university course on Motherhood in Canada, and is the founder and director of The Association for Research on Mothering, (ARM). Founded in 1998, ARM is the first feminist research association on the topic of mothering-motherhood and has more than 500 members worldwide. As well, Dr. O’Reilly is founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, the first, and still only, scholarly journal on motherhood. Both ARM and its journal are recognized worldwide as the leading research centre/journal on Motherhood. In 2005 she launched Demeter Press, the first feminist press on motherhood and is founder and director of “Mother Outlaws,” a feminist mother group. **Free Food provided. **Childcare reimbursements available. If interested please contact Tanya McFadyen (GSA VP Gender) at gender@yugsa.ca

Join us on January 19 for an afternoon and evening of wholesome enjoyment. It kicks off at 3 PM with a re-screening of the Ph.D. Comics Movie in Stedman Lecture Hall A, followed by our Annual General Meeting at 4:30 in 320 Bethune, about which more can be found here. Finish off the evening at our special Welcome Back event at the Grad Lounge at 7:30. See you Thursday!

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