Amorell Saunders N’Daw, a Scarborough local who has worked in various administrative positions at UTSC, discusses how the university’s physical location has affected its approach to community outreach and inclusion.
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0:02
We’re surrounded by what people coin as “priority neighbourhoods”, and perhaps, let’s say, if we were situated in Rosedale or Forest Hill, one wonders whether or not we would have been doing more to reach out.
0:16
But when one is a stone’s throw from Mornell Court or Malvern or G-way [Galloway], or Danzig, maybe not.
0:25
know when I brought my first-born here to consider coming here, so I took him here a few times and he said he didn’t wanna come here ’cause he didn’t feel like he would belong.
0:37
It really depends on the initiatives that we put out. I’ve also heard anecdotally from community members who have tried to go the Pan Am centre to workout
0:47
that they didn’t feel welcome. That’s a huge issue, right? And so I wonder is it because they’ve got a baseball hat on and a hoodie? Like why don’t you feel welcome?
1:00
And so I’m like “if you didn’t look the way you do, would you have a different experience?”
1:05
So any challenges, and I’ve taught him this challenge, if you feel that you’re being disrespected because of who you are, that’s just the experience that we have to be cognizant as racialized bodies. Always being aware.
1:21
But it’s always a work-in-progress.
