Finances have become a major talking point in the era of COVID-19, with many Ryerson students facing tough decisions about their education and some businesses near campus worrying about their viability. In this episode of the On The Record podcast, your hosts, TJ Dhir and Thomas Desormeaux, examine two issues: tuition costs and the plight of small businesses.

Some Ryerson students say they are not being supported adequately by the school, and are calling for tuition fees to be decreased. Meanwhile, the quality of education has decreased, according to the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). On The Record reporter Fiona O’Flynn reports on what students have said online and how they are taking action.

Those who own or operate small businesses have also been feeling the effects of the pandemic. Some stores have had to close their doors due to capacity restrictions and what they say is a lack of government support. Some have had to make other changes. On The Record reporter Emma Moore reports on how the Silver Snail comic book store decided to make a move out of Ryerson’s neighbourhood and back to its old home in Trinity-Bellwoods.

Change.org petition to lower Ryerson tuition fees for online semesters

OCUFA survey illustrating declining education quality

Details about the COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant

Fiona O’Flynn – reporter, On The Record

Emma Moore – reporter, On The Record

Demand for lower tuition continues despite return to in-person classes

The Silver Snail moves from Yonge Street after 9 years

As the On The Record podcast returns for the Winter Semester, your host, TJ Dhir, looks at the biggest issues surrounding COVID-19 and Ryerson. The futures of unvaccinated students and students with an unknown vaccination status are currently in limbo. On The Record editor-in-chief Nick Parker talks about the struggles they face as well as what the future might look like.

The return-to-campus plan has drawn the frustration of eight tenured professors with the Ryerson School of Occupational and Public Health. We spoke with one of them before they co-signed a public letter to the university about how they feel regarding Ryerson’s plan to bring students back to in-person classes.

With certain questions still needing answers, how conducive to on-campus learning is Ryerson?

Update: The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario confirmed Thursday that four applications have been submitted against Ryerson pertaining to COVID-19. However, the tribunal “does not track data specific to COVID-19 vaccine exemptions.”

Ryerson University’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

Open Letter to Ryerson from eight School of Occupational and Public Health professors

Nick Parker – editor-in-chief, On The Record

Thomas Tenkate – associate professor, Ryerson School of Occupational and Public Health

Unvaccinated Ryerson students to be removed from winter courses

Ryerson encouraging third COVID-19 vaccine dose for return to in-person learning

School of public health faculty members tell university they’re concerned about return to in-person learning

On the final episode of Centre Scope’s first season, host Manuela Vega speaks with senior editor Asmaa Toor, managing editor Kirti Vyas and chief editor Abhi Raheja about the past year — and what it was like to work with predominantly racialized reporters and editors, remotely during COVID-19 and during calls for change in the Ryerson School of Journalism. The editors also discuss some of their favourite stories of the year and what Canadian media can expect from the Ryersonian’s latest cohort.

Host: Manuela Vega

Co-hosts/Reporters: Simran Singh, Meara Khanna and Giulia Fiaoni

Mixers: Manuela Vega and Simran Singh

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega

Stories mentioned:

Centre Scope hears from two reporters on health and wellness, with special attention to culture, for the “Prescribing Perspectives” special edition.

Host Simran Singh speaks with managing editor Kirti Vyas about her piece “Dismantling cultural appropriation within the health and wellness industry,” which examines how yoga, among other cultural practices, has been appropriated — predominantly by middle class, able-bodied, white women — and removed from its religious and spiritual context. Vyas also tells Simran about the women of colour in the industry who are working to make the practice more inclusive and true to its original purpose. Simran later speaks with features editor Pia Araneta about her article on the importance of cultural competence in mental health care. Araneta explains how people from different backgrounds can form varied understandings of mental health, making it even more important to have culturally specific resources.

Host/reporter: Simran Singh

Co-hosts/Reporters: Giulia Fiaoni and Meara Khanna

Mixers: Manuela Vega and Giulia Fiaoni

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega

In this submission to Centre Scope, managing editor and reporter Kirti Vyas, and podcast producer Meara Khanna focus on health and wellness. This episode examines the cultural appropriation of different religious and spiritual practices that originated in Indigenous and South Asian cultures, including yoga.

The episode is a supplementary audio component to Vyas’s April 14 article, “Dismantling cultural appropriation within the health and wellness industry.”

After voting for the Ryerson Student’s Union election ended Friday, March 19, evidence of broken bylaws by both running parties — Adapt and For the Students — surfaced. Just before voting ended, Ryersonian reporter Frank Quaranta broke the story of an RSU presidential candidate who said she was unfairly disqualified. Host Giulia Fiaoni speaks with Quaranta and Ryersonian reporter Marin Scotten about why some election results may be called into question.

Read more about the RSU election fallout in Rosie Leonard and Brooke Houghton’s timeline.

Host/reporter: Giulia Fiaoni

Co-hosts/Reporters: Simran Singh and Meara Khanna 

Mixers: Manuela Vega and Meara Khanna 

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega

On this episode of Centre Scope, we hear from the Ryersonian’s Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) beat reporter, Frank Quaranta, about the ongoing RSU elections. We dive into Tuesday’s debate, voter turnout predictions, the running slates and what to expect in the coming months.

Host/reporter:Giulia Fiaoni

Co-hosts/Reporters: Simran Singh and Meara Khanna 

Mixers: Giulia Fiaoni and Manuela Vega

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega

Centre Scope’s special edition episode explores how poverty affects certain members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. Manuela Vega hosts, with appearances from Toronto-based activist and former incarcerated person, Moka Dawkins, and researcher Alex V. Green. Dawkins shares details about her life before and after jail, considering how race, sex work and being trans have played a role in her criminalization. Green discusses her research on queer poverty, criminalization and what she calls queer anti-capitalism. Both highlight the varied realities among white cisgender queer people and Black trans people.

Host/reporter: Manuela Vega

Co-hosts/Reporters: Simran Singh and Giulia Fiaoni

Mixers: Simran Singh, Giulia Fiaoni and Manuela Vega

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega

On the fifth episode of Centre Scope, Opinion Editor Emma Buchanan takes over as a guest host, speaking with photojournalists and filmmakers about creating space for Black creatives in Toronto and beyond. Photojournalist turned producer James Russell discusses his origins as a photographer for an activist group newsletter and the importance of Black journalists in recording history. The Young & the Restless actress Tonya Williams tells the story of how her character on the show was created for her and why she founded the Reelworld Film Festival. Lastly, Diane Liverpool speaks on her experience as an eager 8-year-old journalist and the comfort of doing her placement in 1979 with Contrast, one of the first Black newspapers in Toronto. Each guest speaks on the importance of Black-told stories being recorded in what Russell simply calls “accurate history.”

Guest host/reporter: Emma Buchanan

Co-hosts/Reporters: Simran Singh and Giulia Fiaoni

Mixers: Giulia Fiaoni Manuela Vega

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega

Episode Shownotes:

Tonya Williams’ Reelworld Film Festival and Screen Institute

The Access Reelworld Directory for BIPOC creatives in Canada: 

James Russell’s MANKS Production Inc

Ears, Eyes Voice: Black Canadian photojournalists from the 1970s to the 1990s

Learn more about the legacy of Contrast Newspaper:

Cecil Foster’s personal essay 

Angles Covered Blog. “The Legacy of Contrast Newspaper” 

https://anglescovered.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-legacy-of-contrast-newspaper.html

On this episode of Centre Scope, we learn about a few trailblazers in Canada’s legal community. On behalf of the Ryerson Faculty of Law, we heard from prominent Justices like Harry LaForme, Gregory Regis and Micheal Tulloch. They paid tribute to Lincoln Alexander, Charles Roach and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, some of the country’s most influential figures that shaped Canada’s social, political and legal community. Simran Singh hosts.

Co-hosts/Reporters: Simran Singh and Giulia Fiaoni

Mixer: Manuela Vega

Executive Producer: Manuela Vega