Most read story on the Ryersonian.ca? Sleepless architects

12 Dec

Hi All!

I’m pleased to announce that one of the articles I wrote this fall about the frequent all-nighters that Ryerson architecture students pull on a regular basis was the most read article on the Ryersonian’s website with 1600 reads and 30 comments.

When I applied to Ryerson’s Journalism School in 2007, my entrance essay was about journalism and architecture. It seems like a perfect way to wrap-up my fourth-year reporting class by writing about the subject that got me in. Please click here to read the story and check out the soundslide that I made to go along with it. There are some priceless “golden coins” (quotes) that you don’t want to miss.

Moldy coffee cup left sitting on a model in the studio. For more pics check out the soundslide! (Otiena Ellwand)

Liquid energy. Liquid awake. Liquid sleep. Vice. There's so much more where this came from. (Otiena Ellwand)

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A few articles published this fall

20 Nov

1. Dean, Professor, Friend. Remembering Stalin Boctor - Sept. 13, 2011, Ryersonian.ca

2. Downtown Toronto march tackles issues in sexual violence - Sept. 27, 2011, Ryersonian.ca

3. Time capsule found at Maple Leaf Gardens – Oct. 14, 2011, Ryersonian.ca

4. Pre-Med program to come to Ryerson? - Oct. 17, 2011, Ryersonian.ca

5. Are bison on their way back to Banff National Park? – Oct. 27, 2011, Thestar.com

6. Ryerson architecture students win bronze medal for Olympic architecture – Oct. 31, 2011, Ryersonian.ca

 

 

If only all government mail came with smiley faces, hearts and doughnuts

5 Oct

Published in the Toronto Standard. October 5, 2011.

Elections Ontario pamphlet, 2011(Click for a close-up)

It’s not everyday that you receive a government pamphlet in the mail that has hearts, smiley faces and balloons decorating the page. But this year you probably did. Elections Ontario has been doing things a little bit differently and is hoping their correspondence will catch your attention before it ends up in the recycling bin. Embedded in the pamphlet’s lighthearted icons are important messages: ‘X’, vote, ballot, October 6.

“Generally speaking, the administration agencies centre their campaigns on the action required by the viewer or reader: ‘Speak up! Exercise your right! Go vote!’ Air space is cluttered, so we wanted to be distinct. ‘Here’s how voting is going to be easy for you,’” said Elizabeth Armstrong, the communications manager for Elections Ontario.

The illustration on the pamphlet mailed to every household in Ontario is a whimsical combination of cityscape and country; mixing highrises, bales of hay, tents, waterfalls, tractors, a moose and giant doughnut. It’s got a bit of a Where’s Waldo feel to it. “It’s supposed to be an amalgamation of the entire province: if Ontario were a village,” said Armstrong. There are a few blurbs of text explaining how to vote (by mail, advance polls), where you can vote (on campus, at hospitals), and that there are jobs available. The sans serif font is bubbly and clearly legible. It’s a stark contrast from previous election material. For example the pamphlet from 2007 had a giant yelling mouth replacing the ‘O’ in ‘Vote’ and a full-page spread of text. Even the Elections Ontario logo was small and difficult to read.

This year the colour palette revolves around a saturated yellow, nicknamed “democratic mango.” The training manual for election officials is a highlighter purple (no catchy nickname).

None of the people in this pamphlet are models. Design by Leo Burnett.

“Choosing a colour is major because we’re representing a non-partisan government agency. We had to be really careful not to go with a colour that was too red, too blue or too orange because that would look like we were favouring a certain party,” said David Buckspan, the group account manager at Leo Burnett, the advertising agency that created this year’s promotional material.

“One thing I like about it is that it looks citizen friendly. You don’t need a university degree to understand it. It’s casual, friendly and approachable,” said Tom Vassos, a business instructor at the University of Toronto. Despite the catchy design he doubts that it will increase the number of voters at the polls. “A re-brand will not have as much of an effect as technology and visibility on social media platforms where you can increase your reach and sometimes get a viral effect. The Town of Markham allowed online voting and it increased voter turnout by 20 to 30 per cent.”

But Armstrong says that the mail-outs are crucial in getting the message across, especially in rural  areas with zero access to the Internet. “We’ve been receiving a lot of feedback,” said Armstrong, “but my favourite call was from a person who said, ‘This is the first piece of government information I’ve actually read. I have it up on my wall.’” Now that might be a first.

Elections Ontario vote card, 2011.

 

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“It’s not a divorce”: Faculty of Engineering, Architecture & Science to split next fall

22 Sep

It’s been 40 years since Ryerson created a new faculty. But this summer it was announced that in the fall of 2012, the Faculty of Science will break out on its own, vying for space on campus.

Currently, students studying biology, chemistry, computer science, physics and mathematics are contained within the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science (FEAS).

“It’s not a divorce, just a big faculty giving birth to a smaller one,” said the dean of FEAS, Mohamed Lachemi. “It’s about time Ryerson had its own faculty of science. It will give these programs the chance to flourish even more.”

The provost’s committee has written a report assessing the feasibility of Ryerson having a faculty of science. It was found that of the 25 largest universities in Canada, only four combined the departments of science and engineering together.
The report also suggested that under the new faculty, three offices should be formed, requiring at least nine new administrative positions to be filled.

But how will these changes benefit students and what will it cost?
Those details aren’t yet entirely clear. When asked if class sizes would be smaller, the dean said that programs will remain exactly the same, but it will allow “a stronger focus to be put on science.”

“There aren’t enough lockers so we have to share and we (science students) don’t have our own student space. I hope that the new faculty will make things better and more organized,” said Andrew Ruckstuhl, a fourth-year biology student.
The engineering and architectural science students will remain grouped as one faculty. The preliminary report showed that the department of architectural science would like to become its own faculty, possibly in partnership with urban planning and interior design. While the university supports the idea, it stated that it’s not a priority at this time.

If architecture were to become its own faculty in the future, “it does offer us autonomy within cultural issues,” said Colin Ripley, the architectural science graduate program director. “Architecture as a design discipline is a different culture than the engineering discipline. We do different work, research and disseminate in different ways. Engineers don’t understand our culture and there’s no reason they should, but it does mean that things aren’t as easy to do as they might be,” he said.

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Rocky Mountain Historic Site

22 Aug

I spent the past three days filming at the Rocky Mountain Historic Site. Lots of good stuff… here’s a little taste of the atmosphere.

 Click on the image to see it large! 

Uncovering trafficking victims stories in Mumbai

9 May

I forgot to post this when it was published, April 4th, 2011 on thestar.com so here it is now…

MUMBAI, INDIA—Human trafficking victims visit Swati Chauhan’s office by the dozens every day.

It is her business to uncover their stories as the only judge at a special court in this city, where she rules on sex-related cases under a legislation meant to suppress trafficking in India. It is the first of its kind in the country.

Most of the victims she sees are women, pulled from brothels during police raids.

“Men and women have equal rights and women even have some special rights as per the Indian constitution,” says Chauhan.

“But it’s only the rich and powerful who are enjoying those rights. The vulnerable are not even aware they have rights.”

Echoing this sentiment is Jyoti Nale-Tajane, senior program officer for Save Our Sisters, an anti-human trafficking program of Save the Children India.

“There’s a lack of sensitivity because we’re brought up in a male-dominated society. We have to sensitize people – these are victims, not criminals. All women are our sisters.”

In Mumbai, trafficking victims meet with Chauhan at least three times and in that period she must extract their true stories – everything from name, age and hometown, to whether they know who is responsible for their victimization.

“It’s a difficult task because they’re taught (by the traffickers) to give false information. They will not tell their story at the beginning,” says Chauhan.

“But we are not here to prosecute the victims; we are here to help them.”

Human trafficking is a crime that involves the recruiting and transporting of individuals through the use of force and coercion for the purpose of exploiting them for sex tourism, labour, forced marriage, and other means, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes.

The UN estimates trafficking of women and girls is one of the fastest-growing areas of organized crime, and the International Journal of Human Rights reports the number of trafficked people ranks in the millions.

Chauhan started working at this special court, established in the state of Maharashtra in 2008 under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. The legislation, originally passed in 1956, was later amended in 1986 and works to suppress all trafficking.

Chauhan’s court was created after a high court found a backlog of 1,500 trafficking cases in the area, according to Reuters.

“They don’t even understand that they’re being exploited,” says Chauhan. “I wonder what is going on in this civilized society. Slavery is a word of history.”

Keeping you posted

14 Mar

Dear Readers,

I’ve been a little MIA recently because I’ve been busy, busy, busy blogging on my other site, Chaiwalla Mumbai.

If you like food, frolic, fun, travel, culture and are interested in all-things Mumbai metropolis (and soon there will be more posts about other parts of India, and later, Istanbul!!) then do stop by and say hello.

See you there!

Otiena

Foreigners Look East for a Spouse

11 Feb
People from countries such as US, Russia are looking for soul mates with traditional Indian values on desi matrimonial sites 

The old saying ‘marriages are made in heaven’ gave way to the mantra ‘marriages are made on matrimonial sites’ a long time ago.

And now, it seems, this mantra has also been adopted by foreign nationals looking for an Indian spouse in this season of love.

Russian national Zykina is looking for an Indian man even though she has never visited the country.

Cameron Reeves (30, name changed) is an American looking for a traditional Indian wife and Natalia Zykina (28) from Russia is looking for an Indian husband.

For the past few months, they, like several other foreigners, have been scouring India’s numerous matrimonial sites in the hope of finding that someone special by Valentine’s Day.

Reeves has been living in India for the past two years and has met several Indian women. He was drawn to matrimonial sites since it is the only way he can meet Indian women and find a wife.

He believes that Indian women make wonderful wives. “You can’t just confront a woman here, that’s taboo,” he said.

Zykina, on the other hand, has never been to India and lives in Slovenia. Despite that, she knows exactly what she wants in her Indian husband.

“I am looking for a serious, family-orientated, caring, responsible, honest guy. I know that most Indian men are family-orientated.” Reeves and Zykina, neither have found their jeevan saathi yet.

Sonora Jha, author of the academic journal article, Looking for Love in All the White Places: A study of skin colour preference in mate-seeking on Indian matrimonial Web sites, says, “In this global world, people can look for and find a spouse anywhere in the world.”

So, how do Indians feel about sharing matrimonial sites with foreigners?

Ashley Pereira, a native of Goa, has first-hand experience of being married to a foreigner. His marriage to a Russian woman ended after only a year-and-a-half together.

Now, he too is looking for a traditional Indian wife. “You may like a person when you talk to them online, but when it comes to living with them, it can be a problem. Foreigners have not experienced our culture and Indians have not experienced theirs, which are worlds apart,” he said.

Pereira also cautioned about being contacted by western women who could actually be cheats with fake accounts.
Published February 12, 2011 in the Mumbai Mid-Day

Fire at Bombay House, three dead, interview with the only survivor

11 Feb

My first big scoop as an intern at the Mumbai Mid-Day.

Here’s how it all started.

And this is what happened afterwards: Published Thursday, February 10, 2011.

Chandrakant More (43), a dishwasher in the basement canteen of the Tata Group headquarters at Bombay House, began Wednesday morning just like any other.

He dropped his son and daughter off at school and began his shift at 8.30 am.


Chandrakant More, a dishwasher in the basement canteen

The canteen’s cashier, Farhad Wadia (25); cook, Ishwar Patel (45); and loader, Shashank Pawar (30) were also in the kitchen.

About an hour after the men started work, the fire alarm went off. More said he thought it was a false alarm like many others before it but this time, it wasn’t.

People standing outside the building immediately knew how serious the fire was. “I saw small flames in the basement and the fire quickly became a raging one. Smoke had completely enveloped the area,” said Norma Lobo, a social worker, who works in the area.

Wadia, Patel and Pawar managed to get out of the kitchen, but More couldn’t find his way out. This seemingly unfortunate event, however, turned out to be the one that saved his life. For, while the other three men died of smoke inhalation in the basement’s corridors, More survived to tell the tale.

Lobo saw one man being brought out on a stretcher. “He was foaming at the mouth. People were saying that his chances of survival were dim.”

“I was suffocating for about ten minutes,” More said from a bed at the St. George Hospital in south Mumbai, where he is recuperating.

“I heard sounds from outside, people were shouting my name. Someone sprinkled water on the door. I started to approach them, but began losing consciousness. I kept hearing voices for a long time and finally, a fireman pulled me out,” he said.

“I feel so lucky. I feel so lucky for my children that I survived,” he added, tears creasing the corners of his eyes.

Gool Avasia, who has been working as a secretary with the Tata Group for the last 30 years, said, “We knew all of them because we went to the canteen everyday. What happened is very sad, but it was beyond anyone’s control. I feel sad for them and their families. Our group will miss them too. I just met them on Tuesday afternoon.”

Cause Unknown
Swati Sundareswaran, a Tata Sons spokesperson, said that the extent and cause of the damage is being investigated.

Sprucing up the Saki Naka slum, Mumbai

6 Feb

Published in the MiD-Day on February 6, 2011.

Canadian Kane Ryan, whose NGO Dirty Wall Project works with Ashley Pereira's NGO Janvi Charitable Trust, beautify the Saki Naka slum. (Rane Ashish)

Ashley Pereira and Kane Ryan have built a school, playground, and funded the education of 50 kids who live along a stretch of the Saki Naka slums

A TWO kilometer stretch along the BMC pipeline at the Saki Naka slum in Andheri East looks like a picturesque village. It’s clean, houses a school fitted with computers, and has a brand new play area full of laughing kids. Today, the two men responsible for the facelift have invited friends and acquaintances to help the residents paint the wall surrounding the new playground.

“When we first arrived at the area where we are building the play area and garden, it was disgusting. The main laneway was covered with feces, and kids played in the garbage. There was drug abuse, gambling and theft,” says 28 year-old Kane Ryan, who hails from Victoria, Canada.

A year ago, Ryan met Ashley Pereira, 42, who has been working at the slum for 10 years. Pereira invited Kane to see the work his one-man NGO, Janvi Charitable Trust, had carried out. Little did he know that Kane would become a fixture within the community. In August 2009, Kane started his own one-man NGO, the Dirty Wall Project.

Since that encounter, both have worked in the slum to “see a need and fill it”. It’s led them to fund five emergency surgeries, build a school, pay for the tuition of 50 school children, host health camps and cultural festivals, and employ 30 locals to remove 11 truckloads of garbage and turn the dump into a cricket pitch, garden and playground.

“So many people have asked us to replicate these projects in their areas, and for that we need more money. The question is always about funding,” says Pereira. Ninety five per cent of the funding is provided by Canadian donors, and through charitable events that Ryan organises when he returns home for three months of the year.

“The wellbeing of these communities is not looked after by the government, so when we show them we care, they appreciate it,” said Ryan. “We’ve seen tremendous improvement, now that the kids have a space to play instead of gamble.” Today, they hope to show the rest of Mumbai that it’s possible for a slum to be pretty, clean, and safe.

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