The Daniels Faculty stands in solidarity with all people seeking a just society without racial, ethnic, or sexual discrimination. As we work to improve our school's diversity and our responsiveness to the needs of students and faculty who have faced systemic racism, we will continue updating this page with related news and resources. 

The University of Toronto provides a number of resources for community members looking for ways to combat — or heal from — the effects of discrimination and violence. Here are some of them.

• The University of Toronto's Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office leads educational programs, hosts anti-racism events, and responds to complaints about discrimination and harassment.
   
• Indigenous Student Services provides culturally relevant services to support the academic success and well-being of Indigenous students.
   
• The Multi-Faith Centre fosters interfaith dialogue on campus.
   
• The Sexual and Gender Diversity Office works to foster LGBTQ inclusion on campus, in part by offering individual support services.
   
• The St. George Health and Wellness Centre provides a number of health-related services to students, including mental health services.
   
• The Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre provides a range of services to students and faculty who have been affected by sexual assault or sexual harassment.

Disclaimer: We will continue updating this page with related news and resources. If you have any suggestions, please contact: communications@daniels.utoronto.ca 

Land Acknowledgment 

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land with Indigenous community members.   

Indigenous related initiatives at the Daniels Faculty 

Daniels Mural Project
Treaties Recognition Week
Orange Shirt Day
The Daniels Faculty appoints its inaugural First Peoples Leadership Advisor to the Dean 

Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag 

Inside Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag, the program that connects Indigenous youth to landscape architecture, conservation 
Inaugural summer program engages Indigenous youth in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design 

Other Resources:  

Digital resources  

• Assembly of First Nations Toolkit  

• Indigenous U of T  

• Hart House Events  

• About Orange Shirt Day  

• Canadian Residential School History  

• Residential School Timeline  

• U of T’s Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action  

Book and print resources  

• The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad  

• Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton  

• Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciation by Monique Gray Smith  

• Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools by Theodore Fontaine  

• 7 Generations: A Plains Cree Saga by David Alexander Robertson  

• Pathways of Reconciliation: Indigenous and Settler Approaches to Implementing the TRC's Calls to Action by Aimée Craft and Paulette Regan  

Video and films  

• You Are on Indian Land (Michael Kanentakeron, 1969)  

• Mother of Many Children (Alanis Obomsawin, 1977)  

• Sisters & Brothers (Kent Monkman, 2015) 

During the 2020-21 academic year, work-study students with the Diversity and Equity Committee compiled a list of suggested reading resources for the design disciplines. This list is an ongoing effort and will be updated as new resources are published.

Take me to the reading list.

Daniels 2018 Curriculum Study

Daniels 2020 D&E in Comparable Schools Study

The University of Toronto, the Daniels Faculty, and the Daniels Faculty's student unions have released statements of solidarity with anti-racism protesters. Read them by following the links below:

University of Toronto statement of solidarity

Daniels Faculty statement of solidarity

AVSSU statement of solidarity

GALDSU statement of solidarity

Former Dean Richard Sommer and Interim Dean Robert Wright co-authored a letter outlining the Daniels Faculty's first steps in combatting systemic anti-Black racism: Addressing anti-Black racism in our community

AVSSU Sustainability Committee
The Architecture and Visual Studies Student Union (AVSSU) Sustainability Committee's goal is to explore and prompt conversations around the many facets that make up our climate crisis, including the environmental inequities that often racialized and low-income communities face as a result of being closer to polluting facilities. The relocation of environmental risks directly impacts health and resource accessibility, further affecting agricultural patterns and negatively impacting dependent economies. For more information, follow @avssu.sustainability.uoft on Instagram.

Black Students in Design 
Founded by Clara James, a Black student in the Daniels Faculty, Black Students in Design (BSD) aims to create a community for Black students to de-stress, talk about racial issues in the design industry, and connect with one another. BSD hosts bi-weekly events as well as supports and important BIPOC initiatives in equity and diversity. BSD is not just a club for students at Daniels, but also for any BIPOC university students interested in design. For more information, follow @blackstudentsindesign on Instagram.   

Daniels Art Directive 
The Daniels Art Directive began as a student-led club seeking to work collaboratively on diverse art projects. In 2020, the Daniels Art Directive collaborated with Daniels alumnae, Ashita Parekh and Tolu Alabi to install the temporary mural, "Support Black Designers." on the Daniels Building. This mural is a call to action for dismantling systemic racism in the discipline of design in workplaces and academic institutions. For more information, follow @danielsartdirective and @supportblackdesigners on Instagram.

Making Difference 
Making Difference aims to create a safe space for women and non-binary folks to discuss how gender affects them in the architecture and art fields. Through Zoom discussions, commission opportunities for designers, and monthly art events, the club works towards dismantling gender inequality and creating a supportive community within Daniels. For more information, follow @makingdifferenceto on Instagram.

Student Equity Alliance 
The Graduate Architecture, Landscape and Design Student Union (GALDSU), along with the Forestry Graduate Student Association (FGSA), and the Architecture, Visual Studies, Students Union (AVSSU) came together in July 2020 to formalize the working group that spearheaded the Daniels Do Better letter, establishing it as the Student Equity Alliance (SEA). Currently, SEA is composed of students and alumni, across nearly every program stream at Daniels. If you would like to get involved, please email SEA at sea@daniels.utoronto.ca or visit @sea.daniels on Instagram. 

If you'd like to know more about the Daniels Faculty's efforts to foster diversity and inclusion, or if you're a student or faculty member who would like to get involved in those efforts, please email communications@daniels.utoronto.ca.