An event Thursday, March 9, in observance of Intersectional International Women’s Day, will feature discussion on the work of Butterfly Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network. The network resists the criminalization of sex workers and challenges mainstream anti-trafficking practices and anti-sex work, advocating for those who lack status and face the choice of being deported or working in unsafe and exploitative conditions.

Participants will hear from Butterfly founder Elene Lam, activist, community organizer, and human rights defender; and law professor Vincent Wong, who specializes in the study of racial capitalism and its relationship to the exclusion and exploitation of undocumented youth in Canada.

Butterfly challenges repressive laws that use the issue of sex worker safety and anti-trafficking concerns to advocate for repressive policing of Asian massage parlours and businesses, leading to further racialization and racism against Asian Canadian communities, and women in particular.

The organization builds coalition with labour groups, community legal clinics, human rights workers, other migrant workers organizations, and sex workers’ rights organizations to support migrant and sex workers.

Women’s and Gender Studies in the School of Social Work, in partnership with the Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Office of the Vice-President Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, will present Intersectional International Women’s Day on Thursday, March 9.

Thursday’s event will run 2:30 to 4 p.m. in room 203, Toldo Health Education Centre, and will be livestreamed via Microsoft Teams. Register here to attend.

University of Michigan law professor Aaron Perzanowski will address the intellectual property implications of the right to repair in a seminar Thursday, March 9, hosted by the Law and Technology (LTEC) Lab.

In recent years, legislators and regulators in North America, Africa, Australia, Europe, and elsewhere have recognized the obstacles facing consumers who want to repair the devices they buy. The ongoing debate over the right to repair implicates deep concerns about individual autonomy, competition policy, and environmental justice.

At the core of that debate is a set of questions about the appropriate scope and purpose of intellectual property rights. From software locks to patented replacement parts, these questions shape the availability of repair and the legal interventions that could help restore it.

Perzanowski is the author of the 2022 book The Right to Repair: Reclaiming the Things We Own, a historical analysis of how we've arrived at a moment when a battle over repair is being waged in courtrooms, legislatures, and administrative agencies.

Thursday’s seminar runs 1:30 to 3 p.m. in room 239, Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre, with remote attendance and recording options available. Register here.

—Dalia Mazhar

Students in the Visual Arts and the Built Environment — VABE — program invite the public to an exhibition of their first-year projects. Entitled Inception, the exhibition is on display through Saturday, March 11, at the School of Creative Arts Gallery in the Armouries building at 37 University Ave. East.

A reception from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 10, will be a semi-formal event with appetizers, desserts, and refreshments. Enter the Armouries from the University Ave. entrance.

Inception will feature works created by students completed at the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Community Development. The exhibitors include Maya Albano, Yara Alhourani, Julia Archer, Daniel Babona, Anika Batta, Annika Berthiaume-Koppeser, Finley Booth, Lola Boughner, Daria Facchinato, Carl Gaoiran, Poleen Krawetz, Sofia Marignani, Grace Menard, Karla Ordonez, Riley Pellerito, Kacey Petruk, Bret Satri, and Sawyer Snauwaert.

To mark the occasion of the 95th installment of the global event that is the Academy Awards, the national podcast CBC Ideas episode “Picturing the Past” considers the implications of the historical film, the most-awarded genre for best picture, by probing the extraordinary influence of depictions of the past on public understanding of history.

The hour-long audio documentary was directed and narrated by Kim Nelson and edited by Nick Hector, both School of Creative Arts film faculty members.

“Picturing the Past” will be broadcast nationally on CBC RadioOne on Thursday, March 9, at 8 p.m., and online at CBC Ideas with Nahlah Ayed. It will also be released that day as a podcast available on all main podcast apps.

“The one-hour documentary relates to my research on historical film and features interviews with top scholars in the field from history, film, media, and cultural studies and cognitive science,” says Dr. Nelson. “The documentary looks at the public implications of history as it is relayed by feature films, TV, and documentaries.”

Ideas describes itself as “radio for the mind” and posts podcasts weekdays at 8 p.m.

Recognizing that student events and activities are an essential component of campus life, the Office of Student Experience has created a website for students to use as a reference when planning on-campus events.

Sarah Hebert, communications and events co-ordinator in the Office of Student Experience, notes that students often are excited about the idea of planning events but get overwhelmed with the policies and procedures they need to follow to host activities on campus.

“They are not sure where to start or who to contact.,” she says. “The information provided on the website is intended to help student groups plan and execute fun, entertaining, and well-attended events while minimizing the various risks associated with hosting an event.”

Information including an event planning guide, campus policies, and key contact information can all be found on the website.

Hebert encourages staff and faculty to direct students to this website as a resource for event planning.

Show pride in your academic program with a hooded sweatshirt proclaiming your allegiance.

The Campus Bookstore has re-stocked supplies of some, including: Law, Nursing, Computer Science, Social Work, Human Kinetics, Criminology, Psychology, and the Odette School of Business.

Made of a 50-50 cotton-polyester blend, they boast a kangaroo front pocket and the program or faculty name embroidered across the chest, and are available in varying colours and a full range of sizes.

Pick up yours in the store, located on the lower level of the student centre, or online.