DisOrientation, an initiative that promotes campus student groups that work on social and environmental issues, kicked off on Tuesday with a street fair.
The week-long event is organized by the Ryerson Students’ Union’s equity and social justice committee.
It will run until Sept. 21.
The DisOrientation street fair on Gould Street. (Photo by Ricardo Serrano)
An art workshop, activist panel discussion and comedy show are some of the activities that DisOrientation offers students at Ryerson.
All activities are free of charge and range in topic from environmental politics, food security for students, activism, self-care and resilience.
As part of its environmental campaign, the RSU gave away free reusable water bottles at the street fair on Tuesday to students to discourage them from using plastic non-reusable bottles.
The RSU said they were giving away the reusable bottles because plastic bottles aren’t eco-friendly and could potentially have negative health effects.
Jessica Oliveira, a Ryerson student, said that there should be more focus on this issue.
“I picked up the reusable bottle because it is a way to help the environment and the water will stay cool,” Oliveira said. “It is a win-win situation.”
RSU’s vice-president of equity, Camryn Harlick, said they were collecting signatures from students to send a petition asking the university’s authorities to provide students with reusable water bottles.
Signs about the importance of clean water were also posted along Gould Street to raise awareness, which surrounded the controversial Egerton Ryerson statue and showed several boiled water advisory notices from various Indigenous communities.
The RSU’s initiatives will continue throughout the week, and will be capped off with a standup comedy night hosted by comedian Anasimone George on Sept. 21.
