The importance of being REDI

Heya awesome Yorkers!

We are soon approaching the school year and I genuinely hope you’re ready to have the next best four years of your life (or however long your experience at York University might be)! If you’re not quite at that ready stage yet, no worries at all! There is still loads of time left and WE (the RSA’s, SCLD, faculty and general staff at York Univeristy) are STILL here if you need us! The post-secondary experience is unlike any other, and we (the RSA’s, SCLD, faculty and general staff at York University) are here to make it as awesome as possible for you. A tool which might make you a bit more ready for the awesomeness that is coming your way is the REDI tutorial created by the Center for Human Rights.

REDI is actually an acronym and it stands for Respect, Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity. REDI can be described as an interactive online course where you are introduced to central human rights topics such as Disabilities and Age, Sexual Harrassment & Gender Discrimination as well as Religion & Creed (just to name a few). These modules are great because they not only clarify York University’s values and expectations but they also create a bridging connection on how these topics specifically relate to York University with several of York’s services listed in each module (which is a great tool for those who aren’t sure of what comprises York University’s services… there are quite a lot!). You are also given a framework on what your rights and responsibilities are through easy-to-read background information on the Student Conduct of Rights & Responsibilities.

What I love  most about this course is that it is very visual-friendly! The information is given to you in the most painless way possible.To clarify what I mean by this, let’s just say I know how modules are/can be (I am a student afterall). They can be annoying at best and plain torterous at worst. However, I actually found that I enjoyed doing this module because these modules contain central topics which should be very important to…. well to all of us. Respect, Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity are core values embedded in our student community and it’s always nice to have a check-up on your values, to see if their still where you left them!

The REDI module is open to everyone and is also completely free to do! You can access it at http://www.yorku.ca/redi/ and self-enrol yourself into the course. The course altogether takes about only thirty minutes to do, and there are a set of questions at the end of the module which you will be required to answer. Don’t worry, the questions are not specific fact questions, but more so applying the knowledge you are learning through the tutorial. At the end of the tutorial there are allyship tips available where you can apply these skills which you learned and begin creating a Respectable, Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive environment at York University!

Hope you enjoy it! Stay REDI!