By Annie Arnone
Ryerson’s new health building will house rooms dedicated for students who breastfeed by next year.
The Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex is intended to be a multi-use building consisting of classrooms, residential spaces, and according to Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi, rooms for nursing mothers.
“[The] building will have a dedicated infant nursing room that will be open to all [Ryerson] community members,” he said.
Lachemi added that as of now, while there are quiet rooms located in the Student Learning Centre, Ryerson does not have any rooms intended only for mothers who need this specific accommodation.
“We strive to provide an environment in which students, faculty and staff feel safe, but comfortable and included,” he said.
The University of Toronto is the only post-secondary school in Toronto that provides students and faculty with a list of private areas around campus for nursing mothers, according to Metro News Toronto*. York University also released a school policy that accommodates for students and faculty who are mothers.
According to York’s Accommodating Family policy, the school provides “appropriate storage facilities for breast milk and for the storage of breast milk expression equipment (pump).”
The Ryerson nursing complex is still under construction, and anticipated to be open in Fall 2018 by the Church and Dundas intersection.
Correction: An earlier version of this story did not attribute Metro News. The Eyeopener regrets this error.
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