0:08 Good afternoon Ryerson. I'm Taline Loschiavo. 0:11 And I'm Jacqueline Gilmore. 0:13 This is your November 15 Rye Report. 0:15 Today we'll chat about a proposed PhD program for the social media obsessed. 0:20 The School of Performance's Ryerson dances showcase and one unique piece celebrating a dance legend, an expert who's criticizing the city's homelessness plan, and an update on how the Ryerson Rams rugby team closed off their first ever season. 0:35 Ever wanted to get a PhD studying social media? Now it's possible thanks to Ryerson's proposed PhD and management program. The Ted Rogers School of Management proposed the Ph.D program last week. The senate approved it on November 5. According to the school's letter of intent, they want to offer specialization in networked organization and social media. Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Hong Yu says there are many ways to study social media. 1:02 Government agencies and nonprofit organization they also leverage on the social media platforms to communicate. So there are many many different angles that you can study social media and how social media can benefit and the society in general. 1:20 Second year retail management student Jasmine Shannon says the program is a good idea. Shannon works at Aritizia where customers tell her they saw store products on Instagram. This shows she says that you can build a brand on social media. The Ontario quality Council and the Ministry of training colleges and universities still need to approve the program. If they do, Ryerson will offer the PhD starting in Fall 2020. 1:44 Mark your calendars because the School of Performance's yearly showcase is back. Third and fourth year dance students have been working to bring you four unique works, one of which will pay homage to one of the most influential figures in dance history. Merce Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer at the forefront of modern dance. He died in 2009. Students will be performing his classic piece changing steps staged by Dylan Crossman from the Cunningham trust. Ryerson is the only dance program in Canada invited to present a Cunningham work during this worldwide centennial year celebration. Changing steps is one of four pieces in Ryerson dances. Ryerson dances premieres November 19 and will run until November 23 at the Ryerson theatre. Tickets are available at the School of performance box office and online. 2:30 The City of Toronto claims there's an increase of 94 homeless shelter beds this year. Ryerson's distinguished visiting practitioner Cathy Crowe is calling the statement a sham. She says this is the number of temporary respites spaces used for emergency care, not the number of permanent shelter spaces. 2:49 And spaces last year got shut down to be you know, over 100 like a huge number at the Queen Elizabeth building at the CNE. And then there was another at a hockey arena, they all got shut down. We actually were close to 400 respite spaces shorter. 3:10 Crow says housing conditions are unhealthy as viruses like the flu and strep throat rise. She says Mayor john Tory should declare a state of emergency on homelessness. According to a news release 7215 individuals use Toronto shelter system as of November 4. 3:29 A huge shout out to the Ryerson Rams, they finished their first ever rugby season on top. The Rams finished with a 4 to 2 to winning record defeating York University 22 to 20. In their final game, Coach Robert Borman says he anticipated difficulties in their first year. Instead, the season exceeded their expectations. Second year Business Management student Reggie vador co founded the team, he echoes the same sentiment. 3:55 It passed my expectations by a lot. We're hoping to just like be even having clear, like ranking like, no more losses than wins. But we the team exceeded that. We had a lot of the guys new guys that came in we didn't know their skill set what position they play, and just getting things together. We thought it would be a lot more confusing and it ended up being. 4:17 Five senior players will leave the team. It's looking for new recruits, and the team is still working towards a goal of reaching varsity status by 2022. I'm Taline Loschiavo. 4:28 and I'm Jacqueline Gilmore. Thanks for tuning in to your November 15 report. Stay warm.