The Canadian Association of Sociology and Anthropology has an electronic newsletter which anyone can join free of charge. Mail is received about once a month so subscribing does not result in a large number of messages. Leave the subject line blank. If you have a signature file, add a 2nd line with only the command, end . There are thousands of Usenet discussion groups in which UBC students can participate, for free, as part of the Netinfo service.
Faculty can also participate through an Interchange account.
University Computing Services will aid faculty in setting up a discussion group for a particular class. Usenet groups include discussion on social issues such as racism and sexism. The quality of the discussion varies considerably from group to group. Listserv Groups Listservs are free, and often provide high quality discussions. The mechanics of subscribing to a listserv are handled automatically by listserv software.