Student society executive resigns over allegations of sexual misconduct
An executive member of McGill University’s student union has resigned over allegations of sexual misconduct posted online by a group of students who banded together to denounce him.
David Aird, who was the vicepresident (external affairs), of the seven-member executive of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), resigned Wednesday.
“The SSMU has been made aware of community concerns regarding the conduct of Mr. Aird in the context of his elected position,” the union said in a statement. “We unequivocally condemn any actions of the Vice-President (External Affairs) that have caused harm in our community.”
SSMU executive members are under fire for not dealing sooner with allegations against Aird that have circulated since before he was elected in June.
Students who felt their warnings were going unheeded formed the Community Disclosure Network.
They circulated an online form on Feb. 9 asking anyone who had had negative interactions with Aird to provide their stories anonymously.
The McGill Daily newspaper published accounts provided by the Community Disclosure Network. Many noted that he commonly referred to himself as a feminist and expounded on the importance of consent.
On Feb. 21, after publication of a statement by the Community Disclosure Network, he resigned.
“Before anything, I want to take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions, which were harmful to several women and led to the creation of the Community Disclosure Network,” Aird wrote in a statement posted online after his resignation. “There are no excuses, although I can say with certainty that my understanding of consent is much clearer and less ambiguous now than it was at the time of those incidents. … I fully appreciate that consent should never be acquired through negotiation.”
To the Community Disclosure Network’s knowledge, Aird is not facing criminal charges.
Aird could not be reached for comment Friday. His Facebook page has been deleted.
While Aird kept his post on the SSMU until this week, his affiliation with other groups was much shorter. Aird was elected to the executive of the youth wing of the New Democratic Party in late October, but was removed within days after members complained about disturbing encounters with him, said Malaya Powers, co-president of NDP McGill.
A member of McGill Against Austerity, a student group on campus, said Aird was removed from their ranks for similar reasons, the Daily reported.
Erin Sobat, VP of university affairs with the SSMU, said their organization was not aware of the most serious accusations about Aird until this week. But concerns expressed by some students about harassing behaviour spurred student union members to have “weekly check-ins” with Aird about appropriate behaviour, he said.
Sobat said the SSMU, which is independent of the McGill administration, will improve its procedures for reporting complaints, in part by working with organizations like the Community Disclosures Network.