Teachers reassigned, students still appalled
Association issues notice as Concordia reassigns courses pending investigation
Concordia University has reassigned courses that were to be taught this term by professors who have been the subjects of recent high-profile allegations of sexual misconduct while those allegations are being investigated, according to a notice sent to students in the English department by their student association.
“We are deeply upset and appalled that this university has allowed sexual misconduct to harm students for so long in what should have been a safe and professional environment,” says the notice, signed by the executive of the Concordia Association for Students in English (CASE).
The notice informed students of a meeting held Friday afternoon by members of the administration — including Kate Sterns, coordinator of the Creative Writing program, deputy provost Lisa Ostiguy and dean of students Andrew Woodall — to inform students in the Creative Writing program “of remedial actions the university has decided to take, as well as to respond to questions.”
The notice also warned students that faculty members have a potential conflict of interest and recommended students not treat the meeting as a forum to share experiences, but rather as an opportunity to demand change.
The notice said “courses taught by the professors named online are being reassigned pending investigation, the books written by those faculty members have been removed from the display window on the sixth floor of the Webster Library Building and a third party is conducting the investigations.”
The university’s director of public affairs, Mary-Jo Barr, would not confirm that courses had been reassigned, nor that books had been removed from the library’s display case.
She did say an investigation is underway and that it is being conducted by an external investigator.
“The purpose of today’s meeting with students in the Department of English is to listen to their concerns, offer support and discuss the best path forward. We are committed to a safe learning environment for our students,” Barr wrote in an emailed message.
She said the administration also met with all of the university’s department chairs on Friday to “express that we are deeply disturbed by the kind of behaviour described today and to remind the departments of our zero tolerance for such behaviour. We are also pointing them to the resources in place to deal with such misconduct.”
Barr noted that the university is re-examining its policies regarding relationships between faculty members and students, as are all post-secondary institutions in the province.
In December, Quebec’s National Assembly approved Bill 151: “An Act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions.”
That act requires every postsecondary institution to establish a policy on sexual violence by Sept. 1, 2019. According to the bill, each policy must include a code of conduct specifying guidelines for “such matters as intimate, amorous or sexual relationships that may develop between students and persons having an influence over their academic progress.”
Concordia currently has a conflict of interest policy, which requires that professors declare to the administration any intimate relationships with students and forbids them from teaching or being involved in assessing the work of any student with whom they are so involved.
“While consensual relationships between adults are not prohibited, we consider relationships between faculty and students inappropriate because of the conflict of interest and power dynamic,” Barr said.
“The pedagogical relationship between an instructor and a student must be free from influences or activities that can interfere with learning and personal development. And in the case of non-consensual misconduct, including harassment, there is zero tolerance.”
She said the university will soon be finalizing its policy and issuing guidelines regarding faculty/student relationships that will meet the expectations of Quebec’s new legislation.
“As part of this, we will offer training and an awareness campaign for students and faculty,” she added.
She would not confirm whether disciplinary actions have commenced against any professors since Monday.
The CASE notice charges that the university did not act in an effective way on earlier public accusations of sexual misconduct within the department, referring specifically to an online essay by Emma Healey published on The Hairpin website in 2014.
Another online essay by Mike Spry posted on Monday prompted a number of further claims on Twitter that certain professors were known to have inappropriate relationships with students or to sexually harass students.
University president Alan Shepard held a news conference to react to the allegations and said that he had not been informed of impropriety in the Creative Writing program before Monday.
But on Thursday, a former student posted a letter that she claims she and others sent to the chair of the English Department in February 2015 describing a “toxic atmosphere” in the program, and saying they felt “uncomfortable and unsafe attending readings, events and seminars within the wider Montreal literary community because of Concordia professors’ involvement and place at the centre of that community.”
Barr said Shepard stands by his statement that he was not informed of the improprieties raised in the Spry essay and in reaction to it on Twitter before this week.
“The 2015 letter was managed at the appropriate level at that time,” she said.
“The department did meet with students and took action.”
One student said after Friday’s meeting that she is optimistic the controversy will result in a better environment at the university.
“I think people are going home with a lot to think about and with some concrete things they can potentially do, and I definitely felt some optimism in the room,” she said.
In the case of non-consensual misconduct, including harassment, there is zero tolerance.