Student union lashes out at Concordia’s task force
Wants to choose own members to sit on sexual violence committee
The Concordia Student Union lashed out Thursday against the university’s planned sexual violence task force, saying it’s not properly representing students.
At a news conference in the morning, Leyla Sutherland, the CSU’s student life co-ordinator, said she is concerned the university is nominating students to the task force when that job should be left to the CSU, which represents students.
Concordia launched a Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence, which will include student, staff, faculty and administration representatives. The university issued a call for potential members on Jan. 25, and the deadline for applications is Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.
The school has said it will choose which students sit on the committee and they must be students in good academic standing.
The task force was set up in the wake of allegations of lecherous behaviour by some professors in the Creative Writing program. The university also issued new guidelines on professor-student relationships last week.
Sutherland said the university has routinely allowed the CSU to name student representatives for all other committees, so she’s puzzled as to why the university is not doing so for such a sensitive subject.
“I think there is a lot of mistrust, and I think allowing the student union to do this process in a way that is more transparent is vital if they want student buy-in for what this committee will recommend,” she said.
The CSU was supported by several other student organizations, including the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec.
“Today we stand in solidarity with survivors and with the CSU to tell you, (president and vicechancellor) Alan Shepard and your fellow administrators, that you have neither the legal right to appoint students to sit on this task force nor the trust of the students to do so in a way that ensures that you are held accountable for your actions,” said Sophia Sahrane, the association’s research and education co-ordinator.
Debby Gemme, president of the Concordia Association for Students in English, said she’s optimistic that the university will accede to the demands of the CSU.
She added if that happens, she believes there will be a true culture change within the university where incidents of sexual violence are no longer swept under the rug.
“They can’t hide behind ignorance anymore, and a lot of students will be working hard to hold them accountable to what they have promised already,” she said.
Gemme added that while there are many excellent professors within the department, she was warned by other students to avoid certain classes or teachers because they are known to be predators.
“It’s definitely disheartening, but there are some really great professors who are doing a lot of really good things,” Gemme said. “But this kind of problem happens in every department.”
Mary-Jo Barr, Concordia’s director of public affairs, said the university is aware of the CSU’s position and has tried to resolve its differences with the student union.
However, the university elected to make an open call for members in order to ensure greater student representation, she said in a statement.
“Students actually have greater representation on this task force than they do on other university bodies,” the statement read.
“We made an open call to all members of the community to apply to be on the task force.
“We did this to ensure that the task force includes diversity in its members. We also needed to ensure that all members are engaged with this subject, are knowledgeable about our existing policies and can make the time commitment necessary ... We continue to reflect on the demands of the CSU. Our intention is to move forward with the support of our entire community.”