Students call for change of climate
University must do more to address sexual violence on campus: leaders
Concordia student leaders say the university must do more to address sexual violence on campus in the wake of the scandal in its creative writing program, and that recommendations from a recent “climate review” do not go far enough to protect students from predatory professors.
Concordia president Alan Shepard welcomed the report of an external climate review of the English department when it was released this month. The review notes that current students report significantly fewer negative experiences than alumni reported, he said.
Student leaders were less enthusiastic.
“I think (the climate) is unhealthy now,” said Meredith Marty-Dugas, president of the Concordia Association for Students in English and a student in creative writing and English. “There has been a breakdown of conversation between students and faculty and staff within the department that makes it very hard for students to bring forward concerns about the way they are being treated in classrooms. There is a lack of trust that has built up over time, and it has become more apparent in the last year.”
Sophie Hough-Martin, general co-ordinator of the Concordia Student Union, said the review confirmed what students in the department have been saying for years, but was vague in its recommendations on how to bring
about true change.
“Students are concerned about what the steps will be moving forward, how the recommendations will actually be implemented and what level of student involvement there will be,” she said.
Both said it is dangerous to conclude from the climate review that things are now much better in the department. A higher number of incidents of sexual misconduct were indeed reported by former students than current students, but few current students participated in the review. Some may have been reluctant to call out the behaviour of professors, even anonymously, for fear of negative consequences, they said.
The climate review was the final step in a three-pronged response the university announced in January 2018, after a former student in Concordia’s creative writing program published an online essay alleging rampant abuse of power and sexual misconduct by players on the CanLit scene, and professors in the Concordia program in particular. Students, past and present, corroborated allegations of a sexually predatory environment, calling it an “open secret” fed by a whisper network that warned students about which professors to be wary of or avoid.
At the time, Shepard said he was unaware of the goings-on described in the essay, but he announced the university would strike a Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence, launch an external investigation into specific allegations, and commission a climate review of the English department. At least three professors were reportedly investigated, with two investigations completed, although the university says it is bound by law to keep the results of any disciplinary actions confidential, even from the complainants.
The climate review, by retired justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal Pierrette Rayle and two psychologists, was released March 8.
Last spring and summer, the reviewers invited more than 3,000 students, alumni, faculty and staff members to participate in online surveys and in-person, phone and videoconference interviews about their experiences at the school. Among the 109 participants were 32 current students of the English department, 57 alumni, 17 faculty members and three staff members.
“The findings indicate that there were a small number of faculty members who have engaged in inappropriate and unacceptable conduct,” the reviewers wrote, adding that many respondents reported positive experiences at Concordia.
“Based on the survey results, respondents had the perception that the climate of the Department of English was unhealthy at the time of the review and that department culture and practices did not promote healthy relationships.”
The report made 13 recommendations, including that the university should prohibit professors from holding classes in bars, offer explicit guidelines regarding social gatherings and off-campus events attended by students and faculty, and train faculty members about what constitutes a romantic or sexual relationship (i.e. including a single date or sexual encounter). Training was also recommended to help faculty and staff members support students coming to them with complaints.