Carleton students, teaching assistants and professors held a sit-in in the Unicentre atrium Nov. 30 asking for a space for a sexual assault support centre.
The sit-in came two days after Take Back the Tunnels, a rally organized by the Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre and the Carleton Disability Awareness Centre (CDAC), and a day after allegations of a third sexual assault this year came to light.
People signed a massive scroll of paper in support of the rally and signs dotted the crowd of about 50. One read: “Got space? Ours seems to have been taken.”
Leaders of various groups focusing on different issues ranging from mental health to sustainable investment and food choices took the floor to speak. Their core demand was for an on-campus sexual assault support centre — something several other Canadian universities, such as the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta, already have.
Professor Esther Post said she’s been teaching at Carleton for nine years and she’s “disgusted” the administration has yet to approve space for the centre.
“How many more women have to be beaten or raped or sexually assaulted?” Post asked. “If three in one month is not enough for a sexual assault centre then something is really wrong.”
Human rights student Leah Arnold Parsons said while the sit-in was largely driven by the recent sexual assaults, it also addressed the issue of where student money is going.
“We’re doing this to show the students where our money goes and what kind of space we’re getting for our tuition fees,” Parsons said.
“More importantly, we’re not getting the things we need and deserve for our tuition dollars and it’s going to places we don’t even know.”
Representatives from the teaching assistants’ union and professors also spoke at the rally. Students showed their support for speakers by lifting their hands in the air and waving their fingers.
After they occupied the space for over an hour, the group dispersed.
— with files from Marcus Guido
