After two students at Dalhousie University claimed they were targeted for being women of colour, the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) issued a statement in support of students who faced “bureaucratic processes” recently, and issued 10 demands, which include an apology from the university.
Masuma Khan, a Muslim woman at Dalhousie University and the vice-president (academic and external) of the DSU, was the subject of a complaint following a Facebook post criticizing the university’s involvement in Canada 150 celebrations. Her story was widely reported by mainstream media.
However, the university later dropped the complaint against Khan on Oct. 25.
In October 2017, Kati George-Jim, an Indigenous member of Dalhousie University’s board of governors, said she faced institutionalized racism at a meeting, according to the Globe and Mail.
According to the article, George-Jim broke the rules that govern the meetings when she spoke up out of turn and was “harshly reprimanded” by the board chairman, who later apologized.
After these incidents, the DSU made a statement saying that Indigenous women, Muslim women, and more broadly racialized women are “under attack.”
“We write to express love and concern for them and all marginalized people on our campus, in a time when our university is failing us and needs to better support students,” the statement read.
Hunza Chaudhary, a third-year journalism and human rights student at Carleton University, said she has been following the news and updates from Dalhousie.
She said Khan was simply using social media to express her opinion and should not apologize to anyone.
“As a person of colour myself, I feel like I have to try twice as hard as white people to get where I want,” Chaudhary said.
Selali Ayitey-Wallace, programming co-ordinator at the Carleton University Students’ Association’s Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Hall (REC) Hall, said she’s not really shocked when she hears about incidents like the one at Dalhousie.
“I think it is very reflective of the fact that campus administrations and student union bodies like to pretend that they are super progressive and they are here for marginalized folks,” she said “That’s usually something that is in the policy and not actually in practice.”
However, Ayitey-Wallace said she is impressed by the amount of support Khan is getting.
“I hope she is aware that she’s not alone as she might feel at times,” she said. “Putting this on a wide scale helps people realize that this is going on, which makes it easier for everyone to share their stories. It is also a way to tell women of colour that such discrimination is well and alive.”
The demands also include a written public apology to Khan and George-Jim as well as releasing the number and demographic data of students who have been penalized and disciplined through the Senate Discipline Committee.
“This reminds me that although I try to be as vocal as I can be, I cannot always be as honest as I want to be because forces of capitalism and white supremacy mean that if I speak too loudly, if I speak too frankly, I might not be able to eat, which is what people tried to do to her as well,” Ayitey-Wallace said.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
