The undergraduate student representative on Carleton’s highest governing body has resigned after he allegedly disparaged a popular Arab cultural symbol.
Zane Colt has left his seat on the university’s Board of Governors following a tweet he sent Jan. 8.
Colt tweeted, “It frustrated me that it takes < 30 seconds from the moment I step off the bus until I see my first kiffiyeh on campus #israeladvocacy.”
A keffiyeh is a square scarf traditionally worn by Arab men, but has also been adopted by Palestinian resistance groups.
Colt said he misinterpreted the keffiyeh as a purely political symbol.
Colt, who was also the city-wide president of the Israel Awareness Committee, temporarily resigned from that position Jan. 10.
A petition to remove him from his position on the Board of Governors, which was slated to run until June 30, had garnered over 1,000 signatures.
Odai Hoorani, president of the General Union of Palestinian Students of Carleton University, moved a motion at a Jan. 19 emergency meeting of the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) calling for CUSA to endorse the petition, and for them to “unequivocally condemn” Colt for his tweet.
At the meeting, Colt, who was supported by his girlfriend, followed up with a spoken apology to council.
After much debate over the language of the motion and whether there was a point to endorsing the petition since Colt had resigned, the motion was delayed.
Too many councillors left or were kicked out of the room by the chair in order to continue the meeting.
When it became apparent the meeting wouldn’t continue, Hoorani said, “What just happened is really, really disgusting and a disservice to our society.”
However, he wouldn’t comment further for fear of jeopardizing his campaign to be the next president of CUSA.
CUSA chair Emile Scheffel said the motion will be discussed at the next council meeting, which hasn’t been set yet.
Scheffel, who worked with Colt as the Israel committee’s advocacy co-ordinator, temporarily recused himself because of the conflict of interest.
In an interview before the council meeting, Colt said, “It was truly a thoughtless remark,” adding he misinterpreted it as purely a political symbol and voluntarily resigned from the committee because he “didn’t want them to be drawn into my actions.”
Similarly, Colt said he didn’t want the Board of Governors to suffer because of his tweet.
“It got to a point where I didn’t want my remarks to tarnish the university reputation or affect the university as a whole,” he said. “I know it affected many students and I apologize for that.”
