Recently a series of posts came to light on social media during the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) elections exposing controversial statements allegedly made by executive candidates from various slates a number of years ago.
The statements contained content of homophobic, misogynistic, and ableist nature, which sparked student backlash on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.
In a Facebook post, Caitlin Salvino, a fourth-year human rights and law student, said the behaviour shown by the candidates’ prior posts exemplifies the rape culture that exists at Carleton, and questioned the credibility of their stances to reform the current sexual violence policy.
“The purpose of this post is more to have individuals who are engaged in this behaviour and these posts to address [it],” she said in an interview.
The tweets made by a Change candidate resulted in tension at the executive debate on Jan. 30, each of the two slates taking their respective stance on the statements.
Anthony Galipeau, Change’s campaign manager, took issue with the motive behind the One Carleton candidate bringing the past tweets to the surface during a lecture.
“It’s been brought up in a way that seemed like it’s been brought up for electoral gain rather than for personal growth and development,” Galipeau said, adding that the matter adds to the “toxic atmosphere” of this year’s elections.
Galipeau added that the ideas expressed in the candidates’ past tweets no longer represents him and his views.
“[He] has been at the fore front of [student issues] and pushing for changes in regards to marginalized communities. That’s the man I’ve known for three years, that’s the man I think I’m going to know probably for the rest of my life,” Galipeau said.
The Elections Office said in a statement that the matter would not result in an electoral violation, but Galipeau said his slate might push for an appeal to the office’s decision.
“Ultimately I think my team and I want to explore it. It’s a matter of where we want to concentrate our resources,” he said.
Old posts made by various candidates from the One Carleton slate have also surfaced online. David Andrews, One Carleton campaign manager, was not available for comment at the time of publication.
Ruth Lau MacDonald, independent candidate for vice-president (internal), made a Facebook post that said “As a survivor, [of sexual violence] I have a lot to say about Sexual Violence and Consent at Carleton and in our society.”
She, however, wrote that the elections office and the ombudsperson discouraged her from speaking out against the posts until after the debate, as it could be seen as negative campaigning.
Frano Cavar, chief electoral officer of the CUSA elections, did not return requests for comment.
Despite her criticism of the candidates’ past social media posts, Salvino said they would still be eligible since “people change and grow as individuals.” Calvino said she looks forward to working with them on reforming the university’s current sexual violence policy.
Galipeau said the result of the posts that have come to light is that they could hurt students’ trust in the association and create an air of corruption around it.
“I think the net result of these Tweets and Facebook posts is that it’s going to turn people away from CUSA at large, as there’s this idea that both sides are corrupt,” Galipeau said.
– Photo by Shanice Pereira
