The Dalhousie University announced on Oct. 25, that it was suspending any disciplinary action against Masuma Khan, a member of the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU), according to a press release.
Khan, vice-president (academic and external) of the DSU, was being investigated for violating the university’s code of conduct after criticizing the DSU’s involvement in Canada 150 celebrations with a Facebook post this past summer.
The complaint was made by Michael Smith, a graduate student in Dalhousie’s history department, according to a CBC article.
According to a statement by Arig al-Shaibah, the university’s vice-provost (student affairs), Khan’s Facebook post started with “Fuck you all” and ended with ‘#whitefragilitycankissmyass’ and ‘#whitetearsarentsacred.’
In the statement, al-Shaibah said that after reading Khan’s post, she recognized that “ . . . the substance of the post in question sought to passionately express allyship for Indigenous peoples and name the legacy of colonialism.”
But, she went on to say that Dalhousie also has a commitment to “ . . . fostering an inclusive, respectful and equitable campus where students of diverse backgrounds feel welcomed.”
According to al-Shaibah, after discussing her concerns surrounding the post with Khan, she decided to delete the post voluntarily.
“It was an act of solidarity with Indigenous people,” Khan said of her post. “It was a conversation that was happening across the nation so student unions like Ryerson’s were talking about not partaking in Canada 150. Once that happened, there were some unwelcome remarks at the table.”
A motion by the DSU to boycott Canada Day also created controversy earlier this summer.
Although stating that the post was directed as a response to the controversy surrounding Canada 150 and the student union, Khan admited that it was not well-phrased.
“I would say people did misunderstand it, and people were saying ‘you didn’t use the best language’ and I agree, but for me, this was a moment of pain,” she said.
That “pain,” she stated, was both a personal response as well as a political message.
“I think it’s a pain that all racialized and marginalized people feel when you’re seeing what systemic racism is in systems that have historically oppressed racialized people. You’re looking at colonial structure; they’re inherently racist structures,” she said.
But Smith, who wrote an op-ed in the National Post against the DSU’s actions, took exception to Khan’s actions regarding her conduct on the student union as well as her public comments.
A claim was subsequently submitted that Khan had been using hate speech against those who identify as white. The university began collecting evidence regarding a potential violation of the university’s Student Code of Conduct, which states that “No student shall engage in unwelcome or persistent conduct that the student knows, or ought to reasonably know, would cause another person to feel demeaned, intimidated or harassed.”
In September, the DSU held a vote on whether or not to impeach Khan over the controversy—the vote failed to pass.
According to Khan, the actions taken against her may have been racially motivated.
“The complaint that Michael Smith wrote, that the university validated, was a racist complaint,” she said. “He called me an immigrant.”
She said that the things Smith said about her, are things that he assumed from her Facebook posts.
“The university validated this sort of thought about me. We told the vice-provost: ‘you know I’m not an immigrant’, she looked at me surprised,” Khan said.
In her statement, al-Shaibah said that she was withdrawing the complaint against Khan.
“Now more than ever, we need to create spaces where diverse perspectives can be heard, where we can develop skills for critical dialogue and coalition-building, and where we can become better social justice advocates and allies,” al-Shaibah said.
