A recent anonymous post on the “Spotted at Carleton U” Facebook page criticizing the undergraduate advisor for the school of communications has resulted in students receiving emails, warning them they had violated Carleton’s workplace harassment policy through interactions with the post, whether they had commented or simply “liked” it.
Criticisms that are worth addressing were made in this post. While the vast majority of affected students just received a scolding email, some reported being called to a mandatory meeting with Student Affairs to discuss their alleged violation of said policies.
This incident proves that students are unaware of the policies put in place or their rights. By having buried and unclear rules regarding what students can and cannot say about staff members, the university is not effectively protecting staff from harassment or teaching students how to behave professionally.
It is apparent that some students were surprised by the actions the university has taken to address the issue. This further proves the ambiguity surrounding the policies that are put in place to protect both parties.
The university should make these policies more accessible to students and should be transparent about the extent to which students could be monitored by their faculties, including on social media. Moreover, clear policies should be put in place that distinguish workplace harassment from legitimate criticism.
If these policies are not transparent to students and faculty, this could result in students being afraid to make sincere criticisms about their university known, which could create an imbalance of power that gives the university the upper hand.
