On Sept. 4, the Algonquin Students’ Association (ASA) issued a press release to its members notifying them of changes to its 2013-14 board of directors.
These changes, in accordance with the students’ association’s bylaws, included the promotion of Sherline Pieris—originally elected to serve as vice-president—to the position of president, and Krisha Stanton as the new vice-president.
The announcement came nearly five months after the students’ association’s April retreat at a resort near Gananoque. At the retreat, an alleged incident took place for which Eli El-Chantiry, who was supposed to serve as this year’s president, is now facing sexual assault charges, according to court files obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
The ASA’s press release is not enough. Given the serious nature of El-Chantiry’s alleged conduct, it is important that the students’ association and university are transparent about what actually led to El-Chantiry’s dismissal.
The ASA has already waited far longer than it should have to be honest with its constituents, and its press release lacks any substantial information on the allegations. This could cause great damage to the situation by creating more uncertainty and perhaps adding to the perception of El-Chantiry’s guilt and confusion among students.
Because he is a student-elected representative slated to run an association in charge of many aspects of campus life, students deserve transparency with regard to El-Chantiry’s removal.
Students should be granted a byelection to vote for a new president, rather than the ASA simply promoting new representatives to fill El-Chantiry’s space.
