Outrage among Carleton students, staff, and the greater Ottawa community prompted student frosh leaders to apologize for wearing shirts stating “FUCK SAFE SPACE” at an off-campus party following the end of orientation week.
In a public statement posted to the university’s website on behalf of the student leaders who helped run this year’s frosh week activities, the frosh facilitators apologized for their actions, calling the shirts’ messaging “misguided.”
“While our intentions were not to harm or disrespect anyone, the T-shirts in question were without a doubt inappropriate, inconsiderate, offensive and disgraceful,” the statement read.
The incident drew city-wide attention after Ottawa lawyer Leslie Robertson tweeted a photo of frosh leaders wearing the offending shirt near Brewer Park, across the street from the university, on Sept. 7. Other photos of students wearing the black tank top, with bright capital letters, were posted on social media but later deleted.
The students were attending an annual party known as “Sunday Sunday Sunday” to celebrate the end of their frosh week duties two days earlier.
Chanting “F U Ottawa U,” the students boarded three or four busses, according to Robertson.
“You don’t really need context when you’re walking down the street and you see that shirt,” she said. “It makes you feel unsafe.”
Many had accused the frosh leaders of promoting rape culture by wearing clothing that denounces “safe space.” The shirts said “OR ME” on the back, which some felt was an indication that the term had been sexualized.
Carleton has a safe-space program, which it defines as a “university-wide initiative to reduce the impact of homophobia and heterosexism on campus.”
Some frosh facilitators defended the shirts, and said they were meant to protest the university’s policy during orientation week that prohibits student leaders from swearing.
“The shirts were merely a statement against the coddling of first year students. Being told that we shouldn’t swear around them in no way helps to ease them into university life,” a student leader, who says he wasn’t wearing the shirt, told the Charlatan. “Rape is an awful crime and we would never promote such ridiculous behaviour.”
The students’ apology, in which the leaders promised to atone through community service, clarified the intention of the shirts didn’t justify their effect.
“Intent is not an excuse for impact and we take full responsibility for the seriousness of our actions,” the statement said. “It pains us to know that we have tarnished the name of our institution and the hard work of thousands of students, staff and faculty in creating a safe and inclusive environment.”
Ryan Flannagan, director of student affairs at Carleton, said there are instances during the week when the university is lenient on its swearing policy, for instance during the annual concert.
“We’re not zealots about it,” he said.
The Sept. 8 apology followed backlash on campus, which included a rally earlier that day in the University Centre atrium, where roughly a dozen volunteers engaged with students about the concept of safe spaces.
“I realized that obviously people are not 100 per cent sure what the term ‘safe space’ means and that’s why they made the mistake of putting that on a shirt,” rally organizer Julia Allen said. “When someone says ‘fuck safe space,’ it means fuck your safety on campus.”
Both the Graduate Students’ Association and Carleton University Students’ Association have condemned the shirts.
Carleton president Roseann Runte released a statement saying students involved in the incident will be reprimanded following further investigation. She said the incident didn’t undermine the effectiveness of frosh week but that “such behaviour is not acceptable and extremely disappointing to the broader Carleton community.”
—files from Radiyah Chowdhury
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