Carleton’s Bachelor of Global and International Studies Students’ Society (BGInS Students’ Society) had to scramble to find a sponsorship for their second annual charity gala after students complained over the partnership with Oxfam Canada.
Oxfam Britain, a chapter of the global anti-poverty organization, came under fire after allegations from 2011 resurfaced. The organization was part of a relief effort in Haiti after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince in 2010, where it’s alleged that senior aid workers were involved in covering up the use of prostitutes, according to an investigation by the Times.
Noah Hollis, president of the BGInS Students’ Society, said they chose to partner with Oxfam Canada in December before the allegations came out. Oxfam Canada would provide the charity gala with a speaker in return for a donation, he said.
Once the allegations against Oxfam Britain began surfacing, Hollis said he continued the partnership with Oxfam Canada because the federal government had endorsed it.
However, once students began to voice their concerns, he said he began to reconsider.
“In the public’s eye, it was all of Oxfam that’s responsible. Whether or not that’s entirely true is up to people,” Hollis said.
Oxfam Canada has condemned the allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Their behavior was totally unacceptable—an appalling mark against the high values we set for ourselves at Oxfam,” said a statement on the Oxfam Canada website.
Hollis said he tried to clarify with students why the BGInS Students’ Society continued its partnership with Oxfam Canada, but the concerns kept coming in.
“It kind of built up and up until we realized this is an issue for people, we need to address it,” he said. “My role is do what the students want to do.”
To determine how students felt about Oxfam Canada’s participation at the charity gala, the BGInS Students’ Society held a survey. In addition to answering “yes,” “no,” or “not sure,” to partnering with Oxfam, Hollis said the survey allowed for students to explain in their own words why they responded the way they did. He added that they held the survey because he knew there were students who had opinions but weren’t voicing them.
“A lot of people filled that out with big paragraphs,” Hollis said. “We asked and we got answers.”
He said students voiced different opinions, with some not wanting to support Oxfam at all, and others saying Oxfam Canada shouldn’t be penalized for problems in the organization elsewhere in the world.
In the end, the BGInS Students’ Society decided to partner with the Canadian Centre for International Justice, an organization local to Ottawa.
Although it was difficult to find a new partnership last minute, Hollis said it was the right decision because Oxfam was a very “divisive” issue for something that’s supposed to be “a fun event.”
“I think some people were concerned, and I think if we had decided to stick with Oxfam Canada, there would have been people that were uncomfortable going to the gala and they would have probably requested refunds,” he said.
Hollis said Oxfam Canada understood their decision and remained open to working together in the future. He said he would consider working with them, depending on if policy changes are implemented.
He also said he doesn’t think ticket sales were affected.
In future years, Hollis said the Students’ Society will likely continue working with local groups, and ask students in advance what organization they’d like to see at the charity gala.
The gala is set to be held on March 9.
—with files from Brett Showler
Photo by Meagan Casalino
