Saint Mary’s University (SMU) released a report Dec. 15, 2013 outlining recommendations to change sexual culture both on campus and abroad.
The report comes after frosh week chants at SMU that promoted non-consensual sex with underage girls in September 2013.
Saint Mary’s faced criticism for the orientation week, with one alumnus even returning his degree since he no longer wanted to be associated with the school.
The 110-page report was crafted by a president’s council, consisting of students, former cabinet members, and faculty and student representatives, according to a press release on the university website.
It outlines 20 recommendations including developing a university-wide Code of Conduct and revising the school’s sexual assault policy, gathering data on the prevalence of sexualized violence at SMU, increasing understanding of consent, and investigating and disciplining sexual predators.
“These chants highlight the prevalence of sexualized violence and the evolution of a rape culture in our society,” the report states. “Both of which are huge societal challenges in Canada and around the world.”
The frosh facilitators who led these chants likely didn’t even realize the impact of their actions, Wayne MacKay, head of the president’s council said.
“Students were quite uninformed about the real meaning of consent in sexual matters,” MacKay said via email.
Gorba Bhandari, the Saint Mary’s student association president and member of the president’s council, agreed with MacKay.
“I can’t emphasize enough how big of a problem it is,” he said. “It’s definitely something that came with the generation and is seen not just on our campus, but in our daily life and culture at large.”
The report also pointed to a similar incident that occurred at the University of British Columbia, prompting the university to release measures to address rape culture and sexual violence.
“We can do certain stuff at Saint Mary’s, but we’ve also been sharing the report with all university presidents,” SMU spokesperson Steve Proctor, said. “They are facing some of the same issues, and hopefully with a national focus on it, we’ll be able to actually affect the change we’re trying to instill.”
Proctor said the report emphasizes the need for a societal push for change.
“It’s going to take a community to keep driving us forward,” Proctor said. “This is not just a Saint Mary’s issue, this is a national societal issue, and it’s going to require national attention and champions to come up and support it all along the way.”
The report also suggests adjusting the relationship between the university and the student association. For orientation week, this means a heavier administrative presence in the planning and executing of the event.
“It will definitely be a different orientation than what we had this year,” Proctor said. “Negotiations are ongoing but the administration will surely have a much stronger role, and it will be much more like a Carleton orientation.”
The school has also committed to reporting the progress they make every six months for the next three years, according to Proctor.
