As the 2017-18 school year wraps up, The Charlatan reviews some of the top news stories of the year. These are the stories that have generated the most campus conversation or controversy—as well as a few fun ones to remember.
Crowdfunding campaign helps formerly homeless student attend Carleton
Ben Williamson, a formerly homeless 18-year-old with cerebral palsy, fulfilled his dream of attending Carleton earlier this year after a professor started a GoFundMe page on his behalf.
Williamson’s page, started by Susan Burhoe, quickly saw donations flood in, and has since surpassed $45,000.
Where’s the story now?
According to a recent conversation with the Charlatan, Williamson said he is adjusting well to his studies at Carleton.
“The student culture and everything else has been amazing, but other things have been hard such as the accessibility on campus,” he said. “For the large part, however, [Carleton] has been the most accessible campus I’ve seen so far.”
Former Carleton professor freed from French prison
Former Carleton contract professor, Hassan Diab, returned home on January 16 after being held in French prison for three years on terrorism charges.
Diab was arrested by the RCMP in 2008, and was held in Canadian prison until he was sent to France. He was finally relieved of all charges in 2017, but an appeal is still pending for his case.
Where’s the story now?
Rania Tfaily, Diab’s wife, spoke to the Charlatan about life after Diab’s release.
“He is mostly now taking it day by day,” she said. “When he was coming back, I mean, everything was new . . . It was a step-by-step [adjustment] to what had changed.”
Diab and Tfaily will both speak at a conference at the University of Ottawa hosted by the Innocence Project—an organization which re-examines cases where incarcerated people may have been wrongfully convicted—on April 5.
Student criticizes sexual violence policy
Brittany Galler, the outgoing vice-president (programming) with the Rideau River Residence Association, criticized the university’s Sexual Violence Policy after she alleged she was sexually assaulted in residence last summer.
Galler said that Housing and Residence Life Services moved her to a different floor, but that the accused also had access to that floor for a few days before she was moved to another residence, and he was later evicted.
Her story came in the wake of backlash following accusations that Carleton’s Sexual Violence Policy was not survivor-centric enough.
Where’s the story now?
In a recent conversation with the Charlatan, Galler said that she has a “court date [set] next year around this time.”
“[Carleton officials] don’t really do an investigation internally when you’ve gone to the police, so I’m kind of at a standstill here,” she said.
Galler said that she is also putting together “some key points in policy that really need changing immediately” with Our Turn, a student group dedicated to combatting campus sexual violence.
‘No confidence’ win leads to byelection
A campaign to vote for ‘no confidence’ came in the wake of debate on campus and on social media about transparency in the 2018 Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) election. ‘No confidence’ eventually won three out of six executive positions: president, vice-president (internal), and vice-president (student services).
A byelection was held in March, following key changes to the CUSA bylaws that allowed for increased advertisement, a longer nomination period and the election period to be spread out over a whole month.
Where’s the story now?
In March, two of the three candidates from the One Carleton slate that sought re-election were elected—David Oladejo was elected as president and Natalie York as vice-president (internal)—while one position was won by Confidence slate candidate Diana Idibe (vice-president student services).
Current CUSA president Zameer Masjedee said that this byelection was important for changes to be made.
“I think it was important for us to be able to recognize that there was a problem with our old electoral system, and unfortunately, that was a problem that never came to light in past years,” he said.
CUPE 2424 goes on strike
After failing to reach an agreement with the university on a new collective agreement, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2424 went on strike on March 5.
The union picketed at both campus entrances for just over four weeks after failing to reach an agreement with the university regarding perceived concessions to pension language. Campus services, notably including Health and Counselling Services, were affected as more than 850 technical, administrative, and support staff were on strike.
The month-long strike was met with widespread coverage, and included open letters from students and faculty centered around mental health concerns and access to campus. Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also visited the picket line and addressed supporters.
Where’s the story now?
The union and university came to a tentative agreement on April 2, resulting in an end to the picket lines.
On April 3, CUPE 2424 members voted to ratify the new collective agreement, which included more protections for pension rights and salary increases over three years.
All union members returned to work and campus services resumed normal operations on April 4.
BONUS: The man behind the mask: Dan the Unicorn
The CUSA byelection saw a mysterious masked presidential candidate named Dan the Unicorn in the running, who revealed himself at the executive debate on March 19.
Nick Drain, a recently-elected Faculty of Public Affairs councillor, was the man behind the unicorn mask, whose campaign promises included the introduction of Harambe Memorial Day and replacing the Gandhi statue with Ken Bone.
Drain said the goals behind his candidacy were serious; he wanted to combat voter apathy and appeal to the “60 [per cent] that didn’t vote rather the 40 [per cent] that did”.
Where’s the story now?
Drain dropped out five days prior to the debate, as he would have had to give up his councillor position in order to continue with the presidential election.
