A group of students organized a sit-in protest to draw atttention to the issue of sexual assault on campus.
On Friday, April 8, the administration met with dozens of students outside of UBC president Arvind Gupta's office on the seventh floor of Koerner Library for the "SIT IN AT UBC: Acknowledge Rape Happens" event.
Members of the Women’s Centre and other UBC activist groups marched from the SUB to the president's office in Koerner Library in order to share their grievances about how the university handles education around sexual assault.
Leaders of the Women’s Centre collective began by explaining their frustration at current campaigns around sexual assault such as the Don’t Walk Alone posters that have been put up throughout the university.
“We’re sick and tired of the same old trite rhetoric of don’t walk alone,” said one of the collective's representatives.
In President Gupta’s absence due to a trip to China, the university sent UBC VP Students, Louise Cowin, to address the students' concerns.
“The university would like to work with you in cooperation and collaboration to ensure that your needs are met," said Cowin. "We have made significant efforts to create to identify and educate on what sexual assault is.”
Cowin’s speech, focusing on the unity between students with a desire to bring change and the university’s willingness to act, was met with criticism from student leaders.
Kelly Gerlings, a fourth-year Arts student, recalled her involvement with the IAmAStudent movement where the university outwardly stated that they were willing to work with students while none of the needs were actually met.
“They are not connected to the student experience whatsoever. They don’t see us, they don’t hear us,” Gerlings said. “I’m not convinced the university will actually do anything.”
As with the UBC's response to student concerns about tuition and residence fee increases, many of the students felt neglected by how the university attempts to combat the issue of sexual assault on campus. They wanted to be more involved in the decision-making and consultation processes when it comes to policy changes.
This year, however, the students assembled a list of specific goals they wanted the administration to address. These include funding for an independent sexual assault survivors group and increased training for residence advisors and Frosh leaders.
Emily Monaghan, a second-year Arts student, believes that the Women’s Centre has learned from their past experiences with activism and communication with the administration.
“Last year we wanted to exert our rage collectively, we wanted to create visibility,” said Monaghan, of the protests that occurred following the string of sexual assaults that occurred on campus in the fall of 2013. “This is specifically addressing the administration. We narrowed our scope, our reach was more direct and coming with a clear list of demands is more productive that way.”
Throughout the morning, students met the administration's rhetoric of meetings and working together with requests for specific dates and promises from the university.
Students also criticized UBC’s policies on the education around sexual assault and their attempts to claim a campus safety that does not align with the experiences of students.
Alexis Wolfe, a second-year Arts student, said that the university's emphasis on how safe the campus is does not line up with the sexual assault statistics.
“The university is creating a product to sell to women’s parents," said Wolfe. "It’s very clear that they're trying to sell this package of safety, that sexual assault is on the decline. It’s not true, women don’t feel like they can go anywhere.”
Members of the Women's Centre collective also pointed out that during many first year orientations, there will be discussions about safe sex and distribution of condoms and lubricants, but less emphasis placed on educating students about what constitutes sexual assault and where to report it.
The Women’s Centre hopes to push the university to address these issues by lobbying for self-defence training for women and LGBTQ students and providing education sessions.
Anne Kessler, the outgoing AMS VP academic, came to the event to observe the discussion. She also mentioned that the AMS supports student movements and their right to address the administration.
“As a current exec on AMS I think that [sexual assault] is something we should be talking about,” said Kessler.
Student activists noted that one difficulty in getting the attention of the university lies in the fact that the majority of students rarely appeal to the administration for change. Though some mentioned that the administration’s will to listen should not be based on the numbers of students that appear at events, many expressed their desire to see a future where activist groups collaborate in order to create stronger coalitions.
Gerlings also said that student activists hope to see greater numbers and more support from their campus in addressing student issues in the coming year, with resource groups and student activism networks assisting one another.
“We need to get more people together," said Gerlings. "Then, we can bring everyone together and keep that pressure on the university.”