A new strategy for engaging “conflict” is being developed at UBC.
Dr. Aftab Erfan, UBC’s director of dialogue and conflict management, is working on a framework to provide the campus community with resources on how to prevent interpersonal conflict escalation.
Erfan hopes the draft and implementation plan will be finalized by March or April.
At the November 28 AMS Council meeting, Erfan briefed the society on the document. She defined conflict as differences that “mobilize our emotions,” treating conflict as a “resource to be engaged and harvested” rather than a deficit.
“There is such a range of conflict that comes up in our institution,” Erfan told The Ubyssey, “so we need to get more targeted or nuanced about what tools we use to deal with different kinds of conflicts.”
The framework, which is still in draft form, comes shortly after a campus visit from conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro in October. The Equity and Inclusion Office hosted a discussion on July 23 in response to controversies leading up Shapiro’s visit, which Erfan mediated.
Erfan did not directly say the documents creation was in response to events on campus, but acknowledged it has a lot to do with today’s political climate.
“It is a response to a time of polarization in our society,” said Erfan. “… Political division, the whole conversation around gender relations, the race conversation … it is in response to this moment in time.”
The framework advises individuals to deal with conflict on an interpersonal level, favouring options like speaking directly with those one is in conflict with or seeking mediation from a third party.
While the current draft offers strategies like approaching authorities or the media for adjudication, Erfan says that this will be changed by the time of implementation.
“The framework does not try to say we should use the public opinion and media and social media as a way of resolving a conflict,” said Erfan. “What I find in my practice is that often when that happens, conflict escalates and it gets out of hand.”
The document argues that conflicts made public via word of mouth, social media or traditional media — like The Ubyssey — are a worst-case scenario for conflict escalation.
“It can cause irreparable damage to UBC’s reputation,” reads the document. “Even more costly is the erosion of trust in the institution, internally and externally.”
She might be referring to UBC’s reputation loss following negative news headlines in the past few years, prompting a national branding campaign last fall.
Other consequences of conflict escalation listed include damaged morale, well-being and mental health — all of which carry a financial penalty. The document notes investigations into formal complaints can be expensive. So can legal fees.
“The university also incurs costs related to sick leaves, turnover and donor loss when conflict is not addressed well,” reads the draft.
So how is conflict addressed well? According to the draft, it starts by teaching every member of UBC “conflict literacy,” including emotional management, “ability to name power and positionality” and knowledge of policies and resources.
Erfan says she’s “not going to make it mandatory anytime soon for everybody to pick up these skills.” Instead, material will be posted online for accessibility.
“There could be some videos, there could be some content through social media … sooner or later, there comes a moment when we need these skills or some of these capacities. And so I’d like to create something that people can Google pretty quickly.”
It also proposes that all academic and non-academic leaders develop “conflict fluency,” constituting a thorough understanding of institutional policies and preventing escalation.
Additionally, Erfan says she will form a small, dedicated team of specialists with “conflict mastery” who will intervene in specific situations necessitating “advanced competencies.”
“This framework sets an ambitious vision for UBC in the realm of conflict engagement … in leaning into and facing our conflicts we can create a more desirable reality,” she said.