Tag: editorial

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Editorial: Think before you opt-out

From Nov. 12-14, Concordia students will be able to cast their vote for or against online opt-outs for fee levies. Let’s break down what that means. 

At its core, a fee levy is a small amount of money charged to students on a per-credit basis, which go back into providing essential student services. According to the Concordia Student Union (CSU), fee levy groups on campus receive either all or part of their annual operating budgets from per-credit fee levies.

Some of these groups include, but aren’t limited to: the Centre for Gender Advocacy, the People’s Potatoes, QPIRG, the Concordia Co-op Bookstore, Cinema Politica, CJLO, The Concordian and The Link, as well as the Concordia Food Coalition, Sustainable Concordia, the Concordia Greenhouse and so, so many more incredible groups on campus.

Students have always had the opportunity to opt-out of these services, but they have had to do so in person. This system affords groups the opportunity to explain their services to these individuals before they move forward with opting out. Online opt-outs would facilitate blind decisions to save a few bucks without understanding how important these services are to students across the university.

Many fee levy groups directly address important aspects of student life, and many groups have developed deep relationships with the student body. Groups like the People’s Potato and the Hive Cafe Solidarity Co-Operative provide hundreds of free lunches to students on both campuses. The Center for Gender Advocacy offer trans health resources and confidential peer support. We like to believe that student media groups such as ourselves help the Concordia community as well by reporting on all aspects of the university and holding the school accountable.

We at The Concordian strongly oppose online opt-outs, and we stand alongside all other fee-levy groups on campus, as many of us use their services on a regular basis. We urge students to vote no to online opt outs, not simply because we would not be able to exist as an organization without fee levies, but because the push for online opt-outs coincides with a significant increase to the athletic fee levy, which students cannot opt out of in any way.

This paints a clear picture of which services are valued by the university. We, on the other hand, believe every one of these groups holds value and deserves to be protected. 

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Editorial: A word about Halloween costumes

Graphic Jenny Kwan

With Halloween just two days away, we at The Concordian would like to take a second to remind everyone to be mindful of their choice for costumes.

While this holiday has come to represent fun, spookiness and candy, it has also been used as a free pass to (intentionally or not) belittle certain groups of people by wearing their identities as costumes without reprimand because “it’s just a costume,” or “it’s not supposed to be offensive.”

For starters, privileged people shouldn’t get to decide what is and isn’t offensive. Second of all, the impact people face as a result of their identity being reduced to a costume carries more weight than whatever the intent was.

Another person’s identity just… Isn’t a costume.

A little louder for the people in the back?

Another person’s identity is not a costume.

Seriously, guys, even Fox News gets this.

If you have to ask yourself “is this offensive?” the answer is probably yes.

Some inoffensive yet marvellous suggestions include, but are not limited to: CRAZY FROG, A COCA COLA BOTTLE, SHAWN MENDES, A CRAYON, YOUR FAVOURITE FROZEN CHARACTER, A LIZARD, OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S DOG, OUR CREATIVE DIRECTOR’S CAT…

You get the point. Literally anything that isn’t borrowing a person’s identity for a day without considering the systemic struggles they face, or reducing that identity to one stereotypical symbol.

 

Graphic Jenny Kwan

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Editorial: Why we excluded the People’s Party of Canada from our election coverage

As we were deciding how to layout the election coverage in the News section of our paper, we were faced with a decision: do we or do we not include Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada alongside the other contenders?

We debated for a while, but settled on a unanimous opinion: we, as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said during the English debate on Oct. 7, do not believe Bernier deserves a place on the stage.

In a tweet back in September, Bernier called 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg “clearly mentally unstable.” In fact, he went on to say Thunberg is “Not only autistic, but obsessive-compulsive, eating disorder, depression and lethargy, and she lives in a constant state of fear.”

Objectively, these are shitty things to say. These aren’t words anyone would expect from a potential leader of the country. What’s more, is he was saying these things in the context of climate change denial. He said efforts to address the climate crisis, like those undertaken by Thunberg, are “a movement that is a threat to our prosperity and civilisation. If [Thunberg] wants to play that role, she should be denounced and attacked.”

Denounced. And. Attacked.

Sorry, w h a t ?

It appears as though Bernier is a) not super into science and b) super into publicly insulting (and inciting violence towards?) children.

Furthermore, the People’s Party platform states on its website that “In a free society, immigrants have the right to cherish and maintain their cultural heritage, however, that doesn’t mean we have any obligation to help them preserve it.” It also says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has created “cult of diversity.”

Outside of the fact that a “cult of diversity” is, very obviously, an oxymoron, we at The Concordian firmly believe multiculturalism is something that should be encouraged and celebrated, not reduced to anti-Canadianism.

Everyone in this country, save for Indigenous people, is an immigrant. Let’s not pretend otherwise. The People’s Party wants to cut the annual amount of immigrants and refugees accepted into Canada in half, from 350,000 to between 100,000 and 150,000. They also want to interview every candidate for immigration to “assess the extent to which they align with Canadian values and societal norms,” according to the party’s website.

We at The Concordian believe that denying people the right to seek refuge or to create a better life for themselves is what does not align with Canadian values.

Lastly, the People’s Party website constantly uses the term “aboriginal,” which many Indigenous people have labelled problematic as the “ab” may carry the connotation of meaning “other” or “non” (think “abnormal”). When referring to Indigenous people, it’s important to ask them on an individual basis how they identify.

Despite the fact that some may be okay with the term “aboriginal,” others aren’t; so why not use a term that has not been flagged as problematic or insensitive? No other political party used “aboriginal” in their platform. It doesn’t take much to pay attention to these details, and the People’s Party’s inability to do so is concerning.

Obviously, as a newspaper, we know freedom of speech is important. But that doesn’t give a person the right to spew whatever hateful thoughts travel through their brain; especially not someone who is leading the country. The line is drawn when your opinions are inherently hateful or when they disrespect and invalidate other people’s existences.

So, “People’s Party,” but only if you don’t believe in the climate crisis, think bullying children is okay, and see diversity as a problem. Not our party. Not in our newspaper.

The Concordian would also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to participate in democracy and cast their vote on Oct. 21. This year, millennials make up the largest portion of the voting population.

 

Feature photo by Alex Hutchins

Editorial: Mandatory sexual assault training a step in the right direction

Photo by Alex Hutchins

The deadline of Oct. 4 to complete Concordia University’s mandatory sexual violence and prevention training, “It Takes All of Us”, is only a couple days away at the time of publication.

Concordia partnered with the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) and Knowledge One to create the online training. The training walks students and staff through a series of scenarios, definitions and education on what sexual violence means, especially on campus.

Over the past years, The Concordian has covered several stories regarding sexual violence at Concordia, including the recent sexual assault scandal in the university’s English department. The Concordian believes this training is a positive first step towards improving sexual violence education among students and staff.

But a step in the right direction doesn’t mean that the issue is suddenly solved, or that the university has done enough. It was only two years ago that Concordia ranked last among 15 Canadian universities in terms of sexual assault policies in the “Our Turn: A National, Student-Led Action Plan to End Campus Sexual Violence” report released Oct. 11, 2018.

Based on the reaction we heard from students, most believed that the training would have a positive impact on the Concordia community. Which is good, students should feel as though their university is moving in the right direction. Part of that process includes the university’s “Report of the Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence” that was released its findings two years ago. In it, the task force found that students had very little idea about where and how to actually report sexual violence on campus. This needs to change.

While The Concordian agrees that constructive, well-thought out training and education on the topic of sexual violence is always positive, education is only the beginning of truly affecting change. Definite and effective action from the university is necessary. Enforcing those policies that help reduce sexual violence, making necessary resources readily accessible on campus and reducing the barriers of reporting sexual violence to the university are the next steps towards making the Concordia campuses safer for all students and staff.

At the end of the day, this training is for the Concordia community. Part of this week’s editorial is dedicated to hearing from the community. We asked Concordia students about their thoughts on the training.

“Even as someone who considers myself fairly educated on consent and sexual assault awareness, I found the training super informative,” said fourth-year student Candice Pye. “It was also extremely easy to follow and quick to do. While a lot still needs to be done in terms of properly supporting survivors and preventing sexual violence at Concordia, I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction”

“I think it was a great idea and they did a good job at explaining what you should do in specific situations,” said second-year student Isabela Brandão. “I like the fact that they included what you should do to help someone that went through something like that and that they had slides for multiple types of situations. It was more than I expected. I thought it would be focus on strategies to avoid sexual assault (as it usually is) but they had information like, how to tell if your partner is unable to consent, different types of consent and for the most part the presentation was gender neutral. Overall, I think they did a fantastic job.”

“I think these trainings are always better in person due to their sensitive nature, however due to the size of the university I understand how that’s not possible,” said fourth-year student Becki Seguin. “I think sexual assault is difficult to navigate because there’s so many different components to try and include. That being said I think they did a great job. It was definitely prevention-based, but could have still touched a little more on victim support.”

Concordia implemented its most recent policies on sexual violence in September. Now’s the time to see if the university will deliver on action, as well as education.

 

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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Editorial: New year, new look

So, you may have noticed The Concordian looks a little different this week.

The simplicity that is the additional white space, the large font and cut-out images is something we’ve been wanting to try for a while – it just took us a couple weeks to get here.

In line with our recent shift to bi-weekly publications, we decided to reimagine the paper’s layout to bring it into the 21st century. Times are a-changin’, people, and we’re going to do our best to change with them, while maintaining our position as the bearer of news for the Concordia community and beyond.

We are hoping the simplistic view will allow our content to speak for itself as we move away from the look of a ~traditional newspaper.~

REST IN PEACE, fonts of our past. Sharp sans no. 1 bold, Brandon and Grafata; you’ve been good to us. But this is goodbye.

Before (print issue #1) vs. After (print issue #2)

So, what can you expect from us moving forward?

With a new team comes new content. Some of last year’s columns have been put to sleep to make way for new ones; ones that will keep you up to date on world politics and developments in the scientific world, for example.

With YUM or YIKES, you’ll be guided through which Montreal restaurants to indulge in and which to avoid like the plague.

What remains consistent, though, is our commitment to the Concordia community and to producing top content while helping to train the next generation of young journalists.

As always, we welcome new writers and pitches with open arms. Is there something you’re so painfully passionate about that it keeps you up at night? Would writing about it help you release some of that energy? Tell us about it. You’re looking at a group of people who spend production days intermittently listening to Hannah Montana songs, so there really is no judgement on our end.

We’re here to work for and with you, and we hope you like the new look.

 

Feature photo by Alex Hutchins

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Editorial: What’s new with The Concordian

The 2019-20 academic year at Concordia University is here. The familiar routine of book-buying, Tim-Horton-guzzling, shuttle-bus-taking, Stingers-cheering and library-seat-searching begins once again. For all returning students, welcome back to downtown living / NDG commuting. For all new students, welcome to Concordia, home of (the always terrifying) Buzz the mascot and the always-convenient Pizza Bella.

As The Concordian prepares for another busy year, our first editorial of the year is dedicated to what we’re doing differently in 2019-20.The biggest item on the agenda: we’re changing from a weekly printed newspaper to a bi-weekly printed newspaper, moving from 26 print issues a year to 16.

This doesn’t mean that you’ll be getting less news; the opposite actually. We felt like we were spending more time putting together a physical issue instead of reporting what was happening on campus in a timely manner. This change means we’re going to be able to provide you with more stories as we transition to a digital first approach.

There were a couple reasons for this decision. The first, of course, being to best serve the Concordia community. Another major reason was sustainability. Based on research done by The Concordian last year, we found that the vast majority of our readers catch up on Concordia news online. We also found that a lot of the physical copies of the paper weren’t being picked up, due to us printing too often and too many copies per issue.

This year, we’ve also reduced the number of copies to better reflect this. This means that we’re using significantly less paper. Our goal to have more students pick up copies of the paper without flooding both campuses with copies that will go unread. Keeping the print version of The Concordian was important to us because that’s how a lot of students first hear about us on campus. From there, many would then move from print, to being regular readers online.. It’s also the way many of our writers first heard of us.

This switch will help us better achieve our goal of producing consistent, timely, and valuable reporting to the Concordia community. Looking at the landscape of student journalism across Canada, we found that more and more publications have begun to take a digital-first approach, and that switch has helped them connect with their university communities more effectively.

For The Concordian, recognizing this trend in student media has helped us plan a clear vision for the future of the publication, which includes focusing on producing timely online content, producing more content, connecting with the Concordia community, being more environmentally conscious and preparing our staff for the digital needs of the media industry.

Anyways, that’s what’s new with us this year. From the editorial team at The Concordian, it’s good to be back. We look forward to waiting for the shuttle in -40°C with you.

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Feminism is not one-size-fits-all

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

For more than a century, International Women’s Day has celebrated the achievements of women and supported women’s movements around the world. According to the United Nations, March 8 is a day to recognize the achievements of women “without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.”

Yet too often, too many women are left behind by feminism; the focus is on achieving equality between men and women, without much consideration for the diversity of female experiences. As a movement fighting for equality, it is vital that feminism give a voice to all women, and tackle all women’s issues. Only by recognizing and valuing the unique experiences of women of colour, disabled women, trans women, LGBTQ+ women—and any other woman who doesn’t fit the standard “white” identity—will feminism have a hope of achieving true equality.

First coined in 1989 by American scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectional feminism highlights the multi-facetted identities of women and the importance of considering these identities when striving for equality. All women face inequality amongst their male peers, but it’s important to recognize that women of varying social identities are at even more of a disadvantage compared to both white men and white women. Those with less power face more abuse, and women of differing social identities are more vulnerable than white women.

Yet, when we hear about unequal pay, sexual violence and abuse of power, it is typically through the voices of white women. Take the #MeToo movement, for example. Although it was popularized when actress Alyssa Milano used it as a hashtag, the phrase was first used by Tarana Burke, a black woman, more than a decade earlier.

Closer to home, we can see instances in our own history when women of colour have been held a few steps behind white women. In 1940, women in Quebec were given the right to vote—white women that is. Chinese and Indo-Canadians only got the vote in 1947, Japanese-Canadians could only vote in 1948, and First Nations people were only allowed to vote in federal elections as of 1960. In all of these cases, the right to vote was withheld from both women and men in these groups. So while being a woman comes with its challenges, there are a lot of obstacles that comes from holding a particular ethnic identity as well.

This same trend can be seen in the fight for equal pay. A Statistics Canada report showed that Canadian women earn 73.5 cents for every dollar a man makes. While these figures are horrific and unfair, we need to remember that women from minorities make even less than that, according to The Globe and Mail. The earnings of all working women is about 31 per cent less than the combined earnings of all working men; but for women of colour, that gap is 37.5 per cent, and for Indigenous women it’s 54 per cent, according to Maclean’s. Trans women also face terrible pay equity, with male-to-female transgender workers seeing their earnings drop by nearly a third, according to Maclean’s.

Violence against certain groups of women is also amplified depending on their identities. Indigenous women, trans women and black women face dangerous and violent situations that are unimagined by white and privileged women.

There is not enough space on this page to list all the ways that women of different identities face obstacles and problems not experienced by white, able-bodied, cisgender women. But we at The Concordian believe even these few examples demonstrate the importance and necessity of including all women’s struggles in the fight for equality. We live in a diverse world and that shouldn’t be ignored. By understanding how different women live, we can do more to support everyone in this age-old movement for equality.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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Saving face shouldn’t be Concordia’s priority

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

When classes resumed following the winter break, the Concordia community was greeted by widely publicized allegations of sexual misconduct by instructors in the university’s creative writing program. These accusations came as a shock to some, but for many current and former English department students, they were simply a long-overdue acknowledgment of an “open secret.”

As was reported in the weeks that followed, the behaviour of certain teachers and the overall toxic, misogynistic environment of the creative writing program was not only common knowledge among many English department students—it had been publicly written about before. Former student Emma Healey published a personal essay online about her abusive relationship with an instructor years ago, and several students brought their concerns directly to the department in 2015.

Although it took the words of a male alumnus, Mike Spry, to finally catch the attention of the news media and the university’s administration, we at The Concordian are glad to see that, two months later, this problem has not been swept under the rug. An investigation into the allegations is underway. Two creative writing teachers have been suspended, and a task force is being assembled to review the university’s policies for preventing and dealing with sexual misconduct and sexual violence.

On Feb. 28, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) hosted a student congress to gather input about policy changes regarding sexual misconduct on campus directly from the student body. According to Leyla Sutherland, the CSU’s student life coordinator, these suggestions will be integrated into a proposal the union will present to the university’s administration.

One of the most prominent proposals for the task force discussed during the student congress was the implementation of university-funded, mandatory consent and power-dynamics training for all students, staff and faculty members. We at The Concordian strongly support this demand. The university should be a safe space for students to learn, flourish and achieve their academic goals. Staff and faculty members should support and empower student success, not hinder or threaten it.

Over the last few years, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) and the Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASAJMSB) have implemented mandatory consent training workshops for all of their frosh attendees. Ensuring student safety at frosh is vital, but sexual violence on campus is not limited to that first week of socializing and drinking. The Sexual Assault Resource Centre has also held consent workshops for Stingers teams and first-year students living in residence. It is long-overdue that Concordia’s administration follow the lead of its student associations and ensure its entire community is informed and protected throughout the year.

During the student congress, many students also voiced their anger about the way the university has handled sexual misconduct allegations in the past, claiming such incidents had been covered-up to protect Concordia’s reputation. This is why we at The Concordian believe university-implemented consent training should come with an acknowledgement by Concordia of its shortcomings.

Throughout their university degree, most students will hear at least one professor reiterate a variation of Socrates’s statement: “All I know is that I know nothing.” These words are meant to remind students that, in order to learn, one must first set aside their ego and admit they are ignorant.

As an educational institution, Concordia should also be willing to learn—and this begins by admitting mistakes and ignorance. Doing so would represent a commitment by the university to prioritize long-term, concrete change over its short-term public relations goals. Doing so would be a first step in rebuilding confidence in the university’s ability to protect its students and prioritize their well-being.

Although there is still a lot of work to be done, we at The Concordian believe there is reason to hope for substantial, positive change. But we would like to remind Concordia’s administration why this change did not come sooner. When students spoke up, the administration did not listen.

So, to the university’s administration: please turn to page two of this newspaper and read our coverage of the CSU student congress. The students are speaking; are you listening?

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The history too many of us were never taught

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

It’s that time of year again. No, not Valentine’s Day or reading week—Black History Month. As we all know, the shortest month of the year is dedicated to the important and integral topic of black history. We at The Concordian believe it’s not enough to confine the celebration of black history to a single month. Instead, it should be recognized throughout the year, and more importantly, black history should be taught in all school curriculums regularly.

There’s no such thing as “White History Month,” because every month is white history month. Our classes and our textbooks show the world through a white, Eurocentric lens. In elementary school, we were taught very briefly about Indigenous residential schools in Quebec, and our lessons of black history are limited to slavery—mostly in the United States, despite its prominence in Canada until it was abolished in 1834. This needs to change. We at The Concordian believe it’s time to start implementing courses that accurately include black history, and that those courses be taught by black professors. We think it’s about time to include black history as an integral part of Canada’s, Quebec’s and Montreal’s history.

In fact, it’s even an important part of Concordia’s history. In 1969, the largest student occupation in Canadian history occurred at Sir George Williams University, now Concordia’s downtown campus. Six black students accused biology professor Perry Anderson of racism, alleging their white peers received higher marks for identical work. The hearings for this investigation were a source of controversy among the student body, as Anderson was found not guilty of racism towards the six complainants. In response, the students led others to a sit-in on the ninth floor of the Hall building, in the computer centre. The protest lasted 14 days and resulted in the destruction of computers and windows, and the arrest of 97 demonstrators.

This example of institutionalized racism shaped Concordia into what it is today. We need to remember this, and we need to remember black history everyday. But our knowledge shouldn’t be limited to civil rights, racism and slavery. As Myrna Lashley, this year’s Montreal Black History Month co-spokesperson, told the Montreal Gazette, “We have always been here […] Black people have fought in wars here. Black people had their own hockey leagues. But nobody talks about that.”

We at The Concordian strongly believe we must stop separating black history from what is now understood as “white,” mainstream history. Black artists, educators, doctors, scientists, historians and athletes have made enormous contributions to the society we live in today. It’s unfair to limit their celebration to just one month, and to ignore them for the rest of the year.

To truly reconcile the mainstream history we’ve been taught with the history we never learned, Black History Month must be acknowledged more often. Universities, including Concordia, should implement more black history, culture and stories into courses. It also shouldn’t exclusively be the responsibility of black Canadians to publicize Black History Month.

One way to acknowledge this month is by reading more about black history; you can also watch the documentary Ninth Floor by Mina Shum that details the 1969 Sir George Williams University protests. You can take part in discussions and seminars that deepen your understanding of black history and black people’s contributions to our society. You can also view the Mois de l’histoire des Noirs committee’s website, where they keep a list of events held throughout Montreal.  And most importantly: keep Black History Month alive throughout the year. Not just in February.

It’s our responsibility to learn more about our own history—and that history includes black history. If we look outside of what we’ve been taught, it is not difficult to realize the massive impact black people have made in our society. It’s easy for us to look around and see the ways in which our society has become a better place because of black people and our shared history. And we can’t limit that to the shortest month of the year.

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Bell Let’s Talk needs to be more than just talk

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

As most of us know, Jan. 31 was dedicated to the mental health awareness campaign Bell Let’s Talk. On that day, the telecommunications powerhouse donated five cents to Canadian mental health initiatives for every text message or call made between Bell users and for social media engagement ranging from viewing Bell Let’s Talk videos to using the campaign’s Snapchat filter to tweeting #BellLetsTalk.

The purpose of all this, according to the campaign’s website, is to reduce the stigma around mental illness, improve access to care and support mental health research. Since the first Bell Let’s Talk Day in 2011, the awareness campaign has raised $93.4 million (nearly $7 million on Jan. 31, 2018). This is undoubtedly a tremendous contribution to our society. In Quebec alone, 16 mental health institutions, organizations and hospitals have received between $200,000 and $2 million in funds from Bell Let’s Talk since 2011 (for a total contribution of about $9.4 million).

The initiative is about more than just money though. It’s about starting a conversation. Statistics Canada estimates one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness at some point in their life. Scrolling through social media feeds on Jan. 31 revealed countless stories about these Canadians and their experiences with mental illness. People opened up about their struggles, their journey and their hope. That evening, CTV aired “In Their Own Words: A Bell Let’s Talk Day Special” in which regular Canadians spoke openly about their mental health.

These stories are the stories that give others the strength to speak up. These are the stories that will spark empathy among those who might otherwise alienate. These are the stories that will change the way our society perceives and responds to mental illness. Bell Let’s Talk Day has certainly played a major role in making these stories heard. Yet, we at The Concordian want to remind our readers of the necessity to keep this conversation going and to build off of Bell’s initiative.

Tweeting a campaign hashtag or liking a video on Facebook one day a year is only the first step in a process that requires consistency and concrete action. If your social media activity contributed to the funds collected on Jan. 31, thank you. But do not think that absolves you of your responsibility to support this cause for the rest of the year.

In the book Digital Mosaic: Media, Power and Identity in Canada, author and communications professor David Taras warns that activism on social media tends to give users “the illusion of involvement without its substance.” This can lead many to substitute real commitment and action with “cheap and convenient” Internet activism. It is a behaviour Taras and other scholars refer to as “slacktivism.” It is a trap we at The Concordian caution you against falling into.

So keep the conversation going, and keep it going outside of the digital world. Be proud of your involvement in Bell Let’s Talk Day, but don’t think that alone makes you a mental health advocate. If you truly care about this initiative, expect more from yourself. Share your story or support others who do; educate yourself about what language can be harmful or helpful; challenge stereotypes and misconceptions. If you truly care about this initiative, truly get involved. Mental health issues and our society’s perception of them are complex; change requires much more than just one day.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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Objecting to objective reporting

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.

When people think of journalism, they might think of gathering information and disseminating objective, balanced news stories to the public. Or, at least, that’s what they used to think. It’s unrealistic to assume that something as fast-paced as the journalism industry would never experience change. History shows that it has—and that it will. We at The Concordian think it is time to embrace a new change: the fact that objectivity in journalism does not exist. It has never existed.

To be objective means to not be influenced by personal feelings or opinions when considering and representing facts. To do so is not humanly possible. We are all shaped and influenced by our identity—our culture, our community, our lived experiences. These things inevitably affect how we see the world.

What has long been referred to as objectivity in journalism is simply the perception of the world through the eyes of the people who dominated newsrooms: straight, cisgender, white men. Objective reporting did not mean feelings or opinions did not influence the way stories were analyzed and told. It simply meant that stories were solely analyzed and told using a historically dominant lens. This is not acceptable.

It is time for journalists to acknowledge the factors that influence their storytelling. And to realize that these influences are not necessarily bad things. Allowing writers from various marginalized communities—be they women, people of colour, members of the LGBTQ+ community—to draw on their knowledge and experiences opens up inclusive dialogues and brings different perspectives to the table. It would allow journalists to tell stories everyone can relate to—not just some people.

Of course, that isn’t to say that facts and truth don’t exist. Journalism—or at least good journalism—should always be truthful and accurate. However, we must realize that even good journalism will never be completely objective. The way we place our quotes in a story, the people we interview, the headlines we choose and the way we edit all come from a subjective place in ourselves. Our thoughts affect the way we choose to tell a story, regardless of our efforts to remain objective. The truth is, no story is objective—and neither are we.

We at The Concordian think it’s time to approach journalism and research in a different way. It is time that we call out the injustices in the media industry and outline the ways we can begin to improve. Journalism schools around the world should begin to implement courses that discard the notion of objectivity as a defining element of journalism. The current standards of “equitable” reporting that we are being taught in school are not sufficient. Completely excluding our subjective experiences is not only wrong, it is impossible.

Research and reporting are human activities, therefore, they are messy and complicated. Most of the time, you cannot generalize research. The world is not an exact science. While there is truth and fact, there is no such thing as objectivity or neutrality in the way we see the world. To be better journalists and better people, we must take individual experiences into account. We must look to marginalized communities. We should seek to challenge the power structures in our societies rather than support them. We must use our research and reporting as a medium for social change, rather than social control.

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth 

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Believing women is not a radical idea

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.

Whether it’s the good, the bad or the oh-so-ugly, what happens in Hollywood often feels detached from our everyday reality. Perhaps this is why, despite the entertainment industry’s widely discussed “open secret” of rampant sexual misconduct and abuse of power, it can be upsetting and even shocking to learn of disturbing allegations at our very own university. What is even more troubling, however, is the fact that sexual harassment and assault at Concordia has never been a secret at all.

Recently, sexual misconduct allegations at the hands of Concordia professors have surfaced. An online essay written by Mike Spry, a former Concordia creative writing student, described cases of professors from the English department abusing their academic power to prey on students. Although no professors were named, the essay includes claims that English professors had sexually harassed female students. According to Spry, one professor even rented a hotel room so he could “entertain young writers away from his house and family.” The essay also mentioned “drunken nights of misbehaviour” and how professors would coerce female students into inappropriate and sexual situations under the guise of discussing their creative work.

Last week, Concordia president Alan Shepard announced that the university is taking several steps to investigate the allegations. He also claimed he was unaware of the incidents until early last week when Spry’s essay was published. We at The Concordian think it’s important to note that numerous current and former female Concordia students have been speaking up about the English department’s sexually abusive, toxic environment for years.

Similar allegations of sexual misconduct in the English department were made public in 2014 by former student Emma Healey in her online essay titled “Stories Like Passwords.” In response to Healey’s allegations, several students wrote a formal letter to the English department in 2015 describing the inappropriate atmosphere and stating they felt “uncomfortable and unsafe,” according to the Toronto Star.

Heather O’Neill, a Montreal author, has also spoken out about experiencing sexual misconduct at the hands of the late Concordia professor Robert Allen when she was a student in the late 1990s. According to The Globe and Mail, O’Neill described the sexual harassment and abuse of power within the department as “pervasive.” Stephen Henighan, a former student of Allen’s, told the Toronto Star that the “toxic culture” in the creative writing program can be traced back to the mid-1980s.

It is crucial to point out that many people at Concordia failed to support these students or investigate their claims. The university should have pursued these allegations earlier. Even The Concordian and The Link failed to report on the issue when Healey and O’Neill’s claims were made public, or when any of the other female students’ claims were submitted to the department. We all failed these victims.

While we remain hopeful about the investigative actions Concordia claims to be taking now, we would like to highlight that we are all at fault for this delayed response. We need to listen to survivors when they come forward. We need to give victims the benefit of the doubt. We need to be proactive when we hear even a whisper of an allegation. We need to do better—all of us.

The harsh truth is that Concordia would not be addressing these allegations had it not been for Spry’s essay. It is extremely unfortunate that it took a male writer making these claims for us to finally take action, while, for years, many female voices went unheard.

Abuse of power is a complex problem that must not be ignored. To do so would be incredibly irresponsible. We at The Concordian hope the publicity surrounding the recent allegations at Concordia teaches us all to do a better job of listening, believing and taking action—the first time.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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