Tag: workshops

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Concordia Student Union News

How the CSU and ASFA prepared for strikes during “week of mobilization”

Students decorating banners at the banner-making workshop on Monday Jan. 29 for the three-day tuition hike strikes last week. Photo by Matthew Daldalian / The Concordian

The Concordia Student Union and Arts and Science Federation of Associations hosted a banner painting event and picketing workshop.

Last Monday, Jan. 29, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) and the Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) began their week of action against the proposed provincial tuition hikes. A banner and sign making workshop co-hosted by the Arts & Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) and the CSU took place at 11:00 a.m. in the Art Nook located on the 7th floor of the Hall building. 

At the same location, a “Picketing 101” workshop was held from 3:00-4:30 p.m. the next day. During the event, ASFA mobilization coordinator Lily Charette spoke about the history and importance of strikes in the context of student activism in particular.

“When you have 10,000 students fail a semester [due to strikes] and they have to go back and retake that semester, you’re essentially doubling the amount of tuition that the government is paying for that one semester of school because everyone has to retake it,” she said, explaining how strikes put financial pressure on the government.

Charette also discussed ways the strikes put pressure on universities themselves, including on the ‘double cohort effect.’ “When you have a large group of students in a lot of departments fail a semester and have to retake that semester, [the university] now has major logistical issues in terms of having double the students having to take that 200- or 300-level class,” she said.

Students attending the banner and sign making workshop designed several banners that were used during picketing on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1-2. At the workshop, several students expressed enthusiasm about supporting the strikes, including second-year environment and sustainability science student, Maria Jennett. 

Jennett spoke to The Concordian about the impact of tuition hikes on current students: “Arts and science has already cut 10 per cent of classes, so the choices available to us are already going to be greatly reduced.”



She also touched on the inherent issues of the policy. “There are exemptions for students coming from France and for Francophone Belgians, but not for all of the Francophone countries in Africa. I think that’s blatantly racist,” she said. 

Fourth-year sociology and anthropology student Chloe Mayes chimed in with Jennett. “I see these tuition hikes as part of a broader politic of neoliberal austerity and the gutting of our public institutions and I resist that wholeheartedly,” Mayes said. 

At the picketing workshop, ASFA academic coordinator, Angelica Antonakopoulos, spoke to the importance of organizing student movements around the current capacities for mobilization. “When we have smaller strike actions, a lot of [the importance] is about building momentum to be able to have the capacity to take these larger actions,” she said.

Several other events were hosted in preparation for the strike. These included workshops covering lessons from the 2012 student strikes, Black radicalism, legal self-defense, prison abolition, anarchism & the student movement, and a screening of 5 Broken Cameras, a 2011 documentary covering Palestinian resistance in the West Bank.

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News

Concordia honours sexual assault and violence survivors during Consent and Care week

Students stop to learn about Zen Dens at the Sexual Health & Pleasure fair in the EV Atrium last Thursday, as part of SARC's Consent and Care Week. Photo by Lily Cowper / The Concordian

The week of Nov. 6 was Consent and Care week at Concordia, dedicated to support, honour and love sexual assault and violence survivors. The Sexual Assault and Violence Centre (SARC) hosted a week-long series of events, including a love letters to survivors workshop, lectures and many more. 

According to Jenna Rose, the SARC’s project coordinator, this is the first week-long event series for Consent and Care week hosted by the SARC. However, the centre’s reputation might be hindering their message.

SARC started the week with an event titled “How to create a safety plan,” which focused on helping someone in a violent situation and preparing an escape plan.

The “Practice active bystander intervention” workshop on Tuesday highlighted “the importance of intervening when we hear and/or see violence in order to build a safe and supportive community,” as detailed in the event’s description on Concordia’s website. 

On the interactive and artistic side, the SARC collaborated with Concordia Art Hives for the “Love letters to survivors” art workshop, where students and survivors created loving, supportive and empowering messages to honour survivors. 

On Wednesday, during the Sexual Health and Pleasure community fair, Rose believed the small number of students who attended the event was due to its novelty.

“I think with these [new events], a lot of people won’t know about them right away,” Rose said. “I know that Ontarian universities have their Consent and Care week events in April during Sexual Assault Awareness month. We might do the same next year.”

Salim, a former Concordia student, dropped out of school after his experience with the SARC. For anonymity purposes, The Concordian is using only his first name. He was not fully aware of what the planned events were, yet he feels this is not the best way to invite students to see the SARC when needed.

“I seriously doubt that those kinds of events are having the reach that they want, because most of the students who went through [the SARC], we don’t trust them,” Salim said. “So, we are obviously not going to attend anything that they are hosting. We’re not interested.”

Concordia has a long history of controversial accusations from victims, who claim the university has not done enough to keep students safe. In 2013, the university created the SARC. In 2018, CBC reported that six students had filed complaints against Concordia to Quebec’s Human Rights Commission since 2012. 

Since then, several policies on sexual assault and violence have been created, along with the Sexual Misconduct and Violence Committee (SMSV) in 2018. The SMSV has also been subjected to several scandals, such as being unsupportive and insensitive towards survivors. As a result, many students feel that Concordia still has not done enough regarding sexual assault and violence.

Salim is one of the many survivors who had negative experiences with the SARC, and he does not see these events as a gateway towards resolution. 

“It’s just so insulting to all of us [survivors],” Salim said. “It’s really sad for me because I know that this is not over and I’m not the last one. A lot of people are going to suffer because of the SARC.”

The Concordian reached out to other SARC members for an interview but has not heard back in time for the publication of this article.

Corrections:

  • In a previous version of this article, in the fifth paragraph, it was noted that one of the events, “Love letters to survivors”, was art therapy. That was not correct. The event was an art workshop, not therapeutic.
  • In the tenth paragraph, it was written that SARC was created after six student filed complaints to the Human Rights Commission. This is false. SARC was created after students collaborated with the university to create a safer campus. Also, in the following sentence, the CBC article cited did not match the timeliness of the previous sentence. We rearranged the wording to ensure the timelines matched in their respective contexts.

We apologize and take full responsibility for our mistakes.

Categories
Concordia Student Union News

A week long celebration of gender health

Day two of the Gender Health Hub focused on navigating being a trans patient as gender affirming care is expanding in the healthcare system. Photo by Kaitlynn Rodney / The Concordian

The CSU introduced their new Gender Health Hub with a week of workshops and events.

Last week, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) kicked off their new Gender Health Hub initiative with a Health Hub fair.

The Gender Health Hub is a network of Concordia groups and services that “connects students to holistic, feminist and trans-inclusive health and wellness services.”  It provides all students with free and easy-to-access gender related healthcare. 

The fair last week was a way for students to discover the services offered by the Hub. The week- long festivities took a community focus with workshops that were discussion and storytelling based. 

Some of the services offered include free menstrual and sexual health products, trans-patient support and advocacy, an abortion support hotline, as well as workshops and clinics on a variety of topics planned throughout the year.

The first workshop, conducted on Oct. 23, was on hormone literacy and discussed the role of hormones in menstruation, menopause, as well as hormonal replacement therapy. The CSU also provided goodie bags with menstrual products for those who stopped by. 

The second workshop on the following day focused on surviving the healthcare system as a transgender patient. Jacob Williams, a member of the Trans Patient Union at McGill, discussed his experiences in the system while opening the floor up to others to share as well.

Anthony, a student at Concordia, was happy to learn from these workshops and collect resources.

“I came here to help understand how to support my friend during his transition,” he said, “and after sitting through [the workshop] and hearing everyone’s experiences and how they had to do their own research and, in some cases, educate the doctors and fight for their health that intensely—it’s mind-blowing.” 

The Hub also showcased some of the other services the students have access to. They offered two more workshops that focused on mental health: an art therapy session that included coping techniques such as a body scan, and a mentoring workshop to create a safe space where students could share their experiences. 

For students who missed the workshops, the Hub presented its network at a health services table fair. Some of the groups participating in the event included the Centre for Gender Advocacy, Sex and Self Concordia, Woman on Web and a few others. 

To wrap up the week, students were invited to a party at Studio 414 on Saturday night, in celebration of this new project 

Hannah Jackson, external affairs and mobilization coordinator at the CSU, explained that this is just the beginning for the Gender Health Hub. More events will be held throughout the semester—like workshops on massages for scarwork, and other programs to help trans-patients navigate the bureaucracy of the healthcare system.

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Briefs News

Helping students feel safe while dealing with their mental health

Finding balance between school life and everyday life can be hard especially when you are struggling with issues such as Anxiety. The Concordia Accessibility Center put on a 4 week long workshop to help those who are struggling find balance. Kaitlynn Rodney/ The Concordian

The Access Centre for Students with Disabilities offers workshops to give students the tools they deserve on their journey

On Sept. 19, the Access Center for Student with Disabilities (ACSD) held the third part of their Coping with Anxiety online workshop, focusing on our thoughts and how to build a healthier relationship with them. The workshops are a four-part series offered to students registered in the ACSD. 

Moire Stevenson, the lead for disability accommodations at the ACSD, started doing these workshops at the university last year to help students with severe anxiety. 

She explained that a lot of students suffer from double down anxiety. This phenomenon happens when something triggers one’s anxiety and they start experiencing physical symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, heavy breathing, sweaty palms and weakness in the body. They then ask themselves why they’re getting anxious in the first place. The trigger, the physical response and the questioning topple on top of each other, causing double down anxiety. 

While the compilation of factors happening at once may be scary, Stevenson reassured students that anxiety itself doesn’t need to be scary.

“I think it’s really important for people to understand, especially if they’re struggling with [double down anxiety], that anxiety is natural and it protects us. So, that first trigger when the anxiety goes up, that’s supposed to happen,” Stevenson said. “It’s how we interpret all of that that starts to create more and more anxiety and we go from a functional level of anxiety to a less functional level of anxiety.”

Students begin the workshop by understanding the basics of anxiety and mindfulness: the present moment. Stevenson explains that the level and impact that anxiety has on students can influence change in their own life to remind them they are safe.

“What I’m really trying to do is to give tools and skills that we can continue to use for life.” Stevenson said.

“One of the main things I wanted to tackle going in is that sensation of not being able to do something because of the anxiety,” Stevenson said. “When I started here at the Access Center, that was something that concerned me, because I know we have a very high population of students with anxiety. I wanted to see, what is something I can do that will help these students not further feed that loop.”

Stevenson plans to restart this series for the Winter semester as a recurring workshop.

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Community Student Life

Mushroom Workshop At le Frigo vert

Workshop facilitator and herbalist Hunter Cubitt-Cooke has been a collective member of Le Frigo Vert for eight years. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

On Nov 2. 2022, Le Frigo Vert hosted a mushroom workshop where participants can learn about how to use mushrooms in a variety of ways.

Workshop attendees learned to make their own mushroom tinctures from red belted conk, birch polypore, chaga, and reishi mushrooms. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

Different mushroom tinctures. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

Different herbs, spices, and mushrooms that participants can choose from. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

The participant is seen putting mushroom tincture into their container. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

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Arts

Art Event Roundup: March

By Ashley Fish-Robertson & Veronique Morin

Spend some time this month treating yourself to a variety of exhibitions, performances, and more  

There’s perhaps no better way to usher in spring than with some visits to Montreal’s cultural venues. This month offers events that will especially appeal to the Concordia community. 

Film: 

  • FASA’s Black Cinema Club will be presenting movie screenings for four weeks as part of their Black History Semester programming. The first screening will be of Ganja and Hess, and will take place on March 16 at 6 p.m. Location: 1515 Saint-Catherine St W, EV 1.615.

Exhibitions:

  • The MAI will be presenting Nayla Dabaji’s latest exhibition titled documentaire en dérive from March 16 until April 16. Dabaji’s work centres on themes of migration, temporality, and more. Location: 3680 Jeanne-Mance St., suite 103.  

 

  • A gallery tour and discussion of Manidoowegin with artist Maria Hupfield will take place from March 17 to 19 as part of Concordia’s Conversations in Contemporary Art. Location: 5455 De Gaspé Ave. in room 110. 

 

  • Nicolas Party’s latest exhibition Mauve Twilight is on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until Oct. 16. This exhibition highlights Party’s signature whimsical style, offering over 100 works painted in saturated colours. Tickets can be purchased through the MMFA’s website. 

Dance: 

  • Agora will be presenting NIGHTLIGHT, a virtual dance show by George Stamos from March 11 to 20. Tickets can be purchased through the venue’s website. 

Workshops: 

  • Concordia’s Wellness Ambassadors and the Department of Creative Art Therapies will be virtually presenting The “art” of self-care series. Students will be afforded the opportunity to hop on Zoom and create art in a welcoming virtual environment. This event takes place every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. until April 12. The link for this series can be found on Concordia’s webpage. 

Theatre: 

  • RAGE – ORESTEIA REVISITED, written by Aeschylus, is a collage performance with an ensemble of Concordia students that will explore rage and revenge. This event will take place from March 16 to 19 at the D.B. Clarke Theatre. Location: 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.

 

Visuals courtesy James Fay

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Student Life

Embracing cheesy alternatives

Sheena Swirlz, the Concordia Greenhouse services programming coordinator, hosted a workshop on how to make plant-based cheeses.

Concordia Greenhouse workshops teach students how to make plant-based cheeses

From creamy cashew cheese to silky nacho dip and crumbly parmesan, students can learn how to make plant-based cheeses on Jan. 19, a workshop hosted by Sheena Swirlz, the services and programming coordinator for the Concordia Greenhouse.

“Cashews, lemon juice, salt, water and a bit of herbs, and that’s all you need to make animal-free, gluten-free parmesan,” Swirlz said at her most recent workshop, held at the greenhouse.

Since becoming vegan 16 years ago, Swirlz has created a website and hosted workshops to share easy recipes for vegan alternatives to many people’s favourite foods. At her workshops, she goes through the steps it takes to make all sorts of flavourful cheeses using simple ingredients. Among the recipes she has shared are a blue cheese dip, parmesan, nacho cheese sauce, cashew cheese and tofu ricotta.

Making each type of non-dairy cheese involves only four or five easy steps. Ingredients such as almond milk, cashews, nutritional yeast and spices can be used to create dips and cheeses that are spreadable, meltable or grateable—all without dairy. Rich in vitamins, cashews add a creamy and nutty flavour, Swirlz explained, while nutritional yeast helps give the cheese its “cheesy” taste and yellowish colour.

According to Swirlz, the only downside to homemade, plant-based cheese is the same as dairy cheese—it requires patience to properly ferment and develop the cheese’s smooth texture.

“Some vegan cheeses are sold for around $13 at the store, but if you make it yourself, it will cost you about $3,” she said. Swirlz explained that some people are skeptical about veganism because they think it’s costly, while others are unwilling to sacrifice the foods they love, although she insisted they don’t have to.

“You can find all of these ingredients right next door at Le Frigo Vert, the anti-capitalist food store,” Swirlz said. With veganism growing in popularity, she reassured those at the workshop that healthy eating has never been as simple and cheap as it is today.

“I chose to be vegan for animal ethics, and I honestly find it very simple because it just becomes a way of living, a lifestyle,” said Stephanie Plamondon, an organizer of the Montreal Vegan Festival, who attended the workshop on Jan. 12. “Once you have the vegan staples in your pantry, you’re good to go.”

“I’m probably the last person in this room to turn vegan, but this cheese is pretty damn good,” said Carl Bérubé, a workshop attendee, as he sunk a second nacho chip into the nutritional yeast cheese dip. Swirlz’s recipes seemed to please the crowd, many of whom said they heard from others that the cheese tasted delicious and were encouraged to attend the workshop, despite their varying palettes and diets.

Regardless of whether attendees were lactose intolerant, animal lovers or cheese fanatics, the takeaway was the same—homemade vegan cheese is not only delicious, but good for you, your pocket and the environment.

“I want to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle through diet,” Swirlz said. “For the environment and for the treatment of animals in Canada.”

For full recipes and information about upcoming workshops, check out Swirlz’s Facebook page or visit her website.

Photo by Sandra Hercegova

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News

Concordia ranks last in sexual assault study

Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre’s campaign poster. Photo by Alex Hutchins

University receives D- grade in student-led evaluation of sexual assault policies

Concordia’s sexual assault policies are the worst out of 15 major Canadian universities, according to a recent student-led study.

Our Turn: A National, Student-Led Action Plan to End Campus Sexual Violence, which was published on Oct. 11, looked at the sexual assault policies of 15 Canadian universities and graded them on a 100-point scale.

The best-ranked university was Ryerson, with 81 per cent, or an A-. Ryerson was followed by the University of British Columbia, with 78 per cent, and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, with 75.5 per cent. With a score of 52 per cent, or a D-, Concordia was the lowest-ranked university on the list.

The study based its scores on 45 weighted criteria. Among other reasons, Concordia’s policy had points deducted for failing to reference rape culture, punishing students for making false claims and for not processing faculty and staff claims using the same policy as students.

The evaluations were carried out by members of each university’s student union, using the 45-item checklist. According to CSU general coordinator Omar Riaz, the Concordia evaluation was overseen by academic and advocacy coordinator Asma Mushtaq and student life coordinator Leyla Sutherland. Neither executive could be reached for comment before publication.

Concordia University spokesperson Mary-Jo Barr said the university is “surprised by the findings of this particular report, as there appear to be several inaccuracies.” Six points were deducted from Concordia’s score for not having a standalone policy on sexual violence, even though such a policy has existed since May 2016. “We will follow up with the study authors to better understand the criteria employed and to seek corrections where necessary,” Barr said.

The study was authored by Our Turn, a collective of students from across Canada, chaired by Carleton students Caitlin Salvino, Kelsey Gilchrist and Jade Cooligan Pang. Our Turn started with a campaign to improve the new Carleton University Sexual Violence Policy in the fall of 2016. Three human rights students, including Salvino, drafted an open letter to the Carleton administration suggesting reforms to the incoming policy.

Despite collecting thousands of signatures from students, student groups and faculty, the changes were not implemented. As the students researched student-led solutions to campus sexual violence, they discovered other universities were facing “a crisis of campus sexual violence and an administration reluctant to work with students to address the issue,” according to the study.

To date, 20 student unions, including the CSU, have signed onto the National Our Turn Action Plan. There are three components to this plan: prevention, including awareness campaigns and support training; support, including the creation of a campus survivor network and academic accommodations for survivors; and advocacy, including student-led campaigns to reform existing sexual violence policies.

According to Barr, “this fall, the university will ask for online community input on the university’s Sexual Assault Working Group’s report recommendations, and members of the community will be encouraged to share their thoughts, concerns and perspectives.”

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Categories
Student Life

Encouraging the well-being of students

A creative arts workshop day will be held as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week

Connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment make up the acronym Chime In, which is a recently created student services group. “Our mandate is to help students better understand what the services are [at Concordia], how to access them and let them know what they do have access to,” said Alia Nurmohamed, a student representative at Chime In. “We are here for you. If you need something, there is always a willing hand to help.”

According to Nurmohamed, it can be very daunting to ask someone for help when starting at a new school. The vast service networks at universities can be confusing, particularly for students fresh out of CEGEP or high school. “It’s not that the [services] are hard to access, but sometimes it’s hard to navigate and the information isn’t always easy to find,” Nurmohamed said. “So having some place or some people who are always there to better direct students is a good goal to have.”

The group began in May 2017 and consists of students representatives Nurmohamed and Jade Se; Howard Magonet, the director of Concordia’s Counselling and Psychological Services; Jillian Ritchie, an outreach coordinator from AMI Quebec; and Alexis Lahorra, a student representative and youth mental health advocate for the mental health awareness student group Jack.org.

Chime In will be hosting a day of creative arts workshops on Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Library Building auditorium as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week. “To have a day of creative arts workshops speaks to everyone,” Nurmohamed said. “I personally believe that we all have our natural talents. Some of us naturally love music, reading—we all have these aspects in our lives that we turn to fulfill us, to sustain us.”

The various groups from Campus Wellness and Support Services will be present at the workshops, including Counselling and Psychological Services, Jack.org, AMI Quebec and Multi-Faith and Spirituality Centre. “There will be a Chime In member to help direct and talk to people—all of us are going to be there for this one purpose to raise awareness for mental health and well-being,” she said.

The event will feature five different workshops, one of which will be given by La Ruche, a community art studio created by Concordia’s creative arts therapy department. A large amount of art supplies for painting, drawing and sculpting will be made available to workshop participants. There will also be a creative writing workshop allowing participants to create their own graphic novel. “When you are writing for your well-being, it can be so deeply introspective, reflective and very personal—I think art and writing intersects in so many beautiful ways,” Nurmohamed said.

CJLO has prepared a silent disco as part of the music workshop where people can tune in to the radio with their smartphones, pop in their headphones and groove however they feel like in the moment. For those who enjoy physical relaxation, there will be a session of chair yoga. If you’re a fan of Concordia’s pet therapy program that takes place during midterm and finals, there will be a workshop offering some relaxing play time with a number of dogs. Cupcakes will also be provided at the event.

In addition to the workshops, there will be a banner where people can leave their own message of what well-being means for them. The banner will then be placed in common areas around campus. “Other students will be able to see what well-being means to their peers and just how much it touches every one of us all the time,” Nurmohamed said.

According to Nurmohamed, when people think of services at Concordia, they often think of health services in terms of physical bodily functions. “There is much more to that. Your well-being is every aspect of you—it is physical, mental, emotional and spiritual,” she said.

In order to fill in the gaps in the university’s services, Chime In student representative Jade Se is leading a new initiative called the Concordia Student Nightline. This active listening service will add to the similar services by other groups at Concordia. This student nightline will be available as a hotline for students to call and obtain well-being services at night and on the weekends.

Nurmohamed said students can access active listening services during the day from Counselling and Psychological Services and peer support at the Centre for Gender Advocacy and the Multi-Faith and Spirituality Centre. “But what happens at night? Or over the weekend?” she asked. Jack.org is among the other campus groups looking to better the well-being of students. The group often hosts social events like poetry slams, open mic nights and parties.

The university’s Counselling and Psychological Services also offer students access to eight sessions with a registered therapist. According to Nurmohamed, you can go through a 15-minute psychological triage, where you can talk to a professional and get some help, support, tools and resources.

“That’s what I like about Concordia—they never forget their students,” Nurmohamed said. “I’ve never met a group of administrators who are so willing to help all the time. Everyone that I have talked to about doing this, about the organization of this event, every group on campus is so for it. They just want to help. It’s a great way to remind people that we are here for you.”

All workshops are free and will take place on Thursday Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in Concordia University’s Library Building auditorium.

Graphic courtesy of Alia Nurmohamed

Categories
News

Consent workshops for freshmen at Concordia

Graphics by Alexa Hawksworth

For many freshmen, frosh is considered the ultimate social event to kick off university life. With everything from friends to beer to sex to textbooks on students’ minds, the question of consent often falls to the wayside.

“Frosh is here to make you feel like you’re included and accommodated for, but we’re also here to make sure that that happens in a really safe way,” ASFA president Julia Sutera Sardo told The Concordian.

As sexual assault is prevalent across university campuses, ASFA has made it clear to students that Concordia’s frosh events are no exception when it comes to prevention. For the past few years, ASFA has required mandatory consent training workshops for all students attending frosh events. Currently, ASFA and CASAJMSB are the only two Concordia student associations requiring these workshops.

“Sexual assault happens frequently at universities, and we have to be mindful of that,” Sutera Sardo said. “If [students] don’t do the training, they don’t come to frosh.”

According to Sutera Sardo, the consent workshops are organized primarily by the student associations and Terry Kyle, who is ASFA’s manager of student life. The training includes modules on harm reduction, consent, sexual assault, bystander intervention, gender and several other related issues.

Another Concordia organization that is heavily involved in sexual assault prevention on campus is the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC). According to coordinator Jennifer Drummond, SARC provides many services, such as delivering workshops and working with students to create campaigns on the topic of sexual violence prevention. The centre provides support services to survivors of sexual assault through one-on-one appointments, a drop-in centre and weekly group meetings. Drummond said SARC also works with the university to develop and implement policies on sexual violence prevention and response.

Drummond said she believes the implementation of mandatory consent training for students attending frosh has an impact on reducing the number of cases of sexual violence.

“I think the more people are knowledgeable about consent and how to have respectful relationships and communication, the better,” she said.

For students who might experience sexual violence at frosh, Drummond said there are many options.

“Those options can include calling the police, going to a designated centre or coming to SARC,” she said. “If someone witnesses something, I encourage people to intervene safely, when possible, and to check in with the person being targeted.”

Second-year Concordia students Erin Dunlop and Ben Fraser said they attended last year’s ASFA frosh and appreciated the mandatory consent training.

“You hear so many stories of sexual assaults happening at university events around the world. It was nice to see Concordia doing something about it,” Dunlop said. “Making it a mandatory prerequisite for attending the frosh events made me feel safer.”

Fraser said much of the training revolved around the presence of alcohol as a factor in sexual violence, as frosh events often entail a fair amount of heavy drinking.

“It was mostly focused on what to do in situations where consent is in a grey area,” he said. “People do stupid things at frosh.”

Dunlop agreed, saying she definitely sees the link between binge drinking and sexual assault.

“Predators prey on people who are vulnerable, and when there is alcohol involved, consent is compromised,” she said. “I was very lucky to have had a positive frosh experience, but I know that isn’t the case for everyone.”

While both of their frosh experiences involved being surrounded by binge drinking culture, Dunlop and Fraser said their frosh leaders were always checking in with them and making sure they were comfortable. They said they never felt forced to drink more than they wanted, and the leaders kept them out of trouble. However, Dunlop also noted there is always room for improvement in the trainings.

“Consent workshops are a good start, but there is always more that we can do,” she said. “There needs to be harsh penalties for people who commit sexual assault. It’s super important to focus on prevention, but we have to be careful to make sure the message is ‘don’t rape’ and not ‘don’t get raped.’”

While ASFA is constantly working to improve their workshops, Sutera Sardo said the most important thing Concordia can do right now is to implement university-wide consent trainings before frosh.

“I just hope that everyone is going to have mandatory consent training in the future,” Sutera Sardo said. “The more people get on board and talk about it, the better it is. Destigmatizing is what we should all be working on.”

Graphics by Alexa Hawksworth

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