Failing to discipline welcome week representatives

*name has been changed to protect identity

Jamie*, a science student and former faculty rep, was not expecting they would have to file a human rights complaint against three fellow science representatives. But due to a lack of clear disciplinary action, they have had to go the McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office to report three students who repeatedly used the n-word on social media.

On Mar. 31, the day before the first day of Welcome Week representative training, one of the representatives in question posed a video of himself and two other representatives using the n-word onto his public Snapchat story. Unsure of their next course of action, Jamie recorded the video.

They decided to hold off on sharing it until Aug. 30, when they witnessed the planners taking decisive actions against other representatives who were behaving in a similar manner.

“So in my [rep group], there were two girls who were treating me like a [stereotype], using certain phrases and when I told them to stop, they just laughed. I brought it up to the [Welcome Week science] planners and they were cut the next morning,” they said.

“So the night this happened, I sent the video forward to my executive, who forwarded it to the planners. I figured 'oh if you're going to handle this issue you might as well handle this one,’” they added.

The planners then set up a meeting with Jamie the next day and promised all science representatives would receive additional training after Welcome Week. Jamie then contacted McMaster Students Union Diversity Services on Sept. 1, who tried to help them through the MSU branch.

Two of the representatives were still allowed to participate during Welcome Week and have not received any additional training. 

According to Jamie, Diversity Services was not contacted to facilitate any additional anti-oppression practices training other than the general session given to all Welcome Week representatives during their Aug. training. Diversity Services later confirmed this via email.

After talking with the planners and the MSU vice president (Administration), Diversity Services relayed to Jamie that they could not further censure the representatives in question because they were not in their representative suits in the video. Jamie, however, questions the legitimacy of that ruling.

“In our first email from our planners, it said whether you're in the suit or not in the suit, you're still representing the Faculty of Science and science representatives,” they said.

After nearly two months, Jamie decided to post the full video in the Rep Network Facebook group on Oct. 27, where they asked why these students were allowed to continue to represent the Faculty of Science.

Within an hour, the video was taken down and Jamie was kicked out of the Rep Network group. They received an email from the McMaster Science Society president and the Welcome Week faculty coordinator, both of whom gave them different reasons for being kicked out of the group.

The former stated that the video had potentially triggering content and cited that for its removal while the latter stated they had not posted the video with the consent of those recorded. Jamie asked to be added back to the group, but still remains barred from it.

Both stated that disciplinary action had been taken, but neitthem would elaborate to Jamie what course of action had been taken. Two of the representatives were still allowed to participate during Welcome Week and have not received any additional training. The third rep in question was cut from the team because he failed to show up to a social event he had planned as an executive.

Following this experience, Jamie has filed a formal complaint with the Equity and Inclusion Office and hopes that no one else will go through such an ordeal.

“I'm hoping there will be a framework in the future, that way when someone comes forward with something like this, there's a protocol to follow and that in the event that the people involved are too close to the issue, that the planners and whoever else is involved can reach out to other bodies on campus,” they said.

“That way when you bring something up you're not left in the dark, the issue isn't brushed aside and something like this isn't allowed to flourish during the whole Welcome Week repping experience,” they added.

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