Carleton student groups address anti-Ukrainian hate on campus

By
Elissa Mendes & Mark Ramzy
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Residence Commons at Carleton University is seen on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022 in Ottawa, Ont. (Arno Ryser/The Charlatan)

By: Elissa Mendes and Mark Ramzy, The Charlatan

Content warning: This article contains sensitive topics.

UPDATE: OPRIG Carleton released a response to CUSA’s statement on Jan. 30, which said the group “liaised with campus security to develop and ensure safety plans were followed,” despite not being the organizers of the event. 

The group also said CUSA did not investigate, lacked basic facts around and had no jurisdiction over the event. 

“CUSA easily could have connected all parties involved to resolve this conflict together,” the statement read. “Instead, CUSA has chosen to inflame tensions and escalate conflict within the student body in order to cover their own errors.”

OTTAWA (CUP) — The Carleton Ukrainian Students’ Club released an open letter Thursday detailing what the group refers to as a rise in anti-Ukrainian hate and harassment at Carleton University since September.

In response to the letter, Carleton media relations officer Steven Reid said in an email the university is taking the incidents seriously and will continue to do so.

“The university does not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment and acknowledges the important role we play in helping students and visitors to our campus feel safe, secure and supported,” Reid wrote. “All reports of incidents on campus have been and will continue to be taken seriously.”

The university has yet to release a public statement on the matter.

The letter includes several reports of anti-Ukrainian graffiti on Carleton’s campus, Russian flags displayed in residence windows, and one student’s experience receiving violent, anti-Ukranian threats in a residence building elevator.

According to the letter, the Ottawa Police Service has opened an investigation into the latter two incidents. The Charlatan has not confirmed this.

In September, when the first report of anti-Ukrainian graffiti surfaced, Reid told the Charlatan the university would be investigating the matter and sharing details as they come, but never followed up.

Controversial panel event on campus

The letter also references a panel event titled “The War in Ukraine: What is the path to peace?” that was held on campus this past Tuesday. The letter described the event as a “pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation event” that was “unauthorized” by the university.

“CUSA and campus security did not follow through on their promises [to rescind the event’s booking and ensure the presence of security],” the club’s letter reads. “Students [felt] incredibly unsafe in vocalizing their opinions and in walking home wearing Ukrainian symbols after the event.”

The event was organized by the Ottawa Peace Council, according to posters promoting the event on campus.

The same posters stated the event’s discussion would “bring out alternative views about the war in Ukraine.” The letter alleges the panel did not meet the university’s event-booking procedures, such as the completion of a risk management form and seeking approval for posters.

The council posted a tweet Friday, saying it opposes the war in Ukraine and denounces accusations the event promoted hatred.

Larry Wasslen, a Ukrainian-Canadian Carleton alum who participated in the panel as a member of the Ottawa Peace Council, told the Charlatan the group made it clear it is against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but sought a diplomatic solution rather than a military one.

“Every single member of the panel condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said.

The letter calls for a number of actions from the university, including the creation of a university policy condemning propaganda and disinformation surrounding the war and the banning of the event’s organizers from campus.

“We consider Carleton University’s inaction towards this escalating pattern of hate against Ukranian students as tolerance of harassment and discrimination,” the letter states.

In response to the letter, the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) released its own statement affirming the association’s support for Ukrainian students.

CUSA president Anastasia Stoikos-Lettieri told the Charlatan she supported the Ukrainian students’ club’s statement and said the university failed to act to stop the event.

“[CUSA] swiftly advocated for that room booking to be cancelled,” she said. “We’re really displeased with the fact that the university did not listen to us, and quite frankly, put a lot of students in serious danger,” she said.

Student advocacy group gets blamed

The statement also alleges OPIRG Carleton, a student-funded advocacy group focusing on social and environmental justice, was responsible for booking the event.

Wasslen confirmed in an interview with the Charlatan that the Ottawa Peace Council asked the group to do this.

CUSA’s statement called on OPIRG Carleton’s space-booking abilities to be revoked and a referendum be held on the group’s student levy fee.

Undergraduate students currently pay $4.09 per term to fund the group. The referendum question needs to go to CUSA council and be approved to be held.

Carleton Ukrainian Students’ Club vice-president Erin Okrainec told the Charlatan the group appreciated CUSA’s statement and endorsed CUSA’s calls-to-action regarding OPIRG Carleton.

She added the club saw the statement and amended it before it was posted.

“We’re very happy with the support that CUSA is giving students,” Okrainec said.

Okrainec is also the speaker of CUSA council and a faculty of public affairs councillor.

An OPIRG Carleton staff member told the Charlatan the group will not be making a statement until its board discusses the situation and reaches a consensus next week.

This article was shared via the CUP Wire, maintained by the Canadian University Press.