| Hi everyone!!!!!!! I haven't blogged in a while, and nothing serious for a very long time. This was just such a bad experience, I have to explain it to a whole lot of people in an unsecure fasion. Most probably know I am President of the Physics and Astronomy Students' Union (PASU). We're a daughter group of ASSU, and we have our own lounge in McLennan Physics (MP217). It has couches, desks, kitchen, foosball, and our office. Unfortunately, I recieved a couple complaints about students in the lounge talking in a racists, sexist, and sexually graphic manner that made one student so uncomfortable, they had to leave. As president, it is up to me to make sure every member of PASU is accounted for. At our last party, we witheld a pizza until after sundown for observers of ramadan. That is the type of thing that is necessary. So when it came to my attention that some students' comments were making others uncomfortable, I had to do something (as I assumed this was a problem). I went to LGBTQ (you can guess the letters) and got advice, and positive space posters and anti-racism magnets. I put the positive space poster and stickers up on the door and walls and the magnets where they stuck to. The postive space posters made no mention of LGBTQ and only had the rainbow triangle and "Positive Space". When most of the PASU Executive arrived, I asked them to join me in our office and I explained the complaints and how I was going to take the people who were said to be the worst aside and ask them to have a little more discretion with their comments. Well supposedly this was the absolute worst plan of action I could have done because everyone erupted at my putting up the positive space poster and my asking people to have discretion. Let me just say, I couldn't believe it. I asked the two people who were singled out by the complainant into the office individually, and I told them that I understood that their comments were just jokes, but unfortunately, not everyone is comfortable with such jokes, and not everyone understand that they are jokes. I asked them to just look at their audience when they say such comments, and make sure they are not shouting to everyone walking by. I didn't want to punish them, because it was just a case of them being over excited. However, the other council members, and much of their friends, believed what I had done was in violation of all values. Putting up this poster was somehow an affront to thier rights as humans. I don't know whether they were against the poster for homophobic reasons, as a symbol of my trying to control their speach, or over my not consulting them first, but I did not stay to find out because I was in utter disbelief. I left to calm down, and just try to get my thoughts organized. Unfortunately, I can't go into the political background necessary for you to make any decisions on this. The council members were not alone in their arguments, but were the most vocal and the ones who had an unbelievable amount of anger on their faces. The people that make these comments are the clique that the council members belong to, and they do outnumber the people that ran against them on the council (including myself). They definitely make others feel uncomfortable, and a first year has even called them immature (they are third years). They have brought in an electric guitar and an amp, and can be so loud, I cannot even hear myself talking. Currently, I am still in disbelief over this whole issue. Simon |
