ubc history dept. head tina loo's response

1 Vancouver Campus History Department Room 1297 – 1873 East Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z1 16 November 2015 Ms. Ronna Syed CBC, the fifth estate 205 Wellington Street W., 4G200 Toronto, Ontario M5V 3G7 [email protected] Dear Ms. Syed, Thank you for your letters of November 9 and 12, 2015. In them you put a number of questions to me and I will be as open and transparent in my responses as the law allows. First, the suggestion that I tried to keep students from speaking publically about their stories is wrong. Media attention on sexual assault at universities is welcome as it focuses public attention on a critical social issue. The University and the History Department commend those who have survived sexual assault and choose to share their stories to help end the violence. We take sexual assault extremely seriously and welcome a constructive dialogue on how our administrative processes, which are separate and distinct from the criminal process, might be made clearer and more responsive. I can confirm that the “snakes in the room” comment was made during the July 31, 2014 meeting, though not by me. It was in response to the view expressed by others that spreading stories around campus might somehow help their cause. This comment was meant to communicate that making non-specific or unsubstantiated third-party allegations “is like saying there are snakes in the room and then turning the lights out.” In other words, non-specific or unsubstantiated third-party allegations, which cannot be addressed by any of our administrative processes, can sow fear and suspicion among students without any possible resolution, and as such can be counterproductive. With respect to the students’ petition/statement of March 31, 2015, my concern was that not only could it have a negative impact on an ongoing administrative process but it could also potentially leave the students themselves open to action as it could be viewed as defamatory. That said, I also made it clear to the students that they didn’t need my permission to release a public statement on harassment. In all I believe a total of five meetings were held with students around this issue. We care deeply about our students and believe it’s important to meet as many times as they feel

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Tina Loo, head of UBC's history department, responded to questions from the fifth estate about how she dealt with allegations of sexual assault brought to her by female students,

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Page 1: UBC History Dept. Head Tina Loo's Response

Vancouver Campus History Department Room 1297 – 1873 East Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z1

16November2015Ms.RonnaSyedCBC,thefifthestate205WellingtonStreetW.,4G200Toronto,[email protected],ThankyouforyourlettersofNovember9and12,2015.InthemyouputanumberofquestionstomeandIwillbeasopenandtransparentinmyresponsesasthelawallows.First,thesuggestionthatItriedtokeepstudentsfromspeakingpublicallyabouttheirstoriesiswrong.Mediaattentiononsexualassaultatuniversitiesiswelcomeasitfocusespublicattentiononacriticalsocialissue.TheUniversityandtheHistoryDepartmentcommendthosewhohavesurvivedsexualassaultandchoosetosharetheirstoriestohelpendtheviolence.Wetakesexualassaultextremelyseriouslyandwelcomeaconstructivedialogueonhowouradministrativeprocesses,whichareseparateanddistinctfromthecriminalprocess,mightbemadeclearerandmoreresponsive.Icanconfirmthatthe“snakesintheroom”commentwasmadeduringtheJuly31,2014meeting,thoughnotbyme.Itwasinresponsetotheviewexpressedbyothersthatspreadingstoriesaroundcampusmightsomehowhelptheircause.Thiscommentwasmeanttocommunicatethatmakingnon-specificorunsubstantiatedthird-partyallegations“islikesayingtherearesnakesintheroomandthenturningthelightsout.”Inotherwords,non-specificorunsubstantiatedthird-partyallegations,whichcannotbeaddressedbyanyofouradministrativeprocesses,cansowfearandsuspicionamongstudentswithoutanypossibleresolution,andassuchcanbecounterproductive.Withrespecttothestudents’petition/statementofMarch31,2015,myconcernwasthatnotonlycouldithaveanegativeimpactonanongoingadministrativeprocessbutitcouldalsopotentiallyleavethestudentsthemselvesopentoactionasitcouldbeviewedasdefamatory.Thatsaid,Ialsomadeitcleartothestudentsthattheydidn’tneedmypermissiontoreleaseapublicstatementonharassment.InallIbelieveatotaloffivemeetingswereheldwithstudentsaroundthisissue.Wecaredeeplyaboutourstudentsandbelieveit’simportanttomeetasmanytimesastheyfeel

Page 2: UBC History Dept. Head Tina Loo's Response

necessaryinorderforustounderstandtheirconcerns,explaintheUniversity’sprocesses,andreferthemtothesupportservicesavailabletostudentsoncampus..IdowanttoemphasizethattheUniversity–likethepolice–canonlyactonanallegationwhenanindividualwhohasbeenthetargetofsexualharassmentorassaultcomesforwardwithaspecificandformalcomplaint.Weappreciatehowdifficultitisforindividualstodoso,andwealwaysurgesurvivorstotakefulladvantageoftheon-campusresourcesavailabletoprovidethesupportandaccommodationstheyneedtocontinuetostudy,work,andliveoncampus.OnlyonedirectcomplainthascomeforwardtomeasDepartmentHead,andthatcomplainantwasreferredtotheappropriateoffice.Beyondactingonthisspecificcomplaint,overthepastyeartheDepartmenthastakenanumberofinitiativesdesignedtodischargeitscollectiveresponsibilityforcreatingasafeworkingandlearningenvironment,includinginstitutingmandatoryharassmenttrainingforallgraduatestudents,conveningaworkshopbytheAMSSexualAssaultSupportCentreaimedateducatingfacultyontheissueofsexualviolence,reinstitutingtheDepartment’sEquityOfficer,andstrikinganEquityCommitteetodraftclearguidelinesforhowconcernsaboutharassmentandsafetymightbedealtwithattheDepartmentlevel.ThetimelineyoureferenceiscorrectbutIhopeyoucanappreciatethatIamunabletodisclosewhatwassaidduringaparticularmeetingasitrelatestoaspecificcomplaint.Unlikeacriminalproceedingwheremuchoftheinformationispublic,UBC’snon-academicmisconductprocessisgovernedbyadministrativelaw.DisclosinginformationaboutspecificcaseswouldbeincontraventionofBritishColumbia’sFreedomofInformationandProtectionofPrivacyAct.Equallyimportantly,itwouldcompromisetheprivacyofsexualassaultsurvivorsandcoulddiscourageothervictimsofsexualviolencefromcomingforward.Sincerely,TinaLooProfessorandHead

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