Moving Forward Together
In the wake of the scandal surrounding a professor’s use of a racial slur in the classroom, AÉÉIPPSSA has worked with the Director of the School of Political Studies and the department heads to develop an expedient method to support students when they seek to hold professors to account. Academic Freedom comes with the complimentary responsibility of establishing trust, which has recently been badly eroded. We hope this mechanism will improve our ability to advocate for students and create classrooms that participate in invigorating critical discussions in a way that is respectful and considerate.
What should you do if you feel a professor is using hateful speech in the classroom?
Follow these steps :
Step One : Email or contact the professor
Step Two : Contact your academic representatives
Next Steps
If you are comfortable, contacting the professor through email or setting up an informal meeting may be a good way to explain your concerns.
Sometimes contacting your professor directly is unsuccessful or an ill-advised course of action. In this case, contact your academic representatives (vp.pol@aeeippssa.ca; vp.pap@aeeippssa.ca; vp.eil@aeeippssa.ca) explaining the situation. Depending on the severity of the claim we may refer you directly to bodies like the Human Rights Office or the Student Rights Centre to file a formal complaint.
In the event you would like a more expedient and informal route, we can offer mediation services. A mediation session, with the student, the professor, an academic representative and the Director of the School of Political Studies will be set up. Depending on your comfort level, you can present your own case during this session or the academic representative can do so on your behalf. Please note that we cannot offer legal counsel, in these cases, please refer to the bodies linked above.
If an agreement is reached during mediation, your student representative will check back in with you to ensure there have been no negative developments since.
If an agreement was unable to be reached, we will escalate the complaint as needed.