Carleton Students and Faculty Respond to "F--k Safe Space"

OTTAWA, Sept. 23, 2014 /CNW/ - Today, from 12-2 pm, the Graduate Students' Association (GSA) and concerned faculty at Carleton University are hosting a panel and town hall in response to the "Fuck Safe Space" incident of September 7. The event will be held in the River Building Atrium at Carleton University, University Drive.

The Building Safe(r) Spaces event is being hosted with sponsorship from the Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA).

The event will begin with a panel featuring Legal Studies Professors Dawn Moore and Doris Buss, lawyer and community member Leslie Robertson, 4th year undergraduate student Julia Allen, and queer social worker DJ Freedman. Following the panel will be a townhall led by Dillon Black, who is a student in Social Work at Carleton and the project coordinator for the Ottawa Coalition To End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW).

The "Fuck Safe Space" shirts and three known incidents of sexual assault point to the broader issues of rape culture, homophobia, transphobia, and a lack of safe spaces on our campus. The GSA and its partners are dedicated to facilitating a discussion of these issues in order to begin building safe(r) spaces for the Carleton community.

"The GSA recognizes that these shirts are not an isolated incident. The choice to reject safe space stems from a campus culture that does not prioritize the well-being of minority students. Our campaigns are actively working to challenge this culture and create safe[r] spaces on our campus, and this event is contributing to this work," said GSA president Christina Muehlberger.

"We saw a need for further response and I am very excited that we have been able to come together with members of the Carleton community to begin to address these issues," said GSA Sexual Assault Outreach Coordinator Abigail Kidd, "We are challenging the culture on our campus that results in sexual assaults, victim blaming, and violence against staff, students, and faculty."

We invite the media to join the Carleton community for this important event.

SOURCE: Carleton University Graduate Students' Association

Media Contacts: 

Abigail Kidd, Sexual Assault Outreach Coordinator
Graduate Students' Association, Carleton University
Cell: 613-413-2108
[email protected]

Dana Holtby, Sexual Assault Outreach Coordinator
Graduate Students' Association, Carleton University
Cell: 613-292-6204
[email protected]
(Aussi disponible pour les entrevues en français.)

Christina Muehlberger, President
Graduate Students' Association, Carleton University
Cell: 613-327-2886
[email protected]