HALIFAX — The Dalhousie Student Union says women of colour are under attack and the university is failing to support them.
In a statement on systemic racism endorsed by the council Wednesday night, the student executive says Indigenous, Muslim and other racialized women are under attack and the university has failed to adequately support marginalized students.
The statement includes a list of 10 demands, including calling on the Halifax university to issue a public apology to two students they say were subjected to "bureaucratic processes that uphold racist and colonial institutional policies."
Masuma Khan, a Muslim student leader who wears a hijab, and Kati George-Jim, an Indigenous student and member of Dalhousie's board of governors, have both been involved in high-profile disputes with the university's administration.
Khan was threatened with sanctions over a profane social media post that criticized white fragility while George-Jim took on the board of governors for what she called institutionalized racism.
The student union's demands also include launching an external investigation into Dalhousie's disciplinary process against Khan, and publicly releasing the demographic data of students investigated by the senate discipline committee.
The student council also voted to draft an issues policy document based on the statement.
The document is expected to lay out the student union's position on systemic racism at the university.
