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FEATURES
THE CAMPUS NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Jeremy Audet, Features Editor » thecampus.features@gmail.com
BUnited Peer Support Centre offers a safe yet spirited Halloween Though it has only been up and running since the start of the year, the BUnited Peer Support Centre has not failed to make its mark on BU. Only two months into the year, the group has already put on dozens of events and started several initiatives like Wellness Wednesdays or the Community Cupboard that all students can benefit from. Most recently, the Peer Support Centre wrote itself into the Halloweekend tradition at Bishop’s by putting on a series of events to get students in the spooky spirit. The Peer Support Centre kicked off their weekend with an informative session on using naloxone to prevent overdoses. This initiative, dubbed “Harm Reduction Halloween,” included a training presentation on using naloxone, an emergency medication used to prevent opiate induced overdose, given by Jordi Hepburn. After the training, which was also broadcast on Instagram Live and subsequently posted to the BUnited Instagram page, attendees went home with their own naloxone kit to keep the Bishop’s community safe. On Thursday, the centre hosted a pumpkin painting event. From 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., students could show up there to receive free supplies and join in on the event. Pumpkin, paint, brushes, and cleaning supplies were all included. While students painted their pumpkins, the fireplace channel was broadcast on the screen while relaxing music played, setting the event in a warm and
calming atmosphere. Members of the Peer Support Team were available for individual consultation throughout the event, should students have had anything they needed to talk about. The kettle was full of hot water and tea was made available to attendees. On Saturday, the Peer Support Centre hosted a
Students viewing a Halloween movie marathon at the BUnited Peer Support Centre over Halloweekend. Photo courtesy of Theresa Graham
Take Back the Night hosts 2nd annual forum On October 21, Anika Malone and Scotia Sharpe, coleads of the Take Back the Night movement at Bishop’s, hosted a hybrid forum, welcoming about fifteen in-person attendees and another fifteen on Zoom. Last year’s forum, the first held at Bishop’s by the movement, generated a similar turnout but, despite the pandemic-related restrictions, the organizers managed to power through technical difficulties to ignite thoughtful and necessary discussion. The topics conferred upon have become a vital part of the Bishop’s community since Malone and Sharpe began advocating for better sexual assault response measures on campus two years ago. Sexual assault, consent, gender inclusivity, and the ecosystems of Bishop’s were dissected and studied by attendees who, prompted by questions from the organizers, discussed how we can, as a University community, better the situation on and off campus. Among the people present were, notably, Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Stine Linden-Andersen, ex-President of the SRC and Bishop’s alumni Morgan Gagnon, Sexual Aggression Response Coordinator Dominique Pelletier, and Student Services Counselor Jordi Hepburn. One quickly understood, given the significant turnout, that the problem of sexual assault at Bishop’s is being taken seriously by the student body and by faculty. However, no concrete steps for bettering the issue were presented or determined. Rather, and this is a positive note, the discussions generated ideas that will hopefully bring about the formation of future measures at the university. The forum, after all, created a safe space for discussing a topic that too often goes undiscussed – it is a step in the right direction. New to the forum this year was the inclusion of the Indigenous Cultural Alliance (ICA). Representatives from the group gave a presentation of how Indigenous women are far more often victims of sexual assault due to systemic racism and inequality. Their discourse was moving and earnest, and one immediately understood how prevalent and urgent the issue is for the Indigenous community. Discussions on the topic orbited around how to educate the student body on Indigenous issues and
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Halloween movie marathon from 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., complete with candy, chocolate, and costumes. A poll on their Instagram page had helped them choose the three movies they would be screening that night: Hocus Pocus (1993), Ghostbusters (1984), and Sweeny Todd (2007). The furniture had been shifted around in movie-theatre style to set the movie screening mood, and students could help themselves to candy, chocolate, and chips to snack on while the films played. Tea and juice were also made available. The laid-back atmosphere was perfect for a mellow Halloween. Not only did the Peer Support Centre screen movies on Halloween night, they also had a tent set up outside of Football House, where they had masks, candy, water, and other necessities should students find themselves in need. Their safety tent provided a pit stop for students heading towards campus or going home for the night. Despite the challenges COVID-19 has presented, the Peer Support team has had no trouble hitting the ground running. They have consistently managed to put on fantastic events for students to take advantage of and are certainly a welcome addition to campus life!
Jeremy Audet Features Editor
how to recognize the way those issues are ingrained in our colonial history, aspects of which remain prevalent today. Although the group discussions often veered into conjecture or stereotypes, especially regarding studentathletes, good ideas were brought forth. Attendees recognized, by meditating on the difficult questions asked, how big the issue of sexual assault is and how deep it flows. Malone hovered from group to group, attempting to bring the discussion back to Bishop’s, wanting the dialogue to be rooted in how we can make things better at our institution. Discussion continued on the topic of gender equity as it pertains to sexual assault. The presenters were quick to recognize that, in most cases, the presumed survivor of assault is a female and the perpetrator a male but the issue is much more complex than the binary assumption it carries around. In fact, as was frequently brought up, males can also be survivors of sexual assault, and oftentimes those survivors do not have access to as many reactive services as females do. Transexual and non-binary people are even more at risk, and, as such, the attendees were forced to question how we can create services that are available and inclusive to all. Furthermore, the attendees recognized that non-binary and transgender voices need to be heard and amplified in our community. Malone and Sharpe had opened the presentation with a list of services available on- and off-campus, and, although there are plenty of good, valuable, and effective services easily accessible for survivors, there is a large gap when it comes to proactive measures. The lack of proactive measures and the abundance of reactive measures seems to imply that sexual assault will inevitably happen and that we can only be so prepared to handle the crisis. This logic is flawed. Attendees quickly recognized that education, discussion, and action are increasingly vital to decrease the number of sexual assaults that occur. Morgan Gagnon, who recently completed her Masters in Philosophy at Concordia, gave a short speech on what stops survivors from reaching out and getting help. She brought up institutional barriers, a lack of resources, issues of stereotypes and racism to explain the grim reality. Sexual assault is a problem that roots from and goes far
beyond Bishop’s University. However, the organizers announced that a Committee on Sexual Culture will hopefully be established at Bishop’s this semester, where the ideas discussed during the forum will specifically be addressed and hopefully fulfilled. The impression is that Bishop’s is stuck with having to deal with all these deeply systemic and socially ingrained issues. However, in recent years the institution has implement effective and trusted resources that are there for any survivor of sexual assault. The forum accomplished one of the most important steps in addressing the issue on campus: it generated discussion, promoted education, and drove the topic further into the spotlight, away from the taboos and social blockades that attempt to ignore and disregard the problem. It seemed that the attendees were left not with a feeling of despair, but of hope. Take Back the Night is leading a virtual march in support of implementing a yearly mandatory bystander intervention training on Nov. 12 at 8:00 p.m. (for more info visit: Facebook Bishop’s Take Back the Night; or Instagram @butakebackthenight) For a list of resources available for survivors of sexual assault, visit: www.ubishops.ca/future-current-students/ student-campus-life/student-services/health-wellness/ sexual-assault/
Take Back the Night Forum, 2020. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Audet
