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WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015
VOLUME 108, ISSUE 72
Police investigating Rec Centre racist tweet
Luker named AVP student experience
Hamza Tariq NEWS EDITOR
Rita Rahmati GAZETTE STAFF
@HamzaAtGazette
@uwogazette
Western announced on Friday that Jana Luker will be replacing Angie Mandich as the associate vice-president student experience. “I really hope — and I think I can — make a valuable contribution. Student experience, student support is my life’s chosen profession,” said Luker, currently the executive director of services for students at McGill University. Luker has plenty of experience working with universities. She has previously worked at the University of Toronto, University of Guelph and St. Francis Xavier University. “Jana was selected because she displayed, above all else, an exceptional track record when it comes to student affairs at a variety of post-secondary institutions here in Canada,” Matt Helfand, University Students’ Council president, said. Helfand sat on a hiring panel with a variety of representatives from the university, housing, graduate students and an external hiring panel. In addition to her work experience, Luker has an extensive educational background. She has undergraduate degrees in psychology, women’s studies, physical and health education, as well as a Master of Education in counselling psychology and doctoral work in applied psychology. Luker has experience with Western as she went here for part of her undergraduate degree and is originally from Ontario. She looks forward to working at Western as it will bring her closer to her family, who still resides here. The associate vice-president position involves working with numerous centres and groups on campus. She will overlook the portfolios of the Student Success Centre, Indigenous Student Development Centre,
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Courtesy of Western University
I
FEEL REALLY PROUD TO BE ABLE TO BE PART OF THIS TEAM. WESTERN’S GOT SUCH A GREAT REPUTATION FOR STUDENT EXPERIENCE. I’M JUST SO THRILLED TO BE A PART OF THAT. JANA LUKER
NEWLY APPOINTED ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Entrepreneurship Centre and Athletics and Recreation. Helfand explained Western is already doing a sufficient job with student experience, however it is not necessarily being done in the most efficient way; Luker will be
able to help improve efficiency. “The first six months probably she will be learning and assessing what’s happening within the university, from orientation week to mental health services on campus. She’s going to be tasked with making sure we’re doing it in the most efficient way possible,” Helfand said. When Luker arrives she will be putting together a vision for Western through talking to students and staff, and trying to fill in any gaps currently missing. “She seems to be a very good fit for what we are looking for which is a student life professional,” Helfand said. Luker will begin her term June 1, 2015. “I feel really proud to be able to be part of this team. Western’s got such a great reputation for student experience. I’m just so thrilled to be a part of that,” Luker said.
On Monday, Western Student Recreation Centre’s weight room Twitter account was compromised and a racist slur was posted from it. The comment was deleted soon after and a tweet explaining the incident was made from the account. “ To n i g h t , the @WesternWeightRm account was compromised and a racist comment was posted. This will not be tolerated and is being investigated,” the tweet stated. Ever since then, no further tweets have been made from the account. The WSRC’s staff manages the account and posts regular updates with the number of people using the weight room and the cardio machines at the gym. The comment caused outrage across campus as both students and faculty members came forward with complaints to the university administration and Campus Police. An investigation by Campus Police has led to the identification of at least one person responsible for posting the tweet. “We have identified at least one person responsible for this and we are currently taking steps to remove him from campus as the investigation continues,” Keith Marnoch, director of media relations at Western, said. According to Marnoch, Campus
Police will be consulting with the crown attorney to see if any further measures need to be taken in this case. Neisha Cushing, professor in the department of sociology at King’s University College received a screenshot of the original tweet from a student. “One of the reasons why I think my own student was the one to bring this tweet to my attention is because we don’t shy away from these topics in my classroom,” she said. “Whoever posted that comment should be held accountable for their actions and it should be well known that anyone who engages in such behaviour is not welcome on our campuses. This reflects poorly on an institution that is locally, nationally, and internationally respected, for both its academic work and its students.” According to Cushing, the tweet is reflective of people who choose to bully and abuse others via social media. It sheds light on cowardly behaviour of those who hide behind the safety of computers and phones, and this behaviour is quite prevalent online. “In my opinion, there is no room for this kind of racism and ignorance at Western University. All of our students have the right to feel safe, welcomed and valued on our campuses. This kind of comment threatens those very things, and as a community, we should be outraged,” she said.
Courtesy of Twitter