Dalhousie student faces disciplinary action over Canada 150 post

A Dalhousie University studentis facing disciplinary action over a post she made toFacebook in the summer about Canada 150 celebrations.

Masuma Khansaid she was given the option to undergo counselling and write a reflective essay after the Halifax-based school conducted an investigation into a complaint about her online comments, but she says she refused.

"It was really offensive, to be honest, for the university to tell me that they're going to teach me how to talk about racism in a more collaborative way, when racism is very harsh there's no nice way to talk about it," the 22-year-old Muslim womansaid.

"We're going to do everything we can to let Dalhousie know that this is not OKand it's not appropriate."

Post in response to DSU decision

Earlier this year, Khan, who isa vice-president of theDalhousie Student Union (DSU), put forward a motion that the groupnot participate in Canada 150 celebrations. The executive passed her motion, saying it wouldn't hold or endorse Canada Day events on campus,describingthis year's events as an act of colonialism.

The student union faced a serious backlash over the decision and Khan took tosocial media in response, writing that "white fragility can kiss my ass. Your white tears aren't sacred, this land is."

The Facebookpost has since been deleted.

It prompted graduate student Michael Smith to write a scathing op-ed piece in the National Post, which argued that DSU was censoring anyone opposed to its decision.

Khan's lawyer,NashaNijhawan, said the only formal and written complaint she saw was fromSmith, but they were told the university had received up to a dozen informal complaints.

Khan saidshe doesn't regret the online post, but recognizes that it may have hurt some people. That wasn't her intention, she said; she was simply trying to reflect her own experiences dealing with racism.

Lawyer 'surprised' by university's actions

Dalhousie's vice-provost of student affairs,ArigalShaibah, found there was enough of a basis to the complaint to conduct an investigation, according to Khan's lawyer, who has taken on the case pro-bono.

"It was the university's position that the complaint was founded and thatMasuma'sFacebookpost constituted personal harassment under their policy, and that she should have known that her post would have been demeaning to people who identify as white," Nijhawan said.

The university moved to a formal discipline process after Khan rejected their informal resolution,Nijhawansaid.

"I'm surprised, I have to say, that a university is taking this position against a student considering how entrenched and really well-established the right to free speechespecially political speech[is] on university campuses," she said.

"I don't think that there was anything offensive about whatMasumasaideven if she did swear."

University won't comment

A Dalhousie spokesperson said the university could not comment on the specifics of any allegations, saying thatthe matter is "ongoing."

"There is notyeta decision by the university," JanetBrysonwrote in an email, noting that the school's code of conduct ensures students can raise concerns about actions they feel may disrupttheir learning environment.

When complaints of this nature are receivedand there is sufficient information to suggest a potential violation of the code, "we engage in efforts to resolve issues through informal, educational and conversational means," she said.

If that doesn't work, Bryson said the matter is then referred to the university's senate discipline committee, which conducts hearings into all complaints or allegations of violations of academic integrity and non-academic misconduct.

'I'm not apologetic'

Nijhawan said they were told the fact that Masumawas a student leader was a factor in the investigation, but the lawyer was quick to point out that DSU is a separate organization, meaning that Khan does not occupy a formal position of leadership within the university

Last month, a fellowDSU councillor brought forward a motion to seeking to impeach Khan, but it was shot down.

"I'm not apologetic for voicing my opinion and using free speech to tell my support systems on my own social media how I feel," Khan said.

"There's a lot of folks that feel that racism doesn't exist anymore,but I think I'm here to be frank and say, 'Hey, that's not reality.'"

A date for the hearing has not yet been set,Khan said. She's familiar with the process as she was a student panellist on the discipline committee, before being removed once her case was brought forward.

"I'm very comfortable with how the process is going to be,but I am uncomfortable with the subject matter and the fact Dalhousie is legitimizing this claim," she said. "Dalhousie has failed to do so in other instances where there was a lot of violence being created by their students and they did nothing to rectify that.

"I'm not scared, and if anything I'm more motivated to get more things done," she said."Sorry Dalhousie, that's what's happening."