Vancouver Campus

History Department
Room 1297 1873 East Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z1

16 November 2015

Ms. Ronna Syed
CBC, the fifth estate
205 Wellington Street W., 4G200
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3G7
ronna.syed@cbc.ca


Dear Ms. Syed,

Thank you for your letters of November 9 and 12, 2015. In them you put a number of questions to
me and I will be as open and transparent in my responses as the law allows.

First, the suggestion that I tried to keep students from speaking publically about their stories is
wrong. Media attention on sexual assault at universities is welcome as it focuses public attention on
a critical social issue. The University and the History Department commend those who have
survived sexual assault and choose to share their stories to help end the violence. We take sexual
assault extremely seriously and welcome a constructive dialogue on how our administrative
processes, which are separate and distinct from the criminal process, might be made clearer and
more responsive.

I can confirm that the snakes in the room comment was made during the July 31, 2014 meeting,
though not by me. It was in response to the view expressed by others that spreading stories around
campus might somehow help their cause. This comment was meant to communicate that making
non-specific or unsubstantiated third-party allegations is like saying there are snakes in the room
and then turning the lights out. In other words, non-specific or unsubstantiated third-party
allegations, which cannot be addressed by any of our administrative processes, can sow fear and
suspicion among students without any possible resolution, and as such can be counterproductive.

With respect to the students petition/statement of March 31, 2015, my concern was that not only
could it have a negative impact on an ongoing administrative process but it could also potentially
leave the students themselves open to action as it could be viewed as defamatory. That said, I also
made it clear to the students that they didnt need my permission to release a public statement on
harassment. In all I believe a total of five meetings were held with students around this issue. We
care deeply about our students and believe its important to meet as many times as they feel

necessary in order for us to understand their concerns, explain the Universitys processes, and refer
them to the support services available to students on campus..

I do want to emphasize that the University like the police can only act on an allegation when an
individual who has been the target of sexual harassment or assault comes forward with a specific
and formal complaint.

We appreciate how difficult it is for individuals to do so, and we always urge survivors to take full
advantage of the on-campus resources available to provide the support and accommodations they
need to continue to study, work, and live on campus. Only one direct complaint has come forward
to me as Department Head, and that complainant was referred to the appropriate office. Beyond
acting on this specific complaint, over the past year the Department has taken a number of
initiatives designed to discharge its collective responsibility for creating a safe working and
learning environment, including instituting mandatory harassment training for all graduate
students, convening a workshop by the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre aimed at educating
faculty on the issue of sexual violence, reinstituting the Departments Equity Officer, and striking an
Equity Committee to draft clear guidelines for how concerns about harassment and safety might be
dealt with at the Department level.

The timeline you reference is correct but I hope you can appreciate that I am unable to disclose
what was said during a particular meeting as it relates to a specific complaint. Unlike a criminal
proceeding where much of the information is public, UBCs non-academic misconduct process is
governed by administrative law. Disclosing information about specific cases would be in
contravention of British Columbias Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Equally
importantly, it would compromise the privacy of sexual assault survivors and could discourage
other victims of sexual violence from coming forward.



Sincerely,





Tina Loo
Professor and Head