Cop’s ‘sluts’ comment draws backlash despite apology
TORONTO (CUP) — A Toronto police officer’s comments about sexual assault prevention set off a storm of controversy two weeks ago, but despite his apology, members of the York University community are still unhappy.
At a Jan. 24 safety information session at York, Const. Michael Sanguinetti recommended that women not dress like “sluts” in order to avoid sexual assault, a comment that inspired a faculty member at York’s law school to file a complaint.
Sanguinetti apologized for the remark on Feb. 17.
However, the apology has failed to satisfy many York students. Groups such as Feminist Action @ YU are organizing protests and hoping to engage York administration and Toronto police in open student forums.
They have labelled the comment an “act of violence,” and feel that accepting the apology would excuse such acts.
Another group, SlutWalk Toronto, is scheduling a protest march for early April. As of March 4, they already have over 900 Facebook followers and support is growing rapidly.
Const. Wendy Drummond, a Toronto police spokesperson, said she was unaware of the planned marches, and that protesters are entitled to express themselves in a peaceful way.
— Nicholas Maronese, the Excalibur
Recent arrests spark campus drug-use debate at UNB
FREDERICTON (CUP) — With the exception of the occasional drug bust, arrests at the University of New Brunswick aren’t common.
But both Fredericton police and UNB’s security director said that doesn’t mean drug use is scarce.
Security director Bruce Rogerson said there have been very few complaints about people smoking marijuana in residences and there have been around five incidents in the year that he’s been here.
However, he focused on the correlation between students’ drug use and flunking out of university.
This is in light of recent arrests for robbery and drug possession on Feb. 17, when a male student flagged down a security vehicle because someone jumped him near the bookstore for his backpack. The student who had been robbed was also arrested and charged with possession.
Sgt. Mackenzie said he doesn’t believe drugs on campus are a prominent problem, but said there has been an element of illegal drug use on the campus for decades.
The residential policy is zero tolerance, but Rogerson suggested that drug use on campus is covert and often hard to detect without information on who’s selling them.
The court date for the students is March 30, and the students’ names will be released once charges have been laid.
— Alex Kress, the Brunswickan
