McMaster University launches review of Black students’ experiences in athletics program
Published July 17, 2020 at 5:51 pm
McMaster University announced Friday (July 17) that they were launching a review of Black student-athletes’ experiences in the school’s athletics program.
McMaster University announced Friday (July 17) that they were launching a review of Black student-athletes’ experiences in the school’s athletics program.
In a release, Mac says that the review, which will look back as far as 2010, will include interviews with current and former Black student-athletes, other student-athletes, and athletics staff, including coaches and administrators.
The school says the review has been launched in response to several recent reports of anti-Black racism experienced by former students in the Marauders Athletics programs, one of them is Fabian Foote, a CFL player who played for the Marauders.
“It takes courage for people to talk about their experiences, and we need to provide structured opportunities for them to have a voice,” said Arig al Shaibah, Mac’s associate vice-president of equity and inclusion in the release.
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“We want to better understand those experiences – to listen, hear and act.”
Dr. Ivan Joseph, currently the vice-provost of student affairs at Dalhousie University and the former director of athletics at Ryerson University, has been selected to conduct the review.
Joseph will be assisted by a small task force of four McMaster community members, the release says, who identify as Black and who have expertise in human rights, anti-racism and supporting Black students and community members within the context of anti-Black racism.
Interviews are set to begin the week of July 27th.
McMaster University has been called upon in recent weeks to address issues of systemic racism.
On June 2, a group of activists associated with the Black Lives Matter movement staged a series of live-streamed protests across Hamilton calling on several institutions to address their history of systemic racism.
In one of the videos, a group of protestors appeared outside McMaster and called on the university to cancel the contract of Glenn DeCaire, a former chief of Hamilton Police, who currently heads security at Mac.
It was under DeCaire’s leadership that Hamilton Police introduced the practice of carding.
Since DeCaire was hired in 2016, several groups have been calling for his removal.
Those who are interested in participating are invited to fill in the webform on the Student Affairs website.
A final report, which will include observations and recommendations, will be submitted to Sean Van Koughnett, associate vice-president of students and learning, and dean of students, before the end of August.
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