U of R finds ‘several attendees’ were disruptive at Women’s Centre AGM

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The University of Regina says its internal investigation into a disruption at the Women’s Centre annual general meeting has found sufficient evidence that “several attendees” may have potentially violated student conduct policy.

The investigation began the day after the Women’s Centre ended its AGM early on March 14 due to a disruption from students in the crowd that led to campus security clearing the room.

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Conducted by the internal auditor’s office, the review looked into whether any attendees violated campus policies around respect, harassment or violence. Evidence from the public relating to the incident was collected until the end of March.

An update from U of R president Jeff Keshen on Tuesday said the internal audit found evidence that some students at the meeting behaved in a way which warrants further investigation.

“The Office of Internal Audit determined that, based on the available evidence, several attendees visibly engaged in behaviours that could be considered disrespectful, intimidating, or disruptive,” read the email.

Those cases will be “moved through the appropriate channels” to determine whether any students violated the university’s respect policy or the student code of conduct.

The university’s communications department did not respond to a request from the Regina Leader-Post asking how many cases were being investigated further, or how long that process may take.

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The Student Code of Conduct says investigations into non-academic misconduct allegations are done by the associate vice-president of student affairs, or a designate.

Keshen said allegations of “racial discrimination, physical harassment and privacy violations” were reviewed, but the internal auditor “did not find sufficient evidence to forward these for investigation.”

“In other cases, alleged behaviours were outside the scope of the investigation as they related to organizations separate and apart from the University of Regina,” he said.

The president’s email did not offer any specifics on what organizations are being referenced. The University of Regina Students’ Union has made allegations that the Women’s Centre and campus protective services perpetuated racism and physically handled a student.

Penalties for a non-academic misconduct range from probation or restrictions from using campus services to expulsion, and could also include fines or a ban from campus, according to the U of R’s website.

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