Students took to social media to vent their frustrations and share their experiences regarding safe spaces during the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) election period. Candidates wrote about instances of racism, online harassment, or in-person aggression while on the campaign trail.

Celia Wandio, an independent candidate who originally ran with Change UofT for an Arts & Science at-large director position, recalls a specific incident when she was campaigning with other members of the Change slate, in which a few students started an argument that she describes as “toxic and offensive.”

Wandio notes that “their attacks somehow ventured to severe sexism and transphobia, making the space incredibly unsafe.”

Wandio says that she also had negative experiences with students who did not like the incumbent candidates with whom she ran. “Folks who I approached who were not fans of the ‘incumbents’ were at best dismissive, at worst rude and offensive. People went as far as to mock and question my integrity and my work on addressing sexual violence as a result of my slate affiliation,” Wandio shares.

These experiences left Wandio exhausted and barely able to campaign during the second week of the campaign period. “The toxicity and pressure I’d experienced in the first week triggered my social anxiety so I felt physically incapable of approaching people, scared of how they might react,” she says.

Wandio states that her experiences are not unique, adding that “the toxic election environment, a result of negative experiences and personal conflicts compounding over years, combined with the expectation to spend practically every free second campaigning during a busy two weeks of the semester, leads to burnout for a lot of people.”

Ben Coleman, UTSU president, echoes Wandio’s sentiments and states that he heard about issues on social media platforms U of T Confessions and the U of T subreddit that concerned him.

The CRO gave all members of the Brighter UofT slate demerit points for non-arms-length third parties allegedly posting “bullying, harassing, and libellous” content.

“We tried to do our best to promote constructive and respectful engagement in the election as much as we could,” Coleman says.