On November 6, U of T’s Governing Council (GC) held its first meeting of the academic year. During her first GC meeting as U of T President, Melanie Woodin addressed budgetary concerns; Vice Provost, Students Sandy Welsh reviewed the university’s Policy on Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment; and the council addressed the UTMSU “Honouring Our Martyrs” event.

Review of the Policy on Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment

Vice Provost, Students Sandy Welsh conducted the review of the university’s Sexual Violence & Harassment policy, which will be finalized at the second GC meeting on December 11. With the assistance of Social Work Professor Faye Mishna and lawyer Gillian Hnatiw, the review proposed changes in seven key areas: application and scope; confidentiality and privacy; principles respecting process; education, support, and resources; safety, reprisals, interim conditions and interim measures; and reporting. 

If implemented, the proposed policy revisions would empower the university to receive reports from complainants who have recently left the university and to respond to certain forms of intimate partner violence. Revisions also clarified how the university should handle cases where there is a parallel regulatory or criminal process occurring alongside a university investigation. 

In terms of reporting, the review recommends that complainants be able to indicate a preference for an investigation or a facilitated resolution. In the new year, the university will also be piloting an online documentation system that will allow students to report their experiences. 

UTMSU event “Honouring Our Martyrs” 

Joined by U of T Vice-President and UTM Principal Alexandra Gillespie, Woodin addressed a University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union’s (UTMSU) October 7 event “Honouring Our Martyrs.” Woodin noted that although the university encouraged the UTMSU to change the date and/or title of the event, they chose not to. 

However, the UTSMU clarified on social media that their intentions were to honour the lives lost in Gaza. Gillespie said that the university did not shut down the event or move it off campus because it did not “rise to the level of a violation of law or policy, and that shutting it down would […] violate our own policies, the province’s free speech directive and our own values.”

Council member and Professor Ramy Elitzur said that the university’s decision not to shut down the event “was a failure of moral and institutional responsibility.” 

In response, council member and undergraduate student Jay Baghbanan highlighted the United Nations’ recognition of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, adding, “I do not know what the students on the Mississauga campus necessarily had in mind, but when they said that they just wanted to honor lives lost, I’m inclined to believe students.”

President’s report

Woodin noted that the university’s budget, which is driven by enrollment-related revenues, is projected to be just over one per cent below the revenue plan due to shifts in student enrollment. While the number of domestic students has increased, the number of international students has steadily declined over the past couple of years. This marks the second year that the university has failed to meet its international intake targets, with Woodin adding that targets would be recalibrated going forward. 

Correction: This article was updated to correct the misspelling of Gillian Hnatiw’s name.