Glaring double standards disenfranchise White students
Written by Kristen Cucan
A steady growth of online groups devoted to white students has triggered a wave of concern from Ryerson University administration and students who worry the groups are fostering racism.
Administration is investigating how university policy could apply to the groups, many of which were created by Ryerson students on the networking website Facebook.
Among the user groups are “I’m a White Minority @ a Toronto University” with more than 200 members, and “Equal Rights for Whites” with more than 150.
With posts such as “white people unite” generating uproar and a surge in national media attention, the university is facing a “sensitive and complicated issue” in an electronic age where jurisdiction is unclear, said Julia Hanigsberg, general counsel for Ryerson.”We’re talking to other universities [… because this is something we’re all facing,” said Hanigsberg. “This isn’t something that’s unique to this university, and we want to make sure we’re dealing with it in the most appropriate way.”
Muhammad Ali Jabbar, the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) president, said the growth of these online groups demonstrates a lack of education about anti-discrimination, and another civil rights movement may be needed to counter intolerance.
“The future looks pretty bleak when things like this are going on, and it just shows there’s a lot more work that needs to be done,” he said.
Jabbar said the union can do nothing about the groups because they exist only in cyberspace.
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