issues & id@as_ wroranwezuson

THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013 7

Is Langara really a tolerant place?

Diversity and inclusion extend beyond multiculturalism and blanket policies

Transgendered
student targeted

by campus security

Incident ignored by chancellor, LSU

By SERA AKDOGAN

ecurity guards patrol Langara

to make students feel safe at

school, but for transgender stu-

dent Danielle Macdonell, they
have the opposite effect.

“T feel like I have to look after my
own safety a little bit more than I had
hoped,” she said.

Last September, a Langara security
officer singled her out in the Students’
Union Building (SUB) because she
didn’t look like a student. No adminis-
trative action has been taken and since
then she is constantly on guard.

“T didn’t have my notebooks, I didn’t
have anything official. And one of the
problems with being in transition is
having identification,” she said. “Con-
gruent identification is a problem, so I
don’t carry a whole lot.”

Macdonell was at school to receive
hormone therapy at Health Services
three hours before her evening class,
she said. A security officer approached
her, asked for identification and alleg-
edly hassled her even though she ex-
plained she was a student at Langara.

Macdonell walked into the empty
washroom in the SUB to diffuse the
hostile encounter.

“T identified myself as transgender
and then he followed me into the wash-

room,” she said.

Macdonell feels if she was not a
transgendered woman it would instant-
ly become a harassment case.

Macdonell reported the incident to
Langara security, the chancellors’ of-
fice, and Langara Students’ Union, yet
nothing was done. After dozens of
emails sent back and forth, Macdonell
gave up because she “didn’t want to
deal with it anymore.”

The security guard still works at
Langara today, which makes life at
school uncomfortable, she said.

“After I made my complaint they
didn’t even change his shift for three
weeks. So every time I came to class I
had to walk around him,” she said.

Langara security refused to com-
ment on the event.

To this day, the only bathroom Mac-
donell feels safe using at school is in
the gender neutral SUB although she
wishes it marked better. She also wants
more transgender awareness so she
doesn’t get ‘the looks.’

Macdonell has battled discrimina-
tion for being different for over four
years since she made her transition.

“What are you doing in here?’ ‘The
same thing you’re doing in here,” she
said. “I’m not going in a women’s wash-
room to upset women, but I just want to
feel comfortable.”

SERA AKDOGAN photo

Women’s studies student Danielle MacDonell has been watching her back since September.

LSU diversity policy still a work in progress

By PUNEET DHAMI

ciation is introducing a new set of
rules in their bylaws to foster
greater diversity on campus.

The Diversity and Inclusion Policy
will take effect March 1. While the poli-
cy is under construction the united
people of colour committee will be
hosting racism prevention workshops,
and a self-defense workshop this se-
mester.

Harm reduction initiatives such as
providing safe spaces for students who
feel marginalized may reduce bullying
more effectively than self-defense
workshops, some students said.

Former LSU queer collective mem-
ber Czarinna Tabobo feels that having
a gender neutral washroom would be
an effective way to make students feel
safer, yet that initiative was slammed.

“The LSU pick and choose what they
want to consider to be a valuable initia-
tive,” said Tabobo.

After working for over a year on a
gender neutral washroom initiative,
the queer collective’s progress was sty-
mnied, said Tabobo.

Furthermore, queer students are
currently unrepresented by the LSU
since the resignation of queer liaison
Adam Giesbrecht, she said.

LSU media liaison Gurbax Leelh
says that to date, the racism and self-
defense workshops have been success-
ful.

“Racism workshops have taught stu-

T: Langara Students’ Union Asso-

dents how to defend themselves and
can have long lasting effects on their
emotional and physical being,” she
said.

“We are glad that students partici-
pated and learned the impact they can
have on someone going through a
rough time in life.”

The LSU will host an anti-bullying
event on Feb. 28.

Over 9,500 people from a wide array
of backgrounds study at Langara in-
cluding hundreds of foreign-exchange
students.

The diversity and inclusion officer —
whose name and job description will
not be confirmed by the LSU — will al-
legedly oversee union advisors who
will act as resources on issues arising
between students, according to Leelh.

66

The LSU
pick and
choose
what they
want to
consider to
bea
valuable
initiative”
CZARINNA
TABOBO

PUNEET DHAMI photo

LSU introduces new bylaws to foster campus diversity.

Autism is no handicap

Student excels in & out of
class despite “disability”

iting student Erin Boe finds
Wier are often shocked to
learn she is disabled.

The college offers extensive academ-
ic support to students with disabilities,
but Boe admits she struggles socially.

“Kids have these weird senses that
tell them ‘this person is different, don’t
associate with that person so much,”
said Boe.

Boe was diagnosed at age three with
a case of high-functioning autism, a
neural developmental disorder that is
characterized by impaired social inter-
action and communication and varies
greatly on a case-by-case basis.

“My disability is so mild, unless
you’ve known me for a long period of
time, you wouldn’t notice it a lot,” she
said.

However, when she enrolled at the
college, she was still expected to regis-
ter with Langara Disability Services in
order to determine what accommoda-
tions the college would need to provide.

Langara has extensive programs,
clubs and initiatives in place to im-
merse students from diverse cultural
backgrounds, but inclusion and diver-
sity on campus do not stop at multicul-
tural integration.

“Diversity is to be in an environment
where you’re not afraid to be who you

are and still fit in with the other stu-
dents,” Boe said.

Boe has never felt that her disability
holds her back from achievements in or
outside of school.

She is a youth
journalist for The
Richmond Review
and once rappelled
down a _ 20-story
building in order to
raise money for
Easter Seals, an or-
ganization dedicat-
ed to improving
quality of life for
the disabled.

“With autism,
there is no case the same as another,
there may be similarities that overlap
but everyone is unique... there’s a huge
spectrum,” said Boe.

Not every student with autism is as
high functioning as Boe.

She has never felt the need to utilize
any of the resources offered to disabled
students.

These include additional help and
extra time during exams, referrals to
community resources and access to
Langara’s adaptive technology lab,
which houses five computers with spe-
cialized voice interfacing software.

Boe is currently working through
the academic courses that supplement
Langara’s journalism program and
plans to apply to the program this fall.

ERIN BOE