Racists target Saskatchewan Aboriginal students

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Faculty, staff and students at the University of Saskatchewan campus were in a state of shock and disbelief when it was discovered that a swastika, a symbol used by Nazis and white supremacist groups, and the words "white power" had been written on a chalk board in the Aboriginal students' lounge.

The discovery was made on April 4, by George Laliberte, an education student. Unfortunately, this is not the first incident where racial remarks, written or spoken, had been hurled at the Aboriginal students on campus. At the beginning of the school year, during their welcome back powwow, racist remarks were shouted at the dancers. Just before Christmas, posters promoting special functions of the Indigenous council were defaced with swastikas. In January, just after the Students' Union decided to allow the president of the Indigenous Students' Council a seat on the student government, the Aboriginal students' lounge was vandalized.

"We feel awful; we're horrified and disgusted," said George Ivany, president of the university. "We just can't tolerate that stuff."

He threatened to expel the individual or group that was responsible, if they are ever caught.

Cathy Wheaton, president of the Indigenous Students Council, however, is feeling unsure about her personal safety and the safety of other Aboriginal students on campus. The lounge is rarely locked because the council wants to keep it available for students to use.

"It is a student lounge and we try to keep it open as much as possible. We want to have that access all the time for the students when they need it," said Wheaton. "It's a quiet place for students to have coffee and to study. To lock it would defeat that purpose."

The location of the lounge, which is right above a bar, is causing some concern. Female students aren't in the lounge as much since it was vandalized.

Even though he doesn't want the recent racist incidents swept under the carpet, Ivany wants to emphasize the many positive things the university has done for Aboriginal students. There's the Indigenous Law Program, and other programs for education, nursing and community relations, he said.

The university is constantly trying to improve conditions on campus to make it a comfortable and safe place for Aboriginal students to study, said Ivany.

But a good reputation is easily ruined as "all it takes is a couple of ugly things like this to do so much damage," he continued.

The Aboriginal students, however, are not facing this alone.

"We've received letters of support from other student organizations, students [and] professors. We had, right after the lounge was vandalized, some of the student leaders coming out to condemn the act," said Wheaton.

Even so, she feels there's more that needs to be done to make sure the students feel safe on campus. Despite what Ivany says, Wheaton's not convinced that the university is doing everything it can to prevent more of these kinds of incidents.

"We want to put as much pressure on the university as possible so they'll do something about this. There have been some meetings held and statements made, but I haven't seen anything concrete," she said. "I want to assure the students that they aren't going to tolerate this and they'll be doing something to do about this."

Ivany, however, feels he's doing as much as he can and wants to face this issue head-on.

"Acknowledging that it happened and taking positive to steps is how we should handle this [because] we have to treat this as a long term educational problem," he said.

Even though campus security is investigating this latest incident, there is little chance of apprehending the person or people responsible unless they either come forward and admit their actions or they're caught in the act.

"Nothing would give me a better sense of satisfaction than catching the culprits," said Ivany.

There is some good news as a result of the acts. Wheaton admits that on top of the outrage expresed by others, there is now better communication between the Aboriginal students and campus security.