'I needed to do something': Western University students plan walkout amid sexual assault allegations
Students at Western University are planning to walk out of classes Friday as London, Ont. police investigate allegations of sexual assault at a first-year residence.
"I think I can speak for everyone on campus when we were pretty shocked, and no one was prepared for that kind of scale," says Hayden Van Neck, a third-year psychology student and co-organizer of the walkout.
Students are walking out over unconfirmed reports of up to 30 alleged drug-related sexual assaults, three confirmed reports of sexual violence and the death of first-year student Gabriel Neil.
'Disturbing,' 'concerning' and disgusting' are just some of the adjectives used by students to describe what has happened, and what is alleged to have happened, at the school this week.
"Emotions were high, and I felt like I needed to do something," Van Neck says.
She and about 20 other students have organized the walkout, which will see several sexual assault survivors speak to students who are expected to leave their classes at noon on Friday.
It will involve meeting at UC Hill, a walk around a campus route and then back to the hill for speeches.
"We're just hoping to bring everyone together, support our survivors and support survivors that were not involved in that incident, but prior incidents," says Van Neck.
The group planning the walkout is hoping to shift Western's focus from dealing with the aftermath to more of a prevention approach.
"Some of the things we are asking for is mandatory training...for all students, faculty and staff that walk this campus," says Danica Facca, a graduate student who has joined the organizing team.
"Additionally, we're looking to see what kind of mechanisms the university can put in place for Orientation Week. How can we restructure it to implement more safety measures? Or how can we re-envision the way that we can bring first years to campus together to still build community, but try and at least mitigate some of the spaces where this activity can happen on or off campus," she says. "When we're talking about gender-based sexual violence, especially as it happens on university campuses, the university itself is just one piece of a much larger sociocultural piece."
Co-organizers of Friday's walkout at Western University, from left, Hayden Van Neck, Danica Facca and Emily Poirier in London, Ont., Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. (Bret Lale / CTV News)
Students across the country are talking about what has happened, and what is alleged to have happened, in London.
A petition started on Change.org by a first-year McMaster University student had over 5,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon. Joshua Bell is calling for the Ministry of Ontario Colleges and Universities to conduct a full investigation into Western University.
"It's not just the Western students that are concerned about what happened," says Bell, a social sciences student who has a number of friends attending Western.
"It's students right across the province that are concerned. They want actions to be taken to prevent another incident like this from happening at Western, but also at any other universities in Ontario."
Over the past few days, many students have told CTV News London they feel unsafe on campus.
"A lot of students of all genders are feeling very vulnerable right now,” says Emily Poirier, a walkout co-organizer.
"This is a really good opportunity for some community healing, and I think it's a really good way of taking back power. I think having this organization we're showing that there's so many people on campus who are not on board with this, and who are willing to stand against sexual violence and violence on campus. I think will be really powerful for students and faculty to start the healing process."
Western University officials and the London Police Service have confirmed that four women have come forward with formal complaints about being sexually assaulted on campus in recent days.
Police are also investigating allegations made on social media of mass drugging and sexual assaults at the Medway-Sydenham Hall residence on campus during orientation week.
The force has noted, however, that no one has come forward with a formal complaint in connection with the Medway-Syndenham Hall allegations, which have been made on social media.
In a statement to CTV News in response to the planned walkout on Friday, Western President Alan Shepard says, "We see this as a positive step forward in publicly affirming a collective commitment to stop gender-based sexual violence. This is an opportunity to work together on Western’s culture, and to ensure everyone feels safe on campus. We fully support members of the campus community who wish to participate in Friday’s event.”
According to the Student Voices on Sexual Violence, a survey of post-secondary students across the province conducted in 2018, one in three Western students surveyed indicated they were sexually assaulted in the previous 12 months. More than 8,000 Western students responded to the survey.
—With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.