How can I take action?​

​

Be an active bystander!

If you’ve witnessed racism or other forms of discrimination, you can take action to make a difference! Being an active bystander means intervening before, during, and after harmful situations to make a positive difference. In doing this, your focus should be on supporting and empowering those affected. If you’re unsure how, check out the following resources!

​

• Tips on intervening in discriminatory or harmful situations, courtesy of the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education (O-SVRSE). O-SVRSE is geared toward sexual violence, but the bulk of their work is also applicable to other forms of harassment and discrimination.

​

• GEEC offers yearly workshops in Becoming an Active Bystander in collaboration with O-SVRSE. Slides from our most recent presentation can be found here. Contact us for more information about an upcoming training or to coordinate a dedicated training for your own organisation!

​

​

Respond to disclosures

When someone shares their experiences with racism or oppression, how should you respond? Strategies such as active listening can help to support and empower survivors. You can explore resources or reach out to us for advice, but it’s important to follow the affected person’s lead (only share personal information with their consent!)

​

• Tips on supporting a survivor, courtesy of O-SVRSE.

​

• GEEC offers yearly workshops in Active Listening in collaboration with McGill’s Peer Support Centre. Slides from our most recent presentation can be found here. Contact us for more information about an upcoming training or to coordinate a dedicated training for your own organisation!

 

​

Educate yourself and others

Learning about structural racism and other forms of discrimination is an ongoing process. Commit to listening to marginalised voices and set aside time to learn and act on what you’ve learned on a regular basis.

​

• As a starting point, check out this primer on equity-related concerns from McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education Office or dive deeper with #ShutDownSTEM’s reading list on racism in academia.

​

• ​Get context for challenges and opportunities specific to McGill University with these publicly available equity-related policies, reports, and plans.

​

• Share what you’ve learned with your peers! Consider starting or joining a regular equity-focused journal club in your lab group or department.

​

​

Reach out with your concerns

• The Office of the Ombudsperson for Students offers confidential dispute resolution services. This includes providing information, advising, intervention, and resource referral. They may also investigate and propose recommendations pertaining to systemic inadequacies in McGill’s policies, procedures, guidelines, and practices. The current Ombudsperson is Professor Patricia Faison Hewlin, who began their 5-year term on May 1, 2020.

​

• The Office of the Dean of Students oversees student rights and responsibilities, academic integrity, academic advising, the student disciplinary process, and student recognition. They are available to receive questions and concerns.

​

• The Joint Board-Senate Committee on Equity (JBSCE) recommends university policies that promote social equity, inclusion, and accessibility with a focus on historically marginalised groups.

​

• The Faculty of Engineering Equity Ambassadors provide active listening and resource referral to students, staff, and faculty seeking support for issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

​

• GEEC represents graduate students on the Faculty of Engineering Equity Committee. Contact us to relay your concerns to the Faculty.

​

​

Join or connect with GEEC!

If you’d like to join our team, we’d love to hear from you! As members of GEEC, we aim to provide spaces for social education within the Faculty of Engineering here at McGill. If you’re new to equity-related activism, joining GEEC is a great way to continue to learn and grow while making a long-term commitment to change in our community.

​

GEEC holds regular educational events (see some of our past workshops and discussion groups here) and will continue to develop anti-racist and anti-oppression content. Check out our upcoming events or connect with us to suggest topics for future events!

​

​

Support student movements

#TakeJamesDown is a campaign spearheaded by Black students at McGill which calls for the university to remove the statue of James McGill, a slave owner of Black and Indigenous peoples, from campus: http://takejamesmcgilldown.com/. The open letter, which you can read and sign here, identifies systemic anti-Blackness at McGill. This is reflected in university building names, course material, and policies, as well as the notable absence of a Black or Africana Studies Department. We encourage you to read and share the full letter describing the context (which includes links to further reading material), grievances, and demands, and use this insight to develop your own action items tackling anti-Blackness within your sphere.