Discrimination on campus, then and now
Past memories, present problems
MELISSA HIEBERT STAFF
One day, I walked into the Manitoban office and found a hand-addressed letter on my desk. Happy to receive a letter of this nature (I never get mail, especially none so personal-looking), I opened it with excitement.
However, when I opened the letter, my heart fell a little. Inside was a poem, hand-written with perfect penmanship, entitled “Displaced Persons.” A small blurb explained that it was written by a man named Michael Koziar, who had attended the U of M in the ’50s and ’60s. The poem outlined his experience at the U of M, and described the disheartening discrimination he had faced during the entirety of his career as a student.
Given the peculiarity of the letter and the sad story it had to tell, I decided to contact Koziar, and hear more about why he decided to write and submit the poem.
Koziar, a pleasant man now in his ’70s, was glad to talk to me about his experiences at the U of M. “The University of Manitoba was not a friendly place,” reminisced Koziar. He described the university as being composed of predominantly white Anglo-Saxons coming from affluent neighbourhoods, while himself and his family were refuges from Eastern Europe living in the North End.
“Those of us who came from the North End were really looked down upon, especially those of us who were immigrants,” he said. “If you were an immigrant from a West European country, they treated you with a little more respect. But if you were from an East European country, you were not much to speak of, in their eyes. And that was kind of hard to take. You didn’t belong, and they made you feel that way.”
Koziar explained that while he never experienced any serious physical attacks, that most of the students were cold towards him and many were also frequently psychologically and verbally hostile. And, while Koziar successfully obtained three degrees from the U of M and has since moved on with his life, he has not forgotten about the abuse he endured to obtain them.
After thanking Koziar for sharing his experience with me and saying goodbye, I began to reflect on the situation on campus in the present day.
Obviously a lot has changed on campus since the ’50s. The level of enrolment at the U of M has increased drastically, including a large population of international students. In addition to a shift in demographics, there are a lot more institutions in place to ensure that students’ rights are protected. The International Centre for Students offers many programs designed to “help international students before and after their arrival to ease their transition to Canada and ensure their experience is enjoyable, safe, and successful,” according to the mission statement on their website. There is also an international student rep that sits on UMSU council to help ensure that the voices of international students are being heard.
In addition to the strides that the university has made to help international students, they have also taken many steps to ensure the fair and comfortable treatment of all students. The university currently has an Aboriginal students centre, disability services, employment equity policies, and of course, many more UMSU representatives including LGBTT, women’s, and aboriginal reps.
Last year, the campus also appointed a new investigative officer designed to protect human rights on campus. The officer is in charge of investigating formal complaints, falling under the university’s Respectful Work and Learning Environment policy. This includes any forms of discrimination including those related to gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
However, while the university has taken large strides to help eradicate discrimination and racism on campus, the problem may never go away completely. Just last school year, there was a reported incident about some graffiti in a Fletcher Argue bathroom that read, “all natives do is steal our hard-earned money,” among many other derogatory comments. Also, the discrimination that is present on campus is not only limited to race. In 2004, student Heidi Le May was forced out of a campus residence due to several attacks on her sexual orientation, which included letters attached to her door that read “keep it behind closed doors,” and “die.” These are only two examples of hostile and discriminatory behaviour on campus; many more incidents go unreported or unnoticed.
So, while the situation pertaining to discrimination on campus has indeed improved in terms of institutions, services, and representation, we still have work to do. Ultimately, discrimination is a problem and a responsibility that lies with every individual student, and it is up to us to make sure that our university is a safe and pleasant learning environment for everyone. Hopefully one day poems like the one written by John Koziar will describe an experience that is truly a thing of the past, and not a reminder of the progress we have yet to make to ensure that all students’ future memories of their time at the U of M will be pleasant ones.
