Dear Obiter:
In November 2013, a Black female law student at Osgoode Hall Law School was racially profiled while studying in the Osgoode Hall Library. The student was asked by an Osgoode staff person to provide identification because “she did not look like an Osgoode student.”
The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at Osgoode is deeply concerned about incidents of racial profiling and discrimination that affect the quality of education and success of Black law students. Students are entitled to feel safe in their university, and racial profiling produces the exact opposite effects: exclusion, victimization and demoralization. No student, much less students who have historically been precluded from attending law school in Canada, ought to be singled-out and asked to prove his/her right to occupy these spaces. It is admirable that Osgoode has taken an interest in changing the composition of the students in our hallways. Unfortunately, Black law students continue to experience racial profiling at Osgoode, sometimes even at the hands of our administration. BLSA is aware of racial profiling incidents occurring in the 2011- 2012 and 2012-2013 academic years, and it is our position that such incidents constitute institutional racism.
Osgoode’s administration has been quick to provide an individual response to the student but slow to act on addressing institutional racism. We hope that BLSA’s efforts to address racial profiling at our General Meeting on January 20, 2014 will encourage the reexamination of Osgoode’s complicity in systemic racism. As we move forward, BLSA aims to continue these conversations to hold our law school accountable to its students, the broader legal community, and principles of justice.
BLSA Executive 2013-14
LETTER #2
Dear Obiter:
The incident which is the catalyst for the BLSA Informational Statement on Racial Profiling is deeply troubling, and at least one of the earlier incidents referred to led to an institutional dialogue with York Security and we continue to review our applicable policies and practices. Each incident may have features that are distinct to its context which require specific responses (for example, the heightened focus on student identification when the library policy of restricted access to study space during exams is in effect may call for specific guidelines for that policy).
That said, we share with BLSA the view that we need to do better as an institution and as a community. For this reason, in December, we decided to reach out to York’s Centre for Human Rights, a national leader in equity and inclusion, to provide training for Osgoode staff beginning in 2014. With input from the Centre for Human Rights, we also plan to develop specific guidelines relating to the library’s restricted access period, and other contexts where we think additional clarity and resources are needed. Building on these institutional initiatives, combined with the advocacy of groups like BLSA, and in keeping with Osgoode’s historic commitment to providing a supportive environment for all our students and community members, I am confident we can and will do justice to our aspirations of ensuring Osgoode is a positive, respectful and welcoming space for all.
Lorne Sossin, Dean