Equity & Judicial

Equity

Equity Office


The Equity Officer is available to students, staff, and faculty. The fundamental objective of the Equity Office is to prevent discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal harassment from occurring.

The Equity Officer's Roles and Responsibilities are:

  • Take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety, and security of any member of the University community in relation to the Harassment & Discrimination Policy.
  • Receive, investigate, and resolve complaints by informal resolution, mediation, or formal complaint.
  • Provide and promote programs that raise campus awareness of the nature of, and problems associated with, discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal harassment and educate those in positions of responsibility in the objectives and implementation of the policy.

Acadia University's Policy Against Harassment & Discrimination

  • The purpose of the policy is to provide and maintain a learning and work environment free from discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal harassment. These behaviours are demeaning and degrading.
  • All members of the University community have the right to learn and work in an environment free from discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal harassment.
  • The University and all members of the University community share responsibility for ensuring that the work and learning environment of Acadia is free from discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal harassment.

"The better we understand how identities and power work together from one context to another, the less likely our movements for change are to fracture." — Kimberle Williams Crenshaw


News

Below is a description of the Hollaback 5 Ds to Bystander Intervention. Along with registration links to their upcoming FREE webinars. I urge everyone on campus to peruse their huge host of resources and learn how you can be an active bystander and stand up against harassment in all it’s forms.

By Emily Rafuse

Accessibility and Human Rights Intern, 4th year English Major

*As a settler, I cannot write this article without acknowledging the fact that I am writing this from a place of privilege. I am privileged to need to learn about the history of residential schools and truth and reconciliation rather than having experienced it myself or having had a family member experience any of it. If you are reading this as someone who is not Indigenous or First Nations, then so are you. *

Whether you have chosen to live in residence or off campus, immersing yourself into a new world away from home can be very challenging, it can feel lonely or even scary. Especially when we are trying to get back to a “new normal.” Acadia University recognizes this stressful time, and we have designated offices and support staff, along with student-focused initiatives to meet your needs as well as ensure your safety and well-being.

 

This year, across Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada, there are a number of initiatives you can engage in to celebrate Emancipation Day and honor the lives of people of African descent lost and displaced while building this nation.

The contemporary Pride movement in the Western World carries a narrative of celebration, but Pride started as a movement for the liberation of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Equity Officer Polly Leonard

Polly Leonard - Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer

 Show Up, Your Guide to Bystander Intervention (PDF)

 Watch our "Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 101" Webinar

 Policy Against Harassment and Discrimination

 Gender Inclusive Washrooms

Contact

Polly Leonard, MSW RSW (she/her/hers)
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer
Bancroft House, Room 103
Acadia University
Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6

equity@acadiau.ca
t. 902.585.1298

Instagram: @acadiauniversityequity

Looking for the Coordinator of Black and Indigenous Student Support?

 Email Janique Ellis Panza