Victoria College administration are reversing the changes made earlier this month to the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC) BIPOC Leadership Award. In an exclusive statement to The Strand, Victoria College spokesperson Sally Szuster wrote, “We are pleased to share that we will move forward with the award as The VUSAC Leadership Award for BIPOC Students, which reflects the original shared intent.”
Initial changes to the award
In a video posted to Instagram on March 22, VUSAC President Jerico Raguindin announced that Victoria College would be changing the VUSAC BIPOC Leadership to the VUSAC Leadership Award for Black and Indigenous students. Over 50 thousand dollars were donated to the award through a VUSAC-led campaign during the 2020–2021 academic year. The goal of the award, according to former VUSAC President Michelle Zhao, was twofold: “recognizing and celebrating the impactful contributions that BIPOC students make for our student body” and “incentivizing and encouraging more BIPOC students to get involved in leadership roles.”
On March 14, Victoria College administration sent an email to donors announcing modifications to the award, stating that “Students identifying as Black or Indigenous are a top priority for Victoria University and there is strong evidence that they have been disadvantaged, therefore by targeting the funds to these groups we will make an impact.” The email also noted that the administration would continue to “gather data on other groups, for example Persons of Colour, to see if they are experiencing disadvantages and to make adjustments to [their] awards planning as needed.”
In his video statement, Raguindin said that he interpreted “experiencing disadvantages” as another way of saying “experiencing racism.” “To put it simply, we do [experience disadvantages], and by taking away this award from students of colour, Vic is failing its commitments to anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion,” says Raguindin. He noted that he takes issue with the College’s rationale to take away “the stakes students of colour have in this award because of a lack of perceived disadvantage or representation.”
In an interview with The Strand, Raguindin articulated that the student body should question why Victoria College administration were “not very transparent” about their changes to the award. He continued by noting that the creation of the award “was a public facing campaign. The public had as much right to know that this award was being changed as I did and as donors did, who received an email, because I think support was given [for the creation of this award] not just through money. In the spirit of transparency, the public should have been informed of this. However, as far as I can see and tell, there has not been an effort made [to do that], or at least [not] a good enough one.”
Through Raguindin’s video statement, and through a subsequent infographic posted to VUSAC’s Instagram, VUSAC urged the student body to hold Victoria College administration accountable for their changes to the BIPOC Leadership Award. As of March 25, VUSAC’s petition had reached 81 signatures.
Victoria College reverses course
On March 26, only a few days after VUSAC drew attention to the changes to the BIPOC Leadership Award, Victoria College stated that they would no longer be making those changes in an exclusive email to The Strand.
Victoria College spokesperson Sally Szuster explained, “When Victoria College announced the VUSAC Leadership Award for BIPOC Students, a concern was flagged regarding whether or not the award was in compliance with the policies for award disbursement, and we adjusted the terms and title to focus on two of our priority groups, Black and Indigenous students.”
However, Szuster continued, Victoria College sought advice from a lawyer, after discussion with students and staff, and is “pleased that the advice [Victoria College] recieved aligned with the expressed views of students, and also with our original intent in creating and naming the Leadership Award for BIPOC students as part of our ongoing effort to address systemic discrimination against BIPOC people.”
Victoria College has yet to make any public statements addressing the change in name for this award. Additionally, the initial announcement of the BIPOC Award has been deleted from the Victoria College website.
In response to the sudden reversal of the changes, VUSAC President Jerico Raguindin told The Strand that he is happy with Victoria College’s decision to revert their changes to the award. “However, my happiness ends there.” Raguindin criticized the College’s lack of transparency and accountability, noting that the administration has not released any public statements regarding the matter, such as their reasons for changing the award in the first place.
Raguindin expressed disappointment with how his “concerns as a donor, student, and President of VUSAC were raised to Vic,” but the administration’s decision to keep the BIPOC Leadership Award as-is was ultimately made after seeking legal counsel, rather than directly after consulting with students. He also told The Strand that the administration’s decision to change the award “was less of a discussion” and felt more like “an imposition on the award VUSAC and the Vic community worked hard to secure.”
On how Victoria College can move forward, Raguindin urges administration “to acknowledge that their initial change was egregious and harmful” and “genuinely apologize.” He adds that “they must prove that donors and students of colour can trust them with public changes in their practices, policies, and procedure.” Furthermore, Raguindin “looks[s] forward to [Victoria College’s] continued gathering of data and welcome[s] an increased commitment to critically gathering race-based data for decision making in pursuit of equity.”
The Strand has reached out to the Victoria Black Student Network (BLVCK) for their perspective, but has not received a response in time for publication.
