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So it's the season of elections for the SFSS here at SFU and it is really grating my cheese nerves. Posters up for weeks, people in the hallways always handing things out, facebook spam and spam in my school email inbox.

I'm going to vote, but mostly because of one issue that I read in the Peak (school paper). I'm an advocate for safety for women, no matter where and what setting. I believe that it's never a girls' fault (in the sense that "Oh she should have been wearing a sweater" "Oh she was asking for it") in the case of harassment.
This article outlined numerous claims from female candidates in the election coming out against Joe Paling, a fellow running for the President position.
He said things to one woman like "I'll vote for you if you sleep with me". Not funny. And really not cool. He also made claims that he slept with another candidate which now she has to deal with the falsity of his "conquest" and with inneudos and rumours.
For quotes from the SFSS forum board:
"- Joe Paling told a woman candidate that he would be voting for her because she is pretty, and he wants to be surrounded by pretty women when he is President.
- Joe Paling has repeatedly made claims to numerous people about having sex with a woman candidate, who is extremely upset by these claims. As a result, this candidate has had to face rumours and innuendo throughout her election campaign. This is sexual harassment, and a vicious personal attack, that has left this candidate feeling personally violated and helpless to stop the spread of Joe's claims.
- Joe Paling told another woman candidate, in front of her TA and Professor, that he would endorse her if she slept with him.
- Worst of all, Joe Paling incited an altercation at the Highland Pub with a woman running for President of the SFSS. When she tried to de-escalate the situation and walk away, Joe Paling chased after her and tried to remove her shirt in the middle of the crowded bar, while yelling that she had a hairy back. This is not just sexual harassment, it is assault."

Wow, do I want a sexist pig representing me at SFU? NO. I do not jive with that kind of behaviour, and find it ridiculous that people stick up for him because he has "experience". If his experience was good enough, would he need to resort to such tactics to get an edge in the election? I don't think so. It's a dirty trick, and it's not right.

I'm going to vote for Xenia Menzies (the woman he harassed in the pub) just to piss him off. I really don't know much about the candidates, but I do not feel confident in someone who does that. I don't care if he has the most experience. This kind of thing really pisses me off. Mostly because it still exists. And especially since it exists in an environment that is supposedly all equal and educated, but still rife with values and behaviours that you'd expect out of a community stuck in the past. University is such a load of crap.

I'm glad that these ladies have spoken up and made it public. Personally, I would be so upset if someone made claims that we slept together - for girls, it's a reputation-ruining thing. This one guy responded to it by saying that the girl should have just denied the rumours through the Peak. Uh...yeah, he has obviously never been good at identifying with the ladykind. That Paling d**k should be the one apologizing, and trying to fix the situation, NOT her. Again, blaming the victim. She has been the victim of a negative rumour and it is HER responsibility to fix it? Can't she be able to run in an election without such bullshit?

Okay, yeah this stuff more than pisses me off. It really riles me up. >:[ I know it's just "university" politics, but doesn't it truly permeate all aspects of our lives? It's not isolated and it makes me sad D:

So basically...politics. Discuss. xd

xd

I agree, he should be disqualified. You'd also expect someone like this, to try to save their votes, to be doing public apologies and whatnot but he must apparently think he didn't do anything wrong. I can't stand guys like that. It's worse than high school. I would absolutely love to hear that upon elections the girl he harassed just all-out stomps him in votes. It won't teach him anything but it'd still be nice.

If a guy tried to lift up my shirt, let alone while yelling degrading things like that - I'D kick his ******** a**, and someone would have to pull me off him before he landed in the hospital! Seriously! scream
Hell, if I saw a guy do that to ANY woman (first I'd go over to see if she was alright - but then) I'd kick his a**! That's just not acceptible by any stretch of the imagination.

That was uncalled for, and Emmy I hope that POS doesn't win. stare

Y'know what was kind of cool? The girl who is going for presidency, Xenia, found my livejournal post about it through google and commented! :O I was surprised but I really respect that she talked to me about it and was that cool. heart
"Hi Emma,

Your post came up on google.

Thanks for writing about this. It was really hard to speak out against the assault, especially during an election. I had a lot of people tell me not to talk about because it would ruin my chances of winning since it was seen as negative campaigning. Regardless of my odds, I took the risk and brought it up at the debates because I thought it was really important that people knew who they were voting in to office and I tried to do it in the most tactful way I could given the circumstances. Maybe I could have done it better, but you live and you learn. I knew about a lot of other stuff he had said to other women on campus but none of it started coming out until after I talked about what happened to me and because assault was just such a huge and dangerous escalation from the other cases of sexual harassment. There are still a few things people have told me that they still want off the record.

Today I was also really bothered to see a lot of my peers and even friends supporting Joe based on experience (even though I have the same amount of experience on Board and a longer time involved in many other parts of the Student Society) regardless of public knowledge of multiple harassments and men and women on campus talking about how they feel unsafe around him. I really don't understand how a campus as progressive as ours can accept that kind of behaviour. It means a lot to me that even though you don't know me, you are wondering the same thing and you think it's wrong. It restores my faith that maybe just maybe enough people at SFU still hold the same values I do and will turn out to vote to uphold them. I'm hoping some people come out based on my platform too and having worked with me before, Joe aside.

Thanks for talking about it. “Our lives begin to end when we stop talking about things that matter.” Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Come say hi if you see me on campus one of these days.

-X"

Zathy, as always, said it best! 3nodding heart

For guys it's 'I was drunk' and for girls it's 'I was on my period'.

Both tend to be over-used and annoy me.

You were drunk? Who's fault was that?

And You were on your period? - kay, some girls it's an honest answer, and they're really sorry about it. But most girls I know are using it as an excuse of any bitchy incident, and it annoys the hell out of me because it makes that whole stereo-type worse. evil

I wish people would just take responsibility for their actions, and own-up to their mistakes. Seriously. stare

YOU'RE KIDDING? gonk