We’re Being Evicted
Why?
The AMS says it’s because OPIRG and Levana haven’t re-ratified as clubs. They also say it’s because EQuIP is a committee and therefore does not qualify for ‘club space’ (though this has always been the case and every other executive has recognized the importance of having a space dedicated to supporting queer and trans folks and so has supported this ‘policy breach’).
Why didn’t you re-ratify?
OPIRG and Levana have been discussing all summer whether or not to re-ratify. There are many factors that weigh into this decision. We were also never told that not re-ratifying would result in our eviction.
We were never given a concrete deadline to submit our re-ratification forms. OPIRG and Levana were given notice on July 19th that July 25th would be our “deadline” and that the Clubs Manager would have to conclude that we were inactive as a student club. This was despite the fact that both clubs had communicated that we were still active and that our decision-making processes had been slowed down because it was the summer (board and collective members were away, and both groups operate based on consensus).
We contacted the Vice-President of University Affairs, Kieran Slobodin, to inquire if the deadline was indeed legitimate, because we had never heard anything about a deadline before, and we explained our situations to him. He told us that there was, in fact, no deadline for re-ratification.
Neither Levana or OPIRG had made a decision on re-ratification when we received our eviction notice. It should be re-stated that the re-ratification process has no bearing on EQuIP, and they are being evicted despite the almost 40 years they have been in the Grey House.
Has anyone ever been evicted before?
No active club has ever been evicted from Queen’s campus. This move is unprecedented.
If this eviction happens what does it mean for Queen’s and Queen’s students?
If OPIRG, Levana and EQuIP are evicted from the Grey House Queen’s will become one of the only university in Canada without a space that exists explicitly for queer, trans, and genderqueer students, and without a space for women (apart from the Ban Righ Centre for mature women students). Queen’s students will lose the only safe space for queer, trans, and genderqueer people and women on campus.
If these groups are evicted, it will mean hundreds of students will be evicted with them.
