I believe in the rights and justice for all.
And this is not justice.
There isn’t much that I can say that hasn’t already been said.
I am a graduate of the UBC Creative Writing Program. It was a great two years of my life. Steven was one of my professors. I have great respect for him as an author and educator.
As a woman, I have also been a victim of sexual assault. I will not go into the details, but I will say this. I spoke up and wasn’t believed. I was told boys will be boys. So I have great compassion in that corner too.
This isn’t a he said/she said issue. This was something very different. I signed the letter because I want UBC to admit they handled this inappropriately. That by keeping everything in the dark, they allowed hatred and fear to fester. They allowed people to turn against each other and assume the worst. Lives have been ruined, both anonymous and known.
There are no winners here.