I signed for a simple set of reasons:
– We still don’t know what the allegations are that led to the firing of Steven Galloway and yet he has been subjected to a torrent of attacks and abuse on social media and in the press initially unleashed by a UBC press release that appeared to claim all sorts of predatory behaviour by him and assumed his guilt before there was any hearing, investigation, or evidence gathered;
– The university says they have accepted Judge Mary Ellen Boyd’s report that found all but one of the allegations unsubstantiated and raised doubts about the credibility of those making the allegations. What is particularly egregious is that the horrendous press release put out by UBC has not been corrected or modified to reflect that change thus ensuring the attacks continue;
– We should not be savaging members of our own community, but setting the spotlight firmly on UBC and its managing (or muddling) the process of the investigation to demand it improve its handling of cases of this kind to provide security and build trust after years of ignoring the problem of sexual assaults on campus;
– Until the tribunal convenes it is premature to be arguing about guilt or innocence and who is telling the truth and who is not. That is, at least partly, for the tribunal to decide. At this stage and for the future the issue should be about a failure of process (maybe it is more appropriate to say a lack of any discernible process). Once UBC has a process in place that is fair and just the rest will become clear and not just for this case.