The Black student-athlete systemic review barely scratches the surface of issues at McMaster
By: Shae-Ashleigh Owen, Contributor
CW: anti-Black racism
On June 25, 2020, McMaster University President David Farrar published a letter promising to address systemic institutional racism and any obstacles to equity and inclusion at Mac. Alongside these promises, Farrar mentioned that the university's recently released Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and 2019-2020 Action Plan will challenge anti-Black racism and support Black students and students of colour at McMaster. The letter also stated that they will finally address the underrepresentation of Black faculty members at the university.
Among their attempts to address anti-Black racism, McMaster announced a systemic review of the Black student-athlete experience, headed by Ivan Joseph. The university invited both past and present Black student-athletes to share their experiences in the athletics department.
This review was officially launched July 27 when Fabian Foote, a McMaster football alumnus and Toronto Argonauts defensive lineman, tweeted about facing systemic racism during his time at Mac.
“We still have work to do” LOL. Y’all never started shit to begin with. Start by firing Mark Alfano. How about that? I’ve experienced a lot of systemic racism during my time at McMaster. Myself and other black student athletes brought it up to Mark & Glen and they brushed us off. https://t.co/W2F37z8sCL
— Fab (@Fabloescoo) June 28, 2020
The review, which was completed on Oct. 27, found that there was a history of systemic anti-Black racism in the Department of Athletics and Recreation. As a Black student, hearing about Black students’ experiences with racism was saddening, disappointing and traumatic. However, the results of the review did not surprise me.
The review of the Black student-athlete experience in McMaster Athletics & Recreation is complete. Evidence collected during the review, which was conducted by @DrIvanJoseph of Wilfrid Laurier University, reveals a culture of systemic anti-Black racism within the department. 1/8
— McMaster University (@McMasterU) October 27, 2020
Experiences of those who participated in the review included: having a “jailbreak-themed” party where white students dressed up as criminals and wore cornrows in their hair; mentions of racial slurs used by alumni, fellow teammates and a coach; cancelling Black History Month celebrations; degrading comments based on race; there was even an accusation that a Black student-athlete was selling drugs.
In response to this, Farrar launched an Action Plan which aims to increase representation, implement advocacy roles and targeted supports and scholarships. On Oct. 29, the Department of Athletics and Recreation announced that 10 new athletic financial aid awards will be established for Black student-athletes each year.
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I want to highlight the fact that Black students are singled out based on race regardless of scholarships. According to a census conducted in February 2020, 60 per cent of Black youth expect to gain at least a bachelor’s degree in comparison to 79 per cent of other youths. The census concludes that this gap is likely due to discrimination.
Experiencing systemic racism like this is not exclusive to Black student-athletes. This includes the McMaster Students Union and academia as a whole, as these areas of student life are not exempt from anti-Black behaviours and actions. Statistics, such as the census, show that we need more scholarships for Black students at McMaster, as Black youth are statistically less likely to gain a bachelor’s degree compared to the general population. By providing scholarship opportunities, Black students will have at least one less barrier to receiving a postsecondary education.
As a Black student, hearing about Black students’ experiences with racism was saddening, disappointing and traumatic. However, the results of the review did not surprise me.
Like many other Black students, I have faced anti-Black racism during my time at Mac. My own experiences include people shuffling their bags away from me because they seem to be afraid of stealing — no, I do not want your bag nor what’s in it, thank you. I have even heard, “Oh, you speak great English,” even though English is my first language.
In class, I feel like I have to work 10 times as hard as the non-Black students just to get the same amount of respect and acknowledgement. I often get labelled as the “angry Black woman” due to my dominant personality, which I can assume my non-Black classmates do not have to worry about. I’ve heard fellow Black students talk about the subtle racism they had to face in their classes, both by classmates and even professors.
I even had to face systemic racism from the MSU when the Pride Community Centre was closed down midway through the winter 2020 semester, right after their 2SLGBTQA+ BIPOC-focused campaign which mainly highlighted Black and Indigenous 2SLGBTQA+ folks. This decision made by the 2019-2020 executive board hurt members of the BIPOC community at McMaster. As the only Black volunteer of the PCC at that time, this deeply hurt me too.
Statistics, such as the census, show that we need more scholarships for Black students at McMaster, as Black youth are statistically less likely to gain a bachelor’s degree compared to the general population.
I applaud the school community for recognizing the systemic issues that Black students face. This has resulted in clubs including the ratification of the Black Student Association and other Black-focused clubs. However, if Mac truly wants to help the Black student community, their actions need to be taken further.
Reviews of racism and oppression need to be extended towards more areas of student life, including security, club life and especially education because although we pay the same tuition as everyone else, we face more barriers in getting our degree. I would even suggest that reviews need to be extended to other minority groups as well. This is a good and important start; however, there is so much more work to be done.
McMaster University completes its review of systemic racism in the Athletics Department.
This past July, McMaster University announced they would be conducting an external review of Black athletes' experiences following accusations of systemic anti-Black racism in the Athletics Department brought forward by several Mac alumni.
The review predominantly looked at the individual experiences of Black student-athletes, institutional gaps limiting their student experiences and suggesting improvements to address these gaps while also mitigating any discriminatory issues on an intersectional spectrum.
The review was led by Ivan Joseph, vice-president of student affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University and former athletics director at Ryerson University. A task force composed of five members — one faculty, two staff and two students — assisted Joseph with regards to the interviews and producing observations and recommendations based on the data.
The data would consist of interviews with current and former Black student-athletes, non-Black student-athletes, Black coaches/staff and non-Black coaches/staff. Upon successful completion of the interviews, the final report of the review was sent to Sean van Koughnett, associate vice-president and dean of students at McMaster University.
On Oct. 27, McMaster announced that the review was completed by Joseph, with the assistance of the task force.
“I view this process as an exercise in understanding. Together, our job is to use this as an opportunity for learning, for expanding the way we think and for seeing more clearly, more deeply, more broadly,” stated Joseph to McMaster Daily News.
“I view this process as an exercise in understanding. Together, our job is to use this as an opportunity for learning, for expanding the way we think and for seeing more clearly, more deeply, more broadly,” stated Joseph to McMaster Daily News.
The review of the Black student-athlete experience in McMaster Athletics & Recreation is complete. Evidence collected during the review, which was conducted by @DrIvanJoseph of Wilfrid Laurier University, reveals a culture of systemic anti-Black racism within the department. 1/8
— McMaster University (@McMasterU) October 27, 2020
The report outlined various experiences faced by these athletes, the process of the review, the persistent culture of anti-Black bias in the department and the lack of accountability by authority, by both athletics staff and university faculty/staff.
While discussing the impact on the student-athletes, Joseph stated in the review, “[t]hey believe that ‘nothing was done’ or it was ‘swept under the rug’ to ‘avoid drawing attention to it.’”
“They believe that ‘nothing was done’ or it was ‘swept under the rug’ to ‘avoid drawing attention to it,’” stated Joseph in the review.
During an interview, an anonymous staff member from the department told Joseph and the task force, “[d]iversity training within the Department is non-existent. We don’t spend any time on it.” Per the recommendations of the task force, implementing an anti-racism policy statement with specific attention to anti-Black racism will help “create a culture of accountability” within the department.
“Diversity training within the Department is non-existent. We don’t spend any time on it,” said an anonymous staff member.
The review concluded that this report is made public with its recommendations. Ideally, such news would further entice the university to conduct more reviews and other universities’ athletics department to follow likewise.
“This issue is not something unique to McMaster. Our opportunity with this action plan is to be a leader in this area,” said van Koughnett.
“This issue is not something unique to McMaster. Our opportunity with this action plan is to be a leader in this area,” said van Koughnett.
The main recommendations include increased Black-identifying representation among coaches, counsellors, leaders; produce a safe, encouraging environment for accountability; establish a scholarship program for Black student-athletes, create a new advocacy role to allow for a third-party group to act on behalf of such athletes; and implement a consistent support and training program in partnership with the values of equity, diversity and inclusion.
Upon receiving the report, van Koughnett worked alongside Arig al Shaibah, associate vice-president of the Equity and Inclusion Office at McMaster, to help produce a five-point action plan, based on the aforementioned recommendations stated in the review. This plan would be implemented by a newly hired role, Senior Advisor of Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism, where they will be working closely with the Athletics Department, the office of Student Affairs and EIO.
These include hiring a senior advisor of equity, inclusion and anti-racism, who will be responsible for collaborating with key contacts within McMaster’s Black community, including a new Black Student-Athletes Council. 5/8
— McMaster University (@McMasterU) October 27, 2020
“We are establishing a couple staff positions: a Black student services advisor which will handle a variety of issues, such as academics and careers. They will also refer to them with other resources and help advocate for them. Another new role is a Senior Advisor in the EIO, who will be engaged with Black student populations and student populations in general and have the authority to reach out to higher senior figures in the university,” said van Koughnett.
“We are establishing a couple staff positions: a Black student services advisor which will handle a variety of issues, such as academics and careers. They will also refer to them with other resources and help advocate for them. Another new role is a Senior Advisor in the EIO, who will be engaged with Black student populations and student populations in general and have the authority to reach out to higher senior figures in the university,” said van Koughnett.
With regards to increased representation, hiring members will now include an Employment Equity Facilitator and other racialized community members; paid internships in the department will also be emphasized for up to three recent Black graduates. A Black Student-Athlete Council will now be formed, alongside the formation of a Black student services and 10 new Athletics Financial Aid awards for Black-student athletes.
We know we have work to do, and this is where we’ll start
Here are some points from the action plan following the external review of the black student-athlete experience. pic.twitter.com/2VNfHc4MCo
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) October 29, 2020
Black student-athletes will also have the opportunity to receive support from Black faculty members and a non-profit organization, Onyx, to provide career development opportunities for Black students.
Lastly, policies such as the Code of Student Rights will be updated to reflect these experiences and address it immediately. Van Koughnett is also working with al Shaibah to create comprehensive education training by fall 2021 for athletics and recreation coaches, staff and student-athletes to give them the capabilities and understanding to discuss anti-Black racism.
As the news of the review and action plan came out, Kwasi Adu-Poku, who interviewed with us earlier this year, shared his thoughts on the review. Adu-Poku is currently a member of the McMaster men’s basketball team.
“Just looking through the review and I participated in it, it was a lot to go through and I’m just talking about reading it. But not even the length, but processing a lot of these experiences that not just I experienced. I just had to sit back and think of all the things that have been going on for a while. But with regards to the action plan, it's a really good step to create a better future, but more things need to be done. It's not a one-step process. It's a good thing student-athletes to have their voices heard but I know even just regular students would love to have their voices heard,” said Adu-Poku.
“Just looking through the review and I participated in it, it was a lot to go through and I’m just talking about reading it. But not even the length, but processing a lot of these experiences that not just I experienced. I just had to sit back and think of all the things that have been going on for a while. But with regards to the action plan, it's a really good step to create a better future, but more things need to be done. It's not a one-step process. It's a good thing student-athletes to have their voices heard but I know even just regular students would love to have their voices heard,” said Adu-Poku.
Adu-Poku explained that with this action plan, he hopes that the needs of Black students are accounted for outside of the athletics population. He believes that with the creation of the Black Student-Athlete Council, it will be something that carries a greater impact in the future.
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) October 29, 2020
“I hope its function is something more internalized than tokenized,” said Adu-Poku.
“I hope its function is something more internalized than tokenized,” said Adu-Poku.
After speaking with fellow Black-student athletes, Adu-Poku explained a shared sense of sadness resonated between them.
“I don’t even know the word to put on it. In a sense, it’s a form of grief. At the end of the day, it was overwhelming. As much as we have been accustomed to these experiences, but seeing it on paper, it just brought so much more weight to it. Despite action being taken, we need to make sure this is not a short term thing and make sure our kids are not dealing with this when they enroll in university. We want to make sure it’s a better world for them,” said Adu-Poku.
“I don’t even know the word to put on it. In a sense, it’s a form of grief. At the end of the day, it was overwhelming. As much as we have been accustomed to these experiences, but seeing it on paper, it just brought so much more weight to it. Despite action being taken, we need to make sure this is not a short term thing and make sure our kids are not dealing with this when they enroll in university. We want to make sure it’s a better world for them,” said Adu-Poku.
During Adu-Poku’s tenure as a Welcome Week representative for 2020, he was part of a Black student panel for incoming first years, the first of his entire undergraduate journey of five years. The panel shared their experiences with the students but also provided them with the comfort, support and resources they need. Adu-Poku also explained that relationships with various members of the Black community at McMaster have been fostered in virtual check-in spaces.
There have also been two meetings headed by van Koughnett and al Shaibah to allow more Black students to express their opinions of the review.
“We have an ongoing conversation with the African Caribbean faculty associate and their focus is on the students. They are interested in supporting them through creating a mentorship program . . . We are having sessions for Black student-athletes. It doesn't replace face to face, but we are doing best virtually,” said van Koughnett.
“We have an ongoing conversation with the African Caribbean faculty associate and their focus is on the students. They are interested in supporting them through creating a mentorship program . . . We are having sessions for Black student-athletes. It doesn't replace face to face, but we are doing best virtually,” said van Koughnett.
With regard to accountability, there still may be fear by students from reaching out to a formal complaint process.
“Even when I reflect on certain experiences that I disclosed, I wouldn’t have had that window if it wasn't for this review. At the end of the day, a lot of these reporting processes are uncomfortable because you're confronting an issue, but fear that you might be outed stepping forward with this. Just ways that ensure confidentiality and security as students take this uncomfortable step,” said Adu-Poku.
Ultimately, while the action plan is comprehensive and has detailed tangible steps to address systemic racism in the department, this is still an ongoing process in establishing an inclusive environment.
