A Nova Scotia university says a homecoming sign hung at an off-campus house in Antigonish encouraged sexual violence against women. Tara Taylor, a professor at St. Francis Xavier University, took a photo of the sign, which read “Drop-off zone: Acadia girlfriends,” and posted it to social media Friday. “I was really angry and sad, especially having talked to a student just last week and also hearing and seeing a lot of stuff on social media about Cornell. I thought it was incredibly tone deaf of students, given what’s happening with Cornell,” said Taylor. The sign was removed after St. Francis Xavier University asked those living in the house to take it down. The sign was then put back up and a directive to remove it was made. “There is absolutely no place for this behavior on or off StFX campus. It will not be excused nor tolerated,” said Katelyn Ball, StFX Students’ Union executive vice president. “It was extremely disturbing and disgusting that, you know, people in my campus community thought it would be okay to post something like that. It’s the messaging itself, but it’s also the culture around it,” said student Ella James Hanson. The university says eight students live at the off-campus house, and they are all under investigation under the school’s sexual violence policy and code of conduct. “Both of our policies have a range of outcomes that are available, and they range from educational outcomes all the way to suspension or expulsion,” said Elizabeth Yeo, vice president of students at StFX. “I think what you’ve got there is language that invokes levels of sexual violence and potentially towards rape culture that is unacceptable in today’s vocabulary. It is not something that we would condone or stand by,” said Andrew Hakin, StFX president and vice-chancellor. CTV News went to the off-campus house to try and speak to the students, but no one answered the door. “Maybe they didn’t understand the seriousness of what the context behind the sign had meant. Going forward, I hope you know that they can take accountability and move forward from this,” said neighbour Kaleigh MacLean. Throughout her 22 years at StFX, Taylor says sexual violence is an issue that she has frequently heard about. “I know a lot of people are defending it and saying that I’m overreacting, but that is part of the problem. That is what keeps victims staying silent and feeling shame, and it perpetuates it,” she said. The president argues lots of work has been done to address the culture. “I would say that it is safe and inclusive for many people. The incidents that you see, these are isolated parts that need to be spoken out about,” said Hakin. StFX says its “expedited” investigation could finish “in the coming weeks.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
