Lecturer advised female student against pursuing 'Q' internship

Radio host Jian Ghomeshi is shown in a handout photo. (CBC)

A journalism lecturer says he discouraged a Western University student from seeking an internship at "Q" after hearing a concerning story from a recent graduate.

In an interview Monday, Western lecturer Jeremy Copeland said a former student told him she had attended a taping of the radio show in hopes of landing a job at CBC.

Ghomeshi made "inappropriate advances" on the student, Copeland said, but did not elaborate on what specifically happened that day.

"I was shocked but she didn't want to talk about this story," Copeland told CTV Toronto.

"She didn't want to go forward on it. I respected her decision on that and that was kind of that."

For two years, no students asked about pursuing their internships at "Q," but then in September 2014, a female student inquired about the show.

Copeland said he'd been tipped off about the Toronto Star's investigation into claims that Ghomeshi had been abusive toward women. He told the student who wanted to intern at "Q" to pick a different show.

About a month after the student asked about the internship, Ghomeshi was fired after CBC executives said they saw "graphic evidence" that the host had allegedly harmed a woman. Since the news broke, nine women have come forward to accuse Ghomeshi of abuse, with allegations that include beating, choking, and sexual harassment on the job.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

On Saturday, Toronto police said that three women had come forward to speak with officers. Police asked anyone with evidence to contact the sex crimes unit, but added that the investigation is in its "infancy" and Ghomeshi has not been charged with any crimes.

Students taking part in "Q" internships through Ryerson University's School of Journalism never reported any issues of personal safety or harassment while working with the now-fired host, according to the Chair.

Upon hearing of the allegations, Ryerson University School of Journalism Chair Ivor Shapiro said he contacted internship supervisors and students who did academic internships at CBC, looking for any claims of inappropriate behaviour.

"When (as occasionally happens), the faculty supervisor sees or even senses a potential concern about the student's health, welfare, safety, or about the academic usefulness of the placement, then the supervisor does not hesitate to advise the student, intervene with the student's manager, and/or terminate the placement," Shapiro wrote.

No students or internship supervisors reported anything inappropriate, Shapiro said.

Ryerson will not be launching a formal inquiry, but will continue to monitor the situation and will respond to anything reported by students or graduates.

Carleton University also looked into its journalism students’ internships at CBC Toronto and found that only one student was placed with “Q” between 2003 and 2014.

“We’ve been working in close co-operation with our university administration and can tell you that we have no information at this time that would lead us to believe there has been any connection between any of our students and the allegations that have been raised,” Susan Harada, head of Carleton’s journalism department, said in an email.