King’s Students’ Union

ALT KSU letterhead with navy blue text on a white background that reads: In the summers of both 2021 and 2022, the HRM forcefully and violently evicted unhoused individuals from recognized and stable locations and communities. The violence enacted is more than just the physical assault on community members: displacing and removing people from secure locations, when there are too few sanctioned shelter locations or existing shelters for people to turn to, is violence. The challenge of finding a safe location to sleep without being at risk of further physical harm or harassment is no small task.

ALT KSU letterhead with navy blue text on a white background that reads: The HRM did not provide adequate alternatives for the residents of People’s Park, in ways that extend far beyond the physical location. The HRM designated temporary shelter sites that could provide a location for up to 32 tents. These shelter locations were restricted to tents only, rather than temporary wooden shelters which had been constructed at People’s Park and other locations; additionally, they were to be patrolled by a compliance force to ensure that these locations followed the designated rules and capacity limits, with the possibility of Halifax Regional Police officers being brought in to aid with any noncompliance.

ALT KSU letterhead with navy blue text on a white background that reads: More unsanctioned settlements have emerged since the evictions, as was inevitable. The King’s Students’ Union demands that the Halifax Regional Municipality and Halifax Regional Police not engage in these recurring violent evictions. We also call on members of our community to stand in solidarity with our unhoused neighbors, prove aid and support in whatever ways you are able, and to treat all of our unhoused neighbors with the respect and dignity that every human being deserves. Otherizing and dehumanizing unhoused individuals is the rhetorical violence which encourages physical violence, and the result has been seen in the recent high-profile murder of Jordan Neely in the U.S.A. This is not an isolated incident.

ALT KSU letterhead with navy blue text on a white background that reads: Taking action is not always comfortable or pleasant. Supporting communities may cause disruption to established neighbourhoods. This is not an excuse to treat people seeking shelter, safety, and security as any less than the rest of a community, nor is it a reason to deny what shelters and communities they have made in the face of the resistance they have experienced. Yours in solidarity, The King’s Students’ Union

ALT A light blue background with bright blue, yellow and orange confetti across the top. There is also a black graphic of a steaming coffee cup and a graphic of two people dancing with music notes above their heads. Text reads: Class of 2023! Join us on May 25th for your Final Galley Day (9am to 2pm) and Final Wardy Night (7:30pm to midnight)!

ALT KSU letterhead with a white background and navy blue text that reads: “Reflections on change & performativity in a white majority liberal school (a farewell) When I arrived to King’s, my first home outside Ecuador, the first thing that came to my attention was the overwhelming Whiteness. It permeated every part of my first month in Canada, every interaction followed with how did you learn English? Do you miss the sunny weather in Mexico? Do they have seatbelts in Ecuador? (I wish these statements were exaggerations)

ALT KSU letterhead with a white background and navy blue text that reads: In 2019, there was no Equity Officer and many of my Canadian classmates tiptoed their way around me--afraid of sounding racist. So the first urge was to run from King’s into the arms of my fellow immigrant friends. At the time, it felt that I could never fit into King’s culture: Filled with hyper-intellectual, Toronto inside jokes and expensive thrifted jeans. Academia felt incredibly inaccessible, no English class in Latin America ever prepared me for FYP middle english texts.

ALT KSU letterhead with a white background and navy blue text that reads: Student organizing radically changed all of this. I learned that my struggles, my anger and my frustration at all these micro aggressions could be channeled into activism: Providing useful information to how King’s could better serve BIPOC/ international students. I sincerely thank every single member of administration and every single student who uplifted my voice. Change has been slow but consistent. We must still fight against tokenization. Regardless, I would not be here without previous alumni who fought for the international student tuition differential or the room for the racialized student collective.

ALT KSU letterhead with a white background and navy blue text that reads: To all minority students reading this, know that blending into King’s culture and hiding your differences isn't the answer. We cannot accommodate White fragility. Instead, we must look into what makes professors, classmates and friends feel at discomfort with our differences and what that reflects about them. I urge King’s self-proclaimed free thinking students to reflect on their allyship and be critical. If we claim King’s is a community oriented, open minded school we must ask: Open minded for who? Community that feels welcoming for everyone or a selected few? Are you calling out others but most importantly yourself?