Security Complaints Dropped
Shepard Announces Plan to Cancel Strike-Related Charges
Concordia announced that it will be dropping all strike-related charges filed by security against a group of students Tuesday afternoon.
“After consulting with students, faculty, staff and administrative colleagues, I have decided that Concordia will not proceed with complaints,” Concordia President Alan Shepard wrote in a letter published online earlier this evening.
The Concordia Student Union is celebrating the news after several months attempting to have the charges dropped.
“I don’t think I’ve been this happy since I stepped into office,” said CSU President Schubert Laforest. “This is a victory following a long summer of work.”
The students themselves share the CSU’s sentiment.
“I’m definitely happy about this,” Trevor Smith, an undergrad who had been charged, laughed.
For Laforest, the decision was welcome, if not a little surprising.
“I walked out of a meeting with Alan Shepard with a maybe,” Laforest said. “And then about an hour later, I got a call from [Concordia Spokesperson] Chris Mota saying that the university has just decided that they would be dropping the charges.”
For Shepard and the university, this is not a political statement so much as a chance to move on.
“It’s not support or condemnation of either side,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. “It’s simply saying it’s been a tough spring and it’s time to take a collective deep breath, and come together. That’s the vision of how [Shepard] sees us functioning as a society.”
That message came through to students, and Laforest was quick to thank the President for his actions.
“Yes, this is a victory for students and I’m happy that we as a collective were able to achieve this,” Laforest said. “But I do want to thank Alan Shepard for his understanding of the situation and his ability to put his personal views aside for the betterment of the university.”
Smith did note, however, that this isn’t over just yet.
“There are a few charges that were made by people who aren’t security,” he said. “So there might still be an issue … It’s not over, just because I might be in the clear doesn’t mean that everyone is.”
“But,” he added, “I think today we can just celebrate.”
