On October 10, York issued a notice of action to Toronto Life and journalist Katherine Laidlaw, confirming plans to sue the magazine for libel.
An article, published in the October edition of Toronto Life, which outlined the sexual assaults that have occurred at York over the past decade, has received backlash from students and the administration, and the university’s lawyers have gone on the defense.
On September 26, York issued a notice of libel to Toronto Life and Laidlaw in regards to the feature, giving the magazine until October 15 to issue an apology or print a retraction to resolve the matter.
“Fortress York,” the article in question, details instances of sexual assault at York, focussing on a September 2007 incident during which Daniel Katsnelson and Justin Connort made their way into Vanier residence, and raped two first year students. The cover of this particular Toronto Life issue also read “Why There Are So Many Rapes At York U.”
Since the original notice of libel, Toronto Life has not retracted the article, nor has it apologized for any of the information.
Janice Walls of York media confirmed on October 11 that the school issued a notice of action for libel.
“The Libel and Slander Act requires us to give a notice of libel to a party, and then to issue a notice of action within a certain period of time — by October 15 in this instance,” says Walls.
“At this point, we have given the necessary notices to protect our rights,” she adds.
Sonia Lawrence, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School at York, says the feature by Toronto Life suggests that York is particularly dangerous, but there is no evidence in the article or police statistics to state this.
“Toronto Life may well believe all these things — it has always been a magazine which focuses on certain glittering parts of Toronto,” says Lawrence. “It treats everything, and everyone as either dangerous, boring, or exotic.”
“York is not safe and neither is anywhere else, including most of the places where we feel most safe,” she adds.
Victoria Jordan has been part of the York community for the last four years as an education and english student. She calls the Toronto Life article ridiculous and over-dramatized. She adds that the things Toronto Life reported on did happen, but because they are only focusing on York and not other universities – it centers York out.
Jordan also suggests the article was written with the intent to be negative, with a strategic effort to quote students that would portray York in the light they intended.
“What you are reading is not York,” she adds. “What Toronto Life is saying isn’t all false, but it’s not the full truth either.”
Jordan says that as York student, she is constantly on the lookout and is aware of her surroundings. When she walks to her car late at night, she keeps her keys lodged between her knuckles. She would act the same way however if she wasn’t on campus, or if she was downtown or at a shopping mall late at night.
She also suggests that students use the resources offered to students to ensure that they are safe on campus, most notably York’s GoSafe program. She notes that York should continue its efforts to promote the safety resources available to students.
Khadija Bint Misbah, a fourth-year psychology student at York, believes the school’s reputation as unsafe is routinely exaggerated in the media.
“York is a large university, and so crime is bound to happen,” Misbah says. “I have heard of similar things happening at other universities in Ontario as well.”
Other students like Afifa Mahboob, a fourth-year professional writing student. agree with the Toronto Life feature in that York is unsafe in many respects.
Mahboob, however, feels that any public place in Toronto falls into the same category.
“It doesn’t matter where I am at night, whether it’s at York or a shopping mall, I am going to be a bit more cautious than I would during the day,” Mahboob says.
Michael Burton
Executive Editor (Online)
