Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously stated the professors had been reassigned, rather than the classes.
The Concordia Association for Students in English (CASE), a student-run association, says classes are being reassigned while an investigation takes place regarding sexual misconduct allegations within the university’s creative writing program.
“As of this moment, the courses taught by the professors named online are being reassigned pending investigation,” the statement read. “The books written by those faculty members have been removed from the display window on the sixth floor of the Webster Library Building, and a third party is conducting the investigation.”
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A blogger on Monday posted about allegations of sexual misconduct within the program.
On Wednesday, Concordia University president, Alan Shepard, denied having heard of these allegations before the blog post.
“I’ve been reading it’s an open secret, but it was not an open secret to me,” Shepard said on Wednesday. “I wasn’t aware. If I had been aware, I would’ve acted sooner.”
READ MORE: Concordia University reacts to sexual misconduct allegations
One prominent and former Concordia student, Heather O’Neill, finds it difficult to believe that the university president didn’t know.
“He says he never heard any inkling which is very bizarre and hard to believe that he could be so clueless,” O’Neill, a novelist, said on Wednesday. “He’s been there since 2012, and in 2014, a writer named Emma Healey wrote an essay for the Hairpin in the United States about her experience at Concordia.”
The university has launched an investigation into the matter.
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