By now, I have a feeling that most students have heard some variation on the events that took place on campus at the end of last term regarding the Formula Motorsports Team. I encourage everyone to read the article from the FSAE team prior to reading the following opinion piece. This is my attempt to summarize the wide range personal opinions that I have heard regarding the suspension of the team due to an unauthorized photo shoot and where this leaves us now.
Following the Dean’s decision, an email was sent out to engineering students. The subsequent media explosion caused news to travel very quickly about the suspension of the team. The Record, Maclean’s Magazine, Fox News, various popular auto-related blogs and social media sites covered the story. The Iron Warrior email account was absolutely flooded with letters from concerned alumni, parents of students, students themselves and faculty and staff members of the university. I have spoken with UW Engineering alumni who now refuse to donate to the university. They even feel uncomfortable wearing their engineering leather jackets that they have had for years and, until now, had always worn proudly. Based on all of these opinions, I have been able to draw several conclusions on how people are feeling about this issue.
Firstly, I would have to say that 90% of the people I have talked to about this feel that the Dean’s decision to suspend the entire team over the course of their competition season was extremely harsh and unjustified. I definitely feel that the punishment was unnecessary and that the motive behind it was obscure and hypocritical. I met with someone in the Dean’s office early on when I heard about this, purely as a concerned student. I knew I didn’t have all of the facts, and I wanted to know what really happened as, at this time, no statements had yet been issued. As an entire team had suddenly been suspended, I wanted to make sure that the teams I was affiliated with were doing nothing that would be deemed inappropriate. I asked for the reason for the suspension. Why did this happen? I was met with a very convoluted reply. Something regarding the misuse of the Engineering 5 Student Design Centre was the response. I asked if the team knew that what they were doing was incorrect in anyway. I was told that upon moving into the Design Centre, teams signed contracts explaining the rules. I still have yet to be able to locate such a contract or find anyone on any team who has personally signed one of these. I then asked very bluntly if this would have happened had a man been posing next to the car. I was told that the same punishment would have been handed down. Fine; I left the office.
Then, comments from the Dean’s Office suddenly seemed abundant. Dean Sedra found the photos “denigrating to women.” How did this have anything to do with the team’s suspension? Why was the Dean commenting on this at all? This was not supposed to be the reason for the suspension. Then, safety within the Design Centre and upset sponsorships became the issue of the day. Leaf blowers and engine exhausts were dangerous. As one friend’s blog pointed out, I truly hope that a student team space with countless cars and engines present would be equipped with proper ventilation systems. Safety here should not have been of concern. Also, I have not heard of one sponsor having complained about this issue. If anything, sponsors have been outraged as much as alumni and students about this. They have donated thousands of dollars to support a team to go to an international competition, which is now no longer going to happen. This my main concern for the team as I know how difficult it is to acquire funding for projects. The Waterloo Engineering Endowment Fund can only give so much. It is sponsor support that makes all of this possible.
Not only do most agree that the decision was far too harsh, but this affects the entire team. This has negative impacts on over 50 people’s learning experience. Students are still able to attend the competition, but not compete. This is an insult to the work they have done for this school. They will miss out on key networking opportunities at competition. The Dean has been quoted as saying that “this is the way life is” and to take this as a learning experience. This is not the way life is. Entire teams do not get suspended for the actions of a few that were done on the best of intentions. Students involved in this unauthorized photo shoot were caught on surveillance video that they knew was being taken. Clearly, they did not think what they were doing was wrong. They were attempting to help a friend. One small mistake on their part. Note I said small, insignificant, as in, this is not a big deal.
This entire situation has been taken out of context and blown way out of proportion.
Would a warning not have been sufficient? Are they really trying to make examples of this team, as if we were living under tyranny? Are we no longer encouraged to be risk-taking, creative and innovating?
And even if you do feel that these photos were inappropriate, should an entire team that has spent countless hours working on their car be punished for the actions of a few team members for the purpose of teaching them a lesson?
To me, after as much investigation as I could manage, this decision appears to have been made by one person, our Dean, who felt personally offended by a few photos and has used his opinion to make this ruling.
These are photos of a woman in front of a race car, a typical image within the motorsports culture. More importantly, they are photos of a team member who is an inspiration to girls who want to be feminine, smart, and confident. Isn’t it just about the coolest thing in the world that this beautiful woman actually helped build the race car as a leader on this team?! I am so proud to know her; she is incredible and has conducted herself impeccably throughout this entire ordeal. The entire team has.
I can understand not wanting to personally pose in front of a car in a bikini. Not everyone is comfortable with their bodies or confident enough to do so, but if you are, why not? I can see how, from the surface, these images may be interpreted as unprofessional. This gets back to the point I made above of it not being a big deal. These photos were not going to be used in a negative light in any way whatsoever. I cannot say this more clearly than the following metaphor that has been used to explain the situation: a nuclear bomb has been used to kill a mosquito.
Ultimately, this leaves me asking more questions than finding answers. This entire situation makes me feel sick to my stomach. The Dean is supposed to be on our side. So many students work tirelessly to promote engineering and make UW such an amazing place. It is the people that make the place. Since when should the Dean be more concerned with making UW Engineering look perfect while hindering its students from within? Since when did Engineering 5 become more important than the people inside the building?
I am extremely disappointed in my university, a place I have been absolutely devoted to for almost four years. All I can do now is urge the Dean’s Office to communicate with students. If you expect us to follow rules, please make them clear. If you are going to hand down extremely harsh punishments, please try to understand the situation before making the judgement. Talk to us. We are students, smart ones, with opinions. Listen to us. We deserve respect.
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