DEMAND SPACE FOR SACOMSS ON CAMPUS!

Whereas the Sexual Assault Center of the McGill Students Society (SACOMSS), which was founded in 1991 as the first of its kind in Canada and North America, continues today to provide service of the highest quality to all of English-speaking Montreal;

Whereas SACOMSS excellence has been recognized with awards such as SSMU service of the year and the 2005 YMCA peace medal;

Whereas the William and Mary Brown Student Services Building, which was built with $3 million in students fees, was originally designed with 655 square feet of space for SACOMMS;

Whereas in a memorandum dated May 31st, 2001 then Dean of Students Rosalie Jukier made it clear that It is the intention of the Office of the Dean of Studentsthat SACOMSS continue to be located on University premises, with space equivalent to that originally accorded to it in the William and Mary Brown Student Services Building.;

Whereas in April 2005 the McGill administration ended the universities housing of SACOMSS, save for giving space for their confidential night office whose sole needs are a phone and a bookshelf;

Whereas the SSMU now hosts SACOMSS main office space, despite the fact that our students paid $3 million in fees towards a building designed with space for SACOMSS outside of the Shatner building;

Whereas in a memorandum dated February 28, 2006 Morty Yalovsky, Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) wrote that the space allotted for SACOMSS would be assign(ed) for other purposes as of June 1, 2006., thus signaling the complete end to the Universitys previous commitment to house SACOMSS;

Whereas the it is unacceptable that the McGill administration is taking student-funded space away from students, and using it for their own purposes, jeopardizing SACOMSS existence despite the fact that SACOMSS is of great importance to the McGill community;

We, the undersigned, call for Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal of McGill University, to recognize the Universitys intention to give SACOMSS space by ensuring them confidential night office space in University space.