Queen’s University has released a statement condemning a video that has circulated on social media which includes transphobic and anti semitic content, and was recorded during parties held off-campus in the University District for homecoming.
The university says that the video has been “erroneously” attributed to Queen’s students, and that once identified action was immediately taken by the school to have the video removed, which it since has been.
Queens condemned the video said the people involved with the video primarily are not affiliated with Queen’s.
“The university took immediate action to have this harmful content removed and has been working to identify the participants,” the university’s statement reads.
“It appears the primary people who lead and speak in the video are not affiliated with Queen’s. One of the individuals involved also appears to have created similar social media content at street gatherings near other postsecondary institutions in Ontario.”
The university reiterated its support for the transgender community in the statement, highlighting the “acute” harm given the timing of the video, surfacing during Transgender Awareness Week.
Queen’s University’s statement, shared on Thursday morning, comes about a day after PSAC 901 – the union representing grad student workers at Queen’s – released its own statement on the video, calling for the university to act concretely.
PSAC 901 said the harmful content fits into a pattern at the university, referencing controversies involving marginalized communities at the university in semi-recent history including a racist image circulated of an AMS executive candidate, racist and homophobic notes left in Chown Hall in 2019, and more recently the controversy stirred up when a professor repeatedly used the N-word in class while reciting lyrics during a 2024 Law 320 Evidence class.
“We condemn this behaviour unequivocally,” the statement from the union reads.
“More importantly, we situate this incident within a long-standing and well-documented pattern of hateful, exclusionary, and harmful conduct that continues to emerge on this campus without meaningful institutional accountability… Viewed alongside the recently resurfaced video, these incidents highlight a persistent cultural problem at Queen’s, where bigotry continues to emerge and institutional responses remain inconsistent or insufficient.”
The union added that their health and safety officer has requested an opportunity to engage with the university to discuss concrete steps on how it plans address the “recurring harms faced by equity-seeking groups”.
The original video, the content of which YGK News is not interested in divulging, has seemingly been removed from social media platforms where it was shared.
