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When Mei-Ling (not her real name) campaigned and won a position on the executive of Concordia University’s largest student faculty association in the spring of 2013, she had just turned 20 and was full of optimism about what she could accomplish as a student leader.

But after a few weeks in the position, Mei-Ling began to encounter what she describes as a toxic environment, fuelled mainly by two male members of the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA).

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“They made blatant sexist and racially discriminatory remarks, and if you didn’t laugh, or if you showed your uneasiness, they would just make you feel worse,” she said.

Mei-Ling’s ethnic background is Chinese and Italian. She is prominent in Montreal’s Chinese community, speaks five languages (English, French, Italian, Cantonese and Mandarin) and is often asked to host Chinese community events.

Mei-Ling appealed to members of the ASFA executive for support, but was advised to just ignore the offensive behaviour. She says she soldiered on, trying to do her work despite the bullying, offensive language, discrimination and isolation she says she was experiencing.