Description

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THIS WASN'T ON THE SYLLABUS illuminates the courageous stories of campus activism against sexualized violence in Canada, uniting over three decades of personal accounts and resistance in a powerful call to prioritize and amplify the voices of student activists worldwide.

This Wasn’t on the Syllabus: Stories from the Front Lines of Campus Activism Against Sexualized Violence is both a record and an act of protest, progress, and survival located within Canada’s post-secondary landscape. The collection features personal accounts which articulate not only the prevalence of sexualized violence on campus, but how these acts inspire students to activism. The book is a call to value and prioritize the voices of student activists, who are often among those most impacted by sexualized violence, and who are key participants in driving change.

Stories which have until now existed precariously in news clippings—or been passed on through whisper networks—are now permanently inked. Connecting stories that span more than three decades, this anthology draws on collective memory to resist the cyclical nature of campus activism and is a testament to the solidarity of those who have fought, and continue to fight, against sexualized violence on campus.

While This Wasn't on the Syllabus is written from a Canadian perspective, sexualized violence is prevalent around the world, and the call to activism knows no geographic boundaries.

Content Warning: the collection focuses on sexualized violence, but each peice contains a specific content warning if applicable.

About the Author

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Addy Strickland is a writer, artist, and photographer based in Antigonish, NS. She graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2021 with an honours degree in Development Studies, through which she concentrated her studies on art and storytelling in community development. Throughout her degree, Addy was deeply involved in protesting sexualized violence on the StFX campus, and is one of the founders of the StFX Peer Support Program, a mental health and sexualized violence resource navigation and listening service. She has facilitated sexualized violence prevention training, sat on a prevention committee, spoken on panels, and helped coordinate numerous protests and collective actions. Currently, she works in youth engagement and community development with the Coady Institute's Centre for Employment Innovation, and volunteers with Students for Consent Culture Canada.

Emma Kuzmyk (she/her) holds a degree in English from StFX University, and is currently studying creative writing at Dalhousie. Her activism began in 2017 when she shared a poem online that garnered national media attention, and since then she has been involved in various campaigns, initiatives, and organizations aimed at ending sexualized violence. Emma currently works as the Program Coordinator for Action Now Atlantic, an initiative dedicated to ending sexualized violence at post-secondary schools in Atlantic Canada. She lives with her partner and cat in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in her spare time can be found reading, drawing, and playing soccer.