Ahmad Mousattat, es student at the Université de Sherbrooke, is at the center of this controversy. His name has since been stricken from the roll of recipients of the Quebec lieutenant-governor’s medal. This move follows a series of complaints in response to sexist comments he reportedly made on Reddit-style chat platform Discord intended for medical school applicants. The turn of events has led to much discussion and debate both in and outside of the college community.
Mousattat started classes on the university’s satellite campus in Longueuil, south of Montreal, at the end of August. He’s recipient of the Quebec lieutenant-governor’s medal as well as the Youth Medal. These awards are a testament to his exceptional volunteer contributions to our communities. So far, both accolades have been revoked. In a statement, the office of the lieutenant-governor said they deleted his name from the medal’s roll of honour. He has been served with an order indicating such.
On April 26, Mousattat was presented the Youth Medal during a special ceremony held in Laval. Yet, following a complaint about “hateful, antisemitic, racist and threatening” comments made in a social media chat group, Dawson College, where he was initially recommended for the medal, took action. A subsequent inspector general’s report found that while some of the comments were offensive, they fell short of incitement to violence.
“Dawson confirmed to us that the student had admitted to writing messages that were, shall we say, inappropriate.” – Ian Préfontaine
Dawson College’s response has been to rescind its endorsement of Mousattat’s candidacy for the Youth Medal. This prompted further scrutiny from university officials. Rector Jean-Pierre Perreault scheduled an emergency meeting on Friday with a number of physicians descending on the school. More importantly, they talked about how the comments might affect Mousattat’s academic and personal journey.
HSR Board member Donna Varrica showed up and faced the music. She pointed out that even though Dawson College has withdrawn its recommendation for Mousattat’s honors, the ultimate authority to choose and rescind recipients rests with the lieutenant-governor’s office. She reiterated the fact that they’ve never requested for a student to lose their Youth Medal. They did retract a letter of recommendation for a student to the lieutenant-governor’s office in charge of administrating the award.
It’s the circumstances around Mousattat’s case that have sparked widespread outrage. A still image of him from a video appearance on Islamic Relief Canada is circulating widely on social media. This unflattering photo, together with his inflammatory remarks, stirred heated discussions from several communities to the T dot.
