Content Warning: This story includes discussion of highly offensive and racist language. Quotes are provided to provide clarity and eliminate ambiguity about the nature of the mayor’s comments.

Trent students are speaking out following a statement from Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal which apologized for using “a racial slur that is deeply offensive and hurtful,” in a guest lecture at Trent University.

While many in the public first learned about it from Leal’s April 8th statement, the incident in question happened nearly three weeks earlier, said students who witnessed Leal’s remarks first-hand.

According to students in Steven Girardi’s ADMN-2010H: Management Skills, a business administration class, Leal was invited as a guest lecturer on the evening of March 19th. Students were told attending the mayor’s lecture was worth 5% of their final grade, and that questions about Leal's speech would be included on the final exam.

While Leal initially gave the class a presentation about managerial skills, one student says the mayor “drifted off and gave us a history lesson.” 

It was during this tangent that Leal would go on to say “[the] n word, hard ‘r’…openly for all in Wenjack Theatre to hear.”

Leal’s statement claims that he was quoting “a historical remark” attributed to Johnson “from his time as a congressman in the 1930s,” when he made the remark. “In doing so,” the statement continues, “the quote that I used included a racial slur that is deeply offensive and hurtful.”

In a recording obtained by Arthur, Leal can be heard saying “Lyndon Johnson was an F.D.R. New Dealer. He came out of the hills of Texas. He used this language that you would never use today, and he talked about poor n****rs and Mexicans that he taught Sunday school to.”

“I was astonished and at first didn’t realize he really said it until I went back to check the lecture recording,” the student told Arthur in an email. “No matter the context,” he added, “what [Leal] said was inexcusable and wrong.”

“Jeff Leal had no regard to how the students would feel hearing that,” the student continued. “As a Black Canadian student here at Trent hearing this was harmful.”

The student Arthur spoke to says that he and two other students spoke to Girardi after class the following week to articulate their discomfort with the mayor’s comments. After an “extensive conversation,” he and the other students came to an understanding with Girardi to remove Leal’s lecture from the class’ final exam.

In an email from Girardi to ADMN-2010H students last week, the professor expressed that he would “like to again apologize for the speaker’s statement in class and reinforce the point that I do not condone the inappropriate wording used.”

“I recognize the harm these statements may have caused and assure you that in the future, guest speakers will be made aware of our responsibility to ensure a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning space,” Girardi added.

In an email obtained by Arthur responding to a formal complaint from the student about the mayor’s conduct, Chair of the Department of Economics and Director of Trent’s School of Business, Byron Lew, said “That is very very unfortunate that someone with the supposed stature of a former [sic] mayor would indulge themselves in such base behaviour.”

On April 8th, the same day as the mayor’s statement, the university released a statement on myTrent portal’s daily news bulletin titled “Trent University Statement in Response to Racist Language.”

“During a guest lecture, as an invited speaker, the Mayor of Peterborough referenced the writings of an historical figure who used racist language,” the statement reads. “In doing so, the Mayor repeated a racial slur.”

The university’s statement does not specifically acknowledge the historical figure or the racial slur in question.

“The University acknowledges that it is unacceptable to use racist language, regardless of context. We affirm that the University prohibits all forms of discrimination, harassment, racism and hate as per our policies,” the statement continues. “We apologize for the harm this caused to our students and recognize that words (racial slurs) can have lasting impacts on racialized students.”

Trent says that “In an effort to ensure that such an occurrence is not repeated, the University will extend our equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-Black racism training to invited speakers.” 

While the statement says the university “will confirm that invited speakers are informed of our policies and joint responsibility to ensure a safe and respectful learning environment free from all forms of racism and hate,” there is no indication of whether or not E.D.I. or anti-Black racism training will be mandatory for guest speakers.

Despite disavowals from administration and the mayor’s public apology, students are left wondering why a simple response took so long.

“It took from March 26th—which is when that conversation about Jeff Leal’s actions to our professor went down—to now, where we have gotten an apology from Jeff Leal,” the student from Girardi's class said. “Might I add this happened weeks ago.”

In response to a request for comment from Arthur to confirm Leal’s remarks and to explain the mayor’s delay in issuing an apology, Leal’s Executive Assistant, Jeremy Istead, replied that “The Mayor previously provided an apology to the class, about two weeks ago, through the instructor.”

“It’s disappointing to see how the situation has been downplayed regarding the Jeff Leal situation by the people of Peterborough,” said another student in Girardi’s class.

“While the message may have been intended to be impactful, someone in his position should be more mindful of how they communicate—especially in a diverse setting like a university classroom,” the student told Arthur over email.

“Using the n-word with the hard ‘r’ in front of that many first-year students who are new to the city gives off a really poor first impression.”