Banned former KSA director frustrated by slow investigation
Franson: “The process of contacting her might not have happened yet.”
By Matt DiMera
[news editor]
Over two months after issuing a formal ban on former director Reena Bali, the KSA council’s investigation is still ongoing according to the chairperson of the executive board.
Justine Franson, the executive chairperson and director of operations for the Kwantlen Student Association, said the ban was necessary because the director of events, Tarun Takhar, “felt threatened with his safety” after he was “legally threatened.”
The original April 6 council motion was discussed in camera, behind closed doors, and ordered Bali to not be present in KSA offices during Tarun Takhar’s office hours.
At a subsequent meeting on May 11, council voted to release the minutes from the closed door session “to offer more clarity.” Those minutes were provided to The Runner, four weeks later on June 9.
The released minutes contain only unattributed statements and do not elaborate on the allegations made against Bali.
The KSA council also released an undated letter, alleging that Bali “has been launching wild accusations against the KSA Council for attempting to ban her with the express intent of personal gain.”
The letter further stated that the decision was made in secret to both “protect Ms. Bali’s reputation” and “to avoid embarrassing our current Director of Events [Takhar].”
According to Franson, the ban is only in effect during Takhar’s posted office hours. “We’re not restricting her membership in anyway, she has full access to all the services,” she said.
Franson was unable to provide a timeline as to when the investigation would be concluded and that there was “no resolution date at this point.”
Reena Bali said the KSA has still not formally notified her about the ban and that she was only aware of what she had been told through secondhand sources.
“I did my due diligence of contacting the KSA,” said Bali. “I sent them an email about two months ago and I’ve yet to receive a reply.”
“We’re still resolving the matter so the process of contacting her might not have happened yet,” said Franson.
Bali said she has since filed a complaint with the University, over her treatment by the KSA.
“How can they be resolving the matter if they haven’t even bothered to communicate with me?” asked Bali.
“It’s slandering my name,” said Bali. “They have no cause, they have no investigation.”
“They ruled on something without me even being present while it was discussed. I’ve yet to even see what they even said about me.”
