Fanshawe College Case Study

8/12/2019 Fanshawe College Case Study

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CASE STUDY

Fanshawe College: ReputationManagement Following the 2012Fleming Drie St! "atri#$%s Da& RiotsStrategi# Communi#ation Management

Kayleigh Klajnscek and Karlee Slattery12/6/2013


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Table of Contents


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Abstract

The prevalence of out of hand partying behaviour in postsecondary students has provided !any

postsecondary institutes "ith issues surrounding safe and responsible drinking and celebrating#

$n increase in the social/party scene !ay be due to the fact that the nu!ber of people enrolling

in postsecondary education has ju!ped significantly in recent years# The neighbourhoods

surrounding !any postsecondary institutes have often beco!e student enclaves for young

people looking to party and !eet people#

The follo"ing is a case study ai!ing to uncover the i!pact a specific incident% the &le!ing

'rive (iots of 2012% had on the reputation of &ansha"e )ollege% through e*a!ination of

co!!unication decisions and tactics# Three different intervie"s "ere conducted "ith individuals

involved in the co!!unication !easures follo"ing the riot# T"o of these individuals held the

role of +resident of the &ansha"e Student ,nion and the third is the -*ecutive 'irector of

(eputation and .rand anage!ent at &ansha"e )ollege# This case study discusses the history

of &ansha"e% student attitudes in regards to socialiing% and the reputation leading up to and

follo"ing the &le!ing 'rive (iot# The overall strategic direction "ill be discussed% delving into

the co!!unication goals and outco!es# The case e*plores ho" &ansha"e "as able to recover

and !itigate the threats associated "ith the riot incident#

PART 1

History of Fanshawe College

&ounded in 16 as the ntario 4ocational )entre% &ansha"e )ollege has beco!e one of

ntario5s largest colleges# The college boasts 1%000 fullti!e students and 26%000 partti!e

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students annually# There are over 10 diplo!a% certificate% and degree progra!s% along "ith

various apprenticeship training courses offered as "ell# &ansha"e )ollege is spread over five

ca!puses# The !ain ca!pus is in 7ondon% ntario% the s!aller ca!puses are nearby in Si!coe%

St# Tho!as% 8oodstock% and Tillsonburg#

The Organization: Vision and Mission tate!ent

$s stated on the college "ebsite% &ansha"e )ollege5s !ission is to 9+rovide path"ays to

success% an e*ceptional learning e*perience% and a global outlook to !eet student and e!ployer

needs#: ;&ansha"e )ollege% )orporate infor!ation% 2013< This is elaborated upon in their

strategic plan as 9co!!itted to personal% social% and econo!ic success through =uality education

and learning for e!ploy!ent# 8e enrich the lives of individuals and !eet the changing needs of

our diverse co!!unities# 8e are innovative and responsive# 8e pro!ote opportunity# 8e are

&ansha"e )ollege#: ;&ansha"e )ollege% $nnual (eport on Strategic +lan% 201300 in the !orning on arch 1Dth% 2012% "hen &ansha"e )o!!unication !anager%

-!ily arccocia contacted Student ,nion +resident 4eronica .arahona# The conversation "as

about "hat "as currently going on over at &le!ing 'rive and ho" the Student ,nion "ere to

respond on behalf of the student body# $ press release "ent out later that Sunday !orning# The

key !essage in the press release "as regarding so!e students being charged for the events that

unfolded the night before# The release fir!ly stated that the &S, does not condone this

behaviour fro! their students# Ct "as "ritten that this incident "ill inevitably look bad for the

school5s reputation% but that the actions of so!e do not reflect the behaviours of the student body

as a "hole#(See Appendix !

$n e!ail "as also sent out to all &ansha"e staff early Sunday !orning# The e!ail clarified that

there "ould be one key spokesperson to talk "ith !edia fro! the &S,> 4eronica .arahona#

4eronica spent the onday% arch 1 th"orking "ith speaking notes and !edia training for the

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endless line of intervie"s she "as to be spokesperson for# +resident of &ansha"e )ollege% 'r#

Bo"ard (undle "as also to be a key spokesperson "hen speaking to the !edia and addressing

the issue fro! a corporate level# Tony &rost shared% 9&ansha"e has i!ple!ented a staged

approach to spokespeople#: 'epending on the issue% a different spokesperson "ill be used#

)ertain =uestions or issues only re=uire a Senior )o!!unication anager# ther issues% like the

riot% re=uire the president# This ensures that the president isn5t being seen in the !edia for every

=uestion or issue that arises% and that a proper spokesperson is assigned to an issue/opportunity#

onday% arch 1th% 2012 "as a day full of !edia intervie"s and a press conference "ith al!ost

all the !ajor !edia outlets in South"est ntario present# 'r# (undle spoke to the !edia in a

press conference# Be addressed ho" the college "ould be handling those students involved% and

that the college "as going to "ork diligently to take back the reputation of the college as an

e*e!plary postsecondary institution#

'uring the press conference% 'r# (undle also spoke of others "ho could be to bla!e for the riot#

8estern ,niversity and Bigh School students also attended the parties# &le!ing 'rive landlords

are also addressed% as !any are not very involved "ith the happenings in the neighbourhood# The

7ondon +olice Service% -S% and &ire beca!e victi!s# Be spoke of ho" the college "ould be

"orking diligently "ith authorities to bring the guilty parties to justice# (See Appendix "!

4eronica .arahona spoke on behalf of the Student ,nion# She "anted to reiterate that the actions

of so!e students do not reflect the &ansha"e study body as a "hole# Bo"ever% the conse=uences

of those students involved "ere not to be taken lightly# She ended her speech by saying that the

&S, "ill "ork "ith co!!unity !e!bers to find a functional solution and to ensure that nothing

like this happens again in the co!!unity#

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Re,"tation Manage!ent

$lthough only a s!all percentage of the people involved in the &le!ing 'rive riots "ere

&ansha"e )ollege students% the student body as a "hole took a hit# The school5s reputation "as

in jeopardy# &ansha"e5s credentials "ere being di!inished because of a very s!all percentage of

the student population5s behaviour# &ro! arch until Iune% students "ere losing out on

internships% coops% and job opportunities si!ply because they had the &ansha"e na!e attached

to the!# $lthough this co!pletely died do"n after the beginning on the fall se!ester% !any

students took an unnecessary hit in the fe" !onths after the riots#

The incident "as a co!!unity issue% but "as highlighted as a &ansha"e proble!# 8hat "ere

really the &le!ing 'rive riots "ere constantly being !issreferred to as the &ansha"e )ollege

riots#

ocial Media

&acebook and T"itter posts "ere instantly posted across cyber space# C!ages and videos of the

)T4 van being flipped and ite!s being pelted at authorities are readily available for public

vie"ing online# These i!ages helped the authorities find guilty participants# $ &le!ing 'rive

'isturbance ost 8anted page "as posted to the 7ondon +olice Service "ebsite using i!ages

found online of possible guilty participants# The i!ages have a s!all description asking the

public to identify the individuals in the i!ages to help in their case# T"eets can also be found

stating different parties clai!ing their guilt to participating? these posts "ere sent out during the

night of arch 1th% 2012#

-oals and Ob(ecti$es

C!!ediately follo"ing the incident% the goals of &ansha"e "ere to deal "ith the students

involved# They also "anted to establish in the !edia !essaging about &ansha"e students being1


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only a s!all percentage of the people involved# Ct "as i!portant for the! to share this !essage

but not to co!pletely dis!iss their o"n student5s actions# They "anted to reinforce the

e*pectations of the college on student conduct# The !ain goal "as to ensure a respectable

reputation "as associated "ith the college and to discipline the students involved# &ansha"e

ai!ed to !ake an e*a!ple of these people5s actions to deter it fro! happening again and to set

the bar higher#

The riot forced &ansha"e )ollege to deal "ith not only their students% but "ith the actions of

those in their co!!unity# The college "ill have to co!!unicate throughout the co!!unity and

beyond through !edia relations tactics# The !edia "ill "rite stories "hether or not the college

gets involved% but being proactive "ith !edia relations and !aking spokespeople available "ill

aid in co!!unicating the !essages that "ill contribute to the goals of &ansha"e# These !edia

tactics are a part of the crisis control# The goal co!ing out of this crisis is to !aintain or i!prove

the reputation of the college#

Fanshawe t"dent #nion

The ulti!ate goal for the &S, "as to keep doing "hat they had been doing in the past to

broadcast the successes of their grads throughout the co!!unity# The &S, sa" that this "as a

co!!unity issue% and they didn5t feel the need to directly apologie% as it "as really out of their

hands# They spoke on behalf of the student population and advocated for the nu!bers of students

"ho "ere not involved# The &S, did not "ant the higher percentage of e*e!plary students to be

affected and painted "ith the sa!e brush as the fe" "ho "ere# $s previously stated% so!e

students lost out on different professional opportunities directly follo"ing the riots# The &S,

kne" this "as not right or fair#

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$fter the riot% the &S, stepped up to protect the student5s rights# any students "ere not on

&le!ing 'rive "hile this incident unfolded# The &S, "as concerned about ho" the punish!ents

for students "ould affect these students fro! graduating college# 98e "anted to !ake sure

students could still earn their diplo!as#: said .arahona# 9&or !any students it "as si!ply a case

of "rong place% "rong ti!e#: &S, felt the need to protect students that "ere clearly not a threat

on ca!pus in order to keep the! on the path to graduating fro! &ansha"e# The &S, ensured

!atters "ere handled case by case to "ork to"ards a solution for students present for the riot#

+ast +resident of the &S,% ack 'odge% "ho took office after 4eronica .arahona% didn5t "ant to

co!e off too fake or like they "ere trying too hard to rebuild their i!age# The !ain goal "as to

ensure that nothing happened again% to any e*tent% "ith their students in the ne*t year and

beyond# The school "ould not have been able to bounce back fro! another hit% no !atter ho"

big or s!all# The ne*t year "as very =uiet# Transparency "as the key ingredient to rebuilding the

school5s i!age# 9+resenting ourselves too strongly in the co!!unity "ould have co!e off as

fake and not genuine%: e*plained 'odge# 98e "anted to continue to e!brace day to day

successes of our students and do "hat "e "ere already doing in the co!!unity#: 8hile student

co!!unity outreach groups "ere for!ed% they "ere outside of the &S,#

The &S, took the initiative to build stronger co!!unication "ith various co!!unity outlets# .y

increasing the co!!unication efforts "ith +roject 7-$(H% the &S, infor!ed students of

various byla"s in order to infor! the! of different !unicipal la"s they are re=uired to follo"#

They also spoke up to )ity )ouncil and advocated against setting byla"s that "ere targeting

student groups# The &S, reached out to the landlords in the &le!ing 'rive area and developed a

basis of co!!unication "ith this audience#

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Students and co!!unity !e!bers alike "ere asha!ed of the guilty parties5 behaviour# any

students felt betrayed by the incidents that unfolded that night# Student groups "ere for!ed and

organied various co!!unity outreach events% this "as beyond the &S,# Students "ere very

reactive to the situation and "anted to sho" a different side# Bo"ever% these good ne"s stories

are rarely picked up by the popular !edia# $ year after the event% before St# +atrick5s 'ay 2013%

the !edia contacted ack 'odge# Hothing had happened throughout the year that the !edia

dee!ed ne"s"orthy and St# +atrick5s 'ay 2013 ca!e and passed =uietly#

The !ajor resource that proved to "ork on behalf of the &S, "ere the fullti!e staff !e!bers#

The staff is recognied as national trendsetters "ith different initiatives% such as +roject 7-$(H#

The group boasts strong internal cohesion and the ability to "ork together as a tea! to

acco!plish their strategic goals# The )ollege Student $lliance "orked "ith the &S, to provide

!edia training to teach the group ho" to handle the !edia% ans"er their =uestions and !aintain a

professional relationship "ith the audience# This proved successful as the tea! "as approached

several ti!es by the !edia% even a year after the event#

Fanshawe Ad!inistration

The goals of &ansha"e )ollege follo"ing the &le!ing 'rive (iots "ere to help people

understand "hat "as going on in an authentic% transparent !anner# They "anted to ensure the

reputation "as !aintained and that they "ere ahead of any other issues that could have co!e up#

ne !ore issue could have set back the institution a great deal in regards to ho" the public

perceives &ansha"e )ollege#

The co!!unication efforts involved the +resident5s ffice as "ell as the )o!!unication and

arketing 'epart!ent at &ansha"e# The &S, "orked alongside these offices "hich helped in

considering e*tra opinions# &ro! the onset% +resident of &ansh"e )ollege% 'r# Bo"ard (undle

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ca!e in strong and held people accountable for their actions# 9Be didn5t apologie for anyone%:

says Tony &rost% -*ecutive 'irector of (eputation and .rand anage!ent# The institution

"anted to ensure that their actions "eren5t too obviously reactive% "hile still saving face#

9&ansha"e )ollege "as forced into an i!!ediate reaction%: says &rost of the college5s actions#

The i!!ediate reaction involved 'r# (undle5s strong !essaging about the actions of the school

in regards to student suspensions in a +ress )onference# 'r# (undle said% 9.eginning today% "e

are taking back the reputation of an e*ceptional college# 8e "ill not have students "ho behave

in this "ay# Cf they do% they "ill be re!oved#E (See Appendix "!

The conference and the press releases fro! the Student ,nion and the college ad!inistration

"ere the e*tents of the i!!ediate reaction# &ro! here% &ansha"e began taking proactive

!easures to recover their reputation# 9-verything "e do is reputation defining%: says &rost of

ho" the college is perceived#

&ansha"e ad!inistration put together a "orking group# This group "as na!ed Students in the

)o!!unity 8orking Aroup and "as !ade up of the 7ondon +olice Service% &S,% &ansha"e

)ollege $d!inistration% the )o!!unication and arketing 'epart!ent% &ansha"e )ollege

Security% offca!pus housing% and the college5s &acilities anage!ent# Together% these uni=ue

stakeholders "orked to find "ays to reinforce the &ansha"e brand and !itigate proble!s that

have arisen in the past#

The 8orking Aroup also provided a !ore dyna!ic perspective on the +roject 7-$(H initiative#

ne of the tactics included having garbage bins put in the &le!ing 'rive area at ti!es like

Septe!ber and $pril "hen !ost !ovein/out of the houses# $lso% they "orked "ith the )ity and

pay for e*tra garbage re!oval at specific ti!es of year to keep the area clean and avoid issues#

The "orking group ca!e up "ith the tactic of increased policing and !onitoring of the area

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during popular celebration ti!es including &rosh 8eek% the end of school year% Ballo"een% and

St# +atrick5s 'ay#

The Media

The !edia "as the !ain culprit in putting the reputation of &ansha"e )ollege on the line# &ront

and center% the riots "ere being headlined as theFanshawe #ollege riots not theFleming $rive

riots# $lthough the neighbourhood is adjacent to the college% of the initial 11 arrests only seven

"ere confir!ed to be &ansha"e students# &urther along in the investigation it "as found that an

even s!aller percentage of the people "ho "ere at riots "ere actually &ansha"e students#

&S, !e!bers and the &ansha"e )o!!unications depart!ent "ere ada!ant to distance

the!selves fro! the headline# 9There "as a lot of association "ith the college and the riots and

"e "anted to !ake sure that the !edia "as respecting that they "ere not &ansha"e )ollege

riots% but a nearby offca!pus incident%: said .arahona# any stories do not headline the story

as a &ansha"e incident% but &ansha"e )ollege is !entioned in !ost articles# The !edia

sensationalied the story to create a &ansha"e issue fro! "hat "as really a co!!unity housing

proble! close to the ca!pus#

The story not only broke locally and nationally% it gained international headlines# This ne"s put

&ansha"e )ollege on the !ap in a negative light# 9Aood ne"s stories never pick up the press as

a negative story%: e*plained &rost# 9+eople are carnivores "hen it co!es to ne"s# Ho one "ill

read that positive story# Ho paper "ill pick that up#:

edia "as in contact "ith the college right before St +atrick5s 'ay 2013% looking for a story#

9The area "as very =uiet after the incident%: e*plained 'odge# 8ith nothing to report on% the

college kne" that this "as a oneti!e headline and the story5s legacy had died#

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O"tco!es

$fter the &le!ing 'rive riot% &ansha"e "as better e=uipped to deal "ith the partyculture

surrounding postsecondary institutes# &ansha"e took their current initiatives and honed the! to

better fit their needs# .y involving various stakeholders in the +roject 7-$(H initiative% !ore

solutions "ere found and put in place# +rocesses that had been in place before% such as faceto

face outreach in the &le!ing area% "ere repeated before popular celebration days#

The !ain outco!e fro! this incident "as a focus on proactive reputation and brand building# Ct

"as clear after"ards that reactive !easures are !uch less effective "hen convincing or

co!!unicating to stakeholders# Taking proactive !easures to build up the reputation "as

e*plained by Tony &rost as% 9putting !oney in the bank to take out later if "e need to#: .y

putting positive !essages out and building up a good i!age% the riot incident isn5t the first thing

to co!e to !ind "hen one hears the na!e &ansha"e )ollege#

$ great concern "as that this issue could beco!e a legacy associated "ith the college# Student

enclaves and other potential issues are inevitable# There are so!e things that occur naturally in

society that cannot be avoided# 8hat !atters is ho" an organiation "orks around it# any

students "ere asha!ed of "hat had gone on% on &le!ing 'rive that night# The e!barrass!ent on

behalf of !any &ansha"e students !ade it clear to ack 'odge that so!ething of this nature and

level "ould not happen again# The college and the &S, didn5t take the bla!e for the incident% as

it "as a co!!unity housing proble!# They did ho"ever ackno"ledge the event and infor! the

public on the suspensions of those involved#

Since going through this incident% the &ansha"e co!!unications tea! has had ti!e to reflect

and evaluate "hat the best practices are# The !ain one% as !entioned before% is a focus on pro

active co!!unication !easures# Tony &rost referred to this incident as a tsuna!i% and stressed

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the i!portance of 9being ahead of the tsuna!i#: 8hen reacting% you shouldn5t be too e*tre!e or

defensive# Lou !ust tread lightly to help the! co!e to your position "hile re!aining open%

clear% authentic and consistent# bjectivity is e*tre!ely i!portant in co!!unicating due to the

fact that !any ne"s !edia outlets no longer "rite objectively and focus on sensationaliing

stories#

$nother best practice is to "ork "ith partners# Cn order to have an effect% you !ust be a"are of

the different stakeholder5s needs# 8orking "ith these stakeholders gives insight into "hat is

i!portant to the! and allo"s future issues to be predicted# The spokesperson !ust be a"are of

the ins and outs of the situation and !ust be briefed before speaking "ith anyone# They !ust be

believable# The public "ants to be in the kno"% so a spokesperson should clearly and consistently

share !essages#

&ansha"e )ollege and the neighbouring co!!unity have been very =uiet since the St# +atrick5s

'ay incident in 2012# The only stories in the !edia regarding the &le!ing 'rive riots are those

charges being laid#

&ansha"e )ollege has seen an increase in the nu!ber of students "ho apply and accept to attend

the institution#

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A,,endi.

1/ Dr. Howard und!e: Press Conference "#eec$

arch 1% 2012

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+/ %"& Media e!ease

arch 1% 2012

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0/ 'ondon Cit( B(!aws

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2D

'oise (&)law"*)12 + Consoli,ate, -ul& 2./ 2011This &)law is printe, un,er an, & authorit&o the Coun#il o the Cit& o on,on/ 3ntario/ Cana,aDis#laimer:

The ollowing #onsoli,ation is an ele#troni# repro,u#tion ma,e aailale or inormation onl&! 4t is not an oi#ialersion o the (&)law! The ormat ma& e ,ierent/ an, plans/ pi#tures/ other graphi#s or te5t ma& e missing oraltere,! The Cit& o on,on ,oes not warrant the a##ura#& o this ele#troni# ersion! This #onsoli,ation #annot e,istriute, or use, or #ommer#ial purposes! 4t ma& e use, or other purposes onl& i &ou repeat this ,is#laimeran, the noti#e o #op&right!

Copies o 3i#ial ersions o all (&)laws #an e otaine, rom the Cit& Cler$%s Department & #alling .16)771)8.0.!

For &)law relate, 4n9uiries please #onta#t .16)60).10!

For &)law relate, Complaints please #onta#t Muni#ipal aw Enor#ement 3i#ers at .16)771)8770 orenor#ement;lon,on!#a

Cop&right 2001

3FF4CE C3'S34DAT43'4'CUD4'< AME'DME'T "*)12)11001 =-ul& 2./ 2011>(ill 'o! 21? 2006

(&)law 'o! "*)12

A &)law to proi,e or the Regulation an, "rohiition o 'oise!

*@EREAS se#tion 6 o the Muni#ipal A#t/ 2001/ S!3! 2001/ #! 2./ as amen,e,/ proi,esthat a muni#ipalit& has the #apa#it&/ rights/ powers an, priileges o a natural person or thepurpose o e5er#ising its authorit& un,er this or an& other A#t

A'D *@EREAS suse#tion 10=1> o the Muni#ipal A#t/ 2001 proi,es that a muni#ipalit&

ma& proi,e an& seri#e or thing that the muni#ipalit& #onsi,ers ne#essar& or ,esirale orthe puli#

A'D *@EREAS suse#tion 10=2> o the Muni#ipal A#t/ 2001 proi,es that a muni#ipalit&ma& pass &)laws respe#ting: in paragraph ./ E#onomi#/ so#ial an, enironmental well)eing o the muni#ipalit& in paragraph 7/ @ealth/ saet& an, well)eing o persons inparagraph ?/ Seri#es an, things that the muni#ipalit& is authoriBe, to proi,e un,ersuse#tion =1> in paragraph / "rote#tion o persons an, propert& in paragraph 6/ Animalsin paragraph 6/ Stru#tures in#lu,ing en#es an, signs

A'D *@EREAS se#tion 126 o the Muni#ipal A#t/ 2001 proi,es that/ without limitingse#tions 6 an, 10 o the A#t/ a muni#ipalit& ma&: =a> prohiit an, regulate with respe#t tonoise/ iration/ o,our/ ,ust an, out,oor illumination/ in#lu,ing in,oor lighting that #an eseen out,oors an, => prohiit the matters ,es#rie, in #lause =a> unless a permit is

otaine, rom the muni#ipalit& or those matters an, ma& impose #on,itions or otaining/


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References$nderson% # ;10 Septe!eber 2012//"""#london#ca/cityhall/by

la"s/'ocu!ents/noise+812#pdf

'anise"ski% B# ;2 Ianuary 2013//"""#lfpress#co!/2013/01/2/fansha"ecollege

presidentho"ardrundleretiring

'evlin% +# ;2013,eter - $evlin) ,resident at Fanshawe #ollegefro!http>//"""#linkedin#co!/profile/vie"NidO0036@PauthTypeOH$-MS-$()BPauthTokenOR6$PlocaleOenM,SPsrchidO1@@2@2213D@D1021Psrchinde*O6PsrchtotalO@PtrkOvsrpMpeopleMresMna!ePtrkCnfoO4S(+searchCdF3$1@@2@2213D@D1021F2)4S(+targetCdF3$0036@F2)4S(+c!ptF3$pri!ary

'odge% # ;personal co!!unication% 2 Hove!ber 2013//"""#"indsorstar#co!/7ondon!ayorsaysthoseinvolved+attyriotshouldtu

rnthe!selves/632@3/story#ht!l

Kessler% S# ;31 ay 2011

Documents

Fanshawe College Case Study