University of Regina President Vianne Timmons is doing damage control after the cheerleading squad dressed in cowboy and Indian outfits for a theme party closing out their season.
Some of the images were posted to Instagram over the weekend.
They did not last long.
When Vianne Timmons saw them, she ordered they be removed and issued an apology on behalf of the university.
Speaking to reporters today, Timmons says this is a learning opportunity.
“Students are students and we need to continually educate our future generation,” she says. “And this is an educational opportunity and that is how I will treat it.”
Timmons says she felt the need to take decisive and swift action after seeing the pictures.
“We won’t ignore these things. We will deal with them immediately, and that is part of the urgency – we deal with them immediately. We want to treat these incidents as educational opportunities, teachable moments for our students.”
The cheerleading squad and its coach have been ordered to take cultural sensitivity training.
Other sanctions are also being considered.