CHARBONNEAU – The tragedy of Steven Galloway

 STEVEN GALLOWAY’s meteoric rise was only matched by his fall to Earth after a former student and lover accused him of abuse in 2015.

The award-winning author had just given a lecture at Wright State University, Ohio, when he received an email that changed the course of his life. In it, the University of British Columbia put him on notice that he was at the centre of a sexual-assault investigation involving a student, according to a feature-length article in Walrus magazine (November, 2016).

Galloway’s fellow creative-writing faculty member, Annabel Lyon, alerted Ohio police that he could be suicidal. Police arrived at the Holiday Inn where he was staying and found that Galloway had been crying, but he was not, he insisted, suicidal.

I’ve been following his career for a decade and have written two columns about his life growing up in Kamloops and his rise and fall from fame.

I wrote the first one after reading the article in Walrus.

In it, Kerry Gold reported that Galloway drank regularly with students and played favourites – bringing some students into his inner circle while casting others out.

Galloway would convene Thursday-night sessions in a local canteen known as the Legion with up to 10 students. “The group would stay late, consuming alcohol at a pace that made some uncomfortable,” said Gold.

It was at this time that Galloway started a relationship with a writer in her 40s. He had a wife and kids; she had a long-term partner. They met while she was taking an undergraduate course at UBC. “He invited her to come drinking,” said Galloway’s former teaching assistant Erin Flegg.

“That’s how the relationship began. The power dynamics were there from the start: getting in was contingent on him liking her. That was common knowledge in the program. There was a culture of fawning over him,” said Flegg.

At some point during the affair, things changed. “She stopped coming out,” said Flegg. “Then, after a certain point, I noticed they were totally distant.” A freelance writer, Ericka Thorkelson,  recalls the woman sitting at the Legion one night looking pale and upset. “I remember thinking, ‘She does not look okay.’” She regretted not asking what was wrong.

As a result of a sexual-assault complaint by a woman known only as A.B., UBC fired Galloway and his writing opportunities dried up. No charges were ever laid and a report produced for the university by former judge Mary Ellen Boyd concluded the accusations against Galloway were unsubstantiated.

Fast forward a decade and Galloway has launched a defamation lawsuit against his accusers, including the former student A.B.

Galloway was born in Vancouver and raised in Kamloops. He studied writing at the University College of the Cariboo (now Thompson Rivers University) during the 1990s when I taught Electronics.

Galloway seems like the kind of guy I would like.

In her Walrus article, Gold said a student – identified only as Alison – never saw any signs of inappropriate behaviour. “He’s awkward, goofy—nothing I would consider flirty,” she said. Another female writer agreed. “Steve has an exuberant sense of humour, but he is not raunchy — especially not around students.”

I think Galloway would have been a delightful addition to my class had he decided to study Electronics. It might have saved him a lot of grief.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://closetproductions.ca/EyeView/eyeviewcover.htm