“Our history is who we are. And if you’re going to talk about academic freedom, you have to incorporate that history within your teachings,” said panellist Dr. Lashley during Friday’s event.
anti-racism
The University of Ottawa joins more than 40 other post-secondary institutions in Canada in the signing of the Scarborough Charter, a nationwide initiative to promote inclusivity in higher learning institutions.
“Your athletes and your community do not want your emails or your social media posts, they want you to take accountability for your actions (or lack thereof), and implement sustainable change in the form of policies and action. Your words without action are and will continue to be empty,” write a collective of members from the University of Ottawa women’s rugby team.
“While I have no doubts that the creators of the petition mean well, this particular issue reminds me of a similar call to action for mandatory Indigenous content courses in universities. Many of the issues raised in this regard also apply to these suggested mandatory anti-racism courses. Primarily, these mandatory courses could actually foster the toxic spaces they are meant to mitigate,” writes Sam Yee a third-year biomedical sciences and Indigenous studies student at the University of Ottawa.
