Western must stop hiding from the issue of free speech on campus. On April 27, President Amit Chakma, through his executive assistant, declined to meet with a group of faculty who have raised concerns about free speech and, in particular, about the letter from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on this important topic.
We are told the “university is currently undertaking a review.”
Minimal transparency would, however, require a public disclosure of who is conducting this review, under what terms of reference and what timeline. Furthermore, Western faculty, students and staff, as well as the broader London community, must be afforded a timely opportunity for meaningful input into any such review.
Instead of ensuring an open and accountable process, administration representatives have already biased any possible review by making public pronouncements about these issues which have no factual basis (such as declaring there was a ‘disturbance’ on Feb. 1 when, in fact, there was none, and falsely claiming that there were ‘safety’ concerns). We are now more deeply concerned this review is, in fact, about stifling dissent on campus.
Simple, honest acts of free speech, such as displaying messages and taping our faces, do not require prior police permission. Why is Chakma’s administration hiding behind a smokescreen of “review” instead of supporting free speech on campus?
Douglass St. Christian, Anthropology
David Heap, French Studies
Bernie Hammond, King’s University College
Steve D’Arcy, Philosophy, Huron University College
Robert Cory, Chemistry (Emeritus)