Frances Widdowson has championed the advantages of Canada’s residential faculty system, rejected the Reality and Reconciliation Fee’s conclusion that the college system is “genocide,” and publicly stated the Black Lives Matter motion “destroyed” her college.
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Some College of Lethbridge college students and school are petitioning to cancel a visitor lecture this week by a controversial former Mount Royal College professor.
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It is a lecture the College of Lethbridge stated Wednesday will go forward as deliberate, regardless of issues raised by the campus group about speaker Frances Widdowson’s views. Widdowson has championed the advantages of Canada’s residential faculty system, rejected the Reality and Reconciliation Fee’s conclusion that the college system is “genocide,” and publicly stated the Black Lives Matter motion “destroyed” her college.
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Widdowson was fired from MRU in December 2021 amid fierce criticism from inside and out of doors the College of Calgary, whereas others praised her as a champion of free speech.
Two petitions opposing the visitor lecture had greater than 2,500 signatures between them by Sunday afternoon, with organizers arguing that the College of Lethbridge shouldn’t enable a speaker to share what they described as hate speech on campus.
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“Hate speech actually doesn’t fall throughout the scope of educational freedom, nor ought to it’s allowed a platform, particularly at an establishment that prides itself on its relationship with the Blackfoot folks,” stated Isabel Born, a music schooling pupil who was a part of the group that organized opposition to the lecture.
Some school on the college additionally voiced their opposition to Widdowson’s lecture, together with the Division of Indigenous Research, which wrote in a public assertion that it condemned Widdowson’s “anti-Indigenous rhetoric” and “deplores the truth that she has a platform given to legitimize this discourse on our campus.”
U of L mentions college mandate to guard free investigation, scholarship
In an announcement launched Thursday, College of Lethbridge President Mike Mahon stated Widdowson’s views conflicted with values held by the college, together with his dedication to the Reality and Reconciliation Fee’s calls to motion, and added that the college “doesn’t disagree” with claims that scale back the impression on residential faculty.
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Nevertheless, he stated the lecture would proceed according to the college’s mandate to guard free inquiry and scholarship.
“Visitor audio system presenting on campus or for our campus group are afforded the identical dedication to freedom of expression as members of our campus group, though the college under no circumstances endorses the opinions and views of any speaker,” Mahon stated.
“Members of the college group have the correct to criticize and query opinions expressed on campus, however they could not impede or intrude with others’ freedom of expression.”
Widdowson didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Postmedia on Sunday.
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She was invited to campus for the visitor lecture by College of Lethbridge philosophy professor Paul Viminitz, an teacher who himself confronted self-discipline for utilizing a racial slur within the classroom on no less than one event. An Affiliation for Tutorial Freedom and Scholarship letter acknowledged Viminitz’s use of the n-word throughout a September 2021 lecture and defended it on the grounds of educational freedom.
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Viminitz declined remark when reached by Postmedia on Sunday.
Pupil protest, simultaneous visitor lecture deliberate
The College of Lethbridge College students’ Union additionally spoke out towards Widdowson’s lecture. Nathan Crow, the group’s Indigenous pupil consultant, stated in an announcement that he was “disturbed” by the state of affairs and stated it had a damaging impression on survivors of the residential faculty system in addition to Indigenous college students on the college like himself who deal with the impression of intergenerational trauma.
“I assist the thought of freedom of expression, however when it occurs to discriminate towards a particular demographic of ULethbridge college students, in addition to to assist info and false narratives, it is not proper,” Crow stated.
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A deliberate pupil protest is scheduled to oppose Widdowson’s lecture on Wednesday.
As nicely, one other professor gave a simultaneous visitor lecture by Professor Dr. Sean Carleton of the College of Manitoba on residential faculty denial.
Amy Jackson, an indigenous research pupil who was additionally concerned in organizing opposition to the Widdowson lecture, stated she was inspired by pupil assist for the petitions and protests.
“Whereas our campus is a public college, we’re all pulling collectively at a time after we don’t need hateful rhetoric on our campus,” Jackson stated.
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
