Too many of us have lazily subscribed to the group think that says a) Israel can do no wrong and b) any criticism of Israel is an act of antisemitic terrorism which must be excised immediately.
This type of violence is what silences many students around discussions on genocide and colonialism. We are told, both directly and indirectly, that if we speak up, we will face brutal institutional violence. This, in turn, prevents us from publishing on important social issues, attending conferences, and engaging in critical discussions about colonial violence in classrooms and textbooks and on campus.
How can the President oversee social innovation in this context? These issues need to be opened up for rigorous intellectual evaluation. Right now, the President does not have the capacity to lead change in this direction. In fact, he has failed miserably. Where can students and intellectuals safely protest and challenge oppressive violence, if not on campus, where they work, play, and refuse injustice?
The University needs to reevaluate its mission statement, along with the values and principles guiding the President's decisions on crisis management. Many of us who are part of the institution do not support what we saw earlier this spring.
While I completely agree with the assumptions of this article, I think I see the assaults on free and peaceful assembly with a more political, and perhaps optimistic eye.
How long have the university campuses in Alberta.....and perhaps in all of Canada, and the North American sphere....been moving toward becoming 'bastions of conservative thought'? I don't think it happened yesterday.
I remember going up to the University of Calgary to put up some posters about Helen Caldicott, the Australian anti nuclear activist.........when she was coming here to speak about proposed nuclear power in the Peace. I received my B. Ed from the University, but was surprised and a bit shocked to find the new Education centre (being built while I was a student there) ...full of fancy hard wood offices for various oil companies. What was immediately frustrating, was there was nowhere to put up any posters on that floor.
It was all restricted....corporate looking.....an enclosed space.
We postered elsewhere, but as a retired teacher I was shocked by the apolitical polish of the main floor....and suspected it wasn't an accident that the Fossil Fool industry had decided to set up expensive 'encampments' inside the new Education Annex.
Because of this personal history, I'm rather pleased by the actions of our university CEOs. I don't consider them Educational Leaders any longer........suspect they have their appointments for good corporate reasons. It turns out, the corporate world is Pro Israel....seems to me its past time we all knew that.
I believe in getting a good education, and then using it to speak the truth staring you in the face. Our universities have mostly been captured by the neoliberal business friendly mindset. We continue to believe business as usual is an intellectual position to take at our peril.
So let's get out there........join our students still brave enough, and perhaps naive enough, to believe education is about searching together for truth and justice.........they are on the right side of history.
If they are going to have one............they need all our support. Asking qood questions is important; looking for easy answers, the new ignorance. Whether we're okay being part of a genocide in progress is the question...thanks to the students, its still an open one.
Kudos to the authors of this analysis.
Too many of us have lazily subscribed to the group think that says a) Israel can do no wrong and b) any criticism of Israel is an act of antisemitic terrorism which must be excised immediately.
This type of violence is what silences many students around discussions on genocide and colonialism. We are told, both directly and indirectly, that if we speak up, we will face brutal institutional violence. This, in turn, prevents us from publishing on important social issues, attending conferences, and engaging in critical discussions about colonial violence in classrooms and textbooks and on campus.
How can the President oversee social innovation in this context? These issues need to be opened up for rigorous intellectual evaluation. Right now, the President does not have the capacity to lead change in this direction. In fact, he has failed miserably. Where can students and intellectuals safely protest and challenge oppressive violence, if not on campus, where they work, play, and refuse injustice?
The University needs to reevaluate its mission statement, along with the values and principles guiding the President's decisions on crisis management. Many of us who are part of the institution do not support what we saw earlier this spring.
While I completely agree with the assumptions of this article, I think I see the assaults on free and peaceful assembly with a more political, and perhaps optimistic eye.
How long have the university campuses in Alberta.....and perhaps in all of Canada, and the North American sphere....been moving toward becoming 'bastions of conservative thought'? I don't think it happened yesterday.
I remember going up to the University of Calgary to put up some posters about Helen Caldicott, the Australian anti nuclear activist.........when she was coming here to speak about proposed nuclear power in the Peace. I received my B. Ed from the University, but was surprised and a bit shocked to find the new Education centre (being built while I was a student there) ...full of fancy hard wood offices for various oil companies. What was immediately frustrating, was there was nowhere to put up any posters on that floor.
It was all restricted....corporate looking.....an enclosed space.
We postered elsewhere, but as a retired teacher I was shocked by the apolitical polish of the main floor....and suspected it wasn't an accident that the Fossil Fool industry had decided to set up expensive 'encampments' inside the new Education Annex.
Because of this personal history, I'm rather pleased by the actions of our university CEOs. I don't consider them Educational Leaders any longer........suspect they have their appointments for good corporate reasons. It turns out, the corporate world is Pro Israel....seems to me its past time we all knew that.
I believe in getting a good education, and then using it to speak the truth staring you in the face. Our universities have mostly been captured by the neoliberal business friendly mindset. We continue to believe business as usual is an intellectual position to take at our peril.
So let's get out there........join our students still brave enough, and perhaps naive enough, to believe education is about searching together for truth and justice.........they are on the right side of history.
If they are going to have one............they need all our support. Asking qood questions is important; looking for easy answers, the new ignorance. Whether we're okay being part of a genocide in progress is the question...thanks to the students, its still an open one.