All Posts Tagged With: "Taskforce on Anti-Racism"
Racism persists on campuses, study finds
The CFS Task Force on Racism final report sums up their findings from fourteen schools
A “culture of racism” exists on Ontario campuses, according to a report released Monday by the Canadian Federation of Students.
The report, commissioned by the CFS Task Force on Campus Racism lists more than 50 recommendations in over 15 categories for schools to counter racism in daily campus life—from the classroom to campus media.
The group conducted seventeen hearings at fourteen campuses where they spoke with “racialised” students about their experiences with racism on campus.
Cases are sourced in the report from these hearings, including incidents of Blackface, when White people paint their faces black for entertainment or performance purposes.
The report also highlighted, that “multicultural” events often designed to celebrate diversity, sometimes hinder it, by promoting token stereotypes and not representing true “culture.”
In their conclusion, the task force recommends that schools adopt their recommendations into individual policies. Theses recommendations, the report says, are all in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.
But the code, the report says, “puts the onus on institutions and organisations to implement a human rights framework.”
A prof’s view of the Ryerson racism report
Academic life gets complicated when tolerance and freedom clash.
Ryerson University released its sweeping report into racism on campus, yesterday, and the full text of the report was just made available on its web site today. Looking over its recommendations, one sees numerous suggestions that will, if implemented, surely make Ryerson a better place. Still, in the areas where the report deals with the issues of warming the “chilly climate” at the University, especially when it comes to teaching, I suspect many readers will be struck by just how vexing the intellectual problems are.
Related: Ryerson racism probe seeks to coddle students
These questions are not unique to Ryerson, of course. I arrived at the University of Western Ontario as an undergraduate when the furor was raging over psychologist Phillipe Rushton and his research on racial differences; my view then was the same as it is now, that Rushton’s work should be judged by his peers in the field of psychology, not by protesters or politicians. Not too long after that, a scathing report came out at Western about the “chilly climate” for women on campus, which sparked wide-spread debate. Here at my own university, I was once shocked when student advocates told members of my school that we should never use racist language, even if it meant avoiding teaching classics of literature like Huckleberry Finn. We didn’t have the skills, we were told, to deal with the complexities of the issue.
I have been to Ryerson, by the way, though I did not spend enough time there to know it intimately, so I freely admit that I cannot speak to the specific conditions there. But I do find the larger questions intriguing, and would like to venture a few more thoughts occasioned by the new report.
Consider, for example, recommendation 6C, which calls for a stronger anti-discrimination policy at the school, and for every course outline to include a statement to the effect that all individuals are to be treated “with respect and dignity.” So far, so good. I include such a statement in my own syllabi, though my university does not require it. But note carefully what follows:
Ryerson racism probe seeks to coddle students
University isn’t about making you feel good. It’s about confronting challenges.
Ryerson University, in all her racist glory, graced the front page of the Toronto Star Monday.
I know; I couldn’t believe it either. I didn’t know purgatorial images were allowed on the front page.
Well, nevermind. The real story is that a university-commissioned probe into campus racism identified serious issues at the school. Its 107-page report recommended specific and swift action to tackle the problems.
So, what were the issues? Well, some were of legitimate concern. The Task Force on Anti-Racism at Ryerson cited a few specific examples of harassment and vandalism, which, I agree, should be dealt with harshly and swiftly. But most of it? Hyperbole and pandering, I’m sorry to say. Obviously a task force committed to sniffing out racism will find something. They don’t want to be deemed useless, after all.
I’ve spent nearly four years at Ryerson and have personally found it to be one of the most multicultural, inclusive, and culturally sensitive institutions I’ve ever encountered. Sure, maybe that’s my complacency/privilege/ignorance speaking, but from what I’ve observed, the campus is fairly harmonious (which says a lot, considering it’s a university). Globe writer Marcus Gee shares my view. “Ryerson University is one of the most diverse and welcoming universities in the country, if not the world,” he writes. Gee continues:
Under president Sheldon Levy, Ryerson has bent over backward to celebrate and encourage diversity. The university already has active programs on employment equity, a special office to serve aboriginal students and a prayer space for Muslim worshippers. At the university’s Ted Rogers School of Management, five of the 11 faculty hired in 2008 were visible minorities, just short of its target of six. Other faculties are striving to bring up their numbers, too.
The Toronto Star ignored these details in its article. Here are the more… umm… poignant excerpts:
Some observant Muslim students complained teachers often use jokes about sex that can make them uncomfortable.
One professor who was teaching students how to modulate their voices for radio told the class to pretend they were having sex and to imagine the voice they heard when they experience “pleasure.” Other students joined in and began making “very weird noises,” leaving some students very uncomfortable.
This line’s a gem:
Others longed for teachers who look like them, especially aboriginal and black students.
And straight from students’ mouths:
“Professors don’t address issues of inappropriate language.”
“I think a lot of Jewish students don’t run for student leadership positions because of the hostile environment and so they don’t have to vote for anti-Israel resolutions.”
Hmm. So what? We should be hiring professors for their looks, not their qualifications? (I wonder if the Force will advocate on behalf of the few men in my program, who swim in a sea of aspiring women-journalist, for more professors who “look like them.”) And what of the inappropriate language? Sexual innuendos? Hurt feelings? I thought we were out of middle school.
University is not supposed to make you feel comfortable. Sorry. Stay at home if you want to be coddled. University is one of those unique places where individuals are encouraged to express their beliefs and challenge their assumptions. And yes, some will often be offended. Personally, I celebrate it. What better opportunity to explore your own preconceptions than face that which irks you? And if you don’t like it: avoid it, challenge it, but don’t stifle it. If university can’t be a sanctuary for free speech, what can be?
Compulsory anti-racism courses for staff and students, as recommended by the racism report, won’t fix anything. You can’t force out ideology with a couple obligatory lectures. And telling profs to babysit or keep it PG is a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Oddly enough, I’ll think we’ll end up homogenizing if we keep catering to the multiplicity of hurt feelings. The real world isn’t sterilized, why should university be?
