People gatering for a counter demonstration at the November 24 rally. With minutes until its time to leave the restaurant for the rally, Shepherd rehearses her opening line: I never thought we would get to a point in society where showing a clip fromThe Agenda with Steve Paikinin a classroom would end up as an international news story and scandal.. The chair of the department of communications, Peter Urquhart, showed up at her tutorial that day to address the class. Shepherd speaks with supporters following the rally at Wilfrid Laurier on November 24, 2017. Several faculty members and students reached out and asked to comment via questions over email and under the condition of anonymityboth requests were denied and interviews never took place.). Joel maintained that by not explicitly condemning Peterson, Shepherd offended trans people. She talked about how English has gender and others, like my language, Farsi, is a genderless language, Ghodsi says. Nip this propagandistic bullying in the bud by demanding that Wilfrid Laurier fire these abusive commissars of the political correctness party. They are young Conservatives from Laurier and the University of Waterloo. The group walks to the university presidents office with a paper in hand, asking the school to adopt the Chicago Principles, but President Deborah MacLatchy isnt in; a colleague politely receives the letter on her behalf. A student wrote an op-ed criticizing the decision, to which Khan wrote on Facebook white fragility can kiss my ass. Most people would agree that material shown on TVO can be shown in a university classroom. Also, make sure to secretly record all meetings or they won't take you seriously. Shepherd has maintained she went public with her recording to expose the repressive atmosphere at the university, not because she wanted retribution. In her column on the controversy, Christie Blatchford of the National Post reported that Shepherd is thinking of leaving Wilfred Laurier University. The video of students and faculty opposing the press went viral. And how gender should maybe not be part of the language. There was also a debate on the public broadcaster TVOntario (TVO) where they talked about pronoun usage. It puts a shudder in my heart as a Canadian that we could even possibly be in a situation like that.. Shepherd agreed, and was greeted at the meeting by Rambukkana, Pimlott and Adria Joel, the acting manager for gendered violence prevention and support at Laurier. As the Shepherd story gained traction in the media, Peterson read as columnists said that my views were abhorrent, he says, including two inMacleansthat were most egregious., Those contentious views regarding the use of gender pronouns are explained in a YouTube video Peterson posted in 2016 about the Ontario Human Rights Commissions definition of gender identityas each persons internal and individual experience of gender. This could be a glimpse her futureone where she feels alienated. And I dont think of this as one team against the other.. Adria Joel, MSW, RSW Group and Workshop Coordinator at Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 113 followers 110 connections Join to connect Sexual Assault. They were initially hoping to be amongst the crowd of free speech demonstratorsthat is until a last second change of plans. The three also repeatedly told her students had complained about the clip, which featured Nicholas Matte, Sexual Diversities Studies instructor at the University of Toronto facing off against Jordan Peterson, a University of Toronto psychology professor clinical psychologist. For starters, hes sad. Among Lauriers communications studies faculty, many arent willing to talk about whats happening on campus. We Care2. Shes a free agent. We reject efforts of those who have seized this episode as a strategic opportunity to disparage disciplines and scholars with commitments to improving social and economic equality within universities and in society at large, the letter said. Months before Shepherd set foot on Lauriers campus in September, the school was already under fire regarding free speech. All programming for the flowers was done by Joel Adria, taking . Shepherd, meanwhile, is a vegetarian, pro-choice, universal health-care supporting environmentalist and ardent supporter of free speech. The associate professor in the cultural analysis and social theory department signed a different petition, this one calling on the school to establish safety measures for students and faculty being targeted and harassed, as well as issue a statement that transphobia and targeting of people based on their gender identity and expression will be monitored and reported. The Citroen Jumper is available on Axess models, offering great performance and technology, including the latest in driving and safety aids. The problem I had with it was he was shutting down the conversation right away, Shepherd says. What I have a problem with is, I didnt target anybody, says Shepherd. I think some of Petersons complaints around trans folks and pronouns definitely verge towards hate speech, says Finlay, from Lauriers Rainbow Centre. Laurier university employees Nathan Rambukkana and Adria Joel used their positions of power and authority to attempt to intimidate teaching assistant Lindsay Shepherd out of presenting both sides of the contemporary debate on mandated use of gender-neutral pronouns to students. They announced the establishment of a task force to delve into these issues., To join the conversation, please Hamilton, ON L8L 4S4, VILE: Paris Hilton says she has frozen 20 boys via IVF as she waits for a girl, Rosary-wearing Jill Biden promotes contraception to Kenyas young people, US govt data reveals shocking miscarriage, still birth rates after COVID jab compared to flu vaccine, Canadian pastor forcibly removed from drag queen story time for kids vows to keep protesting, Epstein-linked Clinton aides suspicious death ruled suicide despite being tied to tree, shot in chest. This (showing a clip of him speaking without condemnation) is basically like neutrally playing a speech by Hitler or Milo Yiannopoulos from Gamergate.. But then added: Anyway, I assume she recorded them why not ask her for the recording? A second email, unprompted, came soon afterwards: Sorry, youre a pro I should have assumed that youve already heard that particular recording.. I want to get a masters degree. Thanks for at least listening to me. The men walk off together. Front Royal, VA 22630, 157 Catharine St N, Unit 2 McNally helped launch a petition that encouraged the school to take a strong position defending free speech. And I dont like these made-up words zie and zher., Paikin interjects: They arent all made up words. For example, they is one of them. Its not like they can skew what I said. Neither knew one student from the class would soon contact the Rainbow Centre, the campus LGBTQ support community, to complain about the discussion. He says the best-case scenario is the school adopts the so-called Chicago Principles of Free Speech, a guideline from the University of Chicago, that states it is not the proper role of the University to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.. For me the worst-case scenario, is theres any counter protest that gets violent, says Anton Abaev, a Laurier student who helped organize the free speech rally. Its Nov. 24 and while shes dressed like any other student on campus, wearing a toque and scarf, carrying her backpack and water bottle, next to her are a handful of studentsall malewearing their very best suits. We dont live in a society where people should be free to speak hatred, Bird says. Rambukkana said he will sit in on Shepherds tutorials from then on. Shepherd replied that she thinks its because she showed a debate clip that had Jordan Peterson in it. Thats hard for a lot of people to understand right now., Peterson, meanwhile, has mixed feelings about the current saga of Lindsay Shepherd. Hamilton, ON L8L 4S4. During an undergraduate tutorial, she played a video of a debate between two university professors, Jordan Peterson and Nicholas Matte, that aired on Ontarios public broadcast channel. But we cant dispense between the distinction between singular and plural Its not a tenable solution and thats the best of the solutions.. One? Our approach to freedom of expression and academic freedom does not include intolerance and it does not include hate, President MacLatchy says. (In a follow up email, Rambukkana writes: I did not contact any students to suggest that they speak to you, or anymembers of the media, regarding this issue. Although Centas full report wont be released because it concerns personnel issues, Shepherd also lauded MacLatchey for publishing the conclusions. Which workplace wants to hire someone known to secretly record superiors? They say they didnt, due to lack of time. Lindsay Shepherd (born 7 December 1994) is a Canadian columnist who became known for her involvement, as a graduate student and teaching assistant, in an academic freedom controversy at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) in Waterloo, Ontario, in 2017.. We were talking about language and how the way you speak influences society, says Leibold. I dont agree with Petersons views, but because I felt the majority of the classwithout Lindsay telling themwere going to automatically disregard what Peterson said, I tried to say well, he has good rationale but his premises are flawed. I was trying to present his argument in the best light while being rational about it., At one point, one student very much in support of Peterson was implying that trans people wouldnt necessarily be the people to look to for intelligence on the matter, Leibold remembers. Hamilton, ON L8L 4S4. ANational Postcolumnist got back to her right away. One, I was being askedas everyone isto use a certain set of words that I think are the constructions of people who have a political ideology that I dont believe in and I also regard as dangerous, Peterson says. Having problems signing this? Using their authority to coerce a student into presenting only one side (theirs) of a political debate is an horrendous abuse of power. I can see how it might challenge their existing ideas. Josh Leibold did sit in her classShepherds first of three that day. You have JavaScript disabled. In any case, Im going to go drink gin. Showing the video created a toxic climate for some of the students, he said. Some days thats harassment. campus. Shes very principled, he says. 1997-2023 LifeSiteNews.com. Protestors called it a victory, arguing that the event would further harm victims of sexual violence. I have no concept of how many people complained What their complaint was You havent shown me the complaint., I understand that this is upsetting, says the assistant professor, but there are also confidentiality matters, The academics and administrators remarks reveal that they believe Shepherd has perpetrated a hate crime against transgendered students. Shepherds supervisor, Nathan Rambukkana, asked if she could come in for a meeting the next day at 2:30pm in his office where the head of her program, Herbert Pimlott, and someone for the diversity and equity office who would also be in attendance. People can disagree with me., McEwin is standing towards the back of the crowd. In November 2017, Shepherd played her communications class two clips of a debate, formerly aired on Canadian public broadcaster TVOntario, with . When reached by phone byMacleans, Rambukkana immediately hung up. 1997-2023 LifeSiteNews.com. On our crest, it saysVeritas Omnia Vincit, which means truth conquers all. But how can truth win a battle if one side cant competeif one side gets censored?. But thats taking sides, Shepherd argues. So where does the university go from here? I sound very reasonable with what I said. Rather, the discourse of freedom of speech, is being used to cover over the underlying reality of transphobia that is so deeply ingrained in our contemporary political context, the Rainbow Centre, a campus group that supports the LGBTQ community, wrote on its Facebook page days prior. They say they are acting in a non-partisan capacity today, inviting people from all political ideologies to join, but are quick to point out their disappointment that young Liberals declined their invitation to be on the speakers list. I could see that this sort of thing was inevitable, but also built right into the legislation. TA Lindsay Shepherd is surrounded by advocates for freedom of speech on campus before delivering a letter to the University President's office at Wilfrid Laurier University on November 24, 2017. In response to Shepherds explanation that she was presenting students with ideas that they would eventually encounter in public life and that Peterson was a real person, one of the professors replied: He is a real person, but he is a real person who has engaged in targeted behavior or targetting of trans(sexual) students by doxxing them, giving out their personal information so that they will be attacked, harassed, so that death threats will find them. Shepherd was accused of targeting trans students and invalidating their identity. He explains that its like the slogan black lives matter. He thinks it should be all lives matter.. But you guys seem to think that Im pro-Jordan Peterson, or something., Near the end of the recording, when Shepherd again insists that she remained neutral in presenting the clip, one of the administrators responded: Thats kind of the problem., Shepherd repeated to Global News that she had presented the debate between Peterson and Nicholas Matte neutrally. Shell have to skip this meal. A The Last of Us els vada hamarosan vget r, a hetedik rsz azonban a mlt. It is a crime not only against Ms. Shepherd, but against her students, who Rambukana and Joel were attempting to indoctrinate into their ideology by presenting them with a biased, one-sided version of an important issue. Shepherd replies that she doesnt see how it could be threatening. Meanwhile, 20 Laurier faculty members released a open letter Monday supporting their colleagues caught on tape, according to the Toronto Star. One thing her mother worried about was her daughters confidencethat is, until Lindsay reached university. Shepherd said the apologies didnt go far enough in addressing free speech on campus. Find 20 people named Joel Adria along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. It wasnt supposed to be a silent protest. The day prior, the campus newspaper The Cordwhose cover story was of Lindsay Shepherd making national headlines, and featured a letter to the editor from Toby Finlay talking about how debates of the validity of trans people create an unsafe campus environmentwere ripped at multiple newsstands. The task force will develop a policy to balance academic freedom and freedom of speech with Lauriers vision mission and values by March 2018, according to the Star. She spoke with a far-right news outlet. I introduced it critically, Like I said, it was in the spirit of debate., But that wasnt good enough for Rambukkana, who said Shepherd should have presented Petersons view as a problematic idea that we want to unpack.. 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