Friday, September 18, 2009
The state of academic freedom in Canada
"The state of academic freedom in Canada" from Quintin Hewlett on Vimeo.
Denis Rancourt, former University of Ottawa professor recently fired for refusing to grade his students, whose struggle has received national media coverage and whose firing is being investigated by the Canadian Association of University Teachers
September 18, 2009; McMaster University student centre
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I was a student at the UofO during the time Rancourt was talking about. Yes, the senate did start recording and streaming their meetings, but now they are closed to non-members so that they can't be interrupted by Rancourt's "activists." This was a huge blow to real activists on campus who were trying to engage the senate about student issues. The same activists who shut down the senate now describe Rancourt as a selfish egomaniac.
Secondly, his classes weren't exactly democratic. The Dean intervened in his activism course because of student complaints. The dismissal proceedings were started because of student complaints in the class where he gave out A+'s, also. You can read these complaints here and here. Notably, the students complained to the Dean after they asked Rancourt to change his practices. Not exactly as democratic as he described, but he didn't seem to care, since I guess we're "zombies" too.
Lastly, the students at this talk asked a number of questions about the consequences of this behavior. It's what you might expect; Rancourt was fired and there's no way he'll get his job back, ever. He's not the worst off though because he has a greater degree of security. Several of his student followers have been unable to continue with their education because the university decided to play hardball. As a guy in his 50's, Rancourt may be able to talk tough, but an undergraduate or grad student really doesn't have that luxury. He marched them off a cliff.
My advice to anyone who wants to reform the university system is to get involved in student government. It's frustrating, but it actually yields results other than getting fired, expelled, and arrested.
P.S. Just for laughs, google rockourt. Those guys have very "imaginative" things to say about him.
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