[Fdu] York University faculty statement on the Student Centre painting controversy

[Cynthia Wright]

_/Communication to Senate/_
_/
/_Dear President Shoukri, Provost Lenton, Chair Comninel, and Senators,

121 full time faculty and 11 retired faculty have signed the statement 
below in response to the controversy over the Student Centre painting.

We are requesting that Senate assign a substantial agenda item in its 
March meeting for a discussion regarding freedom of expression and open 
debate at York University.

We are also inviting Faculty and Unit Councils across the university to 
bring this important matter for discussion with their members.

Respectfully,
Jody Berland and Ricardo Grinspun



_Faculty statement regarding freedom of expression and open debate at 
York University__
__
_We are Jewish and non Jewish faculty members at York University in 
Toronto who are deeply troubled by the threats to freedom of expression 
that have appeared on our campus. These threats promised and enacted the 
withdrawal of donor funding for students in reaction to a painting 
(wrongly labelled a “mural”) that hangs in an area of the Student Centre 
transited primarily by students. Thanks to Paul Bronfman, this painting 
has gained worldwide prominence.

The painting, which was chosen by a university jury, depicts from the 
back a young Palestinian who is looking at an Israeli bulldozer 
destroying an olive tree and pondering whether to throw the rocks he is 
holding in his hands. It conveys one artist’s response to the ongoing 
dispossession of Palestinians under Israeli occupation and the feeling 
that there is no end in sight. The issue is not whether we like or 
approve of the painting. Indeed, controversies around freedom of 
expression often concern ideas with which we disagree, that make us feel 
uncomfortable, or that we would prefer not to see. Legal limits on 
freedom of expression are acceptable only in relation to hate speech or 
calls for human rights abuses. Nothing in this painting conforms to that 
definition; it depicts an individual opposing a military force invading 
his community and destroying its land. Nothing in this painting should 
make anyone in the York campus feel unsafe.

There are many people in the Jewish community in Canada who believe that 
all peoples should be accorded respect and basic human rights, and that 
safety, self-determination, and justice apply to all. Anti-Semitism, 
Islamophobia and other forms of racism are all too real and must be 
tackled head on. But it is not credible to label all expressions of 
concern about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “hate speech” or 
“anti-Semitic.”  This tired alibi for attempting to censor a picture 
that made some people feel uncomfortable is speech suppression and 
intolerance, which have no place in a university. Furthermore York has a 
notable history of mounting public art by students which has contributed 
greatly to the vitality of the campus.  We strongly urge the university 
to maintain and protect the public spaces and traditions of student and 
faculty engagement that have so enriched this university.

We applaud that in its response the university “remains firmly committed 
to the values of freedom of expression, open dialogue and constructive 
discussion,” and certainly we “must do everything we can to ensure that 
all of our students feel comfortable and safe on campus.” This is not, 
however, a reason to narrow the scope for free expression, political 
activism or public art on campus. In this regard, we note with grave 
concern that, as reported in the media, the university said it has 
“consulted widely with experts” and concluded that it “cannot compel its 
[the painting’s] removal.” President Shoukri informs us that there will 
be a review of regulations regarding student groups and the Code of 
Student Rights and Responsibilities. Does this announcement imply that 
the university might seek to widen its powers so that in the future it 
can compel the suppression of “unsafe” artistic and political expression 
in the name of “inclusion” and “safety”? The last sentence in his 
statement, “we will not tolerate actions and behaviours that are 
contrary to our values,” seems to contradict his call for tolerance.

Finally, there are lessons about reliance on philanthropic funding in 
universities. Mr. Bronfman has provided a powerful argument for why 
Canadian universities should be publicly funded and not be dependent on 
the goodwill and personal agendas of the affluent in our society. We 
must continue to demand adequate public funding for public universities 
to preserve them as spaces for open expression, thought and civic debate.


Signed:


Teresa 	Abbruzzese 	
Greg 	Albo 	
Sabah 	Alnasseri 	
Karen 	Anderson 	
Ian	Balfour 	
Deborah 	Barndt 	(ret.)
Amélie 	Barras 	
Ranu 	Basu 	
Jon Peter 	Baturin 	
Dawn 	Bazely 	
Margaret 	Beare 	
Jody 	Berland 	
Carol	Bigwood 	
Malcolm 	Blincow 	(ret.)
Deborah 	Brock 	
Barbara 	Cameron 	
Jamie 	Cameron 	
Eduardo 	Canel 	
Sheila 	Cavanagh 	
David 	Cecchetto 	
Lily 	Cho 	
SD 	Chrostowska 	
George 	Comninel 	
Natalie 	Coulter 	
Alison 	Crosby 	
Raju 	Das 	
Tania 	Das Gupta 	
Nancy 	Davis Halifax 	
Stephan 	Dobson 	
Barbara 	Evans 	
Caitlin 	Fisher 	
Henryk	Flakierski 	(ret.)
Scott 	Forsyth 	
Liette 	Gilbert 	
Winona 	Giles 	
Amanda 	Glasbeek 	
Vinod 	Goel 	
Luin	Goldring 	
Mark 	Goodman 	
John 	Greyson 	
Ricardo 	Grinspun 	
Shubhra	Gururani 	
Ratiba 	Hadj-Moussa 	
Laam 	Hae 	
Judy 	Hellman 	
Steve 	Hellman 	
Craig 	Heron 	
Hernan 	Humana 	
Pablo	Idahosa 	
Susan 	Ingram 	
Merle 	Jacobs 	
Stanley 	Jeffers 	(ret.)
Jan 	Kainer 	
Ilan 	Kapoor 	
Eva 	Karpinski 	
Magdalena 	Kazubowski-Houston 	
Joseph	Keeping 	
Kamala 	Kempadoo 	
Stefan	Kipfer 	
Sailaja 	Krishnamurti 	
Sam	Lanfranco 	(ret.)
Nick	Lary 	(ret.)
Frances 	Latchford 	
Robert 	Latham 	
Yam 	Lau 	
Louis	Lefeber 	(ret.)
Ute 	Lehrer 	
Nina 	Levitt 	
Carla 	Lipsig-Mumme 	
Kenneth 	Little 	
Brenda 	Longfellow 	
Elizabeth 	Lunstrum 	
Meg 	Luxton 	
Marcia 	Macaulay 	
Robert 	MacDermid 	
Terry 	Maley 	
Alina 	Marquez 	
Patricia 	McDermott 	
Wendy 	McKeen 	
David 	McNally 	
Merouan 	Mekouar 	
Jacinthe 	Michaud 	
Radhika 	Monghia 	
Esteve 	Morera 	
Mary Jane 	Mossman 	
Arun P. 	Mukherjee 	
Karen 	Murray 	
Natasha 	Myers 	
Nancy 	Nicol 	
Michael 	Nijhawan 	
Anne 	O'Connell 	
Mike 	Ornstein 	
Deborah 	Orr 	
Leo 	Panitch 	
Viviana 	Patroni 	
Patricia 	Perkins 	
Nalini 	Persram 	
Dennis 	Pilon 	
Justin 	Podur 	
Geoffrey 	Reaume 	
Ester 	Reiter 	(ret.)
Nicholas 	Rogers 	
Stephanie 	Ross 	
Anders 	Sandberg 	
Leslie 	Sanders 	
John 	Saul 	(ret.)
Richard 	Saunders 	
Jamie 	Scott 	
Victor 	Shea 	
James 	Sheptycki 	
Nicola	Short 	
John 	Simoulidis 	
Brian 	Slattery 	
Lisa 	Sloniowski 	
David 	Spring 	(ret.)
Jennifer A.	Stephen 	
Penni 	Stewart 	
Martha 	Stiegman 	
Karen	Swift 	(ret.)
Mark 	Thomas 	
David 	Trotman 	
Eric 	Tucker 	
Gus 	Van Harten 	
Jim 	Vernon 	
Andy 	Weaver 	
Kimberley 	White 	
Walter 	Whiteley 	
Sandra 	Whitworth 	
Daphne 	Winland 	
Leslie 	Wood 	
Stepan 	Wood 	
Anna 	Zalik 	



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