Lakehead students, teachers call for free speech in Palestine

As pro-Palestinian protests and campus residents continue to call for a cease-fire, among numerous other calls regarding the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lakehead University faculty members have issued an open letter calling for university administration to affirm academic freedom and freedom of expression. On this issue.

The letter was drafted by LU Solidarity with Palestine, a group of Lakehead faculty members; the group’s letter won the support of the Lakehead University Students’ Union (LUSU) at its council meeting in March.

By May 7, the letter had received 116 signatures, including 75 teachers and 41 students.

The open letter issues four appeals, which are as follows:

• An immediate and permanent ceasefire;
• Ending Israel’s blockade of Gaza;
• Ending the sale of Canadian arms and military technology to Israel; and
• A public statement by the university supporting “academic freedom and the right of faculty and students to speak freely about Palestine.”

For LU Solidarity with Palestine, one of the goals of the letter is to “create community” and spaces where open dialogue on the conflict can take place and to ensure that participating students and faculty have the academic freedom and freedom of expression affirmed by the university . .

LU Solidarity with Palestine member Taina Chahal said she has heard “anecdotal” evidence to the contrary, which is part of why it is important for the university to assert free speech on the matter.

“I can only say that … there is anecdotal information that has come out in different ways,” said the professor of English and anthropology, who clarified that he is not a spokesman for the group.

“That’s why we want to make sure that the university is talking publicly about making sure that there’s free speech, right, for faculty, students and anybody else … to talk about it freely, no questions asked,” Chahal said.

LUSU vice-president Brandon Rheal Amyot said some student members had expressed concern that they were speaking freely about the Israel-Palestine conflict at the university.

“What I’m aware of is certainly that students have expressed to me the feeling that they’re not always welcome to talk about Palestine, whether it’s in the classroom, but more specifically in the school environment,” Amyot said. “I know, for example, there was some consternation or some issues around some posters that students wanted to do in the fall.”

Amyot said the student union opposes various forms of oppression, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-LGBTQ2S hatred and more, and emphasized the importance of free speech on university campuses not only for the Israel-Palestine conflict, but for numerous issues.

“I think the importance of this is that we are a higher education institution. It should be a place for free speech,” they said.

“We want to be able to host speakers on our campuses, have discussions in our classrooms about issues that are important to students from all walks of life,” Amyot said.

“In this case, Palestinian students on our campuses, Arab and Muslim students on our campuses, Jewish students on our campuses, all of whom are speaking out for human rights and for an end to the violence that we’re seeing as it impacts people on our campuses. “

Regarding the three separate appeals in the letter, Amyot said it was important for the university community to put pressure on the “decision makers” involved in the conflict.

“Our hope is that more people will add their voices, which will continue to apply pressure,” they said. “Unfortunately, many of these actions come too late for tens of thousands of people in Palestine. I mean, every loss of life is a shame, so that extra pressure I think counts.”

Chahal said LU Solidarity for Palestine hopes to put the letter on the agenda of the Lakehead University Association’s annual general meeting with the goal of helping the university learn more about it, and she said the group plans to meet with a group of students to discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Another important element of the letter, she said, is ensuring that students feel supported by teachers in discussing the conflict – which she says is a “plausible” genocide.

“We want to make sure we have faculty to speak out, to support all students who want to speak out or (take) action on Palestine or the plausible genocide in Gaza right now,” she said. “It’s important, so the students know we’re here, right?”

Chahal moved away from using the word “conflict” to describe the situation between Israel and Palestine, arguing that there is a strong power imbalance between the two sides, and stressed the importance of speaking out as the situation unfolds – similar to the historic rights movement civilians in the United States, Nelson Mandela’s journey to the presidency of South Africa and more.

“When something happens right now, the fierce ones speak boldly, right?” she said. “They’re often the ones who are feared and need to be locked up, but then you cut back 50 years and then those names are what the awards are named after.”

As for campus discussions about the situation, Chahal said she is not aware of any anti-Semitic dialogue or actions taking place, and she said LU Solidarity with Palestine is “strongly opposed to any anti-Semitism.”

In an emailed statement, the Lakehead administration said it supports free speech on campus, with the caveat that there are “reasonable limits” to dialogue.

“As an institution of learning, free speech is a fundamental part of the Lakehead University community and this is outlined in our free speech policy. Universities are places for diverse ideas and difficult dialogues,” the statement said.

“However, there are reasonable limits that come with these freedoms, which are also expressed in this policy, including any expression that violates the law, is threatening, harassing or defamatory, discriminatory, or invades privacy or confidentiality interests, or compromises health and safety . Lakehead University has zero tolerance for hate speech, including anti-Semitism or Islamophobia,” the statement notes.

“As a diverse community of people from different backgrounds, cultural contexts, and lived experiences, we expect students, faculty, and staff to be guided by respect, civility, and empathy for all members of our community, regardless of their viewpoint.”

The Lakehead administration did not respond to a question about whether academic freedom and free speech on the Israel-Palestine conflict have been curtailed on campus in any way.

The Lakehead Faculty Open Letter can be found here.