Conference on privatization and education by Gilles Gagné (prof. U. Laval, Sociology) [in French]

Letter from McGill Professors to Admin, Colleagues, Students, Media — 27 March 2012

Letter from McGill Professors to Admin, Colleagues, Students, Media — 27 March 2012

In response to yesterday’s MRO sent by Jim Nicell, “Message re blocking of classes – Accès aux salles de cours bloqué”, we would like to challenge the McGill University Administration’s characterization of events on campus and the responses to them, in particular the summary banning of students from the McGill campus.
There were several incidents on the McGill campus on 26 March in which a number of students who were peacefully expressing their views were singled out and barred from campus for 5 days under article 21a of the Code of Student Conduct. Yesterday’s MRO states that: “Everyone in our community has the right to express peacefully their views about issues.”
We believe that this selection and punishment of certain students for exclusion from our campus and community is especially draconian and a completely inappropriate response to their actions. This further harassment of students by the administration is in addition to other allegations of Code violations which have been made against a now growing number of students.
These actions by the administration are totally unacceptable if it is indeed true that, as stated in the MRO, “we owe it to our students to allow them to continue their studies unimpeded and to protect their semester.” At this time in the semester, students need to complete papers and other course assignments and prepare for final exams; the charges they are facing, and the stress these create, make meeting their academic commitments quite impossible.
In the MRO Dr Nicell asks “that members of our community treat each other with respect and conduct themselves in a manner that allows the open sharing of views.”
As professors, we demand that the senior administration of the university ceases interfering with McGill’s commitment, which is also our commitment, to the education of our students.
Those who are protesting fee increases and other policies that contribute to making education inaccessible are actually among our finest: their critical analyses and mutual support are what many of us hope our students will get from their time at McGill. They warrant respect for what they are learning and how they are putting their education into practice, not retributions for their peaceful assembly and the expression of their views.
We believe that these heavy-handed actions constitute an abuse of the Student Code of Conduct, misusing it to persecute students at will. We wish to file a complaint against the administration for its escalation of responses to peaceful dissent on campus.
Moreover, we want to vigorously protest the suggestion that “security services” be called when students are demonstrating, protesting, handing out flyers or speaking to other students and professors about issues that concern them. These forces only make all of us feel insecure.
We all must work to make our campus a safe environment. The students banned from campus have not been treated with either respect or tolerance. To live up to Dr Nicell’s statement in yesterday’s MRO: “A safe campus requires that we all treat each other with respect and tolerance,” the administration must play its part. We are appalled at the poor example that McGill’s senior administration is setting for our campus community.
Professor Abby Lippman
Professor Adrienne Hurley
Professor Alison Laywine
Professor Anthony Paré
Professor Ian Gold
Professor Jessica Ruglis
Professor Judy Rebick
Professor Malek Abisaab
Professor Mela Sarkar
Professor Michelle Hartman
Professor Sam Noumoff
Professor Steven Jordan
Professor Tom Lamarre

The FEUQ (Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Québec) and the FECQ (Fédération Étudiante Collégiale du Québec) have rejected today the invitation to discuss with Line Beauchamp, Minister of Education, unless "everything is on the table" [including the tuition hikes as well as the financing plans for universities].

More details (in French) here

Reading session today at 12h30 Peterson Hall

We will discuss two texts provided by Lisa Stevenson (asst. prof. of Anthropology at McGill): 

- American Nightmare: Neoliberalism, Neoconservatism, and De-Democratization
Author(s): Wendy Brown
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Political Theory, Vol. 34, No. 6 (Dec., 2006), pp. 690-714

- Distinguishing a University from a Shopping Mall
By Daniel Noah Moses,  THE NEA HIGHER EDUCATION JOURNAL, 1999

You can find these texts easily with google scholar but email us at asath2012anthro@gmail.com if you need a copy.

Schedule of activities

FRIDAY March 30th

5:30pm – 7:00pm: Critical mass for accessible education. Bike for free education! You can paint your bike in red or wear in red. Get together a Phillips square and join the biking for accessible education. Check out the facebook event here.

SUNDAY, April 1st

11:00am – 2:00pm: Fun demo against the hikes. This event is hosted by the Mouvement des Étudiants Super-Riches du Québec (MÉSRQ). Check it out here.

2:00pm – 6:00pm: Tour de l’île en Rouge. Bike or skate in red to show your opposition to tuition hikes. Check out the facebook event here.

MONDAY, April 2nd

12:00pm – 1:30pm: McGill-on-strike march through campus. Join striking student associations of McGill at the Wilson Hall Bldg. Check out the facebook event here.

1:30pm – 2:30pm: Potluck lunch. Join us in the the lobby of the Education bldg. Bring your own food or bring some to share. Get together with fellow grad students and get the conversation on tuition hikes going!

5:30pm – 6:30pm: Teach-in on the history of the Quebec student movement. Join us in the lobby of the Education bldg. to learn and discuss about the history of the student movement in Quebec.

AGSA has renewed the strike from March 26th until April 2nd. It is now an unlimited strike and here are some potential activities:

Tuesday (protest): https://www.facebook.com/events/280554262019778/

Friday, 2:30: Graduate mobilisation group of McGill meeting

Sunday, bike tour of montreal in red : https://www.facebook.com/events/265889713492073/
 
CLASSE calendar of activities for everyday: http://www.bloquonslahausse.com/calendrier/

There is more to come. 

Time-lapse video of March 22nd protest

There is a meeting at Peterson Hall (seminar room : 3h pm) to discuss the actual situation regarding tuition hikes.

Photos of March 22nd protest

M.A. candidate in Anthropology at McGill University Joshua Friesen expresses his views regarding the tuition hikes.

Quick photos of the preparation for tomorrow's protest at Thomson House. We will meet in front of Peterson Hall at 11h45.

Prof. Michelle Hartman (Islamic Studies, McGill) makes banners for "Profs contre la hausse" with McGill Anthropology graduate students

Today's activities:

- March around the McGill campus with other student associations on strike and distribution of flyers (Meeting point: Peterson Hall Entrance) 3:00-5:00 pm

- Organized by Concordia U. From 2-5pm at the Bethune Square (Guy/Maisonneuve) Sit in/Speak out.  peaceful occupation & speaker series on accessible education.

A small part of Eric Martin's talk at Concordia University on March 20th 2012

Some quick photos from the activities on March 20th.

Concordia University : "Privatizing Quebec's universities, their finances and their purpose" (Eric Martin IRIS)

James McGill on strike

Writing session on Peterson Hall Building