Laurier Censorship Scandal

[CliffFletcher]

Looks like the brahmins of ideological conformity on campus may have gone too far this time. The way they bullied teaching assistant Lindsay Shepherd into withdrawing a seminar is not going over well, now that their attack on her has been made public.

Wilfrid Laurier graduate student delivers a wake-up call

Ms. Shepherd attempted to explain that she doesn't even agree with Prof. Peterson. She simply used the clip to help frame a class discussion – an explanation that her interrogators ignored. When she asked which students had complained and how many, she was told that information was confidential. When she pointed out that the pronoun controversy has already been widely aired in public, she was told that some ideas are too "problematic" to be introduced into the classroom. When she voiced her opinion that universities should be places for debate, she was told that she's created a toxic environment for students. When she said she had remained neutral and not tried to impose her own views, her supervisor, Prof. Rambukkana, told her, "That's kind of part of the problem."

Full recording of Wilfrid Laurier reprimanding Lindsay Shepherd

Rambukkana: These are very young students, and something of that nature is not appropriate to that age of student, because they don’t have …

Shepherd: 18?

Rambukkana: Yes.

Shepherd: They’re adults.

Rambukkana: Yes, but they’re very young adults. they don’t have the critical toolkit to be able to pick it apart yet. This is one of the things we’re teaching them, so this is why it becomes something that has to be done with a bit more care.

It seems these profs don't believe they're refereeing adult students in an arena of intellectual contention. No, they're deprogramming and then reprogramming children with the correct values. I find that genuinely chilling.

[Ashasx]

It's amazing how presenting a 60 second clip from a professor at a respected university can put you on teaching probation.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

It's amazing how presenting a 60 second clip from a professor at a respected university can put you on teaching probation.

The problem was that she remained neutral, allowed people their own interpretation and don’t present the facts as people want them interpreted.

If she had used the same video, but said that Peterson is a cancer to society and should be prohibited from speaking, she would have been fine.

[Ace]

It seems pretty clear to me that we're way past the point of being concerned about equality and non-discrimination, and into the realm of complete ideology indoctrination.

[Dion]

Shepherd is now sufficiently disillusioned, she told Postmedia Friday, that she is “about 70-per-cent sure I will be leaving Wilfrid Laurier after this semester is over.”

None of Rambukkana, Pimlott or Joel replied to emails from Postmedia.

http://nationalpost.com/opinion/chri...#comments-area

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I love that instead of teaching the kids the value of critical thinking skills, something the TA was trying to do, the uni rep insists that since they don't have these skills yet, they need to just be told what to think and that topics that challenge their critical thinking skills need to be either avoided or taught as fact from the "correct" viewpoint.

Literally the exact opposite of what university is supposed to be.

Then you add in the way these uni reps were frothing at the mouth with their mob mentality and how they seemed borderline aroused by their opportunity to rip this poor woman to shreds. The desire to be part of a morally superior takedown is such a scary part of society nowadays. It's like a modern version of witch hunts or the inquisition hunting for heretics. It has become less about protecting the innocent or promoting good values and more about finding inventing evildoers and then ripping them to shreds in the name of decency.

[Dion]

Those university reps in the video are a cancer to society and should be removed from their positions.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Ace

It seems pretty clear to me that we're way past the point of being concerned about equality and non-discrimination, and into the realm of complete ideology indoctrination.

Yep. If you have the time, read the transcript excerpts in the linked article. The people doing the indoctrination are True Believers of an essentially religious bent. Worse, even. I bet you'd find more breadth of views and toleration of dissent at a Jesuit seminary.

The whole point of a liberal, humanist education - the value it's supposed to offer even in our tech-driven workplaces - is to instil habits of critical thinking. To equip students to reason their way through problems, to challenge orthodoxy, and defend their own positions without resorting to rhetorical fallacies or sentimentality. Why would an employer reading that transcript come away with any confidence that a recent graduate with a degree in the social sciences at a Canadian university will demonstrate those skills on the job, when the professors and administrators themselves don't demonstrate them?

[Bigtime]

Laurier has just released this apology:

https://www.wlu.ca/news/spotlights/2...hancellor.html

[llwhiteoutll]

And no mention of consequences to the professors, who will presumably be free to continue pushing their “correct” point of view only.

It also looks like the professor is apologizing for how the meeting was conducted, not the content or the message she was trying to send

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Laurier has just released this apology:

https://www.wlu.ca/news/spotlights/2...hancellor.html

Pretty half assed to me:

After listening to this recording, an apology is in order. The conversation I heard does not reflect the values and practices to which Laurier aspires. I am sorry it occurred in the way that it did and I regret the impact it had on Lindsay Shepherd. I will convey my apology to her directly. Professor Rambukkana has also chosen to apologize to Lindsay Shepherd about the way the meeting was conducted.

I remain troubled by the way faculty, staff and students involved in this situation have been targeted with extreme vitriol. Supports are in place at the university to support them through this situation.

Let me be clear by stating that Laurier is committed to the abiding principles of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Giving life to these principles while respecting fundamentally important human rights and our institutional values of diversity and inclusion, is not a simple matter. The intense media interest points to a highly polarizing and very complicated set of issues that is affecting universities across the democratic world. The polarizing nature of the current debate does not do justice to the complexity of issues.

They state that the problem was the message wasn't delivered in the right way and then go on to more or less say their primary concern is the backlash and then re-iterate that speech needs to be restricted in the name of "diversity and inclusion".

A whole lot of double speak going on here. The University just cannot grasp what they've done wrong, which is extremely troubling.

[sketchyt]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Laurier has just released this apology:

https://www.wlu.ca/news/spotlights/2...hancellor.html

Wow, those two letters are masterclasses of apologizing but not being sorry.

[Jacks]

All dissenting opinions must be eradicated, schools are no place to discuss both sides of issues.
Surprised these universities haven't started burning books they don't agree with yet.

[calf]

That's basically saying "sorry you were offended"

[CaptainCrunch]

Exactly


She should write a public letter back to them

Dear Laurier

Cram it with peanuts

I don't need your "education", I don't need your "Thought Control"

Thanks

Shepard

No surprise, most universities have become indoctrination factories instead of institutes of higher learning anyways.

You're encouraged to fawn over your prof's opinion instead of actively debating it.

What they need is more safe rooms.

[2Stonedbirds]

Ahh, good ol Jordan 'Fuhrer' Peterson. The scourge of campuses and thought police everywhere.
The article read like a scene from Brazil.
18 years old, the mind is simply too fragile to make decisions and form critical thought on its own. But hey, if you can't hack it in university, there's always the military! Here's your C7 son (sorry to assume gender)

[icecube]

Originally Posted by Jacks

All dissenting opinions must be eradicated, schools are no place to discuss both sides of issues.
Surprised these universities haven't started burning books they don't agree with yet.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by sketchyt

Wow, those two letters are masterclasses of apologizing but not being sorry.

They only apologised due to the pressure of the media. Hopefully miss Shepard stays true to her word and leaves Laurier after the semester is over.

[Flamenspiel]

The staff at Laurier basically bullied her in a classic way. To me in a corporate environment this would be raised with HR as a workplace aggression/harassment case.

[CaptainYooh]

This is just the beginning, I think. Language and speech are being hijacked by the lefties. And social science faculties of North-American universities are on the forefront of this hijacking.