University of Ottawa forms anti-racism committee after n-word controversy
University president Jacques Frémont said he was “discouraged” by the divisive comments that followed the in-class incident.
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The University of Ottawa is launching a new action committee to advise on anti-racism and inclusion efforts, president Jacques Frémont announced Monday while “correcting the record” on a controversial incident where a professor used the n-word during a class discussion.
The university’s new Action Committee on Anti-Racism and Inclusion will be mandated to “review and assess university resources, programs, policies, processes, and practices to understand how they contribute to systemic racism; provide recommendations that will further the inclusion of BIPOC members at the university; and eliminate barriers to the university’s diversity and inclusion efforts.”
In an address to the university Senate Monday, Frémont said the Sept. 23 incident in the Faculty of Arts garnered “considerable” media and social media attention, “unfortunately with an abundance of inaccurate information that has further fuelled divisiveness within and among our community,” he said, adding he wished to “set the record straight” on the incident and its aftermath.
According to Frémont’s summary of the controversy, the professor uttered the offensive word in her class “during a discussion of the reappropriation of offensive words by groups such as people of colour and LGBTQ communities.
“Following the class, a student, who is a person of colour, emailed her to state that many students were deeply hurt and ask that the word not to be used again in class. The professor apologized to the student and offered this student an opportunity to lead an in-class discussion about the use of the n-word. This generated tension within the group, with students complaining that the request was inappropriate … Tensions were such that both students and the professor reached out to the Dean for support to address the situation.
According to Frémont, the professor was never suspended as a disciplinary measure and was rather placed on paid administrative suspension while the incident was investigated. The suspension lasted one business day, Frémont said.
The dean mediated “a constructive return to class for the professor,” including diversity training and a class discussion with students, and a separate section of the course was created for students who did not wish to continue with the professor.
The professor resumed her regular teaching duties.
Frémont said he was “discouraged” by the divisive comments that followed the incident, and “saddened and disturbed… at how quickly members of our community have reached conclusions without a full understanding of what happened.”
The new Action Committee will “create and oversee recommended targets and outcomes” Frémont said and will provide regular progress reports to the university administration and board of governors.
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