Advertisement 1

Advanced Education minister promises Chicago Principles details coming soon as students, academics concerned for September deadline

Article content

Student groups and post-secondary institutions gearing up for the next academic year are in the dark about what a controversial and rigorous set of freedom of speech rules known as the Chicago Principles will mean for Alberta campuses come September.

In May, the UCP announced its intention to follow in Ontario’s footsteps by introducing the principles, developed by the University of Chicago in 2014. They allow speakers on campuses to share their views, no matter how “unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive” they may be.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

“University is the only place and the only time oftentimes that people have to really engage in thoughtful and meaningful dialogue,” Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said last week in his first interview with Postmedia since being sworn in on April 30. “And we want to ensure that’s the very heart of the whole academic experience …”

Article content

Nicolaides — who has hailed the principles as the “gold standard” — said last Tuesday universities can expect further details in the next couple of weeks. He hopes to work with post-secondaries in a “collaborative and collegial manner” and does not anticipate penalties for institutions that do not comply, unlike in Ontario.

The minister also confirmed that September remains the working deadline for policy implementation, despite concerns from student groups that they don’t even know how to begin preparing.

“We don’t have enough information,” said Joel Agarwal, vice-president academic of the University of Alberta Students’ Union, in a June 5 interview. “So we’re just kind of seeing how it’s panning out in those other provinces to determine how it would affect students here in Alberta.”

Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

‘Buffer zone’

It’s not just the pressed implementation timeline that worries Syed Shah.

As president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the University of Calgary, Shah has seen Islamophobia from other students “emboldened” by anti-Muslim speakers on campus.

“People with these hidden feelings towards Islam will get more comfortable to come and say them,” said Shah, who has already felt hostility towards the association growing among some members of the university community.

Following the March shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 dead and dozens injured, Mount Royal University in Calgary cancelled an event featuring a speaker who is critical of Islam, citing the recent shooting.

At the MSA’s Islam Awareness Week the same month, many of Shah’s colleagues in the association reported seeing suspicious people taking pictures in an intimidating manner, among other instances, to him.

Shah is concerned the Chicago principles will prevent universities from considering important context and timing when speakers ask to come to their campuses.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

“It seems that if we don’t have that buffer zone to filter out what is wrong time or wrong place … I don’t think the university or being on campus would feel like, essentially, a welcoming place,” said Shah, who studies English and education.

The Chicago principles have been criticized by academics as benefitting more extreme and conservative speakers, but Nicolaides stressed that the principles are not meant to be a “vehicle to promote hate.”

“I won’t tolerate if anybody thinks that this is an excuse or a way to advance hate,” he said Monday, noting that Alberta and Canada have strong hate speech laws.

“This isn’t about furthering one ideology over another. It’s about making sure that, on our campuses, we have the strongest academic experience possible.”

All-access pass

Many are also unsure why campus free speech is a top priority for the UCP. Nicolaides said there have been “numerous” instances of freedom of speech and expression violations in Alberta, but the minister did not offer a specific example in the interview.

In fact, some advocates are not convinced that free speech is a concern on their campus much at all.

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

“We strongly believe that universities must be a place of open, yet respectful dialogue, both for students ourselves to learn and grow as a community,” said Jessica Revington, president of the University of Calgary Students’ Union, on June 5.

“We don’t think that free speech is an issue on our campus.”

Revington hopes that any policy implemented will simply reaffirm what the University of Calgary is already doing to promote open dialogue. Tom Brown, who runs open debate platform Think Tank YEG out of the University of Alberta, agrees.

He welcomes the introduction of the Chicago principles as a means of supporting difficult but important conversations he feels the university already facilitates, but does not see it as a pressing issue.

“I think there’s a need for more discomfort, (but) that’s not a goal in and of itself,” said Brown on June 6.

But who benefits from free speech policies like these is what makes many educators and advocacy groups concerned for how the policies will roll out. They worry that for people with already tenuous platforms to express their views — like non-tenure-track faculty and marginalize students — the policy will exacerbate the gap between those whose views are heard and those which are silenced.

Advertisement 6
Story continues below
Article content

“Freedom of speech is not equally accessible for all people,” said Glynnis Lieb, executive director of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta. “Marginalized groups don’t have the same access to freedom of speech as those who already have a lot of privilege.”

Lieb cited the UCP’s changes to protections for LGBTQIAS+ students in Alberta schools and cancellation of the working group on conversion therapy as reasons she is skeptical these policies are not meant to benefit more extreme and conservative views.

“We’ve seen an emboldening of people who have strong negative opinions about people from other countries, about Muslim people, about queer people,” said Lieb on June 5 about Alberta since the election. “There’s a lot of circumstances in which (marginalized people) don’t feel safe and also don’t feel safe to express opinions.”

Both the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary have said it is too early to comment on how their policies will take shape, but that they look forward to collaborating with government on it further.

Advertisement 7
Story continues below
Article content

Shah, while hopeful, is not confident that post-secondaries will consult as broadly and deeply with students — particularly marginalized students — to ensure they feel safe and included on campus.

“I don’t know how much we would actually be heard out and I don’t know how much of a change that we could actually bring about,” said Shah, who is planning to consult with the MSA membership before he reaches out to the university and Students’ Union.

“But if enough people are able to band together, I do think that one sort of opinion — whether it’s for or against — could be heard and could influence the decision.”

— With files from Clare Clancy

mwyton@postmedia.com

twitter.com/moirawyton

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers