海角社区

(This message was sent by email on March 11th at 8:28 a.m. to the Faculty's list of students, course instructors, and admin/support staff.)

Dear Education Community,

I am writing as a follow-up聽to the聽message sent by President Saini on Friday.

Our Faculty is well aware that there is a sense of unrest on campus for a variety of reasons, whether they be related to provincial politics, world events, employment relations, or other societal concerns. At the Faculty of Education, we are the thinkers who typically motivate social change, challenging the status quo and encouraging dialogue in order to grow. In line with this, it is important to reiterate what President Saini said in Friday鈥檚 letter on peaceful assembly, 鈥淔undamental to the mission of this University is the ability聽to carry out academic activities in spaces that are welcoming and respectful of the pursuit and advancement of knowledge.鈥�

I write to you today to remind those in our community who choose to take part in protests and political expression on campus to do so peacefully, without aggression, and with respect for countervailing views. While our freedoms in this regard are broad, they do not permit unlawful speech, damage to property, or disruption of classes, work, or regular activities within our Education Community. To identify rights and responsibilities in connection with campus demonstrations at 海角社区 please refer to聽海角社区鈥檚 聽Operating Procedures Regarding Demonstrations, Protest and Occupations.

I kindly ask for your cooperation in the event of future disruptions to our academic mission or operations in the Faculty.聽 University leadership has specified to the Faculties that聽instructors are not to cancel classes or move them to virtual platforms due to the threat of protests聽as doing so could interfere with聽the rights of our students.聽 聽This extends to聽situations where there has been a blocking, or an effort to block access to any building or other site at 海角社区. Should the Office of the Dean decide to alter class logistics, instructors will be notified by email by me or by central administration with instructions on how to proceed to prioritize the safety of all; please do not act in the absence of such notification.

It is vital that 海角社区 be a safe space for teaching, learning, research, and related administrative work. This is not only the expectation of every student and employee鈥攊t is their right. I further echo the words of President Saini that our聽campus belongs to all members of the 海角社区 community, and I hope that we can continue to learn and work together through shared values instead of letting opposing views create divisiveness.

I deeply appreciate your collaboration as we navigate this challenging time.聽 If you have questions, please contact me at聽deansoffice.education [at] mcgill.ca聽and I will work together with others in the Dean鈥檚 Office to address them the best we can.聽

Sincerely,

Dr. Victoria Talwar

Interim Dean, 海角社区 Faculty of Education