Newsletter

April 2013

SAFS letter to Manitoba Student Union President Arte

April 25, 2013

Ms. Bilan Arte, President

University of Manitoba
Students’ Union (UMSU) and Members of the Council
University of Manitoba

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Dear President Arte and Members of the UMSU Council:

Re: Deregistering Students Against Israeli Apartheid:

I
am writing as the president of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship
(SAFS), a national organization of university faculty members and others
dedicated to the defense of academic freedom and reasoned and respectful
debate.(For further information, please see our website at
www.safs.ca.)

According to an article and an editorial in the Winnipeg Free Press
(April 15 and 16, 2013) and an op-ed in the National Post (April 13,
2013), the UMSU council passed a motion (19 votes to 16) de-registering
Students Against Israeli Apartheid as an organization supported by UMSU. As
we understand it, this means that this group of students is denied funding and
space in the University Centre, the students’ building on campus, thus
restricting their ability to express their views on campus.We also realize that
there are legitimate criteria necessary for groups to be supported and there are
legitimate reasons for de-registering groups.

Nevertheless, the article and the editorial in the Winnipeg Free Press
suggest that this group has been de-registered because: “The language the group
uses is quite concerning. It gives people the ammunition to hate Jewish
students…” “During the [Israeli Apartheid] Week, a lot of Jewish students feel
uncomfortable, a lot of Zionist students feel uncomfortable. As Jewish students,
we feel uncomfortable on this campus during Israeli Apartheid Week.” These
statements are attributed to Joshua Morry, a member of the UMSU council, a
person who voted on this motion, and they are the only reasons given for UMSU’s
decision.

As
a society that supports academic freedom for both faculty and students, we find
Council’s decision to be incompatible with the values of the Academy. The
Academy is dedicated to open debate as a way of advancing knowledge, even if it
makes students and faculty members uncomfortable. As Dr. David Barnard, the
President of the University of Manitoba, has said “Universities long have been
places that promote free inquiry and debate, a value that is codified in the
commitment they make to the concept of academic freedom” (Winnipeg Free Press,
April 15, 2013).

Even if the majority of council members believe that the opinions of this group
of students may make other students feel uncomfortable, our view is that this
should not be a compelling reason for denying them the resources necessary to
voice their opinions. Consequently, SAFS asks the UMSU council to rescind its
motion de-registering Students Against Israeli Apartheid as a students’
organization.

Sincerely,
Clive Seligman, President