Neutrality in the time of genocide

 

When the  Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, Universities Canada, an organization that describes itself as the “voice of Canadian universities, at home and abroad” issued a statement that reads: “Over the past week, the world has watched the invasion of Ukraine with outrage, disbelief and sadness,” and that “Canada’s universities are supporting all faculty, staff and students affected by these disturbing events.”

Almost every university in Canada responded with a similar statement to their faculty, staff, students, and wider community, often with headlines like “University X stands with Ukraine,” including the University of New Brunswick where I work.

Soon thereafter, universities across Canada  established numerous programs to assist displaced Ukrainian students and scholars, providing special scholarships, fellowships, fee waivers, postdoctoral fellowships, and support structures for Ukrainian communities associated with Canadian campuses.  Universities Canada  proudly lists statements from university Presidents across Canada, and the variety of community, financial and  health resources they have made available on their campuses for those affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.

Among the stated priorities of Universities Canada is “building a caring, inclusive society.” This position includes commitments such as “ensuring students of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences feel welcomed and included” and statements such as “socio-cultural and political events in Canada and across the world have demonstrated the need for further efforts and investments in equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility,” making clear that political events across the world drive its EDIA action.

This emphasis on political events is, of course, not a position of political neutrality. Universities Canada is particularly courageous in its apparent commitment to political partiality, acknowledging how global injustices reproduce at institutional levels. Indeed, the selfless efforts of this organization and its member universities to help Ukrainians affected by war is laudable, and a living testament of their commitment to the venerable priority of political partiality, despite  pre-existing strains on university budgets.

These are noble words and noble deeds, fitting for a society that now opens gatherings of knowledge seekers with acknowledgments of occupied lands, a glacial emergence of conscience after hundreds of years of colonial genocide.

Also notable is that Universities Canada represents the collective voice of university presidents, their administrations, and ultimately the voices of university boards of governors to whom presidents are accountable. Because university boards are composed largely of industry leaders and provincial government appointees, the unequivocal support for Ukraine across Canadian university administrations is an embodiment of the much wider spectrum of political support for Ukraine in Canada. An obvious corollary is that universities are far from being politically neutral or institutionally autonomous when they are so deeply embedded in the structures in which they operate. And so, the moral consciences of university leaders are clear — at least when it comes to Ukraine.

But alas such generosity does not extend to the long-suffering Palestinians of the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza, where scholars and centres of learning are at the mercy of the most powerful weapons ever envisioned.  (more...)

Neutrality in the time of genocide