Universities, a bulwark against “polarization”, says the rector of UdeM

The rector of the University of Montreal, Daniel Jutras, affirms that he observes with “concern” what is happening in American universities, in a way a “cultural war”, but assures that for the moment, the climate on his institution’s campus remains good.

In the United States, says Daniel Jutras, the political battle between Democrats and Republicans makes universities “easy targets” for both the left and the right.

“It’s dangerous to put universities under the microscope all the time, as we tend to do in the United States,” Mr. Jutras said in an editorial meeting with The PressWednesday.

He cites the commission before which the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology testified in December, where they were “grilled for hours” on the issue of anti-Semitism on their campuses.

The second woman to lead Harvard University and first black president, Claudine Gay resigned from her post after just six months due to controversies raised by her tense hearing during a congressional hearing, as well as accusations of plagiarism.

A “fragile” balance

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is igniting passions at many of the United States’ most renowned universities, and Harvard in particular has been called upon by donors to clearly condemn pro-Palestinian student groups.

“It would be really important not to let this movement spread in Canada,” warns rector Daniel Jutras, who adds that “this is not at all our reality.”

In November, however, Concordia University was the scene of an altercation between students supporting Israel and others supporting Palestine.

The rectors of Concordia, McGill and the University of Quebec in Montreal then came out publicly to call for calm on campuses.

Daniel Jutras states that for his part, he receives “letters from deputies who [lui] ask to show a white hand towards the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“ [Des lettres] who ask me to take a stand. Who say to me: “What are you doing to defend this category of people? What measures have you taken to ensure that speeches that are sources of discomfort for some of your students cannot be delivered in your spaces?” », explains Daniel Jutras.

Some of these events are “conjunctural” due to the conflict in the Middle East, but the rector nevertheless believes that there is something “deeper”. Daniel Jutras believes that the balance is “fragile” between the university as a place where freedom of speech and thought is maintained and “a caring, respectful, adequate environment”.

“No street battles on campus”

For now, he says, Montreal universities – his own, in particular – are resisting these pressures, “holding the fort.”

“There are no street battles on campus,” he illustrates. “There are protests, and that’s okay, [l’université] is a place of expression. There is no closure of thought, no breakdown of dialogue,” says Daniel Jutras.

In any case, the rector believes that there remain few “major social institutions whose responsibility is to ensure the serenity of discourse and to work to counter polarization by nourishing reflection on major societal issues”.

He draws a parallel between the media and universities, both “politically and financially fragile”, and cites Florida, where political power “has taken control of several universities”.

“It’s very worrying,” says Daniel Jutras.

In early February, for example, board members of the state’s public universities decreed that all 430,000 students would no longer be able to choose the sociology course as one of their general education credits. This course will be replaced by a “factual history” course.

At the end of 2023, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz declared on social media that “sociology has been taken hostage by left-wing activists.”

Under Governor Ron DeSantis, he added, Florida’s higher education system will “focus on preparing students for in-demand, well-paying jobs, not ideology.” woke “.

Does the rector of the University of Montreal fear the possible election of a conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre?

“I think that Mr. Poilievre will have to listen to the academic community on the issues on which there must be continuity of progress, including research funding. I don’t know to what extent a Conservative government would favorably approach increasing research funding,” asks Mr. Jutras.

“I hope that we do not import into Quebec debates which are the fruit of a cultural battle in the United States which is not at all our reality,” he concludes.

With the New York Times and Agence France-Presse