Professor Michael J. Carley must be punished for his pro-Russian remarks, claim students of Ukrainian origin, who denounce the inaction of the University of Montreal.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
“What we want is for him to be limited in his possibilities to teach, because he can use his political position to influence his students”, drops Katia Sviderskaya.
More than the pro-Kremlin remarks of the titular history professor, it was the reaction of the University that shocked the student of Ukrainian origin.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY KATIA SVIDERSKAYA
Katia Sviderskaya, student of Ukrainian origin at the University of Montreal
This week, Radio-Canada reported messages posted on Mr. Carley’s – now suspended – Twitter account in which he defended the Russian invasion and called for the cleansing of “Ukrainian neo-Nazis”, using the words used by the Russian president, Vladimir Poutine.
Despite the discomfort aroused by his remarks, the management of the University of Montreal had then confirmed that Mr. Carley, who is not teaching this term, would not be subject to sanctions.
“Mr. Carley enjoys freedom of expression like any other citizen,” spokesperson for the establishment, Geneviève O’Meara, told Radio-Canada.
He can express his opinion on social networks, although it clashes with the words of other experts on the subject.
Geneviève O’Meara, spokesperson for the University of Montreal
What Katia Sviderskaya retorts: freedom of expression has its limits when an influential professor relays misinformation.
“He spreads totally false information based on Russian propaganda. He can do what he wants on his social networks, but he uses his title of professor, ”laments the vice-president of projects of the Ukrainian Student Association of the University of Montreal.
“Beyond political positions, it’s a question of scientific rigor,” she argues.
Influencing students
Faced with the “inaction” of the University, Katia Sviderskaya and another student started a petition demanding sanctions against Michael J. Carley. It collected more than 150 signatures, including that of many students of Ukrainian origin.
By e-mail, the University claims to have taken note of the petition. “Although he is a professor at the University of Montreal, Mr. Carley expresses himself on Twitter in a personal capacity, and not in the exercise of his duties as a professor”, recalls Ms.me O’Meara.
“True to the principle of academic freedom, the University of Montreal believes that the quest for truth is based on a rigorous method, based on facts, from which divergent perspectives can be confronted,” she continues.
If nothing more is done, Katia Sviderskaya fears that the professor will release the words of pro-Russian students, as happened last month. At the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, a classmate sided with Mr. Carley’s arguments, she reports.
He wrote to me to tell me that he was right on certain points, that the Western media were telling nonsense, that there are Nazis in Ukraine…
Katia Sviderskaya, student of Ukrainian origin at the University of Montreal
Meanwhile, her grandparents live under the Russian invader, in the occupied city of Kherson. Every day, they dread fights.
“They are safe and sound at the moment, but it is unclear what will happen. We hold on, ”breathes Katia Sviderskaya.