by Lexey Burns, Editor-in-Chief
After a meeting on Friday April 2nd, many faculty members are concerned about the outcome of Tuesday’s emergency “in camera” Senate meeting.
Reuben Roth, a Workplace and Labour studies professor explained in the meeting that “ ’In camera’ = behind closed doors.” It is not open to the public.
Dan Scott, Laurentian librarian and former member of Senate passed on information that had been “sent to the Senators to inform them of the special meeting.”
Scott explained that “There will be three IN CAMERA topics discussed at a Special Meeting of Senate, based on the Senate sub-committee on CCAA mediation’s report and recommendations regarding: Program terminations, Faculty and departmental reorganization, Additional program-level changes.”
He said that the meeting will take place, starting at 9 am with an initial presentation, following “a break… from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in order to permit Senators to review and consider the material… the Special Meeting will remain in camera for the duration of the break.”
“This meeting will address the important program review and restructuring work undertaken by the Senate Mediation Sub-Committee that was created by resolution at the Senate meeting held on February 9, 2021.”
Senators will be “bound by the strictest confidentiality in reviewing these materials,” Scott said.
Jen Johnson, a Thorneloe professor, said in the meeting “The Senate piece is irregular. We’re going to be asked to vote on something that we don’t normally do, that isn’t really in our purview and that will result in people’s job losses. It’s immoral and unethical and yet that is what we have to do.”
Johnson said that it would be possible for the Laurentian community to receive a message at the end of Tuesday saying that Laurentian Senate endorsed the final results of the Senate meeting.
“You need to know that this is just not the case,” Johnson said.
Dr. Krishnan Venkatraman, chair of the Gerontology Department at Huntington, said in a tweet, “I hope, the Senate votes down the package on Tuesday. That is the only way that we can call Haché’s bluff. Otherwise, he will simply hold the Senate equally responsible for the closures, layoffs and suffering.”
Scott responded to the tweet saying “There is no consensus when Haché holds a gun to Senate’s head. Senate is not a ‘necessary stakeholder.’
“Just a scapegoat.”
Laurentian to “profit from” UofS Indigenous content
A message from Tasha Beeds, an assistant professor at the University of Sudbury, said “Welcome to the colonial version of Indigenenization at Laurentian University.”
“Laurentian University is becoming more and more one of the most horrific colonial stories I have ever experienced when it comes to Indigenous people and education.”
“None of the Indigenous people or faculty from Indigenous studies will be employed… Laurentian will take the entire Indigenous studies departments, program, classes, history—one of the first Indigenous programs in all of Turtle Island—all of our beautiful elders and thinkers who contributed to the building of that program… all of the Indigenous minds, intellectual legacies, heart and thought and they will take that and profit from it.”