Wilfrid Laurier University: TA Lindsay Shepherd
Basic Coverage
- Christie Blatchford: Thought police strike again as Wilfrid Laurier grad student is chastised for showing Jordan Peterson video - Opinion, National Post of Canada, 2017-11-10.
Her supervising professor told her that by showing the video to her Canadian Communication in Context
class, it basically was like … neutrally playing a speech by Hitler …
This was the first published account of events.
The columnist had heard the recording of the meeting,
but that recording was not then public.
The audio recording is in section Background below.
- Open letter from Nathan Rambukkana to Lindsay Shepherd, 2017-11-21.
Rambukkana was the faculty member leading the meeting with the TA.
- Wilfrid Laurier University's president apologizes to Lindsay Shepherd for dressing-down over Jordan Peterson clip by Adrian Platt - Politics, National Post (Canada), 2017-11-21.
Shepherd secretly recorded the meeting, where she was told she had created a toxic climate
in the class and it was suggested she had broken the law.
- Christie Blatchford: Here's where Laurier can stick their apology to Lindsay Shepherd - Opinion, National Post, 2017-11-21.
Rambukkana's
open letter
is all I expected of a man
who would invoke the spectre of Hitler to try to shut down an underling — craven,
dissembling, revisionist.
- Conrad Black: Our campuses show we're practicing cultural genocide on ourselves - Opinion, National Post, 2017-11-24.
Fiascoes like Shepherd's raise the question of how this society allowed
its education system to become steadily poorer the more money it stuffed into it.
See the last sentence for his sense of how bad it has become in Canada.
- Rex Murphy: Lindsay Shepherd incident is simply one bubble in a boiling caldron - Opinion, National Post, 2017-11-24.
May I summarize by saying my positionality on Laurier's apologies
is problematic and my problematics on their positionality is profound.
- Freedom of Expression on Campus (39:32) - The Agenda with Steve Paikin on TV Ontario, 2017-11-30.
In light of the controversy at Wilfrid Laurier University, where a tutorial assistant
was reprimanded for playing an excerpt of a controversial discussion on The Agenda,
Steve Paikin welcomes a group of post-secondary professors to discuss the limits of free speech on campus.
Note: The Agenda
is a very highly regarded public affairs program on public television (TV Ontario).
Aside: After watching several of these shows on free speech,
I am dismayed that I can't point to any show of even faintly similar quality here in the US.
Excerpts and commentary on this discussion (includes a brief overview):
The Agenda
Discusses the Laurier Story | Professors Demonstrate It Isn't Isolated (18:11), Matt Christiansen, 2017-12-06.
If you want a more opinionated/dramatic commentary on excerpts:
The Culture War in Canadian Universities (50:37) - Sargon of Akkad, 2017-12-08.
- Lindsay Shepherd: My Laurier interrogation shows universities have lost sight of their purpose - Opinion, National Post, 2017-12-04.
How can humanities departments justify charging students tuition
if they are not teaching them to think critically?
Author is the Teaching Assistant in question.
- Lindsay Shepherd LIVE: Free Speech Battle with Laurier University (52:26) - The Rubin Report, 2017-12-01.
Has a recap of events, but much of this is about how it changed her personal interactions
and who was supporting her.
- She Showed a Video in Class. Now She’s a Hero to Some, a Pariah to Others by Tom Bartlett, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2017-12-04.
Lindsay Shepherd, a graduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University,
was scolded by two professors and a university official for playing a clip
in which the use of gender-neutral pronouns was debated.
- Christie Blatchford:
Ominous
signs that Lindsay Shepherd's job, not free speech, is target of Laurier probe - Opinion, National Post, 2017-12-06.
The investigation was called despite the lawyer in charge saying there is not
anything I would describe as a formal complaint under any WLU policy
against Shepherd.
- Opinion | D’AMATO: Instant celebrity a bumpy ride for Shepherd - Opinion, Waterloo Region Record of TheRecord.com, 2017-12-02.
Lindsay Shepherd worries about different things now.
- Christie Blatchford: Wilfrid Laurier investigation into Lindsay Shepherd affair complete, but public won't see report - Opinion, National Post (Canada), 2017-12-15.
Shepherd's sin was to show her class a short clip of a televised debate involving the
controversial Jordan Peterson without first denouncing his stance against gender neutral
pronouns.
- Faculty union claims they face
violent speech and actions
daily, but won't specify – to protect members - The College Fix, 2017-12-15.
Threats against our members have escalated
when they answer media queries.
- An open letter from members of the Communication Studies Department, Wilfrid Laurier University republished by ishmael n. daro - Medium, released 2017-12-18. Note that it was drafted and signed before the release of the fact-finder's report (below).
Noteworthy:
Public debates about freedom of expression, while valuable, can have a silencing effect on the free speech of other members of the public.
Notice that this concern is not just free speech or specific events,
but the mere debate about the principle or those events.
Commentary on this event in the press and social media has emboldened individuals who see themselves as noble defenders of free speech to intimidate our faculty and students—to the point that protective measures have been taken in an attempt to secure their safety.
No evidence of this has been presented, despite requests from multiple parties.
Such unsupported claims are so routine that they could be regarded as part of
the template for such statements.
- President's statement re: independent fact-finder report, 2017-12-18.
- Deconstruction: The Lindsay Shepherd Affair (2:04:53) - Jordan B Peterson, 2017-12-26.
Peterson is a professor of psychology at U of Toronto and a vlogger popular among conservatives
and the right-wing.
He interviews two professors from Laurier who are upset about what happened.
The participants remain focused on the topic and make interesting points.
The conversation is polite (no shouting — they're Canadians).
The length of the interview is a result of the wide range of subtopics they discuss.
The interviewees are:
- Dr. David Haskell, Associate Professor, Digital Media and Journalism / Religion and Culture
- Dr. William McNally, Associate Professor of Finance at the School of Business and Economics
Excerpts:
Laurier Professor Shocked by Postmodernist Claims (Peterson | Haskell | McNally) (11:11) - PhilosophyInsights, 2017-12-27.
Jordan Peterson & 2 Laurier Professors Deconstruct Lindsay Shepherd Affair - Abridged (47:37) - NeoUnrealist, 2017-12-28.
Background
- FULL RECORDING - Lindsay Shepherd Interogated by Wilfrid Laurier University's Gender Police (42:48) - Think Club, 2017-11-20.
Alt: (Leaked Audio) Lindsay Shepherd vs Wilfrid Laurier U on Jordan Peterson (43:17) - 1791L, 2017-11-21.
The (false) claim that the Canadian law prohibits the discussion of that law
is one that I have encountered in other discussions of that law.
- Genders, Rights and Freedom of Speech (54:58) - The Agenda with Steve Paikin, 2016-10-26.
The 3-5 minute clip that Lindsay Shepherd played came from somewhere in this debate.
The program is a reportedly well-regarded public affairs program on TVOntario,
a public TV station.
The moderator does a very good job of managing the debate,
but probably because Canadians are so darn polite (smile).
Transcript.
I listened to much of it and cannot recommend it.
I can't remember ever hearing panelist Jordan Petersen say anything interesting
because he is either underprepared or so disorganized as to be unable to make concise points,
and I have limited patience for speakers who ramble on
without seeming to getting closer to making a point.
Another panelist—Nicholas Matte, Lecturer in Transgender Studies, U of Toronto—is so absurd that—if you were new to this topic—
you would think he was doing intentional parody.
Two examples:
Basically, it's not correct that there is such a thing as biological sex.
: Section starts @10:35 with the quote @11:21.
- Later:
So 58% of students could not get academic transcripts with their correct name
or pronoun. That causes a huge chain of events for students or anybody
who has had any kind of academic training.
As everyone recognizes, we need to be able to have references.
We need to be able to have resumes.
We need to be able to get jobs.
(@40:22).
He doesn't seem to claim that people can't get transcripts,
but rather that those transcripts have their legal names—rather than preferred names.
As to preferred pronouns, none of my transcripts have any pronouns.
Even if one had an incorrect pronoun, that wouldn't stop me from submitting it
as part of an application.
- Laurier's Racialized Ponzi Scheme (22:08) - Benjamin A Boyce, 2017-12-28.
A promotional/introductory video from Larier's Diversity and Equity Office (DEO)
with his critical commentary.
Commentary from various sources
Most of these have significant portions of the above recordings and documents.
They can be interesting for showing what others focused on and their perspectives.
- Benjamin A Boyce: good coverage, both of individual events and breadth.
- Wilfrid Laurier University: The Perspective of a Former Laurier Graduate Student (23:57) - bowlestrek, 2017-11-28.
While the first part is yet-another critique of the meeting,
the latter part claims that this situation is unusual only in that it became public,
and the vlogger relates some of experiences at Laurier (2011-2015).
- College TA Censured for Playing Jordan Peterson Clip to Class | Wilfrid Laurier University (12:55) - Matt Christiansen, 2017-11-22.
- University Professor Nathan Rambukkana issues an apology to Lindsay Shepherd (16:08) - Thoughtful Chrysalis, 2017-11-21.
- Lindsay Shepherd & Wilfrid Laurier University (17:31) - Independent Man, 2017-11-22.
Commentary on excerpts of recording of meeting.
- The Lindsay Shepherd Incident-Why Laurier University Must Pay (19:20) - TheQuartering, 2017-11-21.
- Jordan Peterson Was Right (41:30) - Sargon of Akkad, 2017-11-22.
Commentary interwoven with recording of the meeting.
- Words Lose Their Meaning at Wilfrid Laurier University by David Millard Haskell - Quillette, 2017-12-13.
Discussion relative to Orwellian language by Professor at Laurier.
White Women Tears
—Critical Theory on Lindsay Shepherd by Uri Harris - Quillette, 2017-12-09.
Responses from Transgender Advocates and other Social Justice Advocates
- Laurier Student Open Letter (35:05) - Benjamin A Boyce, 2017-11-29.
Critique of the letter.
- The Laurier Fallout | Trans Students Double Down as Victims of Jordan Peterson Video Clip (10:59) - Matt Christiansen, 2017-11-29.
Critique of claims by trans-gender advocates: claims without supporting evidence.
- Transgenders protest free speech at Laurier #LindsayShepherd (7:34) - Make Cringe Great Again, 2017-11-24.
Hear these protestors perspectives.
- Rancour of free speech debate led gender-diverse people to feel unsafe, advocates say by Peggy Lam, CBC News, Kitchener-Waterloo, 2017-11-29.
A professor at Wilfrid Laurier is asking the university to do more to protect trans people.
- Laurier University Trans Students Demand Apology! (12:23) - Bearing, 2017-11-30.
Highly sarcastic commentary, but deserved.
- Wilfrid Laurier University's free speech controversy (8:53) - The National, 2017-11-24.
- It's trans students and staff who deserve an apology from Wilfred Laurier University by Jay Rideout - nowtoronto.com, 2017-12-05.
In the Lindsay Shepherd free speech controversy, it's the voices of trans and
non-binary students that have been largely left out of the media conversation.
- Trans community voices concerns at Laurier rally by Johanna Weidner, Waterloo Region Record of TheRecord.com, 2017-12-07.
A trans solidarity rally was held at Wilfrid Laurier University on Thursday,
with speakers calling on university officials to acknowledge and address systemic transphobia on campus.
Advocates: Free speech is a distraction.
- Activism Studies at Laurier (2:49) - Benjamin A Boyce, 2017-12-08.
Official Laurier video promoting Gender Studies intercut with contrasting video.
A good example of this technique and tactic.
- Non-Existence at Laurier (18:43) - Benjamin A Boyce, 2017-12-12.
Transgender advocates claim that discussion of pronoun choice threatens their existence.
- CBC - Influential People (Lindsay Shepherd) (9:59 queued at 6:05) - TGL ThinGrayLine, 2017-12-17.
Clip from a Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) program of their personalities making nominations.
Queue to start with that for Lindsay Shepherd, but the focus here is on the (racist) response from
one of the personalities (who had already made her nomination).