By: Freida Watermelon, SFU Student
September 23, 2024
As president of SFU, I am often asked by students, faculty and staff to take a stance on partisan political matters and current events. I usually have no problem doing this as it is great PR. However, amid ongoing genocide, I want to share some thoughts on why I have come to the view that it is important for university administration not to take public positions when convenient.
Universities are comprised of thousands of students, faculty, and staff who all hold unique opinions and views, informed by their scholarly work and lived experiences. I believe that universities need to be a place where people can freely engage in academic inquiry, share ideas, learn from each other, disagree constructively, and peacefully protest. It is for this reason that I have chosen to ask SFU security to surveil and repress pro-Palestinian organizing on campus.
In the past, I have made statements related to world events in an attempt to be responsive to issues our community is concerned with. However, I have come to understand that carefully worded, empty, both-sidesy statements will not stop people from scrutinizing our university investments. I also recognize that there are many local, global, and personal issues affecting community members at any given time, and issuing statements on some topics but not others can further contribute to feelings of exclusion. I have come to the conclusion that standing in solidarity with no one is the best course of action.
If SFU is truly to be a place where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas and participating in meaningful dialogue, the university must be non-sectarian and non-political in principle. In order to facilitate this, I believe that the institution — and senior leadership as representatives of the institution — must continue to invest in companies that “facilitate the killing, maiming, or displacement of millions of individuals, primarily in the Global South.”
Living by our values (we don’t have any)
To truly live by our core values of academic freedom and critical thinking, we need to hold space for difficult and controversial conversations to take place responsibly and respectfully, as well as defending and protecting the human right to express views within the bounds of the law.
As outlined in “What’s Next,” we are also committed to embedding the values of equity and belonging in every decision and action. We have a collective responsibility to create a culture of inclusive excellence where all feel welcome, safe, accepted, and appreciated (including those who support genocide). Taken together, academic freedom and inclusive excellence support each other and work together to create a vibrant academic community where everyone feels a sense of belonging in the global capitalist war machine.
One of the foundational practices of university life is to be exposed to different points of view, broaden our perspectives and have our beliefs and ideas challenged. Which is why we prevent students from tabling and leafleting for Palestinian liberation. This may be uncomfortable, but challenging the university’s practices in ways that make us look bad is simply not OK. As we take on this work, it is important to remember that students, staff, and faculty will be followed by security and potentially have the cops called on them if they are seen within a five kilometre radius of a watermelon.
In a time of genocide, we must preserve the vibrancy of our academic community by repressing dissenting views. This is a challenging task, but I believe it is one we can accomplish, together. I want to assure you that senior leaders are committed to doing our part by promoting — sorry, I mean shutting down — healthy dialogue at SFU.
Joyless Johnson
Pronouns: she, her, hers
President & Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University
