00:00:00.000Back in February of this year, Associate Professor of Health Psychology Rima Azar from New Brunswick's Mount Allison University was subjected to an investigation and institutional denunciation over some supposedly controversial posts she wrote on her personal blog.
00:00:24.420That blog is titled Bambi's AFCAR. Here's a sample of some of the thoughts she expressed that were apparently so outrageous, she had to be investigated by her university. Professor Azar wrote that Canada is not a systemically racist country. She defended the merit principle and said that those applying for university faculty jobs shouldn't be given preference based on what race they are. And she said that Black Lives Matter is a radical movement.
00:00:52.900I don't know about you, but I think Professor Azar is correct on all of those points.
00:00:58.280Now, we're still back in February here, when the university administration circulated an email to all students and all staff with a statement that said,
00:01:07.960Serious concerns have been expressed about posts related to systemic racism, sexual violence, gender and colonization. We neither support nor agree with the inappropriate comments that have been posted to this blog.
00:01:21.760We recognize that comments such as these are hurtful to many people in our community and more widely.
00:01:29.800Now, again, because of her opinions, Professor Azar was investigated for discriminatory conduct.
00:01:36.220Now, that investigation has concluded. As the public, we won't be privy to what the investigation found, but we do know from a May 4th letter released by Mount Allison University that Professor Azar was suspended without pay for six months.
00:01:53.520So, she won't be teaching in the upcoming fall semester, and who even knows if she'll get her job back after that.
00:02:01.220And the university also recommended that she undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training. Classic.
00:02:07.860This professor, though, she's not simply accepting the treatment she's receiving.
00:02:12.780She is fighting back and currently raising legal fees to sue Mount Allison University for defamation, stating that they are ruining her reputation based on false allegations.
00:02:25.420As of the time I am recording this video, Rima Azar has already received over $20,000 in donations, even though the page has been up for only a couple days.
00:02:33.920There's one paragraph that Professor Azar wrote on her fundraising page that I quite like, so I'll read it out here.
00:02:41.180I will use the funds raised to cover my personal legal defense fund.
00:02:45.540I love my students, job, colleagues, university, province, and beautiful country beyond words.
00:03:00.600And she's right. Why do we do this to ourselves?
00:03:03.140A handful of students at Mount Allison University, a tiny, tiny minority of loud voices, said that they wanted this professor reprimanded or censored.
00:03:14.040And just like that, the university does it.
00:03:16.640There were even some students and student groups that were calling for more drastic measures.
00:03:21.840The Mount Allison University Black Students Union, on their Instagram page, straight up said that they want this tenured professor fired.
00:03:30.000Because they want the university to honor its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
00:03:35.460I'm not going to play up Rima Azar's identity credentials, but let's be clear about what's going on here.
00:03:41.940The Black Students Union, in the name of diversity, equity, and inclusion, wants this Arab-Canadian female professor fired because they don't like her perspective on certain sociocultural matters.
00:03:55.720So, all of this is in the name of diversity and inclusion.