Letter contesting the Jutras investigation — Update

The open letter contesting Dean Jutras’s investigation into the events of November 10 was delivered to the McGill Board of Governors on December 7, 2011. The letter has been signed by 11 McGill organizations and 180 individuals from the McGill community.

The letter of objection to the McGill Board of Governors contests the legitimacy of the internal investigation into the events of Nov. 10 conducted by Dean Jutras. It cites the investigation’s lack of structural independence from the McGill Administration and its narrow mandate, which precludes inquiry into individual responsibility for the events of Nov. 10 or into the broader institutional context that made them possible.

The letter was initiated by the McGill Faculty Labor Action Group.

Press:

• Global Montreal
• The Montreal Gazette
• Radio interview with Darin Barney on CBC Daybreak (Audio file on this page)

Full text of the letter with signatories:

Stuart H. Cobbett
Chair, Board of Governors
McGill University
Cc: Members of the McGill Board of Governors

23 November 2011

Dear Mr Cobbett,

We write this open letter to voice serious reservations regarding the investigation that is being undertaken into the events on the McGill campus on November 10, 2011 by Dean Daniel Jutras at the request of Principal Heather Munroe-Blum.

There are good reasons for the McGill community to question the legitimacy of this investigation.  These reasons are the perceived lack of independence of the investigation and its restrictive mandate, which the Principal defined in her letter of November 11, 2011, and Dean Jutras accepted.

(1) While we do not question the integrity of Dean Jutras, we note that a truly independent and impartial investigation requires more than integrity and good intentions.  It requires structures that would safeguard the independence of the process, aims and outcome of the investigation.  These structures do not obtain in the current investigation, where the investigator is an employee of McGill University and a member of its administration.  These facts constitute a conflict of interest that no amount of goodwill and trust can overcome.

It is not only that the current investigation lacks independence, but also that the prior constraints imposed on its scope and process will undermine its credibility in the eyes of the McGill community.

(2) The terms of reference of this investigation have been unilaterally established by Principal Heather Munroe-Blum in her letter to Dean Jutras on November 11, 2011.  These terms of reference are so narrowly defined as to circumscribe, in advance, the possible outcome of the investigation.

Excluded in advance is the ability to “make findings about or assign blame to specific individuals” and thus any possibility of holding members of the upper administration and security personnel accountable for their actions on, and leading up to, November 10.  Rather than establishing responsibility, this investigation is restricted to making recommendations “regarding practices, processes and policies within McGill University’s control and jurisdiction.”  Focusing attention on impersonal “practices, processes and policies” forecloses a thoroughgoing review of the culture and mode of governance instituted by McGill’s upper administration and its increased deployment of security measures and personnel on campus during the Fall 2011 term.

(3) The terms of reference set out by the Principal limit this investigation, not only in its powers, but also in its scope.  The events of November 10 were not isolated, yet it is unclear whether Dean Jutras’s fact-finding exercise can extend beyond the events themselves to include the context on campus that preceded them and that made them possible.  Similarly, any sustained attention to structural conditions that may have contributed to the events of that day and their context is precluded by the way in which this investigation’s purpose has been defined.

Though seemingly admirable in its concern for our future, the “forward-looking” purpose that the Principal assigns to this investigation in fact works to shift attention away from accountability and towards prevention.  The purpose – “to allow McGill to learn from the events of November 10, 2011 and implement changes that would reduce the likelihood of a similar incident occurring in the future” – presumes that we can learn from the past without taking responsibility for it.  Further, the prospect of implementing preventative measures without contextualizing and assigning responsibility for the events of November 10 has disturbing implications.  It would amount to relieving those in positions of authority of accountability for previous actions and inaction, while potentially hindering members of the McGill community from taking otherwise permissible political action in the future.  Preemptive measures restricting the ability of students, faculty and staff to assemble and protest might “prevent” a recurrence of the events of November 10, but such escalated securitization of campus would simply intensify the dynamics that gave rise to these events in the first place.

For these reasons, we believe the legitimacy and effectiveness of this investigation have been irreparably compromised from the outset.  When events have been so damaging and continue to be so contentious, trust in the University as a space of free expression and dissent can only be restored through a genuinely independent and external inquiry.

Accordingly, we call on the Board of Governors to suspend the investigation by Dean Jutras and immediately to convene an ad hoc committee comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, support and administrative staff, and faculty, appointed by their own representative organizations.  This ad hoc committee should be charged to mandate an external inquiry that would meet the standards of independence and comprehensiveness demanded by the gravity of the events of November 10, 2011.  We would look forward to participating vigorously and conscientiously in such an inquiry.

Thank you for your consideration.

Signing Organizations

AGSEM – McGill’s Teaching Union representing Course Lecturers, Teaching Assistants and Invigilators employed at McGill University

AMUSE’s Executive Council (Association of McGill University Support Employees)

The Art History and Communication Studies Department, McGill University

The Art History & Communication Studies Graduate Student Association (AHCS-GSA)

CKUT 90.3 FM, McGill and Montreal’s campus/community radio station

The Graduate Students of the Department of Philosophy, McGill University

The McGill Faculty Labour Action Group (MFLAG)

The McGill Philosophy Students’ Association

Midnight Kitchen, a student service of SSMU and collectively run kitchen on campus

QPIRG-McGill, The Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill

The Queer McGill Political Action Working Group

Individual Signatories from the McGill Community – Faculty, academic staff and non-academic staff

1.     Alia Al-Saji, Associate Professor, Philosophy, McGill University

2.     Darin Barney, Associate Professor, Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University

3.     Kristin Norget, Associate Professor, Anthropology, McGill University

4.     Adrienne Hurley, Assistant Professor, East Asian Studies, McGill University

5.     Barbel Knauper, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, McGill University

6.     Calvin G. Normore, William Macdonald Professor of Moral Philosophy, McGill University

7.     Anthony Paré, Professor, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

8.     Derek Nystrom, Associate Professor, Department of English, McGill University

9.     Michael Cowan, Associate Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, McGill University

10.  Ian Gold, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy and Psychiatry, McGill University

11.  Michelle Hartman, Associate Professor, Institute for Islamic Studies, McGill University

12.  Stephen Menn, Associate Professor of Philosophy, McGill University

13.  Aziz Choudry, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

14.  Abby Lippman, Professor Emerita, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University

15.  Jeremy Cooperstock, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University

16.  Narendra Subramanian, Associate Professor, Political Science, McGill University

17.  Gregory M. Mikkelson, Associate Professor, McGill School of the Environment & Department of Philosophy, McGill University

18.  Yuriko Furuhata, Assistant Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, McGill University

19.  Setrag Manoukian, Associate Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies and Department of Anthropology, McGill University

20.  Steven Jordan, Associate Professor, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

21.  Andrea Miller-Nesbitt, Liaison Librarian, Schulich Library of Science and Engineering, McGill University

22.  David Hensley, Associate Professor, Department of English, McGill University

23.  Mela Sarkar, Associate Professor, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

24.  Renee Sieber, Assistant Professor, McGill School of the Environment & Department of Geography, McGill University

25.  Brigitte Pientka, Associate Professor, School of Computer Science, McGill University

26.  Thomas Lamarre, James McGill Professor, Department of East Asian Studies and Department Art History & Communications Studies, McGill University

27.  Kevin McDonough, Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

28.  Sam Noumoff, Retired, Political Science, McGill University

29.  Kaleem Siddiqi, Professor, School of Computer Science, McGill University

30.  Lise Winer, Professor, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

31.  Bronwen Low, Associate Professor, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

32.  Mary H. Maguire, Professor, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

33.  Richard Harris, Emeritus Professor, Physics Department, McGill University

34.  Francois Fagotto, Associate Professor, Biology, McGill University

35.  Andrew Piper, Associate Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, McGill University

36.  Louis Lefebvre, Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

37.  Wes Folkerth, Associate Professor, Department of English, McGill University

38.  Catherine Bradley, Professional Associate, Department of English, McGill University

39.  Inna Sharf, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University

40.  Gordon Roberts, James McGill Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, McGill University

41.  Thomas Bureau, Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar, Department of Biology, McGill University

42.  Susana Machado, Administrative Coordinator, Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University

43.  Daniel Schoen, Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

44.  Catherine Potvin, Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

45.  Jerome Rousseau, Professor, Department of Anthropology, McGill University

46.  Sandra Teresa Hyde, Associate Professor, Anthropology, McGill University

47.  Michael Hallett, John Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics, Philosophy, McGill University

48.  Miwako Uesaka, Faculty Lecturer, East Asian Studies, McGill University

49.  Paul Peters, Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, McGill University

50.  Grace S. Fong, Professor of Chinese Literature, Department of East Asian Studies, McGill University

51.  Brian Trehearne, Professor, Department of English, McGill University

52.  Brian Cowan, Canada Research Chair in Early Modern British History, Associate Professor, Department of History & Classical Studies, McGill University

53.  Rüdiger Krahe, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

54.  Jessica Ruglis, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology, Faculty of Education, McGill University

55.  Orval A. Mamer, Professor Emeritus, Department of Medicine, McGill University

56.  Maureen Coote, Graduate Program Coordinator, Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University

57.  Frederick Kingdom, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, McGill University

58.  Antonio Ciampi, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University

59.  Claude Crépeau, Associate Professor, School of Computer Science, McGill University

60.  Fiona Ritchie, Assistant Professor, Department of English, McGill University

61.  Frieder Schoeck, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

62.  Rajinder S. Dhindsa, Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

63.  Jean Gotman, Professor, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University

64.  David S. Crawford,  FCLIP, Emeritus Librarian, McGill University

65.  Erica E. M. Moodie, Assistant Professor, Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, & Occupational Health, McGill University

66.  Armando Jardim, Associate Professor, Institute of Parasitology, McGill University

67.  Gershon Hundert, Professor of History & Jewish Studies, McGill University

68.  Frederik van de Voort, Professor, Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University

69.  Amanda Holmes, Associate Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, McGill University

70.  Donald W. Attwood, Emeritus Professor, Department of Anthropology, McGill University

71.  Xin Zhao, James McGill Professor, Department of Animal Science, McGill University.

72.  Alison Laywine, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, McGill University

73.  Inteaz Alli, Professor, Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University

74.  Malek Abisaab, Associate Professor, History and Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University

75.  Catherine LeGrand, Associate Professor, Department of History, McGill University

76.  Genevieve Gore, Assistant Librarian, Life Sciences Library, McGill University

77.  Gregor Fussmann, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University

78.  Bruce Reed, Bruce Reed, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Department of Computer Science, McGill University

79.  Marguerite Deslauriers, Associate Professor, Philosophy, McGill University

80.  John Wolforth, Professor Emeritus, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

81.  Dirk Schlimm, Assistant Professor, Philosophy, McGill University

82.  Teresa Liem, Admin Assistant SRE Lab, McGill University

Individual Signatories from the McGill Community – Students

83.  Stephen Peters, PhD 2, Educational Studies, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

84.  Thierry Battut, MA 2, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

85.  Florian Grond, Affiliate member, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), McGill University

86.  Carl Mueller-Roemer, Master of Engineering year 2, Faculty of Engineering, McGill University

87.  Rosalind Hampton, PhD 1, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

88.  Laurel Paterson, PhD 7, Department of Psychology, McGill University

89.  Fernanda Soler Urzúa, PhD in Educational Studies 2011, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

90.  Flora Dunster, U3 Honours Art History, McGill University

91.  Molly Swain, U1, Faculty of Arts, McGill University

92.  Samuel Harris, U2 History & Political Science, McGill University

93.  Sheehan Moore, U2, Department of Anthropology, McGill University

94.  Matt May, U2, Faculty of Arts, McGill University

95.  Moe Nasr, U2, Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University

96.  Zoe Pepper-Cunningham, U2 History Major, African Studies & Middle Eastern Lang Minor, McGill University

97.  Galen Macdonald, Undergraduate in Geography (Urban Systems), Faculty of Arts, McGill University

98.  Lily Schwarzbaum, U2 Political Science and International Development Studies, McGill University

99.  Anna Hermanson, U2, Environment and Development, Faculty of Arts, McGill University

100.        Maya Richman, BA U3, McGill University

101.        Allison Cooper, U4 Arts, McGill University

102.        Jacob Parry, U3 History and Political Science, McGill University

103.        Sabina Roan, McGill undergraduate student, U3 Arts (Urban Systems Geography), McGill University

104.        Edmund J. Milly, MA 1, English Literature and 2011 graduate, BA & BMus., McGill University

105.        Peter Davoust, Year 2, Computer Science, McGill University

106.        Scott Daley, MA 1, Department of English, McGill University

107.        Brianna Delagran, U3 Arts, McGill University

108.        Kaitlyn Pinder, PhD Student, English, McGill University

109.        Helen Bradley, Master of Arts in Education, Year 1, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

110.        Devon Wong, MA 2, Department of English, McGill University

111.        Jamie Lee Rogers, Arts U3, McGill University

112.        Ryan Healey, U4 Joint Honours English Literature and Philosophy, McGill University

113.        Justin Pfefferle, PhD Candidate, Department of English, McGill University

114.        Lena Weber, U2 Honours International Development Studies, member of student non-academic staff, McGill University

115.        Lena Carla Palacios, PhD3, Department of Art History and Communication Studies and Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

116.        Brett Howie, U3 Arts, English Literature, McGill University

117.        Zachary Rosentzveig, U1 Arts, Political Science and IDS, McGill University

118.        Ariel Buckley, PhD student, Department of English, McGill University

119.        J. A. Weingarten, PhD student, English, McGill University

120.        Shiloh Whitney, PhD Candidate (PhD 6), Philosophy, McGill University

121.        Veronica Somos, MA1, Department of English, McGill University

122.        Anna Sigg, PhD student, Department of English, McGill University

123.        Jennifer Thompson, PhD in Educational Studies, Year 2, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

124.        Carl Dion Laplante, U1 Biology Major, McGill University

125.        Hannah Rackow, U2 Arts, McGill University

126.        Lucy Downes, Joint honours English lit. and Spanish lit., U3, McGill University

127.        Abigail Mooney, MA 1, Department of English, McGill University

128.        Suncica Avlijas, M.Sc. Student in Biology and AGSEM member, McGill University

129.        Robin Reid-Fraser, U2 BA Environment, McGill University

130.        Micah Langer, U3 Saxophone Performance, McGill University

131.        Christian Scott Martone, MA 1, Sociology, McGill University

132.        Camillia Elachqar, Software Engineering, U2, McGill University

133.        Katherine L Waller, graduate student, Department of English, McGill University

134.        Erin Sirett, PhD Candidate, year 4, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

135.        Simone Lucas, U4 Women’s Studies Honours and Communication Studies Minor, McGill University; member of the QPIRG Board of Directors

136.        Laura Labonté, PhD Candidate year 2, Experimental Medicine, McGill University

137.        Lysanne Rivard, PhD 4 student, DISE, Faculty of Education, McGill University

138.        Timothy Beeler, Arts Undergraduate, U2, McGill University

139.        Carol Fraser, U3 German and East Asian Studies, McGill University

140.        Charles Tuck, U4 Arts, McGill University

141.        Kristin Li, Joint Honours in Philosophy and Cultural Studies, U4, McGill University

142.        Sarah DesRoches, PhD Candidate & course lecturer, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

143.        Patrick DeDauw, U3 Arts, McGill University

144.        Florian Shkurti, PhD 1, Computer Science, McGill University

145.        Guillaume Millet, Postdoctoral Fellow at CIM, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2011, McGill University

146.        Aidan Willem Johan Drake, U1 Mathematics (B.Sc.), McGill University

147.        Joseph Sannicandro, MA, Communication Studies, McGill University

148.        Fatima Seedat, PhD Candidate, Islamic Studies and Lecturer, Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies (IGSF), McGill University

149.        Zian Sally, M.Eng. 2, Engineering, McGill University

150.        Ariel Prado, U3 Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Sociology, McGill University

151.        Leif Halldor Asgeirsson, U2 Physiology, McGill University

152.        Lola Duffort, U2 Political Science, McGill University

153.        Jonathan Wald, U2 Philosophy and Anthropology, Student-Faculty Representative for the Philosophy Students’ Association, McGill University

154.        Allison Jones, Social Work, U1, McGill University

155.        Daniel Reed, Philosophy U3, McGill University

156.        Lyndon Entwistle, U3 Philosophy, McGill University

157.        Charlotte Sachs, MA 1, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

158.        Ieva Paberzyte, PhD 2, Anthropology, McGill University

159.        Ilja Czolkos, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics, McGill University

160.        Emily Donaldson, PhD 2 Anthropology, McGill University

161.        Jessica Young, MA Communications, McGill University

162.        Wendy Pringle, MA 1, Art History and Communications Department, McGill University

163.        Bernard Huber, PhD 3, Department of Geography, McGill University

164.        Anna Candido, PhD Candidate in Communication Studies, McGill University

165.        Isaac Stethem, U2 Philosophy and Political Science (Joint Honours), McGill University

166.        Agatha Slupek, U1, Double Major Philosophy and Political Science, McGill University

167.        Georgia Mitchell, Sociology Major U4, Faculty of Arts, McGill University

168.        Daniel Smith, U3 Russian Studies, McGill University

Individual Signatories from the McGill Community – Alumni

169.        Emir Parrotta, B.A. in English Literature, 2010, McGill University

170.        Jennifer Bartlett,  Department of English, M.A. 2011, McGill University

171.        Miriam Novick, B.A. ’06 English, McGill University

172.        Chelsea Honeyman, McGill Ph.D. (English Literature) ’09

173.        William M. Burton, B.A. (Hons.) 2010, McGill University; member, Board of Directors of QPIRG-McGill

174.        Christopher Skall, McGill Alumnus, Class of 2011, Department of English

175.        Andreas Mertens, McGill Alumnus, Education Faculty, Graduated Summer 2011

176.        Allison J. Gonsalves, Ph.D ’10 McGill; Course Instructor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education

177.        James Aguera, B.A. & Sc. Psychology, 2010, McGill University

178.        Andrea Figueroa, McGill Alumni ’11 and QPIRG External Coordinator

179.        Jennifer Thomas, MA Alumna, Department of English, McGill University

180.        Pierre Minn, McGill University MA (2005), PhD (2011)

Delivered December 7, 2011

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