The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) released its annual Campus Freedom Index and gave Carleton an ‘F’ ranking for its practices, and a ‘C’ for its policies.
The JCCF report classifies universities and student unions in terms of their practices and policies towards freedom of speech. In 2015, the university received a ‘C’ for its practices, and a ‘D’ for its policies.
“The university is aware of the annual rankings,” Steven Reid, Carleton’s media relations officer said in an email. “Carleton did not receive a request for information from the Campus Freedom Index.”
The report also awarded the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) ‘B’ grades for both their policies and practices.
“Free speech is essential at universities because this is one of the few places remaining where free speech still exists,” said Root Gorelick, a biology professor at Carleton. “You can get fired from most jobs for exercising free speech. You can get thrown out of a political caucus for exercising free speech.”
Gorelick is also a former member of Carleton’s Board of Governors (BoG).
In August 2015, Carleton passed a new BoG Code of Conduct, which states that members of the board must “refrain from making disparaging comments of fellow members and staff,” and “support all actions taken by the Board of Governors even when in a minority position on such actions.”
Gorelick, who was on the board from 2013-16, refused to sign the new code.
He expressed his concerns over the statement prohibiting members of the university from publicly speaking out against policies they do not agree with.
Earlier this year in May, when his three-year term on the board had expired, Gorelick re-applied for his seat but again refused to sign the new Code of Conduct.
Carleton, in turn, stated that Gorelick was ineligible for re-application due to his refusal to comply with the Code.
“Carleton’s silencing speech of students running for seats on the Board of Governors by needlessly restricting their campaigning . . . disenfranchised all those students and faculty who vote for members of their constituencies,” Gorelick said in an email.
According to Michael Kennedy, one of the co-authors of the report and communications director at the JCCF, this incident involving the BoG was one of the main reasons they awarded the university an ‘F.’
“Previous incidents involving the university were not so direct, and did not meet our criteria for an ‘F’ alone,” Kennedy said in an email.
According to the JCCF, other incidents that contributed to this ranking include restricting student expression by not allowing fraternities and sororities to recruit near residence buildings on campus in 2013-14, and having students arrested for a pro-life display in 2015.
“It’s an interesting index,” said CUSA president Fahd Alhattab, while admitting that the student union doesn’t look at the Campus Freedom Index every year to see how they rate.
“We’re happy to be able to support freedom of expression and those academic freedoms in a university,” Alhattab said. “So we’re happy to be in good standing, to be able to provide spaces where people feel safe, but also spaces where people feel they can freely share their opinion and have those discussions. And I feel that’s the key for every university and for every university students’ association.”
