A proposal to rename Carleton University’s Dundas House, led by the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA), has been denied by Carleton’s housing and residence life services.
The residence association submitted the proposal following claims the building was named after controversial historical figure Henry Dundas, who was allegedly involved in delaying slave trade abolition.
While some university buildings are named after family contributions, university spokesperson Steven Reid said the residence is named after Dundas County, Ont., and no financial contributions have been made on behalf of the Dundas family to the university.
RRRA president Kamran Azizli said residence life services argued the residence building’s association to the county when rejecting the proposal.
“[The RRRA] believes that the county argument is a common argument brought into play … and is a good way to avoid changing the name,” Azizli said in a statement.
After activists in Toronto called to rename Toronto’s Dundas Street in May, Azizli said many students made the connection to Carleton’s residence building and came to him asking for similar changes.
“If this is an issue that matters to students, it’s an issue we should fight for,” he said.
He added RRRA is still open to partnering with Carleton to achieve the name change, but said the “university as a whole seems to be ignoring us.”
Azizli proposed the renaming during the student government’s monthly meetings with Carleton’s vice-presidents in August.
“We told them that this is our plan and we’d love to work with the university to get things done as quickly as possible,” he said.
Anneliese Sidhu, a first-year criminology and criminal justice student currently living in Dundas House, said she believes the renaming should be decided by the students affected.
“If the issue is about someone being involved in the slave trade, which relates to generational trauma, that is very hard to cope with [and] we should change the name,” Sidhu said. “[A] focus on making [residence buildings] more inclusive should be a priority.”
While historical research is important, Sidhu added students’ well-being must be taken seriously.
Menna Migbar, a first-year computer science student at Carleton, said buildings should be named after other notable Canadian figures.
“I think it can be changed to something the students are comfortable with,” Migbar said. “Let’s name it after someone who represents a diverse campus.”
According to the Henry Dundas Committee of Ontario, Henry Dundas’ legacy has been misrepresented.
Jennifer Dundas, chairperson of the committee and distant relative of Henry Dundas, said Henry’s association with slavery abolition was more complicated than people know.
Henry feared pursuing the abolition of the slavery would jeopardize the negotiating position and peace talks between Britain and France, according to Jennifer.
“When I look at Henry Dundas’ speeches through that period [and] when he was secretary of war, what I see is a man saying, ‘Yes, we need to pursue abolition … but please wait,” Jennifer said, adding she encourages Carleton students to look at historical figures with humility.
Referring to last year’s renaming of the University Centre to Nideyinàn, among others, Azizli said he would like to see similar action with Dundas House.
“We need to make sure that the names best represent our communities,” Azizli said. “If the university is doing such a thing on a bigger scale, why not do it on the residence scale?”
Featured image by Owen Spillios-Hunter.
