Members of the transgender community at the University of Toronto (U of T) have reported receiving online threats in the wake of recent controversial statements by a university professor, according to a recent news release from the school. Toronto police and the U of T community safety office said they are currently investigating the threats.
The university has received media attention following a recent series of lectures by psychology professor Jordan Peterson, posted publicly to his account on YouTube, in which he said he refuses to use gender neutral pronouns to address students. He also criticized anti-racial bias training for U of T staff.
In response to Peterson’s videos, several campus groups have published an open letter denouncing the professor’s remarks and seeking an apology for students.
The letter, which can be found on the website of the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the university, condemns recent on-campus and online “incidents of transphobic and anti-black hate speech and threats at the university.”
The letter calls on the university administration “to detail what it will do to prevent the continuation of such incidents, thus making it clear that there is no room for anti-black and anti-transgender hate speech at the University of Toronto.”
Denio Lourenco, the LGBTQ Coordinator at the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU), said via email that over 200 professors have signed the letter. The letter collected signatures until Oct. 18 at 5 p.m, after which it is expected to be sent to university administration and U of T’s student newspaper, The Varsity.
On October 5, a rally was held by transgender and nonbinary students and supporters in order to protest Peterson’s comments, as reported by the The Varsity. The student paper also reported on another recent on-campus protest held by those who support Peterson’s comments. Speakers at the rally included Peterson and Lauren Southern, a political commentator for The Rebel Media.
Lourenco said students are planning an even larger demonstration to address Peterson’s comments, with details being released soon.
