Samuel Veissière and Julius Grey:
In a recent open letter signed by the executives of the Students’ Society of McGill University and seven student associations, a group of students demanded that Philip Carl Salzman be stripped of his emeritus status for publishing views with which they disagreed, and further demanded “an immediate, transparent, and student-centred overhaul of McGill’s Statement of Academic Freedom, enshrining the university’s commitment to inclusivity in teaching and research in policy.”
We agree that inclusivity and diversity in teaching, research, policy, scholarship, communication and knowledge translation are the core, inalienable principles without which free inquiry, open dialogue and the pursuit of truth cannot be carried out. These principles extend far beyond the mission of the university, and define the very fabric of democracy and freedom our societies have attained through long and difficult struggles for civil rights. We note that academics and public intellectuals, through their courage to dissent and question what is taken for granted, have historically played a crucial role in the advancement of such freedoms and civil rights. But we insist that inclusivity must begin with a commitment to a broad diversity of thought, methods, opinions, theoretical interests and political views, as well as an openness to tolerate dissent, disagreements and debate.