Re: Intimidation of faculty and students

I’m not actually expecting politeness. That behaviour went well beyond impoliteness.

Ronda

Sent by magic

On Oct 17, 2023, at 10:16 PM, Nilima Nigam <nigam@math.sfu.ca> wrote:

Dear Ouldooz,
certainly I've heard the sentiment - it is oppressive to expect polite behaviour from someone deprived of important necessities - expressed. Sometimes it is being expressed by a screaming toddler in the candy aisle of a supermarket. I am mostly quite sympathetic to their cause.

(I am especially grateful if they keep their clothes on.)

best

Nilima

On Tue, Oct 17, 2023 at 5:56 PM Ouldooz Baghban Karimi <ouldooz_baghban_karimi@sfu.ca> wrote:

Dear Colleagues,

Please forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject, but I am asking myself:

Isn’t expecting politeness from a person, who struggles for basics and is protesting/disrupting to show that, a mechanism of oppression?

Best,

Ouldooz

Ouldooz Baghban Karimi, PhD, PMP
Lecturer, School of Computing Science
Chair, Computing Science Diversity Committee
President, Academic Women
Simon Fraser University
SRYE 5103, 10285 University Drive, Surrey, BC, V3T 4B7
T: 778.782.7585 | M: 604.345.8442 | https://www.cs.sfu.ca/~oba2

From: Ronda Arab <ronda_arab@sfu.ca>
Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 5:41 PM
To: Sam Black <samuel_black@sfu.ca>
Cc: Nancy Forde <nforde@sfu.ca>, Wendy Loken Thornton <wthornto@sfu.ca>, James Fleming <james_fleming@sfu.ca>, Faculty Forum Mail List <academic-discussion@sfu.ca>
Subject: Re: Intimidation of faculty and students

Honestly, Sam, I have enormous sympathy for what grad students are going through right now, but I don’t see any benefit to anyone or anyone’s cause to excusing that kind of behaviour.

But keeping our heads is definitely very good advice right now.

Best,

Ronda Arab

Sent by magic

On Oct 17, 2023, at 8:48 PM, Sam Black <samuel_black@sfu.ca> wrote:

Hi All,

I guess my reaction to the disruption of lectures is that we should keep our heads during a stressful time.

Some grad students are experiencing serious financial hardship: even meeting their caloric requirements is a challenge. (Vancouver is not a cheap city.) They furthermore have no idea how and when this will end.

I don't think disrupting lectures is a great idea. But we ought to keep a sense of proportion. The stakes are very high for many of these students; for us not so much. (And they did wear clothes -- unlike some college protestors during the '60's.)

Best,

Sam

Sam Black

Assoc. Prof. Philosophy, SFU

This note is not AI-generated.

I respectfully acknowledge that SFU is on the unceded ancestral and traditional territories of the səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.

From: Nancy Forde <nforde@sfu.ca>
Sent: October 17, 2023 1:11:09 PM
To: Wendy Loken Thornton; Ronda Arab; James Fleming
Cc: Faculty Forum Mail List
Subject: RE: Intimidation of faculty and students

Hi all,

I have been honouring the TSSU picket line (in spite of my many concerns for students not a direct part of this dispute), and I was angered to see their members’ actions in this shared video. This disrespectful behaviour has caused me to question my support of their picket line. I have written to the TSSU leadership to share my concerns and my view that actions such as these can lead to an erosion in support from faculty and students. If you wish to share your perspective, they can be reached at tssu@tssu.ca.

Best wishes,
Nancy

--
Nancy Forde [she/her/hers]
Professor | Department of Physics
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Dr.
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
--
nforde@sfu.ca | http://www.sfu.ca/fordelab

From: Wendy Loken Thornton <wthornto@sfu.ca>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 6:11 PM
To: Ronda Arab <ronda_arab@sfu.ca>; James Fleming <james_fleming@sfu.ca>
Cc: Faculty Forum Mail List <academic-discussion@sfu.ca>
Subject: Re: Intimidation of faculty and students

Here it is:

https://www.tiktok.com/@isaac.and.jessica/video/7290617289823587589

While disturbing, I think we need to figure out if this is in fact illegal. It appears through other forums that this was done in other large classrooms as well today.

***

Wendy Loken Thornton, Ph.D. R.Psych
Professor, Department of Psychology

Director, Cognitive Aging Lab
Simon Fraser University

***

The SFU Burnaby campus is located on the unceded traditional territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Kwikwetlem Nations.

Note: My working hours and yours may differ. Please don't feel obligated to reply outside of your normal hours.

From: Ronda Arab <ronda_arab@sfu.ca>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 6:05 PM
To: James Fleming
Cc: Faculty Forum Mail List
Subject: Re: Intimidation of faculty and students

Does someone have a link to the video?

Sent by magic

On Oct 16, 2023, at 8:28 PM, James Fleming <james_fleming@sfu.ca> wrote:

Dear colleagues,

I have just watched a very distressing (tik tok) video apparently showing a group of TSSU strikers invading a lecture hall, doing their best to disrupt the lecture, and aggressively intimidating the faculty member trying to teach his students. Perhaps others of you have seen this video or will see it; perhaps there are or will be others like it. I assume that actions of the kind shown in the video are illegal, and not only under the Labour Code. I call on TSSU to condemn and disavow these actions. Sincerely, JDF

James Dougal Fleming

Professor, Department of English

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby/Vancouver,

British Columbia,

Canada.

The truth is an offence, but not a sin.

-- Bob Marley

--

Nilima Nigam
Professor
Dept. of Mathematics
Simon Fraser University