A first-year University of Saskatchewan (USask) law student had a discrimination and harassment complaint dropped with the help of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF)..Law students are required to take a first-year law course entitled “Kwayeskastasowin: Setting Things Right” where students are taught critical race theory (CRT), intersectionality, white fragility, and topics such as “how to be an anti-racist.”.An assignment asked students to describe how they were harmed by racism, colonialism, and oppression, and how they could make changes to the legal profession..The students posted their answers in a private classroom forum for all their classmates to read each others answers..The student had his answer removed by the professor because the answer was “harmful.”.However, before the professor removed the answer, it was circulated outside the private classroom forum with the intention of “shaming and smearing the reputation of the student” according to the JCCF..His answer was “widely circulated within the College of Law allegedly in violation of the student’s intellectual property and privacy rights.”.A student not in the class filed a complaint alleging the student’s answer was disrespectful, anti-indigenous, and racist..The law student accused of being anti-indigenous is part Metis..USask allowed the complaint to get to the dispute resolution process, requiring the student to answer the “vague allegations of discrimination and harassment made against him.”.The JCCF demanded that the complaint be dropped because “forcing students to defend their course-related contributions, even some that another would find offensive, through a formal complaints process was contrary to the principle of freedom of expression and academic freedom.”.The complainant student wrote that “his posts have had significant emotional, psychological, and physical impacts on both the indigenous and non-indigenous professors, teachers assistants, and students alike.”.The USask would not drop the complaint, but the student who made the complaint withdrew the complaint without an explanation..The student’s lawyer, Andre Memauri of the JCCF, told the Western Standard that the student is “still in the college and will stand his ground.”.The JCCF felt it important to help this student to protect free speech on university campuses..“The University cannot perform its function without vigorously defending the right to think independently and to speak openly,” said Memauri..“We are disappointed that the U of S refused to dismiss the complaint outright and are concerned that discrimination and harassment policies may be used to silence dissenting opinions on campus.”.USask did not respond to the Western Standard’s questions but issued this statement:.“The university has detailed procedures that provide for the fair, impartial, and confidential resolution of student complaints involving other students. The principles guiding these processes include respect for freedom of expression and the right to work and learn in an environment free from discrimination as outlined here. .Since student complaint processes are private and confidential, we will not provide any information on student complaints.”
