Dr. David Ross was already annoyed with his supervisor, but when he found a note on his classroom door telling students the lecture had been cancelled, he couldn’t contain himself.
The philosophy professor ripped down the notice, wrote a few choice words on it and stuffed it into an envelope with student course evaluations before delivering it the administration.
“I felt he had no damn right to do either action, and I disobeyed and had a class anyway,” Ross said of Bruce Meyer, the program supervisor who ordered the cancellation. After an intense war of words, he received a letter saying his contract would not be renewed, in part because he reportedly read some of the evaluations before submitting them.
The battle began a short time earlier, when Meyer phoned Ross to tell him they had received formal complaints about “the environment of the classroom.” Ross thinks the complaint was more specific, however, saying the catalyst was his use of a controversial novel, Story of O.
“I felt that Story of O had erotic evolutionary value,” he said, in reference to the course’s goal of comparing Plato’s ideas to numerous contemporary texts. “And I continued to teach that.”
After Meyer’s phone call, the two exchanged a series of fiery emails where Ross insisted his role as an educator was to ruffle a few feathers.
“I should put a disclaimer on my courses—Be prepared to think,” said Ross. “This is not an information session. This is thinking, this is learning, this is education.”
Ross also put his political viewpoint on the line.
“I am a communist, not a middle-class reformer, and my objective as a teacher is to build a communist movement,” he said. Shortly after, the two exchanged heated words in person, which ended, according to Ross, in his being kicked out of Meyer’s office. Ross also claims Meyer told him to stick to the text, leave his personality and soapbox outside the classroom.
Meyer won’t comment.
“He isn’t interest in speaking with you,” said Elise Gervais, program assistant in the Writing and Literature Department at the School of Continuing Studies, where Ross taught. “It ends here.”
Program Director Mary Barrie says Ross’ politics and behaviour were not appropriate.
“His reason for teaching is to build a communist movement,” she said. “Recruiting for any movement is totally incompatible with academic freedom and unacceptable in an institution of higher learning.”
But the students of Ross that the Varsity was able to contact aren’t buying it. Bonnie Burnett says Barrie’s allegations are “ridiculous.”
“He talked about communism, but he didn’t try to recruit,” said fellow student Judith Hajdu.
Although Barrie notes they did receive written complaints from students, Hajdu and Burnett have a hard time believing he created a “an environment which was uncomfortable” or a community that was not “easy, free, respectful and open” as Barrie alleges.
“I totally enjoyed all the classes,” said Hajdu.
“He always gave everybody a voice,” stated Burnett.
The two also say their attempts to talk to Meyer for an explanation have been frustrating at best.
“There weren’t any answers,” said Burnett. “It seemed like a personal, vindictive thing. I know they [Ross and Meyer] didn’t get along.”
The students also say that, contrary to the administration’s claim that only the Meaning of Life course was cancelled, their second last German Philosophy course session was also cancelled.
Barrie, however, notes that the real concern remains the student evaluations.
“The matter of an envelope being returned in David Ross’ hands full of student evaluations, irrespective of the crude language written on it, is at heart the principle that Dave completely, seemingly, has disavowed,” she said. “Those evaluations were not kept in confidence. He was reading some number of his students’ commentary. I don’t know how many students, sensing that, would have been uncomfortable about evaluating at all.”
Ross, for his part, says more fundamental issues are at stake.
“I stood up for education and [Meyer] does not and I pointed it out to his face,” Ross explained of the conflict between himself and Meyer. “The real obscenity is not the word ‘fuck’ on an envelope. The real obscenity is educators forgetting who they are.”
