As two students-one a recent graduate and one finishing this year-we have had seriously discouraging and dehumanizing experiences at U of T. We have both studied political science, environmental studies, and international development.
Our core issues of contention are innumerable. However, for the purposes of this brief commentary, we will focus on the intellectual risk-taking and innovation that is purported to be a fundamental value of the institution in Stepping Up (the recent white paper on academic planning, available through the office of the provost).
To commence, it has been our mutual experience that with very little exception, both professors and TAs respond very poorly to ideas that reach beyond the scope of their rationale. It is admittedly a strength to evaluate both sides of any given debate when writing a paper. However, when students weigh their papers heavily with those ideas that are most sacred to them, that fall left of centre, it has been our very consistent experience to receive lower marks and heavy criticism. Criticism is of course welcome when it is constructive or when it creates an opportunity for dialogue. However, lower marks for well-argued, left-wing papers is clearly ideological discrimination. Nevertheless, this institution-from professor to professor-obviously favours political content that is both conservative and limited. It is the responsibility of any educator to evaluate ideas beyond the confines of their own values of what is “right.” Sadly, this university employs very few such educators, and has clearly made it difficult for those who have exhibited these skills and who share a less conservative mentality to obtain tenure.
As mentioned in Stepping Up, globalization is a key element of the “changing intellectual landscape” of our time. As the world’s most esteemed intellectuals have realized, the dominant global financial system that exists in wake of the colonial era coupled with the tremendous environmental degradation underway, illustrate the need for serious re-evaluation and reconstruction of established institutions. The dominant right-wing bias of U of T discourages the type of thinking that would lead to leadership and strategic participation in the necessary reformation of this predicament. On the contrary, U of T generally promotes an ideology counter to any creative thinking that might contribute to social reform, given the context of an unknown political and social landscape.
U of T must take real steps towards achieving its values, vision, and mission, as stated in Stepping Up since this supposedly established framework has yet to be realized! At present, the university functions first and foremost as an economic institution-a business serving clients. The valuable notion of education through collaboration has been manipulated into a mechanism of conformity.
