Woodsworth College has a hallway that had been empty for more than seven years. Adjacent to the area are a number of corporate ads, but little that speaks to the original spirit of the college. On September 21 a large 5×20 foot painting I had recently completed was carefully hung in the space. A plaque attached stated that it was inspired by the need for equity and inclusion within our university. It called for greater student involvement and pointed to the growing corporate presence on our campuses. The description also explained that the work was “commissioned by the students for the students,” and emphasized the need for students to take back their university spaces.
Although students seemed to enjoy the painting, it was quickly taken down by the Woodsworth College administration. The reason given by an administrator, printed in a letter to The Varsity on October 17th, argued that it is not the message which caused its removal but rather that “there are procedures to be followed to determine what can appropriately be added to a university building.” One must wonder what these formal policies and procedures are, and more importantly, do students decide what their walls should look like?
When I inquired more specifically, “procedure” was at first heavily emphasized, but when I probed further I was told that it is actually the principal who decides, very informally, what goes up.
So much for students’ freedom of expression and say over their university spaces! After a year on U of T’s Governing Council as a student governor, I have become all too familiar with this response to any student expression that questions the university’s agenda, while the corporate influences continue to go unchecked.
Why is it that commercial logos, names and ads can go up all over the university with impunity, yet student art is removed? To understand this situation, we need to look at the bigger picture. The corporate agenda is increasingly evident at the university’s senior decision-making body. Just for starters, the university routinely accepts large donations which are voted on in-camera, without public scrutiny, and the hidden corporate strings are rarely made visible.
At the same time, when duly elected students follow “procedures” such as putting forward a formal motion, they are often pushed aside, much like this painting was. For example, in September 2004, a notice of motion calling for the university to form a committee to garner broad-based community support and lobby the government for full public funding was simply taken off the agenda. Another such motion presented by students to be discussed at the October 2005 Governing Council meeting called for full disclosure of all corporate donations. Once again it was not brought forward to the council for a vote.
Instead what we got over the year was an administration that repeatedly took positions towards further deregulation of tuition fees and increased corporate funding. I can only imagine what would happen if the same efforts that are currently spent on fundraising were put toward garnering broad-based community and government support for our education system.
Unfortunately I have learned that bureaucracy, policy, and procedure are code words used by the university to shut out student voices. The letter to The Varsity by this administrator, who incidentally is also responsible for raising funds and donations for the college, goes even further when it threatens that putting up this work of art is somehow a violation of the student code of conduct. It is important not to allow such intimidation to stand. This is exactly why students spoke so strongly against the code when it was first proposed. Threats under the code have since been used far too often as a way to stifle expression by students who speak out about their university.
I made the painting as a response to my year as a student governor. Where I saw processes fail I was hoping that art might inspire the communities within and outside the university walls to come together and ensure equitable, accessible, fully transparent decision-making from the bottom-up. What seems to be forgotten while the university emphasizes “process” is that Woodsworth College was founded by students who spoke up and actively organized against the status quo, calling for access for mature and part-time students. Given the current state of affairs, a re-commitment to this fiery spirit is very much needed.
