I appreciated receiving a call from Dylan Robertson to conduct a tough but fair interview about Liisa Schofield’s blog posting on the above-captioned allegations. Along with correcting two quotes attributed to me, I want to provide some general context as we head into a period of events that address the conflict in the Middle East from different perspectives.

Mr. Robertson will recall that he was on a cellphone from Ottawa during our interview. The connection was dreadful, and led to two garbled quotations. I did not say that Ms Schofield was “orchestrating outlash.” I said that her account smacked of “orchestrated outrage” given the fact that the affected group and others with similar positions on the Israel-Palestine issue had already been routinely provided with extensive bookings throughout this academic year and for “Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW) in March.

Mr. Robertson accurately reports that IAW and related activities draw international attention. They have also sparked local concerns about the climate for some Jewish students and Israel advocates on campus. It is no surprise, then, that these events are watched closely by senior administrators, just as we are similarly vigilant when any event targets a particular group or where opinions are strongly polarized.

That said, our record on free speech is clear. As is the case with a wide variety of events that deal with contentious issues, we’ve allowed IAW to proceed so long as the relevant laws are respected. We have also repeatedly responded to requests to censor it by affirming our position and our policies around freedom of speech and inquiry.

There is a more serious transcription glitch in this quote: “A few weeks ago, an event at OISE was supposed to be open to the public when it was not.” I said “Two or three years ago.” Hence, contrary to the report, I was not referring to the event last February for high school students. The event to which I referred occurred in October 2006. It was an open meeting at OISE led by the Coalition against Israeli Apartheid with OPIRG’s support. Two Hillel staff members registered and attended, but were ejected. An investigation showed that the organizers had failed to follow our policy on whether meetings are open or closed—a non-trivial issue that also arose with the October 2008 booking about which Ms. Schofield complains. The publicity material we received said that the meeting was only “open to Palestinian solidarity activists.” This, as I wrote in an email, was also a problem.

If an internal group makes a booking for a closed meeting, they can privately and personally invite whomever they please and refuse attendance to others. That is the norm for clubs and also enables activist groups to do their organizational work in private. However, if a group advertises a meeting as open, either on a first-come-first-seated basis or through registration, they cannot do ideological purity tests on attendees, even if they believe those attendees have strongly opposing views. This holds for all groups, whatever their political stripe. It also means that, at these controversial events, both organizers and those who attend to dissent must conduct themselves with some respect for the reality that there are different viewpoints.

In that vein, as we approach IAW this year, I want to encourage all participants to be mindful of a few basic principles. Rational discourse is always more persuasive and constructive than sloganeering and abusive rhetoric. Speakers should be heard out, not interrupted or heckled. Open meetings can only function if the minority is not intimidated by the majority, or if the minority in turn does not willfully subvert or interrupt the meeting. The University also strongly rejects the stereotyping of individuals on the basis of their national, cultural, ethnic, or religious identity.

Last, the Administration does not support speech codes. Instead, we have simply emphasized that the right of free speech on our campuses carries with it responsibilities to consider the weight of one’s words, and to embrace discourse along with expressing dissent. The University is counting on all members of its community to take those responsibilities seriously in the weeks ahead.

Yours sincerely

David Naylor, President