More than $20,000 have been donated for a legal fund to help ousted Mount Royal University (MRU) Professor Frances Widdowson regain her job..Widdowson, a tenured professor, was fired by MRU last December following controversies and backlash over her stances on transgender issues, Black Lives Matter, and indigenous residential schools. She believes she was wrongfully dismissed and wants robust representation at arbitration..“We've reached $20,000! Thanks everyone for your support,” Widdowson wrote in a recent update on her Fundrazr page..“These funds are essential for developing the legal case that will help not only me, but all professors who are battling the weapons of "woke-ness" — i.e. university policies that protect the imposition of identity politics and diversity managerialism. My case MUST be won! With your help, this monster can be defeated.”.In an interview with Western Standard, Widdowson said her union is representing her at arbitration, but she wants legal help to make sure her case is as strong as possible..“I can have my lawyer look at what the union is planning on doing, and make sure that the freedom of expression and academic freedom parts of it are very robustly defended,” Widdowson said..“There's been so many procedural errors in my case. It's a very, very strong case in terms of that angle, but that's not really the major issue as far as I'm concerned. The major issue is how universities used to be places where you could explore ideas, and now that's not the case anymore. And that kind of problem needs to really be exposed and examined at arbitration.”.Widdowson has some allies left at MRU, including Dr. Sinclair MacRae, with whom she had an online discussion of her situation posted May 20. She says most people in her situation are either intimidated or ordered into silence, while others are afraid to stand with those threatened to be cancelled..“What happens is that everyone is put under a gag order. The most important thing for me is being able to have this become public. That is my most important goal right now that I'm trying to push for, that the arbitration be held according to open court principles. I'm trying to get some intervenors to file applications to be able to attend the arbitration so that they will be able to comment on it,” Widdowson said..“But most people are afraid, or their major concern is keeping their job and not being subjected to these processes. So usually, they just keep silent about it.”.Another problem, Widdowson says, is that the same ideologies she has spoken against have “captured” unions. It leaves people like her doubting whether their union will represent them wholeheartedly..“This just really corrodes the ability of every individual in the union to have equal protection. That is really being destroyed as we speak. The problem is fighting against that, and getting people to see that it's very, very important that unions operate according to the principle of fairness, and that that's really not happening anymore.”.Widdowson says her plight has been “very stressful” but hopes her situation can serve a greater good. She says people need to know the extent of censorship and suppression of views in universities..“I felt that it might be possible that this was going to happen, so I've been keeping records since 2016….And Mount Royal’s not an exception. It's common, what's happening. It's just that I have been interacting with this tendency much more and much more vigorously than most people have,” Widdowson said..“I'm much better situated than most people are in these kinds of circumstances. That's what makes it so perplexing. I was very surprised, like I knew things were going in a terrible direction, so I knew, I guess, it was inevitable. But I really thought, why would the university want to unleash me with all the information that I have and all the connections that I have? It’s just this pure arrogance that they feel that they can do anything. It's quite shocking.”.MRU would not provide any specific details on her firing..“MRU is committed to fostering expression and free speech, and strives to be a model for allowing opposing viewpoints to co-exist,” said the university in a statement..“The university unequivocally supports academic debate and will always defend the rights of faculty related to academic freedom. However, academic freedom does not justify harassment or discrimination.”.“Mount Royal employees have the right to work in an environment that is respectful and free from harassment. The collective agreement and MRU policies outline a process for resolving issues of workplace conduct, and decisions are always made following rigorous due process.”
