A group of University of Lethbridge students are asking for the school to intervene and cancel a lecture former Mount Royal University (MRU) economics, justice, and policy studies professor Frances Widdowson will give on Wednesday. .“Her presence on campus not only denigrates the status of the University by giving space to a speaker who promotes historical falsities and racial bigotry, but endangers student's well-being and safety,” said Concerned Students in a petition. ."Although this was not organized by the University itself, the University should be focussed on Truth and Reconciliation." .The petition has garnered 1,571 signatures as of Monday. It has a goal of 2,500 signatures. .Widdowson — who was fired by MRU for questioning woke ideas — said in April she was pursuing legal action to protect academic freedom and free speech in universities..READ MORE: MRU professor fights back after being fired for questioning ‘woke’ ideas.Widdowson was fired in 2021 for questioning topics such as truth and reconciliation with indigenous people, Black Lives Matter, and trans rights. .“Wokeism is the colloquial term used for the postmodern tactic of reducing scientific objectivity to subjective authoritarianism, imposing its arbitrary interpretation of what is acceptable,” she said. .Concerned Students called this planned talk “an act of violence upon its BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and especially indigenous students by allowing space for these ideolgies to traumatize students in a space that is supposed to be safe and educating.” They said freedom of expression is vital to post-secondary education, but student well-being and safety is more important than a guest speaker’s message..The petition said anti-wokeism is fallacious because concepts such as critical race theory and indigenous teachings are related to academic freedom and freedom of expression. It thanked people for taking time to sign it, as they were supporting preventing her ideology from being espoused on campus..U of L President Mike Mahon said it has become aware of Widdowson being invited by a professor to the school. .“It is encouraging that a concurrent evidence-based counter-lecture has also been organized, and that the vast majority of our community finds these views abhorrent,” said Mahon. .Mahon acknowledged there are some community members who have asked the university to intervene and cancel the lecture. He declined to cancel the talk, citing its statement on freedom of expression. .The statement on freedom of expression said it is committed to protecting free inquiry and scholarship, facilitating access to scholarly resources, and supporting scholarly discussion of issues. .The statement said guest speakers who are presenting on campus are afforded the same commitment to freedom of expression as community members, but the university does not endorse their opinions and views. While it supports freedom of expression, it said the university believes in diversity, inclusion, and equity and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. .Widdowson said she agreed to give the public talk because she thinks her ideas are important. .“I think that the wider audience that hears them, the better,” she said. .“This will hopefully be the beginning of an attempt to push back the totalitarianism of what’s called wokeism on university campuses, which is not just a problem at the University of Lethbridge.” .She said wokeism is a totalitarian form of postmodernism. She added wokeism is an anti-enlightenment position, attacking reason, evidence, logic, and the scientific method. .While she is grateful Mahon did not cancel the public lecture, she said she did not appreciate his virtue-signalling approach, where he was “pandering to the activists.” She said U of L should provide a forum where different views can come together and engage with one another.
