opinion

Open Letter: This Emerita prof Supports Divestment

Dear President Shepard, I would like to thank you for the generous offer to attend a dinner with retired faculty from Western: it is an important gesture to remember former professors and our contributions. Normally, I would be looking forward to seeing familiar faces and reminiscing with colleagues about our days on campus. However, under the circumstances, I must decline your invitation.  It is impossible for me to enjoy a celebratory meal with Western colleagues when our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza are enduring a brutal famine deliberately imposed by an occupying power which is actively supported by your Administration. How…

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We all go to the library

We are witnessing a slow but consistent creep of social services breaching public libraries across Canada. The London Public Library hired a social worker to provide addiction and mental health services to library patrons. The Toronto Public Library provided food bank services during the COVID-19 pandemic because food banks had closed. Some people in Hamilton have called for opening safe injection sites outside their libraries.  None of this is good or should be celebrated.  Public libraries have expanded their services beyond lending books to the public, offering a range of additional resources and programming. The London Public Library offers educational,…

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