U of O Activism Course on Trial
Ottawa FEC, 01.11.2007 19:16
U of O Activism Course on Trial – Students vow to risk arrest again
(OTTAWA) The first public arbitration hearings in the protracted case of Professor Denis Rancourt versus University of Ottawa Inc., in the matter of discipline for practicing academic squatting in offering the activism course, Fall 2005, to over 100 enthusiastic students and community members, are scheduled to be held starting Monday November 5, 2007, 10AM to 5PM: Adjudication Services Ltd., 130 Slater Street, 2nd floor, arbitrator Michel Picher presiding.
In addition, the University will attempt to ram through a next Science Faculty Council meeting on Tuesday November 6th, 11:30AM, Gendron Hall, room GNN 080, after the last two meetings of this Council were shut down over the activism course question, as reported in the media last spring and summer. Students have vowed to risk arrest (again) to be heard. The VP-Academic Robert Major has stated in writing that it is OK for the dean to break the faculty By-Laws governing Council meetings, as long as any objections are voted down by the Council itself. The University has also stated that neither the University Senate or its Board of Governors has the mandate to intervene regarding repeatedly breached By-Laws.
Andre Lalonde, Dean, Faculty of Science, U of O
Robert Major, VP-Academic, U of O
Christian Detellier, past dean, Faculty of Science, U of O
The 2006 version of the activism course drew extensive media coverage last fall when students from the class sued the university over insufficient teacher assistant resources and when the administration expelled two registered 10-year-old students from the class who then filed an Ontario human rights complaint. Both these cases are in progress.
Professor Rancourt, two of his graduate students, and the student newspaper (La Rotonde) were all threatened recently with lawsuits from VP-Resources Victor Simon for alleged libel and defamation in relation to Rancourt’s U of O Watch bolg (UofOWatch.blogspot.com) that reports these and other U of O problems. La Rotonde published the letters of threat and no lawsuits have materialized.
The University has unilaterally withdrawn one of its items of discipline four days before the start of the Monday arbitration. The University’s case appears to rest on a callout advertisement sent by Professor Rancourt in the summer 2005 and on his published essay entitled Academic Squatting: A democratic method of curriculum development (see activistteacher.blogspot.com).
Professor Rancourt has grieved the discipline as having no merit and argues that it is part of a sustained and continued pattern of harassment. He has asked for reparations, an unqualified apology, that the dean be reprimanded, and that the dean apologize to all the students of PHY1703, Fall 2005, for the disruptions and interventions to the class. A student petition signed by several professors is calling for the resignations of several University of Ottawa officials: www.petitionspot.com/petitions/fecdgruo
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For further information contact: 
ottawafec@gmail.com
Jane Scharf, community participant, janescharf@rogers.com, tel. 613-323-1657
Prof. Denis Rancourt: dgr@uottawa.ca, 613-562-5800x6774
Dean of Science André Lalonde: deansci@uottawa.ca, 613-562-5800x5817
e-mail:: ottawafec@gmail.com
Homepage:: http://freedomofexpress.tripod.com/
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