Page 54 - EW-June-2024

International News

LETTER FROM AMERICA CANADA
Bitter-sweet Commencement Civil discourse professor

n America as in India, the aca- “YOU CAN POINT TO BRAWLING IN THE streets
demic year has ended for most of Paris in the 13th century over rivalling theol-
Icolleges/universities, and stu- ogy professors, you can point to town-and-gown
dents have dispersed for the sum- brawls in England in the 16th century, never mind the 1968
mer. Those who just graduated will generation’s anti-war protests…”
be coming back to visit, but never
again to live and study on campus. To Randy Boyagoda, the University of Toronto’s new ad-
For them, this is a time of joy and viser on civil discourse, campuses have always contained
melancholy. They have completed LARRY ARNN the right ingredients for “controversy and convulsions”
their first great adventure away from home. What will throughout the history of higher education — namely lots
the next one be? of young people being brought together at a transformative
In India, I understand the final ceremony that con- point of their lives and being asked to “think out loud about
cludes the college year is known as the Convocation. We difficult things”.
use this term for any formal gathering of the entire col-
lege. For the last convocation, we have a special name: So why has it taken until now for positions such as his —
Commencement. the first in Canada and one of a handful globally — to arise?
Why Commencement, when the ceremony marks not The short answer is Gaza. The author and English profes-
a beginning but end of higher education for students? sor — whose new role will see him develop a plan for events,
College is the final and highest preparation in people’s resources and initiatives designed to promote respectful
lives. The central elements of that preparation don’t de- dialogue — told Times Higher Education that it would be
pend on the specific work they will do. They will have absurd to pretend his appointment is not related to the war
many jobs, but their happiness will depend upon issues
beyond work. Work itself will contribute to that happi- and the “deep and corrosive” divisions it has stirred up.
ness only if they do it “well,” i.e, not only efficiently and What makes this situation different from the “convul-
to their economic gain, but also honestly and as service sions” of the past for Prof. Boyagoda, is the “intensification
to those who pay them and work with them. As they have of our connectivity” — young
been sons and daughters, now they are likely to become people on campuses receiv-
husbands and wives, and parents. They will be citizens ing real-time information
of a country, and they will owe it loyalty if it is just, and from Israel and Palestine, of-
effort to improve it if not.
For graduates, this is a delightful and intense time ten about their own families.
promising growth in strength, intellect, and character. “That sense of connectiv-
But it is also a sad occasion because in college, students ity has intensified the always
form profound friendships as they live and learn together. present possibility of protest
The very word ‘college’ means partnership, and humans and controversy that I think
learn best together. We study and think together and sur- to some degree is inherent Prof. Randy Boyagoda
mount challenges together. Through this, we form bonds in university life,” says Boya-
with fellow students that last a lifetime. In class, you are
among people who will come to your wedding (perhaps goda.
to marry you!) and finally your funeral. There is nothing Toronto, like many campuses, has had its share of free
else quite like this experience. speech controversies. A campus imam, Omar Patel, was
Nor are students at Commencement alone in their joy dismissed by the institution in January over a social me-
and melancholy. The faculty is present, as are parents and dia post linked to the Gaza conflict, which he claims was
friends. All come to pay respect to graduates, who with falsely attributed to him. Meanwhile, students have called
faculty are dressed in robes, academic uniforms, varying for action to be taken against a psychology professor, Stu-
by rank. These are the badges of honour.
I have presided over 25 Commencements at Hillsdale art Kamenetsky, over historic social media posts that some
College. When I look upon the scene, thousands gathered, regard as Islamophobic.
I see the bonds that have brought them together. The Over all this looms Toronto’s long-standing employment
graduates represent an achievement of all and of genera- of clinical psychologist, author and now right-wing “provo-
tions before because colleges are not built in a day. cateur extraordinaire” Jordan Peterson, who resigned from
If you are nearing the time to enter college, think of the institution in 2022 but retains emeritus status.
the end of it, of Commencement. Prepare yourself to be Prof. Boyagoda, vice-dean for undergraduates in To-
happy on that day and the days that follow. If you know
a student who has just commenced or is about to, honour ronto’s Faculty of Arts and Science, acknowledges that the
and wish her well. furore around Prof. Peterson was a “contributing factor” to
the university’s spiky campus climate. “I see myself not as
(Dr. Larry Arnn is President, Hillsdale College, USA. an authority figure doing this but as someone contribut-
letteramerica@hillsdale.edu)
ing, making conversations possible that otherwise might

54 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2024