DESPITE PRESSURE FROM POLITICAL leaders, radio talk-show hosts and callers and newspaper editorials, Canada’s York University has stuck to a decision to comply with a student’s request to exempt him from interacting with women in campus seminars. The issue arose last September when a student of an online sociology course informed Paul Grayson, the professor teaching the programme, that “due to his firm religious beliefs” he could not interact with female students in study groups.
Prof. Grayson refused the request from the student, who is thought to be either an Orthodox Jew or a Muslim. However, the faculty dean, Martin Singer, who was copied in on their emails, disagreed. In support of his decision, Dr. Singer argued, among other things, that as the student was studying online, he could not be made to come to the university’s Toronto campus.
But most disturbing to Prof. Grayson was the administration’s acceptance — based on the Ontario Human Rights Code — of the student’s religious arguments against working with women. “I wrote back asking: ‘Can I assume that a similar logic would apply if the group with which he did not want to interact was composed of blacks, Muslims or homosexuals?’ After all, biblical justification can be found to justify the exclusion of these groups, too,” says Grayson.
Grayson sent copies of his email exchange with Dr. Singer to York University’s Centre for Human Rights, which agreed with the dean that the student should be accommodated. But despite the student having since accepted Prof. Grayson’s decision, the controversy has rumbled on.
“Even though the student is doing very well in the course and is a very good participant, the dean continues to hold his position and continues to want me to go to the student and grant the request because it accords with their restrictive reading of the Human Rights Code. Somehow they’ve gotten themselves into a position in which ‘a reading of religion’ trumps gender equality,” argues Grayson.
The university says it is helping to foster debate. Rhonda Lenton, York’s provost and vice president, says the university is “committed to gender equity, inclusivity and diversity and (is) proud of our tradition of debating complicated issues of societal interest”. Dr. Singer declined to comment.
(Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)