Wilfrid Laurier professors call for anthem return at convocation ceremonies

A group of faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) have written an open letter to the administration expressing concern over an omission from a recent convocation ceremony.

The professors were dismayed when the ceremony earlier this year excluded the Canadian national anthem.

One of the signatories, William McNally, a professor in the School of Business and Economics, was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show.

He said removing the anthem was political in nature and that is antithetical to what post-secondary institutions are supposed to be.

“It was a very political change, and it wasn’t neutral. There’s this idea that universities should be neutral, like the referee in a fight, not one of the combatants, just enforcing the rules. And, they were definitely taking a political position by doing this.”

McNally said WLU has a history of polarizing decisions.

“This is part of a broader pattern of non-neutrality at the university. I would trace it back to at least the Lindsay Shepherd affair in 2017. And, then after that, the university put a security fee policy in place to try to block controversial speakers.”

He went on to say, “These are very political actions and not consistent with a neutral university. And again, a university should be the home of the critics, but it should not itself be the critic.”

McNally worries the school is limiting debate on important topics.

“When the university takes a position on a contentious issue, it intimidates and silences people with opposing points of view. And Laurier is very much not a place of free inquiry right now.”

It wasn’t long before WLU had a response to the open letter, according to McNally.

“We sent our open letter a couple weeks ago, first thing in the morning. And we got a reply before lunchtime telling us the anthem had been restored for the October convocation ceremonies. So, that signaled to us that we weren’t the only ones that had some concerns with this.”

In a statement to 570 NewsRadio, WLU said, “The national anthem will be a part of the convocation ceremonies in October. We look forward to celebrating Laurier students’ graduations.”

It remains unclear what led to WLU removing the anthem in the first place.