In memory of Robert Devet (d. September 27, 2021), founder, publisher and editor of the Nova Scotia Advocate. This site is preserved as an archive of the Advocate’s journalism from 2016 to 2021, and as a tribute to Robert’s work. No new articles are published, and comments, forms and search are closed. Read the tribute →

An open letter in support of Masuma Khan on behalf of over 100 women and trans gender non-conforming former students’ union reps. “Since speaking out against the whitewashing of Canada’s history through the Canada 150 campaign, Masuma has been the target of disgusting racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic and misogynist attacks as well as threats of violence, including sexual violence. Instead of defending and protecting this brave racialized, Muslim woman, Dalhousie University chose to initiate disciplinary action against Masuma at the request of a white male student.”

“Should I counsel students at Dalhousie not to critique social institutions or practices, or not to invite academics who may do so, for fear of reprisals on the part of Dalhousie University, lest a student file a complaint that actually affirms the analysis in question?” Saint Mary’s professor Darryl Leroux writes an open letter to Dalhousie University administration pointing out that disciplining Masuma Khan for her FB post on white fragility exemplifies precisely the type of racism that is rampant on university campuses, including at Dalhousie.

Attached to the letter is an abridged version of a keynote address on white fragility in academia that professor Leroux delivered last year to the Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Society. This lecture is eerily applicable to what is transpiring at Dalhousie right now.