There are over one million books in the Halifax Public Libraries holdings, but this week it seems like the city only cares about one: Irreversible Damage, written by journalist and notorious trans-exclusionary radical feminist Abigail Shrier. “I did go and put it on hold the other day, because if they’re gonna keep it I’m gonna […]
Free speech
Posted inNews + Opinion
Sometimes a bad professor is just a bad professor
Higher learning institutions have become central to the current debate around freedom of expression. The issue arose in Nova Scotia with the controversies around Acadia psychology professor Rick Mehta and has now been reignited after Dr. Mehta’s termination last week. The university cited a number of factors, including failure to fulfill academic responsibilities, unprofessional conduct and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Free speech warriors fighting a selective battle
Nova Scotia loves to get on the bandwagon a few months or years after a trend has hit its saturation point everywhere else. It’s a few years late, but we’re still all in on hamburgers, re-opening coal mines and building failing convention centres. The latest cool thing from last year is enlisting to fight in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
When it comes to opinions, our diversity is our strength
As someone whose job essentially revolves around promoting freedom of expression, it’s been strange to watch over the past few years as this core human right has morphed into a polarizing flashpoint dividing the political extremes. Across the country, socially conscious activists have adopted positions which are shockingly regressive, while objectively terrible people (including literal […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Anti-social media: Why are academics like Rick Mehta so bad at Twitter?
Acadia University psychology professor Rick Mehta is in hot water over his social media posts about residential schools and multiculturalism. He’s not the first academic to find himself in this position. In October, a Drexel University professor was placed on leave after posting on Twitter that a “narrative of white victimization” was to blame for […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax council to undergo cultural sensitivity training
In the fallout from several racially charged statements made by elected officials and more than a dozen conduct complaints submitted to city hall, Halifax Regional Council has agreed to collectively take part in cultural sensitivity training. The idea was unanimously approved Tuesday night after three hours of in-camera discussion. “We could all use a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Drawing the line between freedom of expression and hate speech
[Image-1] The Dawgfather, a popular hot dog vendor who usually sets up shop outside of Dalhousie’s student union building, has recently come under fire for posting jokes on Twitter about the Holocaust and 9/11 attacks. He claims this was done not out of hatred, but as a response to the Charlie Hebdo Muhammad cartoon. He […]