By committing to engage in political advocacy, Windsor has abandoned the widely accepted principle of institutional neutrality, thereby constraining academic freedom and freedom of expression
This is a terrible agreement, but it's not correct to say universities have been bastions of institutional neutrality. They've fallen down on that front repeatedly in recent years, issuing institutional statement after statement of position on controversial political issues. It's just not true to say that this latest agreement is a departure -- it's in line with recent university conduct. It would be nice for them to stop behaving this way, agreed.
It's also disingenuous to say "universities should be institutionally neutral" but also (in your linked piece) criticize them for not adhering to restrictions on speech that you describe as "antisemitism according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition that has been adopted by both the federal and Ontario governments."
The IRHA definition is intended to chill criticism of Israeli policy and enforcing it on universities campuses would NOT be institutionally neutral. You cannot simultaneously wish the university would not enter into agreements requiring it to take particular political stances (because of institutional neutrality) while also advocating universities adopt the political stances on speech that you yourself prefer (which themselves amount to violations of institutional neutrality).
This is a terrible agreement, but it's not correct to say universities have been bastions of institutional neutrality. They've fallen down on that front repeatedly in recent years, issuing institutional statement after statement of position on controversial political issues. It's just not true to say that this latest agreement is a departure -- it's in line with recent university conduct. It would be nice for them to stop behaving this way, agreed.
It's also disingenuous to say "universities should be institutionally neutral" but also (in your linked piece) criticize them for not adhering to restrictions on speech that you describe as "antisemitism according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition that has been adopted by both the federal and Ontario governments."
The IRHA definition is intended to chill criticism of Israeli policy and enforcing it on universities campuses would NOT be institutionally neutral. You cannot simultaneously wish the university would not enter into agreements requiring it to take particular political stances (because of institutional neutrality) while also advocating universities adopt the political stances on speech that you yourself prefer (which themselves amount to violations of institutional neutrality).