What’s happened to our universities?

Re: Restoring critical thought, Lindsay Shepherd, Dec. 5

I suggest that Lindsay Shepherd should enrol for a doctorate at the University of Chicago, and then Dr. Shepherd be appointed head of Wilfrid Laurier University. She has the capacity for critical thinking that WLU desperately needs and is much more articulate than the fools who handled her inquisition.

What has happened to the great universities where I learned to struggle intellectually? Seymour Epstein Ed. D., Toronto It’s not just Canadian universities that have ridiculously restricted debate on such off- limit topics as global warming and pronouns.

Stephen LeDrew, past- president of the Liberal Party of Canada, was recently suspended from his CTV program for a week because he actually had the gall to go on the Fox News channel (which has a right bias as opposed to the left bias of the other networks) and speak with Tucker Carlson about the LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP sensitivity training to be given to teachers in Durham, Ont.

And here’s some irony to boot: Despite Carlson’s apparent confusion, LeDrew was explaining his full- fledged support for the idea. Alex MacMillan, Kingston, Ont. It always amazes me that those who purport to be “liberally minded” are so quick to censor those with whom they disagree. We live in a world that is highly polarized, where people scream at one another instead of listening. The educational system should be a place where one learns how to process information and respectfully engage with others who hold different viewpoints.

In a multicultural society, it’s perfectly natural that people will have divergent opinions. Our leaders tell us how wonderful our differences are, yet somehow, we are expected to all think alike. The free exchange of ideas and world views is the bulwark of a healthy society. I hope that the incident at WLU will indeed be the catalyst that opens the door to critical thinking. Susan Virtue, Toronto Every professor, administrator and student at Wilfrid Laurier University should read Lindsay Shepherd’s article. Her experience there shows that tenured professors sometimes become intoxicated with power and authority. Let’s hope that now they will be more open-minded to debate and disagreement.

Most importantly, she has launched a long overdue, larger debate on what makes a university, a university. Thank you, Lindsay. Reiner Jaakson, Oakville, Ont.