Campus racism row prompts name change

Head of Massey College to drop term ‘master’ from title after professor’s remark

An incident in which a professor used the term “master” to refer to the head of Massey College in a racist remark directed at a Black graduate student has prompted the institution to drop the title of master of Massey College.

On Tuesday, Dr. Michael Marrus, an emeritus history professor and scholar of the Holocaust, was sitting with three junior fellows, graduate students who earned residence at Massey through academic and extracurricular achievements, when Hugh Segal, the master of the college, arrived at their table.

At Segal’s request to join them, Marrus allegedly said to a Black graduate student: “You know this is your master, eh? Do you feel the lash?”

According to media reports, Segal spoke to Marrus after the students left, telling him that his comment was inappropriate. The comment was widely viewed as a reference to slavery.

Nearly 200 students and faculty signed an open letter written to Segal on Wednesday, asking that Marrus be terminated from his role as a senior fellow.

“There is no place for overt, jocular or subtle racism here at Massey College,” Segal wrote in a statement released Friday.

Massey College will hold a town hall about racism and provide antiracism training to members of the college.

Segal also wrote that he will change his title to “Head of College” temporarily, until the university’s governing board can agree on a permanent title.

Massey College is not governed by the University of Toronto, although it is located on its campus.