Episode 14: Did Mark Hecht Violate a Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DIE) “Loyalty Oath”?

Frances Widdowson wrote an article about this subject in the January 2020 issue of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship Newsletter. A copy of this piece can be accessed here.

On September 6, 2019, MRU Geography instructor Mark Hecht published an OpEd in The Vancouver Sun.

This led a number of MRU professors to state that Hecht’s views were “disgusting”, “white nationalist trash”, and that it was alarming that he was teaching students. The most significant reaction came from MRFA Executive Board member Rafik Kurji. The MRFA by-laws state that members of the Executive must protect the academic freedom of members and be tolerant of different points of view.

Serious bias was also exhibited by MRFA President Melanie Peacock on September 8, 2019. In commenting to the media about the “heated arguments” that had taken place about Hecht’s views on the MRFA facebook page, the MRFA President stated that she stood behind our mission statement that requires members to “[uphold] the values” of diversity and equity. She implied that Hecht did “not speak for the entire academic body or reflect the beliefs and the value system of the faculty association”. She then asserted that she wouldn’t be speaking to Hecht about his article unless another member formally complained about it. With this public statement, the MRFA was potentially enabling a faction that was contemplating making such a complaint.

This article was written by the journalist Brennan Doherty, who stated on Twitter that Hecht’s article was “abhorrent”.

On September 18, 2019 approximately 30 faculty members wrote to the President of MRU, Tim Rahilly. The letter expressed “ongoing concerns with discrimination on campus” and alleged that Hecht’s editorial contained a “blatantly Islamophobic and xenophobic message”. While Hecht was mentioned by name in this letter, he was not copied on the correspondence. In fact, Hecht only became aware of this letter because he made a Freedom of Information and Privacy request, and the copy received was almost completely redacted.

At a meeting held to provide information to MRFA members attending General Faculties Council on September 19, 2019, the MRFA President made posters available that were produced by the Indigenous and People of Color [sic] Support Network. These posters featured the words WE BELONG HERE RACISM DOES NOT; they were made in an attempt to pressure the administration to denounce Hecht’s Op-Ed. Making these posters available at a forum that was intended to represent all faculty members again legitimized the mobbing efforts that were underway.

On October 11, 2019 Mark Hecht’s field school was cancelled.

On October 22, 2019, Mark Mercer, the President of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship wrote a letter to MRU expressing concerns about the field school cancellation.

On December 6, 2019, a group of faculty members sent a letter to the MRU President expressing concerns about the Mark Hecht case.

On December 17, 2019 President Rahilly responded, stating that he would not override the redactions made in the FOIP process. This effectively prevented Mark Hecht from knowing who was making accusations about him.

On February 18, 2020, Mark Hecht made a grievance submission to the MRFA. A copy of this submission can be read below. The name of the witness who was told by the departmental chair and the geography coordinator that Hecht’s field school was cancelled because of his views on diversity and social trust has been redacted.

On March 27, 2020, the MRFA President informed Mark Hecht that the Faculty Association would not be proceeding with his grievance to arbitration. In this correspondence, the MRFA President claimed that an “investigation” had been undertaken that showed that “there is a lack of evidence to support the claim that the Spring 2020 field school was cancelled for the reasons indicated in the grievance submission”. It was claimed that witnesses were interviewed, but the main witness who had spoken directly to the Geography Coordinator, Troy Burnett, told Frances Widdowson he was not interviewed. This witness stated that Burnett had told him that Hecht’s field school was cancelled because of his views on diversity and social trust.

On March 29, 2020, Frances Widdowson wrote up her concerns about the MRFA President’s actions. This document included a section on the Mark Hecht case.