TORONTO, Dec 8, 2000 (LSN.ca) – The absolute intolerance of academia for anyone who does not swear by the doctrine of rabid feminism has presented itself once again as a University of Toronto professor’s views have been berated by the university’s president. The anniversary of the shooting of 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique by a madman has long been exploited by feminists to push their radical agenda. When the University of Toronto sent around an email to all faculty and staff promoting an event commemorating the anniversary, computer science professor Charles Rackoff decided to send his reply, objecting to the radical feminist propaganda at such meetings, to all who received the university email.
Prof. Rackoff’s email created a firestorm of protest from staff, university officials and radical students. The university president Robert Birgeneau condemned Rackoff’s statements but stopped short of officially censuring him for his opinion. “First and foremost, I neither accept nor endorse Professor Rackoff’s views. . . In fact, I find them repugnant.,” said Birgeneau, in a statement sent to all faculty and staff. “Nonetheless, I acknowledge the difficulty balancing deeply disturbing views expressed by members of our community with the university’s fundamental principle of free speech.”
The National Post reports that one group of professors at the Mississauga campus launched an electronic petition to be distributed throughout the university, condemning his remarks. And a group of radical students at the institution’s downtown campus erected a two-metre banner reading “F—- off, Rackoff.”
In his email Rackoff said: the memorial events often “promote the feminist/extreme left-wing agenda.” He explained, “It [is] no different, and no more justifiable, than when organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan [sic] use the murder of a white person by a black person as an excuse to promote their agenda.” He continued: “If you don’t like it, imagine how those of us feel who have been subjected for decades to nearly constant inundation of Feminist/Extreme-left-wing propaganda—via posters, e-mail such as this, etc., etc., with hardly a whimper of rebuttal. If you are offended by this message, that is nothing compared to how offended I am by this ‘memorial.’ “
For related LifeSite stories see: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/aug/000816.html#3 https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/may/000530.html#2
See the National Post coverage: https://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001208/398123.html