Latest news in the Rancourt saga: Despite an offer of settlement in which he completely gave up his "no grades" policy, it looks like Denis Rancourt will be dismissed by the Board of Governors on March 31. Understandably, after going that far and enduring all the negative media reports, the university can't just back down now. And Rancourt knows it. He would have never written this offer if he thought for one second they would accept it. Because, as anyone who attended his movie series or activism course knows, Rancourt does not compromise. In 2006, the university reluctantly accepted his "activism course". But when the university cancelled the enrollment of two 10-year-olds in the class, the professor encouraged them to file a human rights complaint. The story broke out on January 29, 2007 in newspapers across the world and uOttawa was ridiculed for having admitted children in the first place. The activism course was never offered again.
Activists need to cross the line sometimes, and when we go public and embarrass the institution, it's gonna make some people mad. We can't know for sure if the Foster twins story was really the "turning point" for the activism course... Still we can ask: for its possible consequences, was it worth creating a stir? In other words: don't only "pick your battles", but be wise in how you fight them.
Consider this: we protested the SAC. With placards, chants, the whole deal. (I don't even want to get in the racism question. Just read Amy's post.) Honestly, I enjoy sign painting and theatrical protests as much as any hippie out there, but I also know what they're good for: to get attention. To get "the cause" on the front page. And we got the front page alright. Only this time, it wasn't the uOttawa admin that got embarrassed.
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