Dear Colleagues,
As you may have heard, there is a post on social media claiming that one of our nursing students was suspended for “criticizing Israeli violence against Palestinians.” The message is encouraging a letter writing campaign and various UM email accounts have received several hundred emails as a result. We do not intend to respond to these emails given the volume and that the majority are from outside the university community.
I am providing the following messages that you can use to respond to potential concerns raised by students:
The University of Manitoba does not suspend students for exercising freedom of speech. UM follows a robust and rigorous process to review matters of academic and non-academic misconduct and adheres to several policies and procedures including our Respectful Workplace and Learning Environment Policy and Violent and Threatening Behaviour Policy.
Decisions are made only after careful consideration of the circumstances and evidence. Any student facing an allegation of misconduct is offered the support from our Student Advocacy Office to navigate the process, and always has an opportunity to appeal. The suspension of a student found in breach of our misconduct policies for multiple terms, or a full academic year is a common penalty for more serious violations.
Out of respect for privacy, UM cannot provide details specific to disciplinary cases. Every student who is suspended receives a detailed letter outlining the reasons for their suspension.
Please contact me if you have questions. If you receive any media inquiries, please direct them to:
Eleanor Coopsammy (she/her)
Director, Media Relations & Issues Management
Office of the Vice-President (External)
University of Manitoba
Eleanor.Coopsammy@umanitoba.caSincerely,
Netha
Dr. Netha Dyck, RN, EdD, CHE, I-FCNEI, I-FCAN
Dean, College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Helen Glass Centre for Nursing
89 Curry Place
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2<image001.png>
Tel: 204-474-9201
Cell: 204-891-1883
Email: netha.dyck@umanitoba.caWebsite: www.umanitoba.ca/nursing