A group of 26 faculty at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS have penned a letter to the school’s administration, outlining how the University needs to be more inclusive. The professors who signed the letter state that they consistently experienced lack of religious inclusion at St. FX.
The letter, first published by The MacDonald Notebook, essentially calls out the University for not living up to its own commitments. The President’s Action Committee on Ant-Racism states, “We, as a community, must commit ourselves to do more to ensure that principals of equity, diversity and inclusion are held at the highest level in all we do as an institution of higher learning.”
The letter’s examples of exclusion, “big and small”
- No provisions for students fasting during the day during Ramadan or for Jewish Students on Yom Kippur by Food Services;
- The placement of a nativity-scene on Morrison Hall in December each year, without reference to other winter holidays such as Solstice, Kwanzaa, or Hanukah;
- The Welcome Day Ceremony, which though ostensibly secular takes place in the University Chapel and includes students giving a promise to dedicate oneself to one’s spiritual life and a pledge to ascribe oneself to the words of St. Paul;
- The frontispiece of the University Calendar which quotes five verses of Paul’s letter to the Philippians (“if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”);
- University-wide invitation from the president’s office, to enjoy “Christmas treats” sent by email on November 25, 2022;
- University-wide invitation for Christmas tree lighting and carol off (November 28, 2022)
- Email from St. FX Ceremonial Office about Welcome Mass without information about other religious services available on or near campus;
- No non-Catholic individuals in St. FX Chaplaincy – this is a change from a decade ago when leaders of several different places of worship were involved with chaplaincy at St. FX
- Lack of discussion in the calendar about the ability to take time off for non-Christian religious observances;
- Crosses atop educational buildings; such as the Science Building.
The group of professors points out that the University’s Catholic heritage can still be celebrated while creating a space to acknowledge and respect the existence and importance of other cultural heritages in the community.