WITHOUT PREJUDICE

            On June 22nd 2020, Laurentian University sent out a statement announcing Dr. David Lesbarreres’ removal from the Deanship in the Faculty of Graduate Studies for an indeterminate amount of time due to a tweet that was deemed to uphold racist values.
We feel that this reaction was unnecessary given Dr. Lesbarreres' reputation of being inclusive and respectful to all students, as well as the fact that his apology and regret was swift, once he realized he had unintentionally used a hashtag that he didn't know was racist in nature, and that his tweet hurt people.

A university is supposed to be a place of learning, exploring, and growing. We believe that fostering an environment where one is afraid to express an opinion, or not afforded the leeway to make honest errors for fear of retribution, is a disservice to everyone in the university community. We believe that Dr. Lesbarreres’ words were not intended to be malicious or in any way hurtful, and we believe that he was sincere in acknowledging
 his mistake, and that he regrets the hurt he unintentionally caused others.

However, the swift persecution of people who voice opinions that don’t fit the current zeitgeist causes a breakdown in the ability and willingness to learn. This is not the ideal that universities were built upon, where free thought and respectful debate should be encouraged, not feared. Where being exposed to others' opinions, even ones with which you disagree, should be the standard, not the exception.

Dr. Lesbarreres has worked tirelessly and repeatedly to better the experiences of international students since his arrival at Laurentian. Among other things, he has:
- Supervised predominantly international students in his own research lab
- Fought to allow Graduate Teaching Assistantships to be available to International students
-Worked to increase scholarships (such as the Dean’s Entrance Scholarship) to International Students
-He was a founding member of the United Nations Association - Sudbury Branch, and is the current President
-Through the Office of Graduate Studies, organized activities that help International students feel more familiar with their new homes (such as canoe expeditions and snowshoeing treks)



In consideration of the above, we respectfully request that Dr. David Lesbarreres be returned to his duties as the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate studies so that he can continue the great work that he has done in improving the experiences for all grad students.


Sincerely,

The undersigned