The UAAU stands in support of the decision made by the Faculty of Arts to dismiss Dr. Kathleen Lowrey from her administrative position as Associate Chair of the Anthropology Department. As communicated to the UAAU, this decision was made through feedback received regarding Dr. Lowrey’s conduct in the classroom, of which her views on gender and sex were not the only issue. The UAAU, representing the viewpoints of much of the student body, believes that her views are one of several aspects of why Dr. Lowrey was ineffective in her role as Associate Chair and Head of the honours program.

Students enrolling in the honours program in Anthropology are required to participate in the honours colloquium, run by the Associate Chair, Undergraduate. Honours students who were directly supervised by Dr. Lowrey disclosed a number of Dr. Lowrey’s problematic comments: trivializing the discrimination Venezuelan immigrants face in Alberta, therefore trivializing the lived experience of a Venezuelan student in her class, and denying the existence of a continuous Blackfoot cultural identity that has existed for thousands of years. The honours cohort did not believe that these dismissive statements were appropriate or constructive feedback, and her attitude in giving criticism was often detrimental towards the improvement of their writing. Several students admitted that they were discouraged from enrolling in other classes taught by Dr. Lowrey because of Dr. Lowrey’s exclusionary and hostile views, including Anthropology of Women and the honors program for the 2020/2021 academic year. Some students commented that they chose to leave the field of anthropology altogether due to an overall perception of hostility towards vulnerable and minority students.

The UAAU stands in solidarity with queer, trans, and non-binary students, whose self-identification deserves to be respected, rather than questioned, criticized, and objectified through notions of binary gender and sex norms which harm the trans community. No student on campus should be forced to navigate an environment where they feel unwelcome and forced to defend themselves against faculty members within the classroom, especially department representatives, who believe that trans rights are anti-feminist and akin to supporting notions of patriarchy. As stated in the Faculty Agreement published in 2017, academic freedom is defined as encompassing the freedom to publish any research, including that which may be considered controversial, without interference or censorship from the university. This does not include the posting of transphobic messaging in public spaces, nor does it include influencing university legislation and policies to reflect these views. It also does not mean that faculty members who dismiss and trivialize student experiences should be teaching required courses for completing an honours degree. All senior administrative leaders, including the Associate Chair, are held responsible for maintaining an inclusive and respectful environment in their workspace which is free from discriminatory and offensive language.