Acting Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, Faculty of Education, and Associate Professor David Gill took to Twitter on February 18, 2024, to express concerns over Memorial University’s committee regarding the Ode to Newfoundland. It is an ad-hoc committee of the Senate Committee on Elections, Committees and By-Laws (SCECB).
Gill stated, “So the #Ode to Newfoundland saga continues with some very questionable @MemorialU Senate sub-committee maneuvering” and shared screenshots from the January 9, 2024, Senate Agenda.
Gill asked, “How is it that not one standing committee member is representative of NL heritage and culture, but the rest are skewed heavily in favour of the groups that were reported to have brought these dubious grievances to the former president et al. and who without consultation simple removed the #Ode?”
Furthermore, he stated, “Surely at a university dedicated to this unique place, with a full centre dedicated to Newfoundland and Labrador studies, one person could be found that could be an informed and knowledgeable member of at least the standing membership.”
Gill stated that a cynical person could think that the “obvious biased representation was a deliberate attempt to sway the outcome of the deliberations and report regardless of the evidence, submitted statements, public consultations, and tradition.”
He then stated that an even more cynical person would say that if Memorial “doesn’t honour the traditions of this place, then the @GovNL should continue to slash the operating grant to the bone as surely our tax money could be better used elsewhere.”
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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