Students at Bishop's University protest over professor's firing

MONTREAL -

Students at Bishop’s University held a protest on campus Monday demanding the school reinstate a professor following his recent firing.

The education students claim tenured professor Christopher Darius Stonebanks was fired because he raised concerns over systemic racism at the university in Sherbrooke, Que.

They allege the firing of Stonebanks is part of a pattern at Bishop's where, they say, issues of discrimination are not taken seriously.

"They just decide not to take action and now they have fired one of our really impactful professors here at Bishop's based on him speaking out against systemic racism and standing up for the students," said one student, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

In a social media post last Tuesday, Stonebanks's wife Melanie Stonebanks wrote: “How does Bishop's handle the challenge of systemic racism? Well, they fire the person who calls it out.”

The students say Stonebanks had been pushing for fairer hiring practices at the university.

"Right now, the positions that are open and where they're searching for people of colour are in security and communications, so we think that people of colour should be professors and should be deans and should be chairs," said one student.

The university would not comment on Stonebanks's dismissal or say why he lost his job, but in a letter to staff and students, it wrote that it has an obligation “to provide a safe, healthy and respectful work environment free of bullying, intimidation and psychological harassment.”

The Association of Professors of Bishop's University said its working with Stonebanks to find a way forward, stating, "We are gravely concerned about this action taken and the underlying issues of procedural fairness, the right to a safe workplace free from discrimination, notably racial discrimination, and reprisal, and the right to academic freedom."

An online petition calling for Stonebanks to be reinstated has garnered more than 500 signatures, as students wonder what this means for the rest of their semester.

"They're missing this professor. They don't understand. They lost one of the professors they consider the best and if they're going to lose a professor that is the best, there [had] better be a really good reason for it," said a student.

Stonebanks said he won't comment publicly until a formal grievance has been filed on his behalf, but said he's overwhelmed by the support he's receiving from students.