Why SAFS - Society for Academic Freedom & Scholarship Matters in Canada..

Yeah, its me chalking safs.ca around town.... a last stab at liberating minds here..
Some of us will still prefer to take "free speech" and "freedom of association" over the alternative of the 'community' who are prone to stifling others... sad, stuffy places are those the "progressives" will call "safe spaces" and as its a university town lively debate is essential ..  its the lifeblood... energetic dissident discourse must be allowed to take place ... if not here... where?

I'm an outsider to the 'campus' culture but I have lived here since 2010.  I also remember talking to people on the picket lines when the academics were on strike for 'academic freedom' a while ago .. every day with my dog in the cold winter I would drop by and chat with these academics.. there was this concern among them.. it was the reason for the strike .. not money but about academic freedom.
Keep up that important quest... for freedom.. never forget its what makes the west unique and makes life here so much better than many places on the globe.

I listened.. some of them were more easy to speak with .. some were afraid.  I witnessed that.. and I understand this culture of shut up very well .. that's why I am here doing this .. this seems to be a good thing to promote for all that are here.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/safs.ca/
SAFS - Society for Academic Freedom & Scholarship.. http://safs.ca

Around here I've been called " an unimportant, low class troublemaker " and that suites me just fine because if I ever do start to fit in with the self-censoring uncomfortably comfortable p.c. crowd in this uni. town I will have to re-visit the idea of moving away.  For now I'm happy to stay and to attempt to remind others about the value of speaking freely while you can.  So... I will continue to peacefully promote Mark Mercer's SAFS.ca - its important... their events matter.

Formed in 1992, SAFS is:

• Primarily concerned with institutions of higher learning in Canada.
• A non-profit organization financed by membership fees and voluntary contributions. 
• Not aligned with any political party -- our membership spans the political spectrum. 
• A society with members all across Canada and in other countries. 
• Open to all persons sharing our goals, whether or not they are working in a university. 
Goals:


• Maintaining freedom in teaching, research, and scholarship.
In pursuit of their scholarly goals, members of the university may take positions that are not in accord with popular beliefs. We oppose measures such as speech codes, extra-legal tribunals and so-called anti-hate legislation that may infringe on the right and responsibility of the academic community (faculty and students) to teach and do research on controversial subjects.

• Maintaining standards of excellence in academic decisions about students and faculty.

Many universities have policies that are discriminatory to the extent that they favour groups of students or faculty on the basis of race, sex, etc. Such preferential treatment is unfair, is damaging to academic excellence, and stigmatizes the very groups so favoured. We espouse equality of opportunity but oppose preferential treatment.

Activities:

• Promoting reasoned debate on issues of academic freedom and scholarship.
• Speaking out publicly in favour of SAFS' aims, and against oppressive measures in the academic community. 
• Keeping SAFS' members abreast of developments through newsletters, chapter meetings, conferences and other means.
• Encouraging the formation of local chapters to achieve SAFS' aims locally.
• Supporting candidates who share SAFS' goals for positions on university governing bodies.
• Writing to university administrations where we feel that academic freedom or the merit principle have been compromised.
• Writing to government agencies or, where appropriate, to politicians, in cases where we feel our principles are in jeopardy.
• Supporting individuals with advice, moral support, or material aid in those cases where there has been a clear abuse of academic freedom and/or the merit principle.
• Distributing information to the media.

SAFS - Annual General Meeting - Saturday, May 4th, 2019

More details at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/safs.ca/
SAFS Annual General Meeting

Saturday May 4th, 2019

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Western University
Somerville House, Room 3317
9:00 – 9:50 Registration and informal conversation
9:50 – 10:00 Mark Mercer, President, Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship: Welcome and news from SAFS
10:00 – 11:00 Bruce Pardy, Law, Queen’s University, “Right Idea, Wrong Approach: The Ontario free speech directive and the effect of speech laws on universities”
11:00 – 12:00 Rick Mehta, formerly Psychology, Acadia University, “Social Justice and Moral Panic: Modern Threats to Academic Freedom”
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch – Buffet (Green Leaf Café, Room 3340)
1:00 – 2:30 Keynote Address
Rachel Fulton Brown, History, University of Chicago, “Is Academia Good for the Soul?”
2:45 – 3:00 Business meeting (SAFS members only)

■ Registration Fees: $40.00 per person, pay at the door. (Registration includes coffee and lunch, but not parking.)

■ To confirm attendance: please notify the SAFS President by 20 April. E-mail: mark.mercer@smu.ca, or write to SAFS, PO BOX 33056 Quinpool Centre, Halifax, NS Canada B3L 4T6.
■ Getting there: From the 401, take Wellington Road North to its end, then jog one block west to Richmond Street, go north to University gates (on your left), just north of Huron Street. On campus, follow this road over the bridge, turn left at the light and continue to traffic circle. Visitor parking is on your right next to Alumni Hall once you are almost around the circle. Rate: $7.00 flat rate. From Highway 7, take Highway 4 south (it becomes Richmond Street). At the fork after Fanshawe, you can either stay left on Richmond to University gates (now on Richmond St.) as above, or stay right and go down Western Road, turn left at 3rd light (Lambton Drive). Visitor parking is on your right as you enter traffic circle. 3M Centre is across the traffic circle, 2nd building on Oxford Drive. [On Saturday there is usually no one at the Information booths, but check this site for a campus map.] Click on: University Campus Map
■ Accommodation: On-campus rooms at Western Bed & Breakfast are $62.00 per night including continental breakfast. A modern, air-conditioned residence, located in Elgin Hall on University Drive, off Richmond St. North. (www.StayAtWestern.ca); The Park Hotel on Pall Mall (1-800-561-4574), and Windermere Manor (1-519-858-1414), have UWO rates at ~ $130.00 per night.
For information regarding getting there, parking, or accommodation, contact (before 27 April): Daniella Chirila, e-mail: dchirila@uwo.ca, or by phone: 519-661-2111, ext. 84690.

SAFS - Society for Academic Freedom & Scholarship -- Upcoming Free Event 2019

"Freedom of Expression on Campus: What are the Issues?"

6 to 7:30 pm
Monday 11 February 2019

BMO Community Room
Halifax Central Library
5440 Spring Garden Rd, Halifax, NS B3J 1E9

Mark Mercer
Department of Philosophy, Saint Mary's University, and President, Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship

Free of charge and everyone welcome

Those who would restrict expression on campus conceive the mission and ethos of the university very differently than do those committed to freedom of expression on campus. I’ll try to describe each conception. I’ll ask whether the two sides can find any common ground.

more at their website and facebook .. http://safs.ca