UBC Law School Faces Fresh Allegations Of Discrimination

The Walrus, UBC Law School Faces Fresh Allegations of Discrimination:

In December 2019, Brenna Bhandar interviewed for the position of associate professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia—one of the most prestigious law schools in Canada. Despite a recommendation from the appointments committee, the dean at the time decided not to hire her. Bhandar uses the lens of settler colonialism to understand how Israel’s legal system has been used to dispossess Palestinians of their land—a framework some members of the department argued was antisemitic. When twelve faculty members wrote a confidential letter to the dean, asking for transparency around the decision, they said they were shunned by their colleagues and bullied by senior leadership.

In an investigation for The Walrus in November [An Elite Law School Promised Reforms, Then Made Inclusion Impossible], I reported on the fallout from the letter, as well as on other allegations of systematic discrimination and harassment at Allard, including allegations from female professors that they were being paid less than their male colleagues. The investigation was shared widely in the legal community, but students and professors say that instead of using the opportunity to address long-standing issues, the administration has doubled down on its refusal to reckon with its workplace culture.

The day after the investigation was published, Ngai Pindell, the current dean at Allard, emailed faculty saying he was concerned by the breach of confidentiality but admitted that sharing information with a journalist “is not a crime.” He added, “This is a grave undermining of faculty governance, collegiality, and a respectful workplace,” he wrote. He didn’t address any of the allegations in the article. ...

[S]everal groups have published statements in support of those who spoke to The Walrus. One open letter called for Pindell and UBC to make systemic changes, such as committing to transparency and re-evaluating leadership practices, and to protect racialized professors from any retaliation. As of this writing, the petition has been signed by 123 people, including Canadian law professors, lawyers, and Allard law students and alumni. ...

The UBC Graduate Students 4 Palestine published a statement on social media calling for the university to “immediately and unequivocally” address the issues of systemic discrimination at Allard. The UBC Black Law Students’ Association also issued a statement, stating they were “disappointed, saddened and dismayed to read the detailed accounts about the long-standing systemic prejudices within the school. . . . We urge Allard leadership to take proactive steps to understanding and addressing the events in the article, to ensure a thorough unbiased examination of issues raised.”

Despite all these calls for reform, the only formal response from Allard has been a statement from Pindell on December 2. But the statement did not mention any of the items listed in these petitions. Students and faculty say the department is once again sweeping its biggest problems under the rug. ...

Law students are caught in the middle of this ongoing conflict. Some chose to speak to me anonymously for fear of reprisal from the Allard administration, afraid that they won’t get reference letters for employment or have trouble finding articling positions, a one-year work term needed to become a lawyer. “If the administration is bullying people at their job, who’s to say they wouldn’t ruin a student’s career,” says one Allard law student. ...

Several people I spoke to expressed doubt that anything would change at Allard, and a few people have said Pindell should be removed as dean. A faculty member said Pindell had inherited a dumpster fire, and instead of putting it out, he added fuel to it. It’s unclear how long this fire will burn and what will remain once it goes out.

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