OPEN LETTER TO DR. DAVID DUNCAN AND DR. ADRIAN LEE REGARDING THE MARKING OF “INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY” AT THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK

To the Registrar (Dr. David Duncan) and Dr. Adrian Lee of the Academic Support Office:

We the undersigned - members of the public - are deeply concerned by the University's recent decision to cancel the marking of International Men's Day (IMD), based solely on an "Open Letter" you received.

We were unaware that, as a University, your policies actively encourage students, staff, and alumni to, effectively, cast a vote deciding when to remove the protections described in your own equality and diversity initiatives.

However, given that you have decided to use the method of "mob rule" to decide which of your students' rights you will uphold, we thought it only fair to play by your rules.

In that vein, we respectfully ask that, should our Open Letter achieve more signatures than the original you received, you accept the rules that you yourself set, and commit to marking International Men's Day this Thursday 19 November, and annually henceforth.

Sincerely,

The undersigned

BACKGROUND TO THIS PETITION

The University's original announcement: https://web.archive.org/web/20151112191417/http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2015/events/mensday-gender-equality/

"Open Letter" signed by 191 staff, students, and alumni: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19i_5G_jQ6Ob-GF2gdexiMUI6cQ7_FV4Fo7KRhypLv3A/edit

The University abandons its equality and diversity responsibilities quickly: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2015/events/mensday-gender-equality/

The situation is described in full in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5e5Ncmv79A