As many of you are likely aware, Dalhousie has locked out its faculty after contract negotiations broke down. A full timeline of events can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dalhousie/s/6FyzNtYhKG

The Dalhousie board of governors has consistently engaged in bad faith negotiation tactics meant to divide the faculty union and mislead students. This behavior is reprehensible and clashes with Dalhousie's strategic plan pillars, the first of which is to "embark on a sustained campaign to be recognized as the best in Canada and among top ranked universities globally for a transformative learning and life experience, leading students to successful careers, professional designations, or advanced graduate degrees." This lockout is destroying the university's reputation and keeping the students from the transformative learning experience that Dalhousie claims to pride itself on. The second pillar states that Dalhousie will "invest in developing a more welcoming, inclusive, and caring culture for all regardless of one’s background and circumstance, with an emphasis on wellness, accessibility, respect, and support for all members of our communities." This lockout and associated behaviors has proven that there is intense disrespect towards the faculty that the university owes its stellar reputation to, and complete lack of care about the wellness of the students. The third pillar states that Dalhousie will "focus [their] efforts on growing world-leading research programs in areas of particular strength, and invest in infrastructure that supports [their] researchers to achieve excellence." By locking out faculty, the board has kneecapped all major research occurring at the university.

While Dr. Kim Brooks is not the board, she is the face of the board during this crisis. She has chosen to turn her back on the faculty that she used to be a part of and she has chosen to engage in the dismantling of a once proud institution. In taking this stance and going along with all of the board's bad behaviour, she has shown that she is not the empathetic and relatable leader that she presents herself as. Dr. Brooks, there is no playlist you could make that will fix this. We, the Dalhousie community, demand that you resign.

EDIT/UPDATE (2025/09/22): The lockout may be over, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't demand accountability. An email has gone out saying there will be no tuition refunds for this semester. The university administration should not be allowed to disrupt our semester, keep everyone's money, and get away with it.