I remember this day vividly. It was early April, the semester was just winding down and students were hustling through the hallways faster than usual. I was on my way to my economics class when I walked by the bookstore and to my dismay, I noticed that there was a booth offering information regarding the gender pay gap. I, along with many of my peers, am under the belief that the gender pay gap is largely overstated and most pay differences between men and women can be chalked up to women taking more time off then men, choosing less risky professions and choosing to stay at home with their children more often then men. However, I digress. The point of this letter is not to argue what I, as well as many other men and women of all backgrounds and walks of life think about the gender pay gap. The point is that neither our school, nor our student union (both of which are funded almost entirely through tuition and taxpayers) should be taking sides on major, controversial social issues of our time. Our school is not an advocacy group, nor is the student union. Their primary function is to assist students in achieving a fulfilling educational experience. I fail to see how advocating for a far-left social movement within our school achieves those functions. Let’s put the shoe on the other foot here. Let’s just say someone at the Student Union was Pro-Life and advocated for the criminalization of abortion. Let’s say this person decided to have the FSU, as well as the school sponsor a booth intended to spread this person’s opinions on abortion. Would there be outrage? Would students be shouting and screaming for the school to apologize and to refrain from spending their tuition dollars promoting ideas that they disagree with? You bet they would. But somehow, when it is an opinion that is mainstream, an opinion that makes people feel virtuous and is widely accepted by young people and in popular culture, it’s somehow okay..? Why? Why is it okay for our school to publicly take a side on major social issues of our time? Why should my tuition dollars be spent promoting these opinions without my consent? Again, our school is not an advocacy group. Regardless of what you think of the gender pay gap, or any other social issue for that matter, we should all agree that our college, as well as our student union, should remain neutral when it comes to controversial social and political issues. Our students shouldn’t be force-fed a particular narrative and they certainly should not be forced to fund things that go against their values and world-views.

Christopher Colby
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.