SUNDAY 4 MARCH, 2018 – UWI TODAY
3
EDITORIAL TEAM
CAMPUS PRINCIPAL
Professor Brian Copeland
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Dr Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill
EDITOR
Vaneisa Baksh • email:
CONTACT US
The UWI Marketing and Communications Office
Tel: (868) 662-2002, exts. 82013 / 83997 or email:
CAMPUS NEWS
of these initiatives for inclusiveness, should be the
optimumdevelopment of human resources to prepare
citizens for personal success and, more importantly,
for societal survival. The survival factor cannot be
more clear-cut than in those institutions purposed for
national defence. Indeed, it is succinctly captured in
the March 2013 comments of US Air Force Lt. Gen.
David Deptula in a
Washington Times
article, when
he celebrated the tenth anniversary of the lifting of the
ban on female fighter pilots. Deptula said, “combat
skills are blind to rank, gender, race, color or creed
– they are based on performance, pure and simple.”
This view is also reflected in the United Nations
preamble to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
5 that observes that “Gender equality is not only a
fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation
for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.”
In that future society, only “performance, pure
and simple,” will matter.
Universities across the world are embracing
diversity in all its forms. The UWI is no different,
having embraced the concept of Access in its new
strategic plan, 2017-2022. Our current enrollment
numbers on the Campus reflect a gender imbalance
in which more females are enrolling than males, a
result of similar imbalances in educational attainment
at the primary and secondary levels. Such imbalances
clearly need to be addressed if we want to truly achieve
sustainable development and create the ultimate
society I have called near-Utopia inmy past articles. A
major step in this direction would be to have a critical
re-engineering of our national education system and
tailor it to better take cognizance of, for example, the
differing maturity levels and aspirations of young
males and females. That would be a gender equity
initiative of major proportions.
The SDGs also remind us that education is
not divorced from either gender or development.
SDG 4, for example, sets a target of 2030 by which
we should “ensure equal access for all women and
men to affordable and quality technical, vocational
and tertiary education, including university.” If that
doesn’t speak to an education imperative then nothing
else will!
As The UWI St. Augustine joins the rest of the
world in recognising IWD 2018, let us be mindful
of our core mission that requires us to be cognisant
of who we are educating and for what purpose.
We educate to strive for gender equality and
equity, to build a better society and to continue to
#pressforprogress, towards sustainable development
for all citizens.
PROFESSOR BRIAN COPELAND
Campus Principal
On March 8,
we join the
global community in
recognizing International
Women’s Day (IWD),
which has been observed
since 1911. While it is an
occasion to honour the
strides that women have
made in many spheres,
IWD also presents an
opportunity for us to renew
the resolve to achieve
gender equality, globally acknowledged as one of those
hallmarks of a truly civilized world.
Gender equalitymeans that women andmen have
the right to enjoy equal status and have access to the
same opportunities and reap the same rewards “without
the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles and
prejudices,” states the ILO’s
ABC Of Women Worker’s
Rights And Gender Equality
.
In essence, these are not to be denied purely on
the basis of gender but on ability and competence.
Reference is often made to gender equity which,
on the other hand, addresses the various biases and
imbalances – economic, social, traditional and political
– that prevent people of different genders from being
even considered in the first place. It recognizes the
fact that true equality does not necessarily mean that
all are afforded the same treatment, as people differ in
their abilities, needs, aspirations, background and their
resources. As an example, in a marathon race, gender
equality can be likened to allowing people of all genders
at the starting line. In the background, there would
have been gender equity activities that ensure that all
who are appropriately qualified to run actually make
it to the starting line.
There is another interesting example that I
stumbled upon. Not too long ago there was a discussion
making the scientific circles that women generallymake
better fighter jet pilots than men. The claims then were
that they were less susceptible to blackouts than their
male counterparts when making tight high-speed
maneuvers that deprive the brain of blood when it is
most needed. Even in the midst of this conversation,
which has now been generally abandoned, the US Air
Force did not enforce gender equality policies until
1993, when it lifted its ban on female fighter pilots.
Gender equity initiatives in education, social awareness
and combat training, would have prepared the first
women to qualify for cockpit assignment.
This brings me to my main point.
The gender equality thrust that then demands
gender equity initiatives, is fully in keeping with the
long-term vision of a sustainably developed, civilized
society; one that is fully equipped and empowered
for current and future survival. In this regard, it is
no different than any initiative that seeks to provide
equal opportunity and expand diversity across race,
social and economic status. The ultimate goal in all
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
STILL PRESSING FOR PROGRESS
FreedomHall it is
The Hall of Residence
at The UWI St. Augustine Campus formerly
known as Milner Hall is now Freedom Hall. The process to review
the name Milner Hall started in October 2017 having gained approval
of the Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GPC) on the
recommendation of a report compiled by Pro Vice-Chancellor Alan
Cobley, Professor of South African History.
The report confirmed the association of Lord Alfred Milner,
whom the Hall was named after, with crimes against humanity in
Africa among other actions driven by a ‘British race supremacy’
ideology.
Milner Hall is the oldest of the Halls of Residence at the St.
Augustine campus. It was built in 1927 and has been in existence
for over 90 years and has been the home of many regional and
international students. Milner Hall was part of the original Imperial
College of Tropical Agriculture which preceded the St. Augustine
Campus. It was subsequently enlarged to accommodate over 300
students.
The name review process included a series of consultations
with stakeholders of The UWI St. Augustine Campus including
Hall residents and a wider call to all students, staff and alumni to
recommend alternative names. The final decision was made on the
recommendation of the current residents of Milner Hall.
The newname was approved by the Campus Finance andGeneral
Purposes Committee and later, by the University-wide Finance and
General Purposes Committee on February 20, 2018.
Campus Principal, Professor Brian Copeland expressed his
satisfaction with the process. “I am pleased that due process was
followed with transparency and that consultation was prioritised. The
result is a new name and our new focus will be on helping our students,
particularly the residents of Freedom Hall to adjust to the change.”
The name review process included a
series of consultations with stakeholders
of The UWI St. Augustine Campus
including Hall residents and a wider
call to all students, staff and alumni to
recommend alternative names.
