Ryerson University has decided that it will indeed change its name in the midst of ongoing calls that it do so because of the institution's namesake's ties to Canada's residential schools.
Egerton Ryerson, after which the post-secondary school was founded in 1948, was instrumental in the design of not just our public school system, but the system that tore Indigenous children from their families and forced them into schools where they were abused mentally, physically, emotionally, and worse.
As we all now know, the remains of thousands of children have also been discovered in unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools across the nation.
In the wake of multiple sit-ins and other demonstrations on the campus, as well as the dramatic and cathartic removal Ryerson's statue by protesters earlier this summer, many students and staff have been referring to the school simply as "University X" until a more suitable moniker is instated.
Protesters tear down statue of Egerton Ryerson on Toronto university campus https://t.co/jMoXZ3YOb4 #Toronto #Ryerson #XUniversity
— blogTO (@blogTO) June 7, 2021
The major news of this latest move by the university was broken on Thursday afternoon by student newspaper The Eyeopener, who confirmed that Ryerson's Board of Governors approved all 22 recommendations from the Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force at a meeting yesterday.
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