September 20,1991, ;

 

Man’s Brain.

TORONTO (CUP) — Three years
after the publication of his
controversial race-ranking study,
University of Western Ontario
psychology professor Philippe
Rushton theories are raising theire of
| the academic community.

This time, womenare the target.

Rushton and Western zoology
professor David Ankney have
_ completed studies they say show
womenhavesmallerbrains thanmen.
The studies allege that women’s
_ brains are on average 100 cubic
centimetres smaller than men’s.
That's eight per cent smaller, even
after factoringintheoverall difference
in body size differences between the
sexes.

Ankney has argued the
| discrepancy could account for the
| fact that more men go into the
mathematical and spatial sciences
than women.

The studies are to be published
thismonthin Intelligence, ascientific
journal.

Rushton’s race-ranking study,
published in 1989, claimed that
Asians are superior to whites who
are in turn superior to blacks in
in ce, lawfulness and sexual
restraint.

The new gender-based studies
have sparked a new debate at
Western.

Peter Ewart, a spokesperson for

 

by Naomi Klein

TORONTO (CUP) — Ontario’s
provincial government willconsider
raising tuition by 500 per cent, taxing
provincial student grants and selling
student loans to banks, according to
amemo from the province’s deputy
minister of revenue.

. The leaked copy of the
confidential government memo
dated July 28 lists a series of ideas
designed to increase the
government’s non-tax income and
reduce the province’s $10 billion
deficit.

In the memo — which was
addressed to all deputy ministers —
then-provincial Pay Minister of
Revenue Kim Noble described the
initiative.

“An inter-ministerial worki
committee has been established to
develop ideas on new major revenue

tors across the Ontario Public
e,” she wrote.
If ea tas tuition was
cent in Ontario,
Sewn pay atleast $10,000a

year.

Among the proposals are plans
tolevyathree-per-centtaxonOntario
Student Assistance Program
and to increase tuition to “full cost
recovery” — making students pay
the full cost of their education.

Currently, undergraduate
tuition represents approximately 18

 

 

Woman’s Brain.

the Academic Coalition for Equality
(ACE) at Western, said the studies
are potentially dangerous.

He said other studies
concentrating on gender or racial
superiority have contributed to the
development of academic racism,
whichinturnhaveadversely affected
social programs and immigration
policies in the U.S.

"Those studies have been used
against the middle and working
classes as well as against womenand

ple of color," Ewart said.

“(They have) had a big effect,”
he said. “But Rushton is not an
anomaly in that way. Universities
have played a bad role.”

But some academics are
staunchly defending Rushton’s right
to publish his theories.

The Society for Academic
Freedom and Scholarship—a group
of 40 Ontario professors — opposes
whatitsees asa growing move toban
“offensive” materials.

Dr.John Furedy, a University of
Toronto psychology professor who
is a director of the society, said
everything should be open to study.

“The way to ignorance and
totalitarianism is to forbid the raising
of certain questions,” he said.

“When you try to suppress the
issue, you geta much more doctrinal
and extreme version.

per cent of the full cost of a student's
education. The rest is funded by
government transfer payments to
universities.

Student loans are presently
administered by the government —
notby private banks—andalthough
there is a three-per- cent federal tax
on student loans, student grants are
not taxed.

Government officials at the

*

"They are looking ata «==:

 

Science Made Simple:

 

Rushton’s Brain.
1 Vadey

Rushton's Back With a New Study

_ "The extreme conclusions
brought on by suppression get
preserved. For instance, when you
bana book, itbecomes more popular
because you've banned it.”

For his part, Ewart said a no-
holds-barred approach to academic
freedomcandomoreharm thangood.

He cited Nazi Germany as a
situation where academic freedom
in scientific research enabled Nazi
leaders to justify their views on the
basis of scientific evidence.

Dr. Neil Wiener, a York
University psychology professor,
called studies like Rushton’s and
Ankney’s “bio-politics,” which he
said have been going on for 2000
years.

He said the issue is not freedom
of speech, but university
accountability.

“You can’t prevent people from
articulating their beliefs,”Wiener
said. “The real issue is, ‘does anyone
want to fund it?’”

The onus is on individual
universities to decide what kind of
research will be conducted at their
institution, he noted.

“The University of Western
Ontario has provided a very
comfortable environmentinterms of
allowing him (Rushton) to take time
offand doresearch. Nothingrequired
the university to do so.”

Gouging Students to Pay Deficit

through the ministry's (of colleges
and universities) office.”

U of T President Rob Prichard
said although he su ioe a tuition
hike to25 percentofthe totalcostand
believes programs like U of T’s
Executive MBA program should be
allowed to charge at-cost tuition, he
was unaware the government was
looking at making students pay the

full cost of
VERSE Lr

“Itis not

500 per cent increase ive"C.:

in tuition fees."

 

province's Ministry of Colleges and
Universitiesand Ministry of Treasury
and Economics said the list of civil
servants’ ideas will be considered by
the government.

“Ican’trule outanything, I can’t
rule in an either,” said Bob
Parker, senioradvisor to the minister
responsible for post-secondary
education.

“This is for the treasurer’s
information, he may decidesomeare

ts viable.”

Parkeradded thattheideascame
from thetreasurer’s officeand not his
ministry.

“For these projects to see the
light of day, they would have to go

heard of it, it
strikes me as
inconceivable
foraprovince
with as strong a public education
system as Ontario to support the
idea,” he said.

NicoleSeguin, spokesperson for
the Ontario Federation of Students,
said she was surprised tthe
government is considering actions
that oppose the 8 policy of
freezing tuitionin theshort-term and
eliminating it in the long-term

“They are looking at a 500 per
cent increase in tuition fees and
making OSAP more inaccessible
when students are facing increasing
costs with less money,” said Seguin.
“I think this demonstrates a real
desperationonthegovernment’s part
to increase revenue.”

fnrnaen hs