Sara Khan (9) | STAFF REPORTER
Mankind has always had a tendency of idolizing successful people such as warriors, scientists, philosophers, presidents, and more. It helps give us a goal to work towards, and an idea of what we want to become. These figures are often honoured with memorials, like statues, plaques, and sometimes having something named after them, like a building. The problem arises when such prominent people make controversial decisions later in life, or when times change and their previous decisions are looked down upon. In those situations it becomes unclear what to do with their memorials. Should they be left up to honour their previous accomplishments? Or should they be taken down to discourage the idol’s misdeeds and show support towards the offended group of people?
A recent debate of this sort concerned Ryerson University, in Toronto. Ryerson University was named after Egerton Ryerson, who established free public education in Ontario. The issue is that people are divided over what they think Ryerson’s beliefs truly were. The main reason that the debate is happening is because people believe that Ryerson helped create the first residential schools. Some claim that Ryerson respected Indigenous people, while others claim that he was against anything but basic education for women and Indigenous people. The argument is made even more complicated by the fact that there is evidence to support both sides. The statue of Egerton Ryerson has already been toppled, and the debate is considered resolved at this point. The only thing left to do is decide on a new name for the school.
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Others think that while Ryerson did not help establish residential schools, he was still not a good person. There was evidence that he thought Indigenous people were too primitive for education beyond that of a farmer or a mechanic. His endorsement of free elementary schools seemed to only include white children. He would have indigenous children wake up at 5 am and work all day, going to bed at 8 or 9 pm. He enacted an act making it legal to exclude black children from public schools, and opposed post-elementary school education for girls. Not exactly the best person to name a university after, especially not one that prides itself on being diverse and inclusive.
Canada’s history with Indigenous people has been vile, and there is no use denying that. The only thing we can do now is attempt to make amends, and not make the same mistakes in the future. As it can be seen in the case of Ryerson University, there are emotions to consider on both sides of the argument. In most cases, while it may be complicated in some ways, the best course of action is to take down the memorials of the historical figures in question to serve as an apology to the victims of whatever damage they may have caused. We cannot undo actions, but we can remove support of them.
