Defeating the Purpose of Multiculturalism: a Case of Hate on Campus

Abstract

This paper examines the student newspaper at two Toronto universities: Ryerson university and York university to uncover the manifestation of hate motivated activity on campus. The findings capture a striking contradiction between an articulated understanding of official multiculturalism in Canada and the reality of persistent and pervasive hate activity on campus. I argue that hate motivated activity impacts the social processes of exclusion for racialized students in Toronto universities. Using a social exclusion framework I examine how the nature and extent of hate motivated activity materialize as a means of constructing the ‘Other’ within university spaces. Moreover, these systems of meaning support patterns of domination and exclusion, all the while exposing the fallacy multiculturalism in Canada. In order to bring this to light, this study re-conceptualizes, contextualized and problematizes hate activity in the Canadian context, specifically in relation to the university.