Looking back at my time at McGill University, Norman Cornett was the professor who challenged me and taught me the most. I took two courses with him and I believe that the magic created in a Cornett classroom is only made possible because of the overwhelming empathy, understanding, and high expectations found in this man himself. Cornett is a teacher in the truest sense of the word because he strives to make learning exciting and meaningful once again. He treats every student like a smart, intellectual individual. It was precisely because he believed in our capabilities and not only encouraged but expected us to be great, that we were able to fulfill his high expectations when meeting with the academic experts he consistently brought into our classroom.
It is my opinion that Cornett’s firing was an incredibly unfortunate event and definitely to the detriment of the University. Cornett truly commits to exposing students to vital current events around the world. If even one student from one of my Cornett classes goes on to do something related to human rights because of the way he inspired us and the issues he exposed us to, the world will be a much better place.
I proudly attended the Toronto screening of Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary, Professor Norman Cornett: “Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?” I was very impressed by Obomsawin’s work and I am thus calling for an on-campus screening of the film. I believe that McGill needs to re-examine the extreme student support for Cornett as well as the reasons for the unfortunate termination of his position at McGill.
Mira Etlin-SteinBA Humanistic Studies and Anthropology 2007