Controversy ensues after calls for Ryerson to change its name

In the lead up to Canada Day, the Ryerson Students' Union said it would not be celebrating the sesquicentennial and instead launched a campaign called Colonialism 150 that focused on Indigenous culture and history.

On July 1, the RSU released a list of demands on Facebook, asking the school to remove the Egerton Ryerson statue from Gould Street, to include Indigenous content in all programs, and to create an Indigenous-only space in the student centre.

The demands also called for the university to change its name "to a name that does not celebrate a man who supported and created the structures of colonial genocide," reads the Facebook post.

Yesterday, as Metro News reports, another letter appeared on the RSU Facebook page signed by 23 of the 34 RSU board members that said that despite the value of the campaign, they never approved (and weren't aware of) it prior to its launch.

In response, some students have created Boycott RSU and Resist RSU Facebook pages, claiming their student union doesn't speak for them.