My first sight of a university without a gate was in 2022 when I landed in Canada and visited Memorial University for the first time. The aura and symbolic idea of a gate-less university contrasted sharply with my experience of a typical university in the Global South. For security, border demarcation, and ownership, a fence around your property with a gate at all the entrances is a usual mark across all universities I have visited in Africa. While wondering what this could mean for sociability, institutional ideology, and scholarship, I decided to explore relationships with faculty and administrative staff at MUN to feed my curiosity. From then on, I started interpreting my encounters with these groups of MUN representatives as an institutional culture and a symbolic representation of what “gate-lessness and wall-lessness” could be for a new entrant into Canada and MUN. I have three unique encounters to share on how the University is strategically acting out responsiveness, collegiality, openness, and diversity.
‘Hello, Mr. Andrew Kim, I would like to have a chat with you regarding my funding and how I can break even. “Okay, you can come to the School of Graduate Studies and ask to see me any day during the week. I will be in the office”, the ever-available Andrew responded. Andrew has since become my go-to whenever I need clarifications.
I walked to the Department of Sociology and I asked the first person I met: “I am here to see Marina.” ‘Are you Joseph?’ the beautiful lady asked, beaming with a smile. She walked me to her office, warmly welcomed me, took my documents, and created a file for me immediately. Marina then asked if I had met with my supervisor and when I responded no, she took it up again. “I am going to check the schedule of your supervisor and help you book an appointment with him. By the way, have you settled your accommodation and bank details now? I want to send your details to the School of Graduate Studies so that they can send them to the Finance Unit for your payroll deduction”, Marina is a wonderful woman! Marina has consistently demonstrated a proactive readiness to provide support in all aspects, ensuring my academic and personal experiences are both successful and enjoyable.
From the library to the Internationalization Office, and to all units I have encountered at MUN, I have met administrative workers who opened the gates and broke the walls (barriers) to live out their institutional and personal objectives. I witnessed their readiness to solve your problems by treating you as if you were the only student in the university, going all out to assist you. It reminds me of one of the banks in my country which adopted the slogan: ONE CUSTOMER BANK. The treatment is the same for every student as if each one were the only one to be served.
Then I asked myself, ‘What about the lecturers? “Good morning, my name is Mark, and you are welcome to the department,” Professor Mark Stoddart greeted me on the first day I met with him. He dismantled the gate of power relations, and his humility and openness swept me off my feet. He addressed all the issues I had, assuring me that I could contact him anytime and could rely on his assistance and guidance for the journey ahead. The first week of every month is for general housekeeping. My supervisor will provide information about his activities for the month and ask us to provide updates on the progress we have made in the last thirty days. Then he will ask whether he expects to receive chapters, corrections, research articles, and other submissions from his students. The next is to arrange a get-together and highlight useful publications and conferences students can attend for personal and career development.
There have been various activities for graduate students to develop diverse skills and meet with peers and potential employers to prepare themselves for life after graduation. I think the practical commitment to the university’s value and mission relies on the extent to which the employees at the university live out the mission and value. It is easy to write and profess, but the challenge lies in execution.. While a university without gates and walls can demonstrate openness, collegiality, responsiveness, inclusiveness, and diversity, the individuals within it may inadvertently create barriers in their relationships with students, fellow staff members, and the international community. I took my time to study the expressed mission, vision, and values of the university, and I can boldly say that I have not been disappointed at all because everyone has been a great ambassador of MUN.
I am challenged to also take up the mantle and be a good ambassador of MUN anywhere I find myself. People get to read and hear about Memorial University through us. We all are the apostles and ambassadors of MUN and the world must hear about the wonderful things happening here from us.