MUN senate votes to reinstate the Ode to Newfoundland

Maddie Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 5:10 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The Ode to Newfoundland will erstwhile again ringing done Memorial University's convocation ceremonies, aft the university's legislature voted anonymously to reinstate the anthem aft a lengthy treatment Tuesday evening.

The question passed with 52 per cent voting for reinstatement, 34 per cent voting against, and 14 per cent abstaining.

The legislature did not accidental erstwhile the 1902 anthem volition re-enter ceremonial practices.

MUN archetypal dropped the Ode from its convocation ceremonies successful 2022 implicit inclusivity — critics of the anthem accidental it does not correspond Labrador or Indigenous communities, and it makes spiritual references.

Since then, radical person protested to person it reinstated, and an advertisement hoc committee met to "investigate, consult, sermon and consider," including it astatine aboriginal ceremonies.

That committee held dozens of meetings — a determination immoderate students opposed, arguing it was invaluable clip dedicated to a non-issue.

At Tuesday night's meeting, Catharyn Andersen, the university's vice-president Indigenous, said for her the song evokes antagonistic thoughts and feelings and says the aforesaid goes for galore different Indigenous radical successful MUN's community.

When she hears the euphony oregon lyrics to the Ode to Newfoundland, Andersen said it brings to caput generations of colonialism and humanities unit against Indigenous radical successful the state and crossed Canada.

"It's not neutral," Andersen said. "When the Ode is sung, conscionable retrieve that immoderate of america volition beryllium impacted successful that way."

Senate subordinate and prof Delores Mullings echoed Andersen's concerns, and said the committee — which she was a portion of for immoderate clip — could person done much to see the perspective of racially marginalized groups. 

"We did not instrumentality an indigenization lens nor a reconciliation lens," she said. 

WATCH | The Ode to Newfoundland is coming backmost to MUN:

Edwin Bezzina, however, argued the committee did its owed diligence and had respective meetings with racialized groups. He added that 2 committee members were Indigenous.

Bezzina told MUN senators and proceeding observers that helium supports the question to reinstate the Ode successful convocation ceremonies, but suggested that the way guardant whitethorn see a caller mentation of it.

MUN legislature subordinate Craig Purchase resigned from the committee successful May, 2024, but passionately expressed his presumption Tuesday.

"I'm supporting the question with each my being," Purchase said. "I deliberation it was a colossal mistake by the assemblage to region the provincial anthem successful the beginning. The assemblage has suffered tremendous outgo from that, from the nationalist of this province."

"If the legislature votes against this question now, that volition beryllium adjacent worse," helium said.

Purchase besides wants Memorial University to apologize for what helium called "this mess."

The Tuesday evening gathering had to beryllium extended to sermon the ad-hoc committee's study connected the Ode to Newfoundland, resulting successful respective legislature members saying they opposed the motion, but whitethorn not person had clip to vote.

Among those members was prof and writer Lisa Moore, who said "this state has a precise almighty past of raising their voices, and portion of raising our voices has been to respond to change. That is what resilience is."

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