Toronto universities brace for encampments
As student activists across the United States and in Montreal set up encampments and call on universities to cut financial ties with Israel, the University of Toronto is warning students that taking similar action here would constitute trespassing and could come with “consequences.”
The demonstrations are growing as university classes end and schools begin to prepare for graduation ceremonies. In the U.S., schools have called in police, resulting in about 900 arrests nationwide.
In an email to students Sunday night, reviewed by the Star, students vice-provost Sandy Welsh emphasized the importance of free expression and protest, as well as the “necessary limits” that come with them.
“U of T’s lands and buildings are private property, though the university allows wide public access to them for authorized activities,” the email reads. “Unauthorized activities such as encampments or the occupation of University buildings are considered trespassing.
“Any student involved in unauthorized activities or conduct that contravenes university policies or the law may be subject to consequences,” it continues.
On Monday, a sign posted at King’s College Circle noted the campus centre was temporarily closed ahead of convocation, scheduled for various dates in June, “for protection due to concerns about unauthorized activity.”
The area was empty Monday afternoon and no reports of encampments on the downtown campus have been reported.
Student activists staged a 30-hour sit-in in front of university president Meric Gertler’s office this month to demand the school divest from companies that support the Israeli military and “terminate all partnerships” with Israeli universities.
When asked how the university would balance students’ rights to free speech with concerns from some in the Jewish community over the subject matter presented at pro-Palestinian protests, U of T responded that it “condemns all forms of discrimination.”
An Instagram post from a proPalestinian protest group at Toronto Metropolitan University last week expressed solidarity with protesting students at Columbia, writing that they shared the same goals.
Social media posts show students are planning a town hall soon to discuss ways in which they can “stand with Columbia.”
In a statement to the Star, TMU said it “upholds the right to free expression and freedom of assembly in support of teaching, learning and development and within the bounds of the university’s policies and law.”
That being said, the university said it “has a responsibility to help maintain a people-friendly, safe and inclusive campus for not only our students, faculty and staff, but for all surrounding community members who use the space.”
On Saturday, McGill University students erected their own encampment.
“It’s an incredible movement, and we feel like it’s our time to contribute to that movement and try and refocus all our energy on Gaza, in the situation that is still costing thousands of lives as we speak,” one student told The Canadian Press.
On Monday, students at University of British Columbia joined their peers in Montreal and New York. Images shared from the encampment include a banner with some house rules for protesters, including “We do not talk to cops/security” and “We are not negotiating with UBC administration.”