Behind McGill Admin’s War on Dissent

 

A deeper look at how McGill’s administration has criminalized pro-Palestinian protesters over the last two months.

In the early 1980s, a group of McGill students got together to explore the act of divestment.

The McGill South Africa Committee was concerned by the apartheid in South Africa and focused on campaigning for their university to divest from businesses operating in that country. Their work was similar to what we are seeing today at pro-Palestine protests on university campuses across Canada: they wrote letters, campaigned, organized demonstrations regularly, and even occupied university offices until the board of governors agreed to discuss divestment.

After years of protesting and raising awareness, McGill became the first Canadian university to divest from apartheid South Africa in 1985. The decision was a big win for the student groups who continued their work of educating people even after the divestment.

McGill also divested from Burma in 2006, and cut ties with Russian institutions and the Chinese-based company Huawei, all for geopolitical reasons. Most recently, the university also divested from fossil fuels thanks to enormous pressure from community members deeply concerned about the climate crisis. There is precedent for divestment. In fact, it’s well within the realm of possibility for divestment to happen again.

All these historical moves were only possible through student protests, continuous effort and pressure on the administration to act responsibly for where they allocate their funds.  (more...)

Behind McGill Admin’s War on Dissent

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McGill has a history of divestment based on geopolitical issues: President Saini, we see your disinformation and your hypocrisy