The politics of power and resistance are raging on campuses across Canada
The politics of power and resistance are raging on Canadian university campuses. At a campus in downtown Montréal, students protesting against Israel’s mass crimes in Gaza have declared victory and agreed to dismantle their encampment on June 6 after the board of directors at the Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM) promised to disclose its investments on a yearly basis and refrain from holding any assets in funds or companies profiting from weapons. The university also vowed that its current and future academic agreements worldwide would comply with the spirit of human rights law. UQAM’s board, which insists it has no ties with Israeli educational institutions, agreed to set up a fund to facilitate exchanges and scholarships for Palestinians.
“Through our occupation and our courage, we have proven that it is possible to establish a balance of power and obtain significant gains,” the UQAM protesters said in a statement. “We are sending a clear message to the administrations of other universities. If you want to see an end to the encampments, you must take courageous actions,” they said.
Just a few blocks away, at a sprawling encampment on the grounds of McGill University, students are less sanguine about the prospect of reaching a settlement with the administration anytime soon. A number of student activists said McGill wanted to remove the tents because they draw attention to the school’s financial ties to companies profiting from the carnage in Gaza.
“The bottom line is McGill thinks the encampment threatens their investments, finances and monetary goals. The admin prioritizes that over educational values and the health of students,” Raoul, a McGill law student, told me. He also bristled at the idea that protesters were creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students. “There are a lot of Jewish brothers and sisters in this camp. The notion that all Jewish people are a certain way is antisemitic. The real Jewish tradition stands against oppression.” (more...)
Students lift veil on university financing and demand end to genocide complicity
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