University students in Toronto are protesting for what’s happening in the Middle East, and Toronto Police Service (TPS) says it won’t intervene unless the school asks it to.
Thousands of University of Toronto students are ditching class for tents outside King’s College Circle to protest for the university pulling out of any funding and academic partnerships in Israel. The protest began Thursday morning.
“As members of the University of Toronto community, we are voicing our collective condemnation regarding the University’s silence and complicity towards the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” student group and protest organizer Occupy for Palestine said in an open letter.
Last night, Vice-Provost Sandy Welsh released a statement saying the students couldn’t be outside after 10 p.m. but didn’t have plans to remove them as long as they were to “remain peaceful.”
However, the university is growing concerned about the protest crossing into being classified as a violent disruption that might call for police involvement.
“The University respects the rights of our community to assemble and protest within the limits of the law and U of T policies, but activities must not interfere with the ability of students, faculty, librarians and staff to learn, teach, research and work on our campuses,” a spokesperson told Now Toronto.
As the encampment continues to grow in both people and large amounts of food donations, the university is concerned some of the protesters aren’t students.
“U of T students who contravene University policy risk consequences, including suspension, as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. All protest participants who engage in illegal activity are subject to consequences under Canadian and Ontario law,” the spokesperson warned.
Since universities are private property, TPS only steps in when the university requests for police to attend. Then, it’s considered a “public safety issue,” according to a TPS spokesperson.
UNIVERSITY PROTOCOLS ON MANAGING PROTESTS UNTIL THEY BECOME AN EMERGENCY
As the protest continues at UofT, a video is resurfacing online of a York University professor appearing to harass both Jewish and Arab students last November.
Jean Rosefeld is an art history professor who said in the video that the students were a disruption in class, proceeding to call them “stupid” and “a bunch of ignorant idiots.”
The university goes through various steps for addressing disrespectful behaviour between students and professors before involving any kind of outside security or legal enforcement.
According to York’s university guidelines, most matters are preferred to be solved internally by referring to the student code of conduct.
Professors can ask students to leave the classroom and if that’s not enough, the Chair of the faculty is involved, then the Associate Dean, discussions with the Ombudsperson, and the last option is suspension.
Campus security services are sometimes called if the student refuses to leave class and 911 is only prioritized if there’s an immediate, dangerous situation.
University students at McGill and Concordia are also now protesting about what’s happening in the Middle East.
