John Nyman
Arts Editor
The atmosphere around anti-war rallies at York is starting to get really aggressive.
Lots of legitimate points of debate need to be brought up surrounding George Galloway’s visit to York’s campus. The opinions he has voiced on the Israel-Palestine conflict have rightfully divided many York students into harshly opposed camps. Meanwhile, the YFS’s involvement in the event brings up tough questions about how far the union’s elected leaders should be allowed to pursue their own political agenda over the concerns common to all students.
Regardless of where you stand, though, you have to admit the YFS was being pretty provocative. By welcoming the controversial former British MP with more-than-open arms, the YFS knowingly constructed a kind of two- part event – a political double-header, if you will – that’s pretty common around York: the speech, and the subsequent protest.
You can hardly blame the protesters. With posters referring to Galloway as a “visionary,” “humanitarian” and “freedom fighter,” the YFS wasn’t exactly inviting those who see him as an outspoken supporter of terrorism to show up for a night of thoughtful, balanced discussion.
At the same time, it’s hard to imagine what insight those who support Galloway got out of the speech. While Galloway is a big name, calling him an expert on the Middle East and Asia is a contentious claim, especially considering how little interest he has in alternative views of the issues there.
Ultimately, those students who agree with Galloway’s general position got to listen to an extreme voice affirm views they already held, unchecked by any moderator or opposing stance to provide new information or a different perspective. Those who don’t agree with Galloway got nothing.
When it comes to organizing the speech, the YFS wasn’t going for something that was meant to be informative – at least, not as their top priority. The event’s Facebook page boasts the speech was Galloway’s first appearance in Canada following the overturning of his ban on entering the country, which was described by the YFS as “an attack on free speech in Canada.” It seems like they were more interested in making York a part of a sensational story than bringing students some really topical discussion.
York doesn’t need to insert itself into big, loud political events to show that we’re a politically conscious campus, and the YFS doesn’t need to start protests to show that we care. The fact that such a wealth of diverse and powerful student opinions exists is evidence enough that we’re helping to break the stereotype of politically apathetic youth. This is something of which we can all be proud.
What we need to do now is take our energy and put it towards in-depth, bipartisan discussion and decision-making about the opinions and policies of the various groups and individuals on campus.
A note to the YFS: next time, bring in guest speakers for a moderated discussion or at least a more reasonable, topical debate and give students the chance to voice their thoughts and ask the questions they want answered in one neutral forum.
- (Natalie Livshitz)
