April 30, 2013, I was banned from York University for one year. In the same period, the university administration revoked the official club status of Students Against Israeli Apartheid until January 2014.
In light of President Mamdouh Shoukri’s stubborn refusal back in September to overturn the sanctions and engage in meaningful dialogue with students, I have decided to reach out to fellow members of the York community and respond to the dishonest allegations of York’s unelected officials.
After a March 27 rally, which demanded that York stop funding its scholarships and pension funds by investing in weapons manufacturers, Vice-President Students Janet Morrison alleged the protest disrupted classes.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Ontario Civil Liberties Association, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers all released statements condemning the administration. By punishing peaceful protests, even those of a disruptive nature, our freedom of expression was violated because protests, as a necessary component of democracy and citizenship, should be encouraged.
Democracy—and this is the point—entails being able to use your voice to intervene in “business as usual” to correct abuses of power without fear or threat of reprisal.
However, only one complaint was filed, by a pro-Israel student nonetheless, with the Office of Student Conflict Resolution. A local adjudicator not only resolved the case to the satisfaction of both parties, but also stated she didn’t think the rally met the threshold of disruptive activity, and she didn’t find a formal breach of policy.
York’s spokesperson, Joanne Rider, initially attempted to dispute this by telling Excalibur, “It is false that the adjudicator found there to be no academic disruption.”
When we exposed Rider’s dishonesty by providing Excalibur with the adjudicator’s statement, the argument became the adjudication process was separate, or independent, from the decision to revoke club status.
After weeks of taking it upon ourselves to research York’s policies, it suddenly dawned on us what was happening here. The Student Community & Leadership Development contract that student groups have to sign in order to book space is silent on the rights guaranteed to students by York’s own bill of rights and responsibilities.
According to section a(v) of the bill, students have a right to fair procedures — the right to due process. That right was violated when Dr. Morrison revoked our club status instead of directing complaints to the OSCR. The only time our right to due process was respected was when that student actually filed a complaint.
Put differently, when the administration claims the adjudication process is separate from the decision to revoke club status, it means they’re abusing their power. Indeed, there should never be a decision to impose sanctions that is separate or independent from the process of adjudication.
Morrison was not likely expecting the adjudicator’s opinion to contradict her allegation, but that’s what can happen when SC&LD is granted the power to circumvent the bill of rights and responsibilities.
Have you taken a careful look at SC&LD’s so-called “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities” in the club registration form? Notice that it doesn’t contain a single right! Until it explicitly includes the bill of rights and responsibilities, SC&LD’s contract is unconscionable and allows them to arbitrarily suspend or revoke your club’s status.
If they take issue with your club’s mission, you can count on increased surveillance, condescending lecturing, and harsher punishments.
Palestine solidarity clubs have been working to expose York’s ties to Israel for years. If this is how the administration treats the campus Palestine solidarity movement, imagine what the treatment of an effective student movement against rising tuition fees in the age of austerity would look like.
Hammam Farah
Contributor
