Victoria Silman | News Editor
Featured Image: YFS has concerns with TPS allegedly racially profiling black community members. | Courtesy of Pixabay
During a lengthy meeting of voting on important student issues, from free tuition, to GO and Viva on campus, the Annual General Meeting also saw a more controversial topic at hand: the removal of Toronto Police Services (TPS) from campus.
The motion, moved by YFS President, Rawan Habib, carried to be presented to the administration.
Motion H, titled “Motion to Support Removal of TPS on Campus,” states: “The police have a known history of using disproportionate force, up to and including violence, against non-violent members of the black community.” Furthermore, “there have been numerous cases of such disproportionate force against the black community within the last year.”
YFS is calling for a TPS-free campus as a result of the incidents, advocating for a more “democratically-run campus that relies on the community for security, not an oppressive police force,” as well as demanding an “oversight of York security on campus, with emphasis on misconduct on the basis of anti-blackness,” the motion outlines.
According to a student who wishes to remain anonymous, this change could impact safety on campus.
“My friend and this other girl were going back to their dorm in the village, and some guy came up next to them and said ‘I’m going to come up with you guys,’ and resorted to grabbing them when they tried to get away. This was two years ago, and police were involved,” they say.
They continue: “The next semester, she just dropped out because she was so scared. I feel like it’s important police have access to campus in case something like that happens again.”
The motion follows another which outlines police misconduct on campus, particularly surrounding an incident which occured on September 19, 2018, involving a homeless individual, identified as a member of the black community, who police say was wielding a weapon, and threatening students.
Motion G, titled “Motion to Acknowledge Police Misconduct on Campus,” outlines the incident as one which, despite a “detailed agreement with YFS and police officers not to interfere,” they state TPS violated.
Jenniferjit Sidhu, a constable with TPS previously said: “He is an extremely violent man who has threatened multiple people—when I say multiple, we’re looking at over 30 incidents. Police have been there because of him on behalf of the university contacting us because he is that aggressive.”
Elaina Tsonis, a graduate of the fine arts program and first-year education student, says despite attending the school since 2012, these issues are new on her radar. “I agree that York’s administration is at fault for neglecting to take these matters more seriously. They should be ensuring that students are aware of every misconduct that occurs on campus,” she says.
“They only issue security bulletins about assaults that happen in and around campus from unknown perpetrators, but neglect to share the acts of how TPS are intervening in our spaces. I’m surprised to only be hearing about this now.”
In a statement provided by Deputy Spokesperson for York, Yanni Dagonas, “the university takes racial profiling very seriously, and does not condone targeting individuals based on race, sex and gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or ancestry. We would encourage the YFS to speak to the Student Centre management team, and to the Community Safety Department.
“When there is a serious threat to health and or community safety, York’s security staff may contact police and other first responders like Fire or EMS if their support is needed to respond to the situation safely. In addition, any member of the public has the right to contact police for help if they are concerned about a threat to health and safety on campus,” he says.
At the time of publishing, YFS could not be reached for comment..
