Upsurge in Student Activism met with Repression
by anonymous
Over the past month, the University of Toronto has experienced an upsurge of student activism. This recent upturn began with a rally and sit-in, organized against the New College residence rent increases. With supporters outside, over 40 students entered Simcoe Hall, where the administrative offices are located, demanding to speak to President Naylor and to have rent increases stopped. Student concerns were met with police aggression on order from the administration, indicative of the administration's illegitimacy, unaccountability, and undemocratic nature.
Students remained undeterred, forming the Ad-hoc Committee for Just Education and organizing a second rally on March 25 in response to the actions of the administration and, once again, to oppose rent and other fee increases. The second rally drew over a hundred students, workers, and community members, but again, our voices were ignored and the rent increase passed. An assembly on the inaccessibility of education was organized on April 7th, where three demands were formulated:
1. An end to all fees.
2. Student, worker, and faculty parity on University decision-making bodies, including the Governing Council.
3. An immediate end to repression against student dissent.
With these demands, a third rally was organized on April 10th, when Governing Council was to vote on tuition fee increases. In an unprecedented move, the speaking times of student union representatives were both reduced and removed, in a decision-making body where students and workers are already vastly underrepresented. During attempts by students to have a petition opposing the fee increases read out, the meeting was quickly recessed and moved behind closed doors. As expected, tuition fee increases up to 23 per cent carried.
Student mobilization has unfortunately, though expectedly, been met with criminalization and repression, consistent with recent trends towards the policing of dissent, especially on university campuses - other examples including the censoring of the term "Israeli Apartheid" at McMaster University, and police aggression at an anti-corporatization demonstration in UBC. In response to the peaceful March 20th sit-in, President Naylor released a defamatory five-page letter with usage of heavily charged language, describing the mostly racialized participants of the action as a "thuggish mob" who "hijacked" the cause of another group and took "violent actions". In addition, over the proceeding weeks, campus police have used a number of intimidation tactics, including vehicles following students at late hours and plainclothes police infiltrating meetings, photographing students. Students now face criminal charges as well as investigations under the Code of Student Conduct, which could result in expulsions.
Students have refused to succumb to scare tactics, however, and will continue to stand opposed to inaccessible education and the suppression of dissent. The movement, encompassing workers, students, and community members, continues to grow and refuses to have its convictions stymied by the heels of the police and administration.
To lend your support, contact the Committe for Just Education at fightfees@gmail.com www.fightfees.ca