student strike: dawson to close thursday, concordia warns against violence during protests
tens of thousands of students expected to be out of classrooms this week, with pro-palestinian protests planned over the israel-hamas war.
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with student boycotts looming, dawson college announced it will close its doors thursday, while concordia university has cautioned students against violence, vandalism, and harassment during planned protests. tens of thousands of students are expected to strike over the israel-hamas war. some are walking out on thursday, others on both thursday and friday.
dawson “received numerous emails and calls from community members expressing concerns about the safety of students and employees on the day of the boycott,” leanne bennett, the cegep’s academic dean, told students in an email tuesday.
“after carefully considering these concerns and reviewing all available information about the planned actions, we have decided to cancel classes and close the college on that day.”
tensions at the college are high, and dawson is concerned about the “safety and well-being of all our students and employees,” bennett said.
she encouraged students to report incidents, including cyberbullying and harassment, saying the school should be “a learning environment where everyone feels safe, and intimidation and violence of any kind are not tolerated.”
two jewish organizations — federation cja and the centre for israel and jewish affairs — criticized dawson’s decision.
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“dawson’s decision to capitulate to extremist voices from an aggressive and vocal minority, allowing them to hijack more than 10,000 students’ access to education, sets a dangerous precedent that must not become normalized,” the two groups said.
“students have the right to attend class, engage in free academic discourse, and pursue their educational passions. university and cegep administrations must remain unwavering in their commitment to ensure equal access to education and uphold a safe academic environment.”
a dawson spokesperson declined to comment further.
at concordia, students in some departments are set to strike on thursday and friday.
the school will remain open.
“students who choose to strike must respect their peers who wish to attend classes,“ concordia provost anne whitelaw and vice-president michael di grappa told students in an email tuesday.
“no one will be permitted to prevent others from entering or leaving concordia buildings or classrooms.”
they added: “ahead of the anticipated actions this week, we are calling on all community members and groups — particularly striking student associations — to denounce violence in all its forms. everyone has a responsibility to help ensure that protest activities remain peaceful and respectful and do not cross the line into criminal acts, such as vandalism and assault.”
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concordia security guards are facing increasingly aggressive behaviour, they said.
guards “are trained to try to manage crowds and de-escalate tense situations. however, they cannot stand idly by if they feel threatened or witness criminal behaviour.”
the university has a zero-tolerance policy for violence, vandalism and harassment and warned that anyone facilitating access for external parties who engage in such misconduct may face disciplinary action or criminal prosecution, whitelaw and di grappa said.
some students have called on concordia to no longer allow police officers on campus following recent arrests during student-led protests. they allege the school’s security team has unfairly targeted pro-palestinian students.
in september, three people were arrested as pro-palestinian demonstrators clashed with police inside the guy-concordia métro station. four days later, several concordia windows were smashed amid a pro-palestinian march.
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