VIUSU fights for students’ rights to protest on campus
On May 16, VIUSU’s legal counsel sent a letter to VIU President Deborah Saucier, Minister of Post-Secondary and Future Skills, Lisa Beare, and the VIU student body. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
Vancouver Island University Students’ Union has had to take steps to hold the university accountable for the measures they have placed in response to the VIU Palestine Solidarity Encampment. VIUSU advocates for student’s right to protest at Vancouver Island University.
The encampment started on May 1 as a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people and demanded action from the university administration regarding the conflict.
Following the encampment on May 2, VIU notified those staying at the encampment that students may face suspension, expulsion, or be prohibited from graduation and convocation celebrations if the encampment stays. The university also changed the hours of access for the library, which is normally open 24/7 to only be open from 9 a.m. to midnight. During the time the library was open, it could only be accessible by student or employee ID.
In an email obtained by CHLY sent from University Relations to VIU employees on May 2, the email noted that security personnel would be monitoring building access on campus and “may request photo ID in addition to student and employee ID.”
These actions, VIUSU said are lockdown measures and sparked concern regarding students’ rights and freedom of expression.
James Bowen is the Executive Director of the Students’ Union. He said the same day the measures were put in place, VIUSU sent an email to the administration stating that they thought the measures put in place were an overreach.
“Our position is that [the student protestors] have a right to protest and that the university needs to respect that right, and that the measures of the university show that they didn't respect that right,” Bowen said. “In doing so affected the rights of all students and staff on campus in a negative way.”
In light of the measures still being in place on May 3 and concerns about how they could impact students' rights and freedoms, Bowen said, VIUSU reached out to the British Columbia Federation of Students. The BCFS is an alliance of students’ unions representing 14 colleges, universities, and institutes across B.C..
“Because our position is that the VIU lockdown [measures] sets a precedent for the province, which it should not,” he said. “So something needs to be done to ensure that this isn't a precedent-setting event.”
On May 7, VIUSU’s Chairperson, Sarah Mei Lyana, sent a letter to the B.C. Minister of Post-Secondary Education & Future Skills, Lisa Beare along with VIU’s Senior Administration and Board of Governors which outlined the deep concerns the VIUSU has regarding the administration leadership decisions around the encampment. The letter also urged the provincial authorities to direct VIU to reverse the campus lockdown measures and encourage VIU’s Board of Governors to review the actions taken and make sure decisions are made transparently and with full stakeholder involvement.
The Chairperson also asks for assurance that VIU will provide the Students’ Union with ongoing communications. Bowen said about a year and a half ago the Students’ Union had stopped receiving community updates from the university's external relations department. This has led to VIUSU being in the dark about the measures VIU has taken regarding the encampment.
“So all of the community updates that a student or a staff member of the university would get, we've had to get secondhand from either students on our board or staff at the university who we work closely with,” he said. “So not only did we not get informed beforehand, we didn't get informed with the rest of the community, we had to find out secondhand.”
On May 7, VIU announced it would be lifting the measures in place and changing the library hours to what they call regular summer hours.
On May 16, VIUSU’s legal counsel sent a letter to VIU President Deborah Saucier, Minister of Post-Secondary and Future Skills, Lisa Beare, and the VIU student body.
The letter, states that while VIU has engaged with those at the encampment and eased restrictions, VIUSU is still concerned about the precedent created by VIU’s initial response to the start of the encampment.
The letter requests VIU’s Board of Governors to start a full investigation into the response from the university and requests a public acknowledgment of how “the initial mishandling of the encampment detrimentally affected students and freedom of expression on campus more generally.” The letter states this would be to prevent these actions from occurring again.
In conclusion, the letter notes “The threat of discipline and surveillance of and restrictions on movement on campus in response to a peaceful encampment send a clear signal to the VIU community that political speech is not welcome.”
Bowen said since the letters have been sent he has had conversations with the Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills and some members of the Board of Governors, but VIUSU has not received any formal response from Vancouver Island University.
For now, Bowen said VIUSU is reaching out to other Students’ Unions for support and will continue to reach out to VIU’s senior administration and the Board of Governors.
“We want the university to acknowledge that they shouldn't have locked down the campus given that they kept communicating that campus was calm and safe,” he said.
He also said the Students’ Union wants to see the university come together in a good-faith discussion with the VIU Palestine Solidarity Encampment. This would mean VIU to hire a mediator to get both groups to the table.
“And what I believe needs to be done is that [VIU] need[s] to hire a mediator to get them both to the table and I believe that responsibility falls on the university,” he said.
Going into its first full month, for now, the student encampment continues to stand in solidarity with Palestinians at VIU’s Nanaimo campus.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.