Canada has been proving itself the most spineless country in the world when it comes to dealing with illegal campus activism (or other performative activism). Take, for example, The University of Windsor in Ontario, which until now I thought was a respectable university. They’ve had an encampment for two months, and the students, as usual, made a number of demands before they’d take it down. But in a sickening display of cowardice, Windsor University made a deal with the students, one in which the University capitulates to a number of ridiculous demands. I receive a copy of what is purported to be the agreement, and will send it to you if you ask (it’s too long to reproduce here). But I’ll put some of the agreements below.
UPDATE: I now realized that the agreement is linked to in the CBC report (here), so I don’t need to send it to you. But the copy I received is very slightly different from that at the CBC link (the latter, for example, calls for an academic boycott of Israel, while that bit has been crossed out in what I received.)
First, though, here’s an article from the CBC news site that describes the agreement. Click headline to read:
And the story. I’ll put below the specifics from the agreement that i was sent. Bolding is mine.
The University of Windsor says it’s reached a deal with students with a pro-Palestinian encampment that began in mid-May, and all tents will be removed from the southwestern Ontario campus within 48 hours.
“This includes peacefully ending the encampment,” the school said in a news release.
The school says the deal also includes more anti-racism initiatives, support for students impacted by the crisis in Gaza, “responsible” investing, and annual disclosures of direct and indirect public fund investments.
The agreement also involves boycotting institutional partnerships with Israeli universities until the “right of Palestinian self-determination has been realized.”
It’s the “most comprehensive and far-reaching” agreement to come out of Canadian encampment negotiations addressing issues like divestment, academic boycott and anti-Palestinian racism, the protesters said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.The encampment has been in front of the former Dillon Hall since May 13.
Negotiations between the two sides have been going on for four weeks, the group says.
“This deal presents to the students, staff, faculty and community as a whole that the university is willing to take solid steps towards a more transparent and just investment system, and rebuilding Gaza,” said Jana Alrifai, a spokesperson for the protest.
“It is a recognition of its past shortcomings and a commitment to betterment. Most importantly, this would have never happened without the fight and steadfastness of the student movement.”
Here are some other details in the agreement:
- The university will establish anti-Palestinian racism training and education, which will be recommended for faculty, staff and students. The training will be mandatory for the leadership team and board of governors.
- The university has 30 days to set up an anti-oppression website, which will include third-party information and resources on anti-Arab racism, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia.
- Students who part of the encampment won’t get any academic or employment sanctions for participating in or supporting the encampment.
The protesters will hold a 5 p.m. ET news conference on Wednesday.
Their encampment is among numerous ones set up on Canadian campuses since April, related to the Israel-Hamas war that began in October. Most of the encampments have since come down.
On Wednesday, an encampment at Montreal’s McGill University was dismantled as police, some wearing riot gear, and others on bicycles and on horseback, descended near the campus after the university served two eviction notices to protesters.
But we’re talking not about McGill but about Windsor. As I said, I was sent a copy via an email that said this was the agreement signed by both sides, and will show you a bit of what is in it. If you want to see the whole agreement, go here.
Clicking on the heading will take you to the agreement linked to the CBC report, but the quotes I give below come from what I was sent—with the exception of the call for an academic boycott of Israel (it’s in the CBC linked copy but not in what I got). I cannot vouch for which copy of the agreement is the final one, but there’s almost no difference between them.
And some stuff they agreed on. CONTENT WARNING: ARRANT COWARDICE BY CANADIAN ADMINISTRATORS:
The University of Windsor is in the process of developing its first-ever anti-racism policy. A central feature of the policy will be a focus on identity-based oppression, including anti-Arab racism, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia. The University will use its best efforts to complete the process by December 31, 2024. The University commits to including Palestinian, Arab and Muslim voices as part of the policy consultation. Regular updates will be provided on the Vice-President, People, Equity andInclusion’s website.
The University commits to establishing an anti-oppression website within 30 days of the ratification of this agreement, which will include institutional and third party information and resources on anti-Arab racism, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia, linked for the benefit of students, faculty, staff and community members
The University agrees to establish anti-Palestinian racism training and education, which will be recommended for faculty, staff and students. The training and education will be mandatory for the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Governors members.
The University agrees to make internal research grants available for application by students and faculty on the topic of Palestine in all of its dimensions.
The University agrees that students will not receive any academic or employment sanctions for their participation in, or support for, the encampment, bearing in mind the broad protections provided by the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly
No punishments, as usual!
The University agrees to remove the Aspire Anti-Racism information sheet from its website. [JAC: I don’t know what this website said.]
The University will invest funds as required to extend the Scholars at Risk program for an additional year (to end in 2025). Future institutional support for the program beyond 2025 will be reviewed annually by the University based on the availability of funding. The University will make the securing of funding for the continuation of the Scholars at Risk program a priority in its future financial planning. The University will make special efforts to recruit Palestinian scholars who have been impacted by the occupation of Palestine and the scholasticide in Gaza.
Scholasticide!
The University will endeavour to support students impacted by global conflicts and humanitarian crises, including Palestinian students, who have demonstrated urgent housing needs during the Intersession/Summer term with residence housing.
Provide counselling services for Palestinian, Muslim and BIPOC students which will address the rise of racism and Islamophobia. Ensure the necessary resources to ensure counselling is delivered by racial-trauma-focused therapists
The university will facilitate mental health support groups for students experiencing trauma related to the ongoing occupation of Palestine, not less than quarterly.
Anything about helping Jews or Israelis, or Jewish students affected by the war or antisemitism? I don’t see it. But wait—there are TEN PAGES OF THIS STUFF. And of course Windsor has to change its investment policies to the liking of the encampers:
The University administration agrees to propose to the Board investment committee an expansion of its RI Policy to include a new section on Human Rights and International Law. The section would be modeled after Section C. Climate Change. The section would include a commitment to review the weapons manufacturing industry, with particular attention on companies involved in manufacturing arms used in conflict zones where UN human rights mechanisms or resolutions have determined that serious violations of international human rights, humanitarian or criminal law have occurred. The section would provide an opportunity for the University to develop an operational procedure for its RI Policy based on human rights and international law. This operational procedure would be grounded in United Nations resolutions on human rights situations, and the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Special Procedures and United Nations human rights commissions of inquiry as well as decisions of domestic legal bodies.
The University will prepare an annual responsible investing report, disclosing all investments in indirect, direct and pooled funds held in its Pension Fund, Endowment Fund and Working Capital Fund. The report shall be made publicly available. The first report will be published by December 31, 2024. The annual disclosure will provide a list of public companies within the indirect,direct and pooled funds and the amount of investments in each fund The annual disclosure will explain the application of the RI Policy, including the ESG factors and human rights, to the University’s investment decisions.
The University acknowledges the dire situation faced by Palestinian universities under Israeli occupation. This includes the destruction of the Palestinian universities in Gaza and the unjustified restrictions and frequent closures faced by Palestinian universities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The University commits to establishing or reestablishing institutional relationships with Palestinian universities, which will include research partnerships and scholarly exchanges. Within its resources, the University will assist with, and support, the restoration of post-secondary education in Gaza.
The University will recommend to the Senate that it explore the feasibility of implementing a Palestine Studies minor under the Interdisciplinary and Critical Studies Department. Courses under this program will aim to explore Palestine in all of its dimensions.
Finally, the encampers have forced the University to violate institutional neutrality and agree with the UN’s demonization of Israel. Windsor has no fricking business to weigh in on the war or politics, for it violates institutional neutrality by taking an official University position on the war. That, of course, chills the speech of those (presumably many) who disagree with the agreement and the stuff that Windsor will say in its capitulation:
Within 72 hours of the ratification of this agreement, the University will send a letter to the Government of Canada calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. In the letter, it will also urge the Government of Canada to include anti-Palestinian racism within its Anti-Racism Strategy. Further, it will request that the Government of Canada should be generous in the humanitarian aid that it delivers to Palestine in order to enable Gaza to engage in reconstruction for its people, and to assist the Palestinians to realize their right to self-determination. The University will post the letter on its website.
This is in the document linked to at the CBC site, but is crossed out in the copy I was sent. If it really was agreed on, it calls for an academic boycott of Israel.
The University does not hold any active institutional academic partnerships with Israeli institutions. Because of the challenging environment for academic collaboration the University agrees to not pursue any institutional academic agreements with Israeli universities until the right of Palestinian self-determination has been realized, as determined by the United Nations, unless supported by Senate. This does not prevent individual academics at the University of Windsor from working (or collaborating) with academics in Israel.
Finally, there’s this—more taking sides in a conflict and more chilling of speech at Windsor:
For the purposes of the application of its RI Policy, the University recognizes that the United Nations, through its various bodies – including the Secretary General, the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice and human rights commissions of inquiry – has found Israel, the occupying power, to be in serious violation of international law and human rights in the conduct of its occupation of Palestinian territory. It also recognizes that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has established an active database of companies whom it has identified are engaged with the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Of course there’s bupkes about Hamas violating international law.
This whole document is simply reprehensible, a sickening display of cowardice (and antisemitism) on the part of Windsor University, which commits itself to taking the side of Hamas in the war and providing resources to Palestine and Palestinian students that aren’t offered to Israeli or Jewish students. There are plenty of initiatives against “Islamophobia,” but I don’t see a single one against antisemitism. Does Windsor do all this stuff for Israeli academics, professors, and students? Perhaps they already have similar policies in place with respect to Israel (extra counseling for Jewish students, etc.), but I doubt it.
Again, if you want to see the whole nauseating agreement, click here.
This encampment/occupation bullshit is nothing short of hostage taking under a different look. Who are these encampers and why does the uni need them? Just throw them all out and fill the enrollment with kids who want uni education. Negotiation my tuchas. Replace the anarchists with real students.
The fact that this capitulation happened on such a grand scale at Windsor tells me that, behind the scenes, and unlike at other colleges, the administration was in lockstep with the protesters all along. That or one of the students at the protest comes is the child of a Hamas bigwig who donates buku bucks to the endowment.
Wrt comms behind the scenes, it’s openly admitted that all campus proPal orgs in Canada share strategic goals, comms, tactics, and resources here (https://faculty4palestine.ca) and develop local chapters that support student protestors and lobby the university including petitioning each university to divest from Israel and boycott Israeli scholars and institutions. F4P members are professors and staffers who work on campuses every day alongside the administrators in each university president’s office. F4P have access to and influence over the staff who draw up agreements like this steaming pile at Windsor. One of the F4P members at my university is a few meters away on the other side of my office wall as I type this. It’s not credible to suppose there’s no backchannel from the local F4P chapter to each president’s office at ~all Canadian universities. What seems to vary among universities is how much appetite each president has for acting on those backchannel recommendations & petitions.
If the university administrators didn’t already agree with the campers they would not acquiesce to their demands. Imagine some other scenarios involving students who favor ending (or even limiting) abortion, ending de-facto open immigration, ending genital mutilation of “transgender” children, or even being strongly in favor of free speech – would the university spend 4 weeks hammering out an agreement with them that meets their demands? No. The students aren’t forcing the administrations to meet their demands – they’re providing a convenient excuse for administrators to enact anti-Israel policies. “I’m not saying I hate Jews, but if we don’t meet their demands, they’ll keep living in tents and banging on drums forever!”.
I am a graduate of not one, but two, Canadian Universities, and I am closely monitoring the situation at those institutions. If either school caves to the pro-Palestine movement, I’ll probably give an earful, but no further funds, to any people from there when the they call to beg for donations.
Boycott this travesty of a university!
The inmates have taken over the asylum. The University should just give up and declare itself null and void.
Who is actually running Canada? Is it the idiot with the socks or who? because it definitely appears completely dysfunctional.
[with apologies to the Monty Python writers, and a warning some details will be obscure to those not living on Turtle Island]
Truckers’ convoy: “I *told* you! We’re an anarcho-syndicalist commune! We’re taking turns to act as a sort of executive-officer-for-the-week but all the decisions *of* that officer ‘ave to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority, in the case of purely internal affairs–”
Justin Trudeau: (mad) “Be quiet!”
Trucker: “–but by a two-thirds majority, in the case of more major–”
JT: (very angry) “BE QUIET! I *order* you to be quiet!”
Trucker: “Order”, eh, ‘oo does ‘e think ‘e is?”
JT: “I am your prime minister!”
Trucker: “Well I didn’t vote for you!”
JT: “You don’t vote for prime ministers!”
Trucker: “Well ‘ow’d you become prime minister then?”
(holy music up)
JT: “My father Pierre — his arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying to the Liberal Party of Canada that I, Justin, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your prime minister!”
Trucker: (laughingly) “Listen: Strange Quebeckers lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some… farcical Liberal Party ceremony!”
JT: (yelling) “BE QUIET!”
Trucker: “You can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just ’cause some sweary politico threw a sword at you!!”
JT: (invoking the Emergencies Act) “Shut *UP*!”
Trucker: “I mean, if I went ’round, saying I was an emperor, just because some moistened bink had lobbed a scimitar at me, they’d put me away!”
JT: (freezing Trucker’s bank accounts) “Shut up, will you, SHUT UP!”
Trucker: “Aha! Now we see the violence inherent in the system!”
JT: “SHUT UP!”
Trucker: (yelling to all the other workers) “Come and see the violence inherent in the system! HELP, HELP, I’M BEING REPRESSED!”
JT: (letting go and walking away) “Bloody PEASANT!”
Chorus of Canadians: “Oh, what a giveaway! Did’j’hear that, did’j’hear that, eh? That’s what I’m on about! Did you see ‘im repressing me? You saw it, didn’t you?!”
++1!
Now do Castle Anthrax!
Peter Polivka doesn’t appear to be any better, but I, who always voted Green or NDP, will have to consider him to be a lesser evil or at least, more open to arguments from reason. Unfortunately, politicians being power brokers, they always go with the crowd, and the crowd is as confused as it is upset.
Despite my disliking both cold climates and ice-hockey, I would dearly like to be a current member of that Board of Governors and thus be able to directly respond to the university demanding I attend their “racism training”.
But seriously folks, the Governors are presumably not employees of the university, and all would have some standing and reputation in the real world which they would be loathe to flush down the toilet. This ain’t gonna fly.
Absolute disgrace. But I’m not surprised.
Finally ploughed through the fulsome nonsense in “The Agreement”. As has been observed, this was clearly written up by an Administration captured and compromised by a pro-Hamas anti-Zionist faction. A bunch of car-factory and civil-service union goons and sociology students of the caliber that U of Windsor attracts did not write this, and certainly did not hammer it out in the wee hours of the morning the trespassing encampment peaceably decamped. The encampers were just window dressing. No other university in Canada that I’m aware of felt the need to make any concessions of this nature in order to restore its operation, and all the other encampments collapsed well before this deal was announced. It wasn’t as if Windsor was singularly desperate to strike a deal, and it doesn’t appear that the other encampments dispersed because they won such a great deal at Windsor, since the others either dispersed without a deal or were broken up by force before this.
The occupiers didn’t really gain much, probably nothing that the university didn’t already want to do anyway. I note that Windsor has no institutional academic affiliation with Israeli universities. It is almost poignant that it says it won’t explore any — so there! — until Israel ceases to exist or something. Where the rubber meets the road — money — there is a lot of huffing and puffing about responsible investment with stakeholder input that could progress to divestment but only if the Board approves. I wonder if the Faculty Association is pleased to learn that its Pension Fund is going to be nobbled, too. The idea of giving fellowships and scholarships to Palestinian scholars and students is going to run up on the rocks of their inability to get visas to come to Canada. Not even our government wants them here unless they are family of Canadian citizens.
I found this the most risible undertaking:
The University will play a leadership role within the Council of Ontario Universities and Universities Canada to urge other Ontario and Canadian universities to take the same steps detailed in para. 1 above.
Windsor? Oh please…. They’ve blown what little credibility they might have had.
So yes it is a shameful, disgraceful document. But other than the anti-semitism and Palestinian sacralization that shines through from the minds of the principals, there is nothing in it that can’t be quietly backed away from and ignored or attempted without successful achievement. All the stuff about colonialism and anti-racism and cease-fires and United Nations worship is what you read in nearly every official document prepared by every institution in Canada these days. Institutions taking sides is how we roll in Canada now. There is only one side, the right side of history and by heaven we are going to force you to be on it!
Parts of our country have become unserious yet dangerous at the same time.
Good analysis! It’s a kind of Poe where there’s no way to tell whether the Windsor admins are serious or just doing some policy posturing. Problem is when proPal becomes policy the next president and board might put it into practice.