APRIL 30, 2024
April 30 (UPI) -- Universities in Canada are warning pro-Palestinian demonstrators against erecting protest encampments like those that have gone up on campuses of colleges across the United States.
The University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa have separately warned protesters that encampments and occupation of university buildings and land are not tolerated.
The Ontario higher-education institutions said they understand the situation caused by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and support their students' freedom of speech, but that encampments violate school policies.
"UofT's lands and buildings are private property, though the university allows wide public access to them for authorized activities," Vice Provost Sandy Welsh said in a message Monday to UofT students that was published online by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.
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"Unauthorized activities such as encampments or the occupation of university buildings are considered trespassing."
Welsh continued that any student involved in unauthorized activities or conduct "may be subject to consequences."
At Ottawa, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Eric Bercier said: "While peaceful protest is permitted in appropriate public spaces on campus according to our policies and regulations, encampments and occupations will not be tolerated."
In Montreal, Quebec, McGill University said Monday night that its senior leadership was considering next steps after protesters who had erected an encampment on campus over the weekend have rejected its call for discussions on dismantling the tents.
"We were informed through their lawyers that the students have refused to carry on these discussions and did not bring any proposals or suggestions to further the dialogue," the school said in a statement.
"They have instead indicated that they intended to remain on campus indefinitely."
It said the encampment began Saturday as some 20 tents on the lower field of its downtown campus, but the situation has "shifted significantly" with the number or protesters tripling since.
"We have become aware that many of them, if not the majority, are not members of the McGill community," it said.
The school added that Sunday night it had seen video evidence of some protesters "using unequivocally anti-Semitic language and intimidating behavior, which is absolutely unacceptable on our campuses."
The situation in Canada comes as universities in the United States have been reeling for weeks as they attempt control protests and encampments that have been erected on their campuses as pro-Palestinian protesters demand schools to divest their interests from Israel and call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Many U.S. schools have moved to dismantle the encampments, resulting in hundreds of arrests at campuses across the country.
On Saturday, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said it was aware of only one encampment erected at McGill, though was aware of plans for others to go up in the days ahead in Ottawa and Toronto.
It said it was calling on universities to ensure campuses remain safe for Jewish students and faculty.
"University administrations must do everything in their power to protect the safety of Jewish students and faculty and ensure they're not subjected to the harsh anti-Semitic rhetoric and physical intimidation that's been a hallmark of these encampments on campuses across the U.S.," FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt said in a statement.
Student protesters remain as Columbia University's afternoon vacate deadline passes
Tufts: Pro-Palestinian encampment 'must end'
"Unauthorized activities such as encampments or the occupation of university buildings are considered trespassing."
Welsh continued that any student involved in unauthorized activities or conduct "may be subject to consequences."
At Ottawa, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Eric Bercier said: "While peaceful protest is permitted in appropriate public spaces on campus according to our policies and regulations, encampments and occupations will not be tolerated."
In Montreal, Quebec, McGill University said Monday night that its senior leadership was considering next steps after protesters who had erected an encampment on campus over the weekend have rejected its call for discussions on dismantling the tents.
"We were informed through their lawyers that the students have refused to carry on these discussions and did not bring any proposals or suggestions to further the dialogue," the school said in a statement.
"They have instead indicated that they intended to remain on campus indefinitely."
It said the encampment began Saturday as some 20 tents on the lower field of its downtown campus, but the situation has "shifted significantly" with the number or protesters tripling since.
"We have become aware that many of them, if not the majority, are not members of the McGill community," it said.
The school added that Sunday night it had seen video evidence of some protesters "using unequivocally anti-Semitic language and intimidating behavior, which is absolutely unacceptable on our campuses."
The situation in Canada comes as universities in the United States have been reeling for weeks as they attempt control protests and encampments that have been erected on their campuses as pro-Palestinian protesters demand schools to divest their interests from Israel and call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Many U.S. schools have moved to dismantle the encampments, resulting in hundreds of arrests at campuses across the country.
On Saturday, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said it was aware of only one encampment erected at McGill, though was aware of plans for others to go up in the days ahead in Ottawa and Toronto.
It said it was calling on universities to ensure campuses remain safe for Jewish students and faculty.
"University administrations must do everything in their power to protect the safety of Jewish students and faculty and ensure they're not subjected to the harsh anti-Semitic rhetoric and physical intimidation that's been a hallmark of these encampments on campuses across the U.S.," FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt said in a statement.
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