Canadian university students follow European students and declare strike in support of Palestine. Seven student associations at Concordina vote in favour of striking for divestment, more to vote this week
Seven Concordia University student associations representing over 6,800 students have voted to go on strike for Palestine from Oct. 6 to Oct.7, with several more set to vote to strike in the coming days.
The strike motion, brought forward by Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) Concordia, seeks to demand that the university cut all ties with companies complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
More precisely, it calls on the university to end its employment partnership with Lockheed Martin and divest from Palantir, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Triumph Group and Booz Allen Hamilton.
According to an SPHR spokesperson who was granted anonymity for safety reasons, the strikes will take place from Oct. 6 to Oct.7 due to the significance of Oct. 7, 2023, as the beginning of Israel’s escalated retaliation attacks and subsequent genocide in Gaza.
We ended last academic year with a disclosurewin, and over the summer and the beginning of this year, UN reports came out that show very clearly what the role of the universities is in this deep violation of human rights on their own campuses,” the SPHR spokesperson said. “Concordia is definitely not an exception to that fact.
They said that a protest will also take place during the strike dates to add more pressure on the university’s administration, and that SPHR hopes to see students mobilize and engage with the significance of the strikes by supporting picket lines and attending the protest instead of classes.
It’s been two years of genocide in Gaza, and we can’t let this go further,” the spokesperson said. “The student body in all its levels must act—everyone has a role to play in divestment.
In November of last year, over 11,000 Concordia students went on strike for divestment. Eleven student associations within the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA), as well as all students in the Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA), joined the strike.
So far this year, FASA, the Political Science Student Association, the Wmen’s and Sexuality Studies Student Association, the Geography Undergraduate Student Society, the Teaching English as a Second Language Student Association, the Linguistics Student Association and the Concordia Association for Students in English (CASE) have voted for the strike motion at their respective general assemblies (GAs).
The Concordia Urban Planning Association is the sole student association to have voted against the motion thus far.
It’s our job to give students the option to decide on these things as they wish, to inform them about what’s going on with the political situation at the university,” said Jonah Doniewski, FASA student life coordinator. “[At the GA], people were very eager to talk about it and to vote on the matter.”
Doniewski added that FASA will hold a meeting to further discuss mobilization tactics and how students wish to strike. They said that it’s important for students to become informed about different ways to strike and how to stay safe.
Recently, with strikes for Palestine, they’ve been met with a lot of combative behaviour, high levels of surveillance and general pushback from the university,” Doniewski said. “It’s important that students know that, so that they know what they’re getting into.”
On its end, CASE voted to amend the motion to “enforce the strike through a hard picket, blocking classes ensuring their cancellation” at its GA on Sept. 29.
Change starts small, so if we’re able to push Concordia to divest and to boycott with us then that’s an important and meaningful step towards ending the genocide,” said CASE VP of Publications Tobias Walma. “In the upcoming week, there will be opportunities for students to get involved and join picketing workshops.”
According to Doniewski, there is strength in numbers when it comes to striking.
Those things only become really dangerous when there are not a lot of students at the protest,” they said. “So having a lot of people there, present, protecting each other, is a really huge factor.”
Doniewski added that FASA will not publicly announce the date and time of the strike mobilization meeting, but that students interested in attending may reach out to the association via Instagram or email.
Striking departments will demand Concordia University to cut all ties with Lockheed Martin, and to divest from Palantir, Boeing, Spirit Systems, Triumph Group, and Booz Allen Hamilton. Graphic Naya Hachw
Other votes are planned at these various universities before, suggesting that the number of students on strike next week in Montreal could reach several tens of thousands. Students at Université du Québec in Montreal and at Université de Montéal will be on strike.