October 2, 2024
Statement from the USW Local 1998 Executive Committee on the University of Toronto’s User Guide to U of T Policies on Protest and Use of Campus Spaces:
In its User Guide to U of T Policies on Protest and Use of Campus Spaces, the University administration states that they support peaceful protests and they acknowledge that protests “…have been a force for progressive change at the University of Toronto (U of T) for generations.” And yet the administration’s document goes on to list one restriction after another that apply to protests. The restrictions include, but are not limited to, no entry into U of T premises without authorization, no protests between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., no interruption of University activities and no protesting that is directed at a specific person who is present. Protesters are also not allowed to make noise if it is deemed to be disruptive. The University goes so far as to deem as improper open events held on campus where an event’s organizers determine that a particular would-be attendee could pose a safety risk and so refuse entry to that person.
The restrictions the University is placing on peaceful protest are overreaching and repressive. If the historic protests that the University acknowledges led to positive change were subject to the current restrictions, it is extremely doubtful that any change would have happened. What the University allows now is freedom of speech expressed in a protest that is not heard.
We recognize our obligation to stand in solidarity with our allies in the fight for social justice on various fronts by opposing the University’s efforts to shut down effective protest. We also recognize that the University will use their anti-protest rules in an attempt to crush Local 1998 when we must take action to support a fight for a new, fair contract in a future round of collective bargaining with them.
What could happen if protesters take action in an effort to not have their voices diminished? The answer to that question is found in the last sentence of the User Guide, which reads, “Any resistance (physical or verbal) may result in Campus Safety action or requesting the assistance of municipal police.” The message from the University to protesters is clear; if you even verbally resist the University’s repressive anti-protest policy while taking part in a protest, you risk the Toronto Police being called in to deal with you, or action being taken against you by a U of T Special Constable who has, according to the University’s own website, “…the authority of a police officer while on campus.” The University’s support of peaceful protest is only for protest that has little chance of bringing about change.