9 February 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We, a group of faculty and employees at Vancouver Island University (VIU), write to protest the unjust suspensions of two participants in the VIU Palestine Solidarity Encampment (PSE). We call on VIU\u2019s Senior Management Team (SMT) to respect President Saucier\u2019s declaration of amnesty for participants in the Encampment, to revoke the suspensions, and to apologize to the two students for the discrimination and hardship they have endured through VIU\u2019s prosecution of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 1 May 2024, a group of VIU students established the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the Nanaimo campus to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian people and to protest the genocide in Gaza. In doing so, they were exercising their Charter<\/em> and human rights to free expression and peaceful assembly. However, on 2 May 2024, VIU\u2019s Senior Management Team abruptly reacted by threatening our students with arrest and suspension, among other penalties. The SMT\u2019s campaign of suppression against our students involved prosecuting them at the BC Supreme Court and that campaign allegedly cost our deficit-burdened university at least $870,000,1<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> not including legal fees. This prosecution was largely unsuccessful, and Justice Stephens rejected several of the extreme measures sought by the SMT.2<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> Our community repeatedly called on the SMT to engage in dialogue with our students, which would have been far less aggressive and would have cost the university nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SMT did not stop its prosecution with the demolition of the Encampment on 18 August 2024. In October 2024, VIU suspended two participants in the Encampment. These suspensions violate President Saucier\u2019s public statement from 31 May 2024: \u201cLet me state that clearly: members of our community will not be punished for participating in the encampment<\/strong>.\u201d3<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> But the suspensions are<\/em> punishments for alleged expressions of the Encampment. President Saucier\u2019s statement of amnesty renders the suspensions illegitimate and is sufficient reason to revoke them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the two suspended students are Muslim Palestinian women from Gaza. One student, Sara Kishawi, has been suspended for two years, and the other student, referred to as \u201cStudent A,\u201d has been suspended for one year. Ms Kishawi is well known as an organizer and leader of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, the Students for Palestine Committee, the Muslim Women Club, and as a 2024 recipient of the VIUFA Community Engagement Award. The SMT estimates that at its peak, the Palestine Solidarity Encampment included at least 35 participants.4<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> The Encampment represented a group that was inclusive and diverse with respect to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ability. It thus appears conspicuous that the SMT has selected for punishment, from this large and diverse group, two individuals who are Muslim Palestinian women. Given the broader SMT reaction to the PSE, this selective punishment raises serious concerns about differential treatment that may reflect patterns of gendered Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if one were to accept the legitimacy of a misconduct charge in this case, which we do not, the punishment is excessive and unwarranted. VIU\u2019s Student Conduct Code (Procedure 32.05.001) lists a number of possible actions for responding to instances of alleged \u201cmisconduct,\u201d including \u201c[c]onference with student,\u201d noting that \u201c[m]ost disputes will be resolved at this level.\u201d5<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> Suspension is the most extreme of the disciplinary measures listed, and in the case of Ms Kishawi and Student A, it is unjust. Those of us who have taken the time to speak personally with these students know that they are peaceful, thoughtful, ethically conscientious human beings and scholars who represent absolutely no threat to the university community. On the contrary, through their participation in the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, they have sought to be ethically and politically responsible citizens of the university and international communities. We remind the SMT that the power of suspension is conferred by Section 61 of the University Act<\/em>; as such, it is a governmental power, one that must respect Charter<\/em> rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.6<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, the appeal hearings for the suspensions have been unjustly delayed, effectively administering punishment in advance of due process. An appeal was filed in November 2024. According to VIU\u2019s Student Conduct Appeals (Procedure 32.06.001), the Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs must appoint the appeal committee within fifteen working days.7<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> However, the hearings are taking place only now, in February 2025. This delay has precluded the possibility of Student A returning to their studies in the Spring 2025 term. We see this delay as a violation of due process and a further injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere, students have sued their university for its wrongful suppression of and retaliation against their expression of solidarity with Palestine. \u201cThese students should be honored for their bravery, leadership, and moral clarity,\u201d says James Carlson, an attorney for the plaintiffs in a case against Columbia University. \u201cInstead, they\u2019ve had their lives and careers unjustly sabotaged.\u201d The same may be said of our students; they should be honoured, and instead they have been unjustly prosecuted. Columbia University is also facing a civil rights complaint alleging that \u201cPalestinian students and their allies have faced discriminatory treatment from the university, including death threats, doxxing, Islamophobia, and more.\u201d8<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of the intentions of the SMT, the suspensions effectively penalize our students for exercising their rights to free expression and peaceful assembly. Furthermore, isolating two Muslim Palestinian women organizers for punishment could reinforce systemic racism and chill the exercise of free expression at VIU. These deplorable effects on our shared institutional culture should concern all of us \u2014 students, faculty, staff, and management alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SMT has repeatedly claimed that VIU is committed to freedom of expression as well as to \u201cmaintaining learning and working environments which are equitable, diverse and inclusive.\u201d9<\/sup><\/a> <\/sup>If these claims are true, then this must be demonstrated by revoking the suspensions of Ms Kishawi and Student A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n VIU Faculty and Employees for Students for Palestine Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the land of the Snuneymuxw First Nation<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/a> Emily Huner, 1st Affidavit, 22 July 2024, article 18, Vancouver Island University v Sara Kishawi et al.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2<\/a> BC Federation of Students, \u201cBCFS Successful in Challenging Vancouver Island University\u2019s Effort to Limit Students\u2019 Rights,\u201d 19 August 2024, https:\/\/www.wearebcstudents.ca\/viu_injunction_intervention<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3<\/a> Deborah Saucier, \u201cUpdate to community May 31, 2024,\u201d <\/a>https:\/\/news.viu.ca\/update-community-may-31-2024<\/u><\/a>. Emboldening in original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4<\/a> Mark Egan, 1st Affidavit, 12 July 2024, article 12, Vancouver Island University v Sara Kishawi et al.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5<\/a> <\/sup>VIU\u2019s Student Conduct Code (Procedure 32.05.001), https:\/\/isapp.viu.ca\/PolicyProcedure\/docshow.asp?doc_id=21116<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6<\/a> Cf. ARVAY FINLAY LLP, \u201cRe: Divestment Encampments,\u201d 15 May 2024, https:\/\/www.viusu.ca\/s\/2024-05-16A-LT-VIU_divestment-encampments.pdf<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7<\/a> VIU\u2019s Student Conduct Appeals (Procedure 32.06.001), https:\/\/isapp.viu.ca\/PolicyProcedure\/docshow.asp?doc_id=21118<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8<\/a> <\/sup>Lara-Nour Walton, \u201cColumbia Students Sue the University for Its \u2018Heinous\u2019 Crackdown on Palestine Protests,\u201d The Nation<\/em>, 6 February 2025, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/columbia-university-students-lawsuit-palestine-protests\/<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 9<\/a> VIU\u2019s Vision Statement, https:\/\/www.viu.ca\/vision<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 9 February 2025 We, a group of faculty and employees at Vancouver Island University (VIU), write to protest the unjust suspensions of two participants in the VIU Palestine Solidarity Encampment (PSE). We call on VIU\u2019s Senior Management Team (SMT) to respect President Saucier\u2019s declaration of amnesty for participants in the Encampment, to revoke the suspensions, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5690,"featured_media":5,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-39","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39\/revisions\/42"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/faculty4students4palestine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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