Concordia University

Student Activism

Although student activism could be said to be a natural part of campus life, Concordia has been known to be home to some very politically active students, several of whom are known both in local and national media.

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While protesting and fiery debate are considered a staple of college life, heavy politicization of the Arab-Israeli conflict on campus has caused certain student groups to step up their political militancy. Tensions are exacerbated by the large representation of students from Middle Eastern countries and of Jewish origin as well as the presence for many years of a radical left wing activist student union.

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The Hall building (the main building of Sir George Williams campus) was shut down on September 9th, 2002 in response to a protest by pro-Palestinian students. They were opposed to the visit by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; who they felt was a war criminal. The protestors were especially concerned since they said that they were not given adequate opportunity to attend the meeting themselves. While the tickets were freely available, the protesters said that the organizing group had largely confined their publicity to the Montreal Jewish community.

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There were indications prior to September 9th that the speech would face opposition. The organizers were warned by campus security against allowing the talk to proceed because of the politically charge climate at the university. However, it was decided to proceed despite the possible intimidation because of freedom of speech concerns. The protest itself lasted several hours and resulted in the breaking of several windows of the main building as well as a number of instances of physical harrassment of individuals attempting to attend the talk.

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The immediate result of the protest was the cancellation of the talk. The protestors were ecstatic at having prevented Netanyahu from speaking. Hillel, on the other hand, decried what they perceived as an attack on freedom of speech.

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