McGill moves to cut ties with student union after protest led to classroom blockades, vandalism

McGill University is looking to cut its contractual relationship with the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU) after pro-Palestinian protests last week led to blocked access to classrooms and vandalism.

Either party is permitted to end the relationship with no fault assigned, provided that mediation is attempted beforehand, according to the memorandum of agreement (MOA), interim deputy provost Angela Campbell said in an email to students. The school will begin that mediation process, she added, which will last for two weeks. An official decision will be made public in June. 

While the SSMU plays an important and historic role in representing undergraduate students at McGill, the SSMU's "leadership has been neither unanimous nor explicit in dissociating itself from or rejecting groups without recognized status at McGill that endorse or engage in acts of vandalism, intimidation and obstruction as forms of activism," the email states.

"We reject this, unequivocally. Protest is indeed part of university life — our policies and the law protect peaceful assembly and freedom of expression," Campbell said. "But vandalism, obstruction, threats and violence do not fall within these protections."

The letter states that last week, SSMU allowed and, "at least tacitly," supported a three-day strike that led to dozens of classes being blocked or interrupted. Campbell cites one incident where individuals smashed a glass office door with a fire extinguisher filled with red paint. The paint was sprayed throughout the office and one staff member was hit directly, she says. 

"No one at McGill … should ever have to experience this at their place of work or study," Campbell said. 

The protest occurred during a three-day student strike over the university's investments linked to Israel. According to the SSMU, about 4,000 students participated in a referendum and the strike motion passed with 72 per cent support. 

SSMU has no way to enforce rules, president says

Dymetri Taylor, SSMU president, said this decision comes on the heels of a student strike that overall stayed within the procedures, guidelines and bylaws in place. As for the actions that went too far, such as the incident with the paint, he said the SSMU did not encourage those behaviours.

"We strictly said at the beginning that students were expected to follow the code of student conduct — that it was a voluntary strike. We can't mandate anyone to participate if they don't want to," Taylor said.

"Blockading classrooms gets out of the voluntary aspect there."

He said the co-ordinated events fell within the guidelines, but some groups did their own thing. The SSMU doesn't have a way to enforce the rules, he said.

It's up to the school to enforce them. The SSMU can't hire security to stop certain behaviours, he said.

Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill, supports the student union. He's also a labour expert, and said student associations like the SSMU aren't just another academic club or student advocacy group in Quebec. Comparing them to a labour union, he said they have more structure and representation in the province.

He sharply criticized the McGill administration for cutting ties with the SSMU, calling it an "astonishing violation of student freedom of speech and freedom of assembly."

He accused the university of taking steps to limit student freedom of expression on campus by determining which issues students are allowed to speak up about.

Lawyer says SSMU will remain accredited 

Patrice Blais, a lawyer who specializes in non-profit law and accrediting student unions, also compared the SSMU to a labour union. They receive accreditation from Quebec's Ministry of Higher Education, giving them certain powers and rights such as appointing representatives and having office space.

He said the MOA is a contract that goes further than the accreditation, determining how the relationship with the university will work — including fees, office space and activities. There are ways to terminate or renegotiate the contract, Blais said, but when McGill says it will terminate the agreement, the SSMU still retains provincial accreditation.

"In no way will it be able to remove the rights under the accreditation act," said Blais. "It's not like McGill could defund the student union tomorrow. That would be against the law."

That means the SSMU still gets office space and its appointments to various student bodies must be recognized, Blais said. When it comes to terminating the MOA, he can't say exactly what will be affected because he hasn't seen the contract.

"But I think it's going to change very little overall," said Blais.

Students for Palestine's Honour and Resistance (SPHR) voiced its support for the SSMU in a statement, saying "the student body has never been more united and galvanized for Palestine, and that is precisely why the administration is insistent on penalizing everyone for a democratic strike instead of simply divesting."