MUN students charged with trespassing prepare for 5-day trial
Arrested students argue Charter rights are at stake
Three Memorial University students were arrested and charged with trespassing in July after occupying the university's Arts and Administration building during a protest.
Now they're preparing for a five-day trial in June where they say their Charter rights are at stake.
Sadie Mees and Devoney Ellis are among the trio. They say the case could set a precedent for future student protests.
"There is a lot of political movement and activism on campus, and so we are just really hoping that MUN isn't allowed to keep up with things like this," said Mees.
After the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks and the subsequent Israeli bombings on Gaza, students across Canada started to push their universities to remove investments in companies tied to Israel and weapons manufacturing.
In St. John's, MUN students pushed the university to disclose its investments and divest from any tied to weapons manufacturing. After discovering MUN hadn't disclosed its investments, students began protesting.
"I feel like when you're in a smaller place, people don't think that what they do matters, but it does," said Ellis.
In May, students set up an outdoor encampment similar to those seen across the country. In early June, they moved their occupation indoors to the lobby of the Arts and Administration building.
In a statement, MUN media relations manager Chad Pelley said that students were allowed to continue protesting, just not after hours. He said that the university's main concern was health and safety regulations and that there were multiple complaints.
"It is the university's firm position that no constitutional rights were violated," said Pelley in the statement.
A 'chaotic' arrest
When the protest moved inside, Mees said their lawyer, Kyle Rees, and campus enforcement confirmed that they were allowed to stay on campus overnight.
On June 19, MUN disclosed its investments, revealing that 0.297 per cent of its portfolio is invested in companies listed as having ties to Israeli weapons manufacturing, amounting to over $7 million.
But protesters continued their occupation, demanding that MUN divest these funds and also provide more support to Palestinian students.
But the situation changed on the morning of July 5 when Rees received an email from MUN's general counsel Scott Worsfold to advise the protesters to "abide by the request to vacate and dismantle the encampment."
Rees, concerned about the lack of involvement by the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Anti-racism offices in MUN's decision-making, requested that they have the weekend to decide how to respond.
"Many of the racialized and vulnerable (ie, facing possible security issues in their home country) protestors have interests and stakes here that ought to be considered through the [Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Anti-Racism] lens before MUN takes positions on the protest," said Rees in his emailed response.
Mees and Ellis say they didn't expect anything else to happen that Friday, but at 9:30 p.m. campus enforcement had begun dismantling the encampment outside.
Mees said they asked campus enforcement if they could dismantle the tents themselves, and despite saying they could, officers continued.
"It was very chaotic, very like rushed," said Mees. "We just tried to stay calm."
Mees and Ellis said communication with campus patrol and police was confusing after that.
At 9:57 p.m. they were informed they had 30 minutes to leave the building, but also told they had to be out by 10 p.m. or else it would be considered trespassing and police would intervene.
"We were served the notice late," said Mees. "The way MUN handled it was reckless, irresponsible, dangerous and just like poorly planned."
While some students chose to leave, three stayed and were charged.
Mees and Ellis say they're disappointed the university chose to charge them and take them to court instead of divesting.
"Looking back now, I just feel really angry honestly, that that is the route that the school decided to take," said Mees.
Trial for trespass
During the protest, Rees said students were cooperative and communicated often with the university. He said they were respectful while still trying to make their message heard.
However, he argued, events at other universities in Canada changed MUN's course.
In early July, an Ontario court had granted an injunction to the University of Toronto to clear out a much larger encampment.
Rees thinks this decision led MUN to decide it could do it too, despite the number of students involved being much lower.
"There is a huge difference between the University of Toronto and encampment as it existed and the protests that were occurring at Memorial University," said Rees
The five-day trial is atypically long for a trespass charge, said Rees as it's on the lower end of seriousness. But in this case, he said five days might be needed.
"The individuals' defence to the charge of trespass is that they were exercising their Charter right to free speech and were doing so in a peaceful way that can be supported under the rules around peaceful protest," said Rees. "That can take some time to establish."
Rees said he will call for several witnesses to demonstrate that the students were acting respectfully and to demonstrate why their message was important.
He also argues that the protest was an extension of their education.
"The university is a place for free exchange of thought and tackling global ideas," said Rees.
Rees also defended Matt Barter, a student protester who was banned from campus for a silent protest in 2021.
"Now we have Memorial University, again from my client's perspective, silencing protest and free speech," said Rees.
Mees and Ellis say they're going to continue to push MUN to make change.
"We want an effective policy developed so that MUN cannot continue to profit off of human rights abuses and genocide. And we also want effective support put in place for Palestinian students," said Mees.
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