Admin Updates-June 28

The administration recently released another “Message to the Community” that misrepresents our peaceful protest. The Divestment Coalition is committed to providing the community with the full and accurate picture. To that end, we will address several points made in this latest update.   Despite their inflammatory claims, the Administration has failed to present any evidence that the alleged “abuse of bathrooms” was the responsibility of students participating in this protest. On the contrary, we take great care in maintaining the spaces around our protest. These baseless accusations from the administration are completely at odds with what the community has witnessed over the past 52 days.    Students recently erected barricades in response to two separate incidents where a Western staff member entered the encampment with clear intent to harass, intimidate, and provoke peaceful student protestors. It is important to clarify that these barricades are temporary and can be easily removed.    The Administration claims to have been ‘working in good faith’ with student representatives.  Yet, their history of community messages has consistently included inflammatory rhetoric that attempts to vilify peaceful student protest. This is yet another instance where the Administration has published a vilifying statement within a day of meeting with student representatives. The Administration has also been excessively delaying scheduled meetings. If the situation were as urgent as their communications suggest, one would expect them to engage more actively and frequently to move towards a resolution. It is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile the Administration’s claims of good faith with their actions over the last 52 days.    Recently, universities across Ontario have begun to take alarming actions. Both the University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo have sought legal injunctions against their students, with Waterloo also suing its own students for $1.5 million. At York University, the Administration called in the Toronto Police to remove their students less than a full day into a peaceful protest. It is deeply disturbing that the Administration is suggesting it might adopt similar measures against Western students.    It is important to note that students have suggested the presence of a neutral, third party mediator to ensure negotiations are conducted in good faith. However, the Administration has deemed this unnecessary. Students have also repeatedly called for the presence of members of  Western’s Investment Committee who possess the financial expertise necessary to productively advance the discussions. Yet again, the Administration has continually ignored those requests.   The Coalition remains open to engaging in dialogue with the Administration and working towards a resolution, as we have been over the last eight weeks. A meeting has been scheduled for this afternoon, and we will continue to update the Community as information becomes available.