Recent Disruptions on Campus in Vari Hall

 

At the meeting of Senate of Thursday, 27 January, the President made the following comments on the disruptions in Vari Hall on 20 January.

On the matter of recent events in Vari Hall I would like to comment on two main questions:

(1) Why are police on campus? And (2) why NOT allow noisy gatherings in Vari Hall?

Police on Campus

Let me remind Senators that in the past few years we have major campus consultation and discussion about whether or not our campus security service should have weapons – a consultation not with Senate but with students, faculty and staff in other committees and groups.  Some of you may have been in those consultations.  Many members of the Security Staff wanted to carry weapons and some others in the community wanted them to carry out arrests, to use handcuffs and so on.

But we felt, and the majority of those consulted from all sides agreed, that our security service should focus on campus relations and serve the York community without weapons.  However, it was also very clear in those conclusions that the Toronto Police Services were to be called if (a) a criminal act were in process or had been committed and  (b) if the Campus Security felt that they could not handle a situation.

Some other universities do have their campus security personnel supplied with a variety of weapons and devices and the record shows that they tend to use them.  Our campus members, not unanimously but in a large majority, prefers not to have armed security in our regular service.

So that means that TPS is on our campus reasonably frequently and, as you know, we enlist their services for such things as traffic control on Pond Road since the City took down all the stop signs.

I distinguish this from police presence when a visitor of high profile is invited, e.g. the US Ambassador who visited on Tuesday and who comes with his own band of protestors and police.  The moment he was confirmed in attendance the RCMP and Toronto Police Services laid out plans for his protection and these plans and their decisions are out of our hands..

Disruptions in Vari Hall

About two years ago, we became aware from the number of complaints from students and faculty that even a reasonable amount of traffic in Vari Hall could disrupt their classes. Vari Hall was designed as an entrance and a classroom building and the acoustics are acute.  It was never designed as a gathering space for loud events held when classes are in session, contrary to the opinions of some.

The Vari Hall classrooms are very important to the curriculum and the average number of students in the classrooms between 11:30 and 3:00 p.m. five days a week is about 600.  In fact we have studied the enrolment in all the classes held in all the rooms carefully.  We find that the noise is particularly bothersome on the second and third floors because the sound travels upwards and the rooms are more invaded by noise than the ground floor rooms.  This noise occurs even without amplification but is greatly exacerbated by it.

So, after many complaints from faculty and students, about two years ago we asked that there be NO gatherings or bookings in Vari Hall.  The career fair was moved; the student clubs fair was moved, and no further bookings were allowed.  Other places on campus were located for all these events and I have to report to you that all the groups affected - the student clubs, the career services and many others have been most cooperative and continue to hold their activities successfully in other spaces, including the East Bear Pit, the TEL building, Burton Auditorium and others places where classes are not disrupted.

Except that a very small group of individuals declared that they would not follow the procedures, would not book space and would use Vari Hall when they wanted to…

There has been a series of disruptions.  One, last winter term, was very disruptive and very dangerous when a group demonstrating (against the rules) was challenged by a group who disagreed with their views.  It was violent and we were fortunate that nothing worse happened.  Disciplinary actions were taken against the leaders of the groups.

Another demonstration held in the fall term this year disrupted classes and tests and we had a lot of complaints.  Some of the same individuals involved last winter were involved in the fall demonstration.  In both these incidents, the groups refused to cease their noise or move out of the hall.  They were warned, given notices, offered alternative spaces and so on following procedures.

Last week the same individuals let it be known about the campus that they would hold a demonstration on 20 January and it would be noisy and therefore disrupt classes.  Because the group in question has declared that it advocates both “a confrontational attitude” and “call to direct action and civil disobedience” – quotes from their published material- we were concerned that there could be significant disruptions of classes and a refusal once again to comply with the requests of our security staff to stop the disruption.

I remind Senators that, as Professor Comninel has pointed out on several occasions, there are only 12 class meets in the Winter Term. So now some students and professors have already lost several meets this academic year to disruptions.  This is unacceptable to students and, I’m sure, to many faculty members.

In light of this, security officers planned to try to persuade the protestors to leave if they were noisy and to be prepared to move them out of Vari Hall if they did not agree.  Our Security personnel worked for well over 35 minutes to try to get the demonstrators to leave but they refused.  Then a faculty member came to complain that she had had to cancel her class.  Security then asked the uniformed TPS officers on campus to persuade the protestors to leave.

Normally, what one would anticipate, is that when asked to desist making noise or to move by our York Security that students would voluntarily do so – and the vast majority of students do respect the requests of Security.  Even more one would expect people to disperse when asked to do so by uniformed TPS officers and we anticipated that the demonstrators would disperse when they were asked to do so.  In this instance the protestors refused to move, physically protested and the next actions are now before the courts and will be sorted out there.  There can be no question that there was violent behaviour.

It has also been documented by police– even if disputed- that a protestor attempted to seize the firearm of a TPS Officer and, as is normal if a firearm is involved, the secondary back-up call went out and many other police came to the scene.

All of this leads to two main questions for Senators and other members of the York community:

FIRST, why would students want to disrupt the classes of other students and faculty?  Why would those wishing to protest not take their demonstration to a better site on campus?  Why did they not book the very public East Bear Pit, for example?  In fact, why were they not in the session taking place at the same time, organized by a different group on campus, where Professor John McMurtry emeritus of Guelph University was advertised to be denouncing capitalism, globalization and President Bush’s inauguration, the very issues that GRAIN says they wished to protest?

SECOND, why would protestors, especially students (and they were not all York students) resist the requests of the TPS officers to disperse?  What is the point of this fight?  No one in the administration disputes the students’ right to hold their views and to promulgate them on campus…but we do assert that neither they nor anyone else should be able to disrupt the normal classes at their whim and without proper arrangements to protect the main purposes of the University.

The very purpose of our existence as a university is teaching and research.  We do other things but that purpose is why we have students and why we have public support.  The pursuit of teaching and research must take precedence over other interests and it does.  It is absolutely fundamental to the exercise of our work that the academy be protected and I intend to continue to do so.

I call on all senators to lead in the resolution of this unfortunate matter by being balanced in their statements, by allowing classes to proceed, helping students to find other appropriate spaces for their voluntary activities, and by generally reinforcing the main mission of the York University.

The students who have been arrested and charged by the police should be tried in the Courts under the rule of law and not by the press or public opinion.

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barbb@yorku.ca