A Carleton Board of Governors meeting was postponed March 29 after over 200 students, led by members of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), staged a protest demanding changes to university investments.
The board would not consider the demands to divest an estimated $2.6 million of Carleton’s pension plan from companies the protesters say are tied to war crimes, said Carleton vice-president (finance and administraton) Duncan Watt in a statement, March 29.
“Imposing constraints on portfolio investments could undermine the committee’s ability to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities,” Watt said.
“We’re demanding divestment, it’s very simple and clear,” said SAIA member Reem Buhaisi. “It’s unacceptable what they’ve done.”
The meeting was cancelled at approximately 4:30 p.m., after several board members were unable to pass through the crowds of protesters shouting “shame.”
Ron Jackson, vice-chair of the board, announced the meeting would be postponed until further notice and members escorted out.
If the meeting is not an open public forum, then there shouldn’t be one, said Buhaisi, who, along with fellow protestors, chanted “This is not what a democracy looks like.”
“If we’re not present, the meeting should not carry on,” Buhaisi said.
Buhaisi and SAIA have been lobbying Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) for over a year to divest from five specific companies they say are connected with the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
After a Feb. 17 CUSA motion passed pushing for the university to engage in socially responsible investment, SAIA said it hoped to take their motion to the Board of Governors, according to their website.
The campaign affects all students, Buhaisi said.
“This is about reclaiming our space, this is about tuition fees, this is about being respected and heard by people who say they advocate the things we ask for,” she said.
The Humanitarian Organization of Latin American Students (H.O.L.A.S) was among the many clubs and societies showing support.
“Our tuition money is going to fund war, to fund money and to fund murder,” said Inés Barreda-Castañón, a second-year human rights major and H.O.L.A.S member.
“It’s gone past SAIA and Palestine,” she said. “H.O.L.A.S will always be here . . . if it’s a humanitarian issue, we’ll be there.”
CUSA vice-president (student services) Sam Heaton said discussions about raising tuition fees were on the meeting’s agenda as well.
“There’s people from all groups on campus here who all agree that tuition fees shouldn’t be invested in companies that are complicit in war crimes,” Heaton said.
Students met at 3 p.m. and marched from the Unicentre Atrium to Robertson Hall, where they staged a sit-in, attempting to block board members from entering.
Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) president and board member Kimalee Phillip said she hopes the administration will not see the protest as students being disruptive, but instead take it as an opportunity to hear students out.
The fact the board has done something as unprecedented as locking people out shows SAIA’s effectiveness, Phillip said.
“People always say students are apathetic. . . . This shows students care,” she said.
“There’s no issue with people debating and discussing issues, but to do it in a manner that prevents the university from conducting its business is obviously unfortunate and frustrating,” said Jason MacDonald, director of university communications. “This is an important board meeting. . . . Unfortunately that’s now been interrupted.”
After the meeting was cancelled, protesters yelled they’d be back.
“We’re going to come back until [the board] divests,” Buhaisi said.