The actions of some 200 protesters, led by Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), who derailed a March 29 Board of Governors meeting are only the latest exchange in the divestment debate playing out on campus.
For over a year, SAIA and supporters have been trying to get the university to divest its pension fund from five companies they allege have ties to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
President Roseann Runte responded to the protest with a strongly-worded email to students April 4, threatening heavy penalties, including “suspension of privileges, including access to the campus, a monetary fine or loss of academic status.” Protesters and the administration are walking a fine line between legitimate discussion and ugly confrontation.
Runte said members of the board felt “harassed and threatened” and that the situation was “potentially dangerous.”
But the SAIA-led protest was, for the most part, a smooth protest: non-violent, very clear about where and what they were doing, and fully co-operative with the university safety officers.
Later in the email, Runte said, “this must not occur again.” While the university maintains the right to kick students off campus, doing so to shut down a non-violent, organized protest would effectively be stifling free speech — the very thing she said Carleton supports in her email.
The board also needs to acknowledge that, as a high-profile organization in charge of a significant amount of money, they are going to have to make decisions people don’t always agree with, and they need to be prepared to defend their actions instead of trying to silence their opponents.
Now SAIA needs to be very careful about how they proceed, especially after the university shut down any possibility for protest by rescheduling the meeting to an April 4 conference call.
It is disappointing to see Runte resorting to threats of academic suspension and fines. SAIA has every right to protest, but they need to watch their step to ensure they continue to keep their protests peaceful. Otherwise, they risk giving the administration a reason to retaliate.