More than 60 UofT faculty members declare support for pro-Palestinian protesters after administration’s discipline threat

Some faculty at the University of Toronto say the administration’s threat to discipline those who violate its trespass order and join a pro-Palestinian encampment has encouraged more professors to join the protest.

In a show of solidarity with student protesters, some faculty vowed Tuesday that if the university asks police to clear the encampment they would stand in the way to protect the students.

More than 60 faculty members stood in front of the Simcoe Hall administration building for a news conference where they denounced the university’s attempts to force an end to the encampment, which has been in place since May 2.

The encampment is part of a movement that has swept across campuses in Canada and the U.S. in the last two months. Student protesters have been calling on universities to disclose where their money is invested, divest from companies connected to the Israeli military and cut ties with Israeli universities that operate in the occupied territories.

The university has filed a notice of motion in Ontario Superior Court seeking authorization to clear the encampment and to call in police to carry out the task. A meeting to set a date for that hearing is expected to take place Tuesday afternoon.

Deb Cowen, a professor of geography and member of the Jewish Faculty Network, said nearly 200 faculty have attended the encampment, a number that has grown since the university issued what she described as an unprecedented threat.

The trespass notice that the university has circulated states that students could be subject to discipline, including suspension or even a recommendation of expulsion. It also said faculty, librarians and staff may be subject to measures up to and including termination.

“We are here because we care deeply about our students and because we care deeply about what we are meant to do here in this institution of higher learning,” Prof. Cowen said.

She echoed a call from the Ontario Federation of Labour urging the administration not to force a confrontation.

“If you decide to move against the students, you’ll have to go through us first,” Prof. Cowen said.

Steve Easterbrook, director of the school of the environment, said he was shocked by what he called the administration’s “egregious” threat to faculty.

“The idea that a university would call the police on its own students, staff and faculty to remove them from campus is unthinkable. And to threaten staff and faculty with termination is unthinkable. So I and many other chairs and directors have written to the president expressing our outrage at these extreme measures and over the lack of consultation that led up to them,” Prof. Easterbrook said.

In response, the University of Toronto’s media relations office characterized the group as a tiny minority of the university’s faculty members.

In its notice of motion to the Superior Court of Justice, the university administration has said that members of the university community have expressed concerns about their health and safety arising from the encampment, which it said had limited freedom of speech and freedom of association for people on campus by restricting access to King’s College Circle. It also argues that the encampment limits the expression of those who hold views that differ from those advanced by the protest.

Erin Mackey, a student organizer of the encampment, said talks with the university to find a resolution are still ongoing. She said U of T president Meric Gertler has not personally joined the negotiations yet. She characterized the sides as still far apart on the question of divestment. The university has offered committees to study the issue, she said, while the students are demanding a commitment.

More to come.