During a protest on November 5, York Security asked an alumnus to leave a Vari Hall protest on for his “own safety” and threatened to arrest him, according to members of Students Against Israeli Apartheid.
SAIA and allies had planned to attend a York is U spirit rally, which was to be held in Vari Hall, “to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the fact that certain groups are allowed and encouraged to ‘rally’ in Vari Hall, while others are disallowed and penalized for it.”
The intention was to “provide an alternative perspective on what ‘pride’ could be like,” says Dan O’Hara, a member of SAIA. “Investing in war crimes abroad and violating freedom of expression on campus when students speak out is certainly nothing to be proud of.”
While the York is U rally was cancelled due to volunteer database sign-up errors, SAIA decided to continue with their own event.After waiting for 45 minutes for the York is U rally to begin, members of SAIA and allies dropped banners from the second floor of Vari Hall and began chanting.
Security soon arrived and started questioning protesters, including a York alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous. The alumnus says they were asked by a security guard to produce a student card. Upon telling security that they were no longer a student at York and that they had graduated in October, they were asked to leave immediately.
“He said because I wasn’t a student and there was a situation going on, I couldn’t be in Vari Hall,” says the alumnus.
The alumnus went on to explain that as an alumnus, he had access to certain things on campus.
“He wasn’t having any of it. He said if I didn’t leave, he would arrest me. At one point, I was told that for my own safety, I should leave Vari Hall,” says the alumnus.
Joanne Rider of York media says she is in the process of gathering information about what happened during the protest. She does not confirm whether or not the alumnus was told they would be arrested if they didn’t leave Vari Hall.
“I can confirm, however, that security staff followed York’s established protocols,” she says.
York Security was not available for comment on the incident and refused to name the security officers involved even though Excalibur was able to provide the officers’ badge numbers.
The anonymous alumnus expresses concern about the treatment of alumni on the York campus.
Hammam Farah, a member of SAIA and York alumnus, was recently banned from the campus for his participation in a rally on March 27, which also resulted in SAIA’s official club status being revoked by York.
“We don’t know what our rights are, we don’t know where we’re allowed to be,” says the anonymous alumnus. “I’m a member of the York community, I am an alumnus. I think York Security has the idea that alumni shouldn’t be getting actively involved in the community, which is a concern that should be properly addressed.”
“We encourage students and community members not to support the York brand uncritically, but to ensure the university better reflects the community’s values as well as York’s own Mission Statement,” said a statement released by SAIA on the night of the protest.
The club’s status has been revoked until January 2014 following the Vari Hall demonstration in March, which according to the university, caused an academic disruption.
