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{mosimage}by Shannon Montgomery from the the Charlatan (Carleton University Newspaper) Members of the student group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) erected a mock checkpoint in Baker Lounge on March 27, eliciting quickly-muted demonstrations by Jewish students. “We’re bringing the occupation into Carleton,” says Laith Al-Masri, a volunteer with the SPHR. Al-Masri says students who wished to enter the SPHR display had to have their IDs checked and their bags searched. Some people were admitted, while others were “refused entry for no reason.”
“Palestinians go through this every day,” says Al-Masri. Another aspect of the display was a row of graves, each containing the picture of a Palestinian who has been killed since the second intefadeh. Three girls sat in the middle of the graveyard at midday, wrapped in Palestinian flags. “We’re just sad,” Areha Aban-Omar, a first-year international business student said when asked why they were sitting there. “I can sympathize because I’ve lost one of my family members,” she said. “If only people would get half of the meaning of this, they would understand.” Ann Silverstone, the director of the Jewish Students’ Association (JSA) for both Carleton and the University of Ottawa, says Jewish students were not allowed to express their opinions of the SPHR display. She says four students from the Israel Advocacy Committee, a group which shares many members with the JSA, came to campus around 10 a.m., bringing posters to protest the display. She says these students were stopped by dean of students Leonard Librande, director of university safety Len Boudreault and CUSA vice president (internal) Kim Bryce. Silverstone says the students then attempted to protest verbally - saying things such as “Thank you for being here and protecting civilians. . . do your job well,” to the mock Israeli soldiers - but says they were again told to either stop or leave. Silverstone says this action shows freedom of speech on campus is one sided. “Not only were the students not allowed to display posters but they were not allowed to talk. This is quite unbelievable,” she says. She also adds Jewish students have not had security guards present at their displays in the past and had been harassed by people disagreeing with their message, which she says shows administration does not treat both Palestinian and Jewish students the same way. Librande says administration did not find out about the display until the day before, as events in Baker Lounge are under CUSA’s control. He says because there was concern about strong reactions to the display, campus safety officers were stationed in Baker Lounge all day. He also says security has been provided to Jewish students in the past. “Any display, if there’s a complaint . . . safety comes and intervenes,” he says. “There is no desire to treat [Palestinian or Israeli students] differently.” He says he asked the Jewish protesters to leave, as it is university policy not to allow Palestinian and Jewish groups to express their views at the same time and in the same place, in the interests of university safety. He says while this may not be an ideal situation, it is done in the interest in keeping free speech alive on campus. “Whether it’s one side or the other you blame for breaking it down, both sides will be gone,” he says. |
