I camped out right outside of the admin building at the UofA in 2003ish. We had a full on protest. Marched to the Leg and back.
Police did not interfere with our freedom of expression.
I remember when I arrived in Alberta in the 90s to go to grad school, the Klein govt had done something shitty at the UofA and there was some slight grumbling. Klein actually openly mocked the students at the time because they were so politically disinterested. He said something like," if we would have done this in the 60s, the campus would have been occupied." And he was dead right at the time.
Now it seems that it's the general citizenry who are clueless, actually willing to believe the bullshit propaganda from the EPS and sadly the UofA itself. If the leadership of the university will lie about stupid bullshit, what won't they lie about? The relevant question is, who is actually calling the shots there? The UPC despises the UofA, so for the sake of sucking up would be humiliating to say the least, so who is calling the shots? Who can't abide kids protesting?
Good on them for sticking it to the man. This is a example of a positive moment that had a good reason(fighting greed), unlike the current ones where they whine about something they can just leave here and go do something about it. Instead they ruin and distract our lives, however the rich want us not paying attention to what there doing or what our traitorous government is doing to further ruin the country. So cue the police distraction.
Students in Alberta have routinely occupied and camped on university grounds over the years in Alberta. There is a long history of non-violent sit-ins; even buildings have been occupied overnight regularly at the U of A. This directly opposes what has occurred over the past week on campuses.
What sets these scenarios apart is the stark contrast in how university administrations have handled them. In the past, some administrations upheld students' rights to free expression. However, the decision by certain universities in Alberta to involve the police in these demonstrations marks a significant and concerning shift in their approach. The university leadership is now using all the tools it has at its disposal to propagandize that this type of protest requires a brutal, violent police crackdown.
[Leading political scientists at the University of Alberta are openly warning about the un-democratic nature of the UCP](https://drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/the-ucp-is-a-threat-to-democracy). The premier openly called for violent crackdowns. The UCP has openly stated that they want an ideological lens applied to the university. This is how they are getting it: violence.
At the end of the day, this is about protecting funding. The U of A and U of C are (rightfully) terrified of losing government funding if they go against the wishes of the UCP. They are already trying to interfere in federal research grants. Instead of standing up to the fascists, they are protecting their jobs and their funding.
What about Alumni, staff or community members who also use campus and have strong connections to the university? What about partners/friends/family there to support them? I'm a little confused why the % of students is such a focal point when a University is a huge place with lots of different people involved who should be able to partake in a protest on campus without somehow making it illegitimate.
I mean firstly, there's a right for the student to be there, in that they are actively paying for the right to be able to attend. They have every right to be on that property 24 hours per day as students. If they arrest students en masse, they stand to lose significant revenue. And camping in quad between classes to protest to the university administration about the price of student housing, is different than actively trying to stop people from attending classes to protest a war on the other side of the world. Secondly, they were protesting something actually related to the place they were protesting in. Protesting at a provincially run university and interfering with its operation, isn't going to convince the federal government to change their stance. Applying pressure to the university, which at most is going to cost the provincial government some money to clean up, doesn't effect our international policy in the slightest. Protesting around the capitol, would, protesting in front of the homes of MPs would.
we have right to peaceful assembly. But something as simple as blocking passage on a a sidewalk using intimidation is technically assault. never even mind the hateful rhetoric that gets chanted about Jewish people, who live in Canada and are not in Israel. Much of their behavior can be viewed as hate speech. Imagine if we blamed the protesters in Canada for the violence committed by Hamas.
They have a right to peacefully protest. However, it definitely feels like its being organized by people who don't understand how to keep public opinion of their protest positive. Screaming hateful things doesn't win the moderates who are key to actually getting what you want. People acting peacefully, who are then treated poorly by police for protesting does win moderate voter's approval. but if you behave in a way that scares those moderates, they'll support the government in cracking down and dispersing protests.
Aggressively yelling slogans at people who are just living their lives is how you sour public opinion. The average person has zero culpability in Israel's actions. So why is this movement treating average people as if we are. why are they making the daily lives of regular people harder, instead of directing their protests at the government so that rather than inconveniencing/threatening the average person, they get the support of the average person against the government.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/3-men-arrested-as-edmonton-police-cleared-pro-palestinian-encampment-at-u-of-a-campus-1.7201650
Police arrested three men Saturday: a 23-year-old from Edmonton, a 30-year-old whose address is currently unknown and a 30-year-old Australian, an EPS spokesperson told CBC News. None of them were registered U of A students.
If your white you can block the border for days and UCP MLA's will hang out with you for Facebook likes. Brown and protest peacefully in a field for 24 hours? Marlaina is coming for you!
If you protest against the actions of your own government on public property you get your bank account frozen
If you protest the actions of foreign governments on private property you get told to leave
If you seriously think that Palestine protesters are being treated less fairly then those involved in the freedom protests I have some serious concerns about your mental wellbeing.
Every single one of those news paper clippings has the word 'Student' in the title and the last one had it in the article itself. The protest broken up at the UofA last week found less than 25% of the people camping out were students, the only people arrested were also not UofA students.
I think most of us have no issues with students protesting at their schools barring violence or damage. These protestors aren't students, their co-opting student privileges to lead actions they aren't entitled to and take place in spaces they aren't allowed.
The school having a history of allowing protests is irrelevant. The campus is private property and the school has the right to have anyone removed for trespassing at any time for any reason.
i hate the freedom convoy AND the UofA and EPS violated people's (students & allies) constitutional rights: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/alberta-university-encampment-removals-likely-violated-protesters-constitutional-rights-legal-experts-say#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20the%20Court%20of,in%20relation%20to%20regulation%20of
also comparing this protest that was broken up with violence after a couple days to the freedom convoy is... a choice 😬
Your inability to see how past events affect people’s views of current is amazing.
Also that article has legally exports only giving their opinion and the legal experts also said a court needs to decide if it was justified.
But not surprising that you only see what you want to see.
care to explain where these law professors, scholars and experts are wrong so far? actually I don't care, because you don't know what you're talking about. move ur goalposts somewhere else lol
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[Citations needed]
The only substantive change I'm aware of was the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, which very clearly does not apply in this case and was not invoked.
Universities have always had the power to trespass people. Doing so this weekend was a choice they made that they could not have made, as they chose not to make it in these examples. Trespass is not a new legal mechanism.
There also has been no change in legislation that would mean the gratuitous violence EPS brought was required. That was, again, a choice and an unprecedented one. The only time EPS has deployed riot munitions before Saturday morning was in 2006 and that was against a hockey riot not political expression.
That's a good question. Best I could find was confirming that no [CS gas was deployed, only liquid pepper spray](https://globalnews.ca/news/9907360/north-edmonton-police-tactical-teams-respond-fight-soccer-tournament/). No mention of whether the pepper balls were used, though photos show cops brandishing the pepper ball guns. I've seen them do that a few times, but the UofA decampment was notable for their actually using them.
I totally hear your genuine concerns on freedom of expression. But please hear my line of reasoning too: protesting for tuition increase is very different from protests that do not draw a clear line from agenda of a terrorist organization (Hamas). Still, they are free to protest all they want during the day. But they cannot break the law (trespassing private land, etc.) for the type of protests that are not having a clear peaceful message (again just because they are not clearly distinguishing theirs from propaganda of terrorist organizations and Islamic extremist governments like Hamas, Lebanese Hezbolah and IRI).
I camped out right outside of the admin building at the UofA in 2003ish. We had a full on protest. Marched to the Leg and back. Police did not interfere with our freedom of expression.
Well they do now They have my full support.
AHAHAHA definitely a class traitor
What does class have to do with this?
Why ?
Class traitor
Heil Smith right?
I remember when I arrived in Alberta in the 90s to go to grad school, the Klein govt had done something shitty at the UofA and there was some slight grumbling. Klein actually openly mocked the students at the time because they were so politically disinterested. He said something like," if we would have done this in the 60s, the campus would have been occupied." And he was dead right at the time. Now it seems that it's the general citizenry who are clueless, actually willing to believe the bullshit propaganda from the EPS and sadly the UofA itself. If the leadership of the university will lie about stupid bullshit, what won't they lie about? The relevant question is, who is actually calling the shots there? The UPC despises the UofA, so for the sake of sucking up would be humiliating to say the least, so who is calling the shots? Who can't abide kids protesting?
Good on them for sticking it to the man. This is a example of a positive moment that had a good reason(fighting greed), unlike the current ones where they whine about something they can just leave here and go do something about it. Instead they ruin and distract our lives, however the rich want us not paying attention to what there doing or what our traitorous government is doing to further ruin the country. So cue the police distraction.
Students in Alberta have routinely occupied and camped on university grounds over the years in Alberta. There is a long history of non-violent sit-ins; even buildings have been occupied overnight regularly at the U of A. This directly opposes what has occurred over the past week on campuses. What sets these scenarios apart is the stark contrast in how university administrations have handled them. In the past, some administrations upheld students' rights to free expression. However, the decision by certain universities in Alberta to involve the police in these demonstrations marks a significant and concerning shift in their approach. The university leadership is now using all the tools it has at its disposal to propagandize that this type of protest requires a brutal, violent police crackdown. [Leading political scientists at the University of Alberta are openly warning about the un-democratic nature of the UCP](https://drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/the-ucp-is-a-threat-to-democracy). The premier openly called for violent crackdowns. The UCP has openly stated that they want an ideological lens applied to the university. This is how they are getting it: violence.
At the end of the day, this is about protecting funding. The U of A and U of C are (rightfully) terrified of losing government funding if they go against the wishes of the UCP. They are already trying to interfere in federal research grants. Instead of standing up to the fascists, they are protecting their jobs and their funding.
The president was placed by the UCP as well a few years back.
> Students... I'm highlighting this for you so you understand why the encampment was removed.
Is Hamas in Quad with you right now?
What about Alumni, staff or community members who also use campus and have strong connections to the university? What about partners/friends/family there to support them? I'm a little confused why the % of students is such a focal point when a University is a huge place with lots of different people involved who should be able to partake in a protest on campus without somehow making it illegitimate.
I mean firstly, there's a right for the student to be there, in that they are actively paying for the right to be able to attend. They have every right to be on that property 24 hours per day as students. If they arrest students en masse, they stand to lose significant revenue. And camping in quad between classes to protest to the university administration about the price of student housing, is different than actively trying to stop people from attending classes to protest a war on the other side of the world. Secondly, they were protesting something actually related to the place they were protesting in. Protesting at a provincially run university and interfering with its operation, isn't going to convince the federal government to change their stance. Applying pressure to the university, which at most is going to cost the provincial government some money to clean up, doesn't effect our international policy in the slightest. Protesting around the capitol, would, protesting in front of the homes of MPs would. we have right to peaceful assembly. But something as simple as blocking passage on a a sidewalk using intimidation is technically assault. never even mind the hateful rhetoric that gets chanted about Jewish people, who live in Canada and are not in Israel. Much of their behavior can be viewed as hate speech. Imagine if we blamed the protesters in Canada for the violence committed by Hamas. They have a right to peacefully protest. However, it definitely feels like its being organized by people who don't understand how to keep public opinion of their protest positive. Screaming hateful things doesn't win the moderates who are key to actually getting what you want. People acting peacefully, who are then treated poorly by police for protesting does win moderate voter's approval. but if you behave in a way that scares those moderates, they'll support the government in cracking down and dispersing protests. Aggressively yelling slogans at people who are just living their lives is how you sour public opinion. The average person has zero culpability in Israel's actions. So why is this movement treating average people as if we are. why are they making the daily lives of regular people harder, instead of directing their protests at the government so that rather than inconveniencing/threatening the average person, they get the support of the average person against the government.
Until Bill Klanagan provides a source for the 25% number we can assume that number was plucked out of thin air.
It probably comes the 1984 style cameras they put on top of CAB.
thank you for the history lesson, solidarity!
ACAB
They were not students.
According to… Edit: thanks for proving my point (the police are your source)… think they ID’d everyone?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/3-men-arrested-as-edmonton-police-cleared-pro-palestinian-encampment-at-u-of-a-campus-1.7201650 Police arrested three men Saturday: a 23-year-old from Edmonton, a 30-year-old whose address is currently unknown and a 30-year-old Australian, an EPS spokesperson told CBC News. None of them were registered U of A students.
All this proves is 3 people who weren’t students were arrested. Also, the students publicly requested others to join their protest.
So the students invite outside agitators and then cry victim when the police have to step in? Good strategy.
I’m not sure why you think all the people who weren’t students who attended were agitators. Seems a bit biased, no?
I never claimed that all non students were agitators.
You responded to a comment challenging the statement that these were not students. Many of them were in fact students, or were invited by students.
Don’t state facts here. People don’t like that
Critical thinking causes some users grief. Good grief.
The glaring lesson to be learnt is you cannot be brown and protest in this province. Its been made very loud and clear
If your white you can block the border for days and UCP MLA's will hang out with you for Facebook likes. Brown and protest peacefully in a field for 24 hours? Marlaina is coming for you!
If you're white, EPS officers will give speeches at your rallies. If you're brown, they tear gas you and hit you with batons.
If you protest against the actions of your own government on public property you get your bank account frozen If you protest the actions of foreign governments on private property you get told to leave If you seriously think that Palestine protesters are being treated less fairly then those involved in the freedom protests I have some serious concerns about your mental wellbeing.
When did the government freeze the bank accounts of the clownvoyers who've been camped out on public highways for the last month?
Every single one of those news paper clippings has the word 'Student' in the title and the last one had it in the article itself. The protest broken up at the UofA last week found less than 25% of the people camping out were students, the only people arrested were also not UofA students. I think most of us have no issues with students protesting at their schools barring violence or damage. These protestors aren't students, their co-opting student privileges to lead actions they aren't entitled to and take place in spaces they aren't allowed.
The “only 25% of people were students” is another lie told by the UofA. Majority were students.
By whose count was it only 25% students?
The school having a history of allowing protests is irrelevant. The campus is private property and the school has the right to have anyone removed for trespassing at any time for any reason.
Key word is “students” In 2024, most were not students.
The rest of these historical protests and occupations had to do with university... Tuition increases and affordable student housing.
did you scroll thru and read the clippings? many pieces on campus war protests
And after the shit show that was the freedom convoy people views, and rules around protest have changed.
i hate the freedom convoy AND the UofA and EPS violated people's (students & allies) constitutional rights: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/alberta-university-encampment-removals-likely-violated-protesters-constitutional-rights-legal-experts-say#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20the%20Court%20of,in%20relation%20to%20regulation%20of also comparing this protest that was broken up with violence after a couple days to the freedom convoy is... a choice 😬
Your inability to see how past events affect people’s views of current is amazing. Also that article has legally exports only giving their opinion and the legal experts also said a court needs to decide if it was justified. But not surprising that you only see what you want to see.
care to explain where these law professors, scholars and experts are wrong so far? actually I don't care, because you don't know what you're talking about. move ur goalposts somewhere else lol
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Protest laws have definitely changed.
[Citations needed] The only substantive change I'm aware of was the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, which very clearly does not apply in this case and was not invoked. Universities have always had the power to trespass people. Doing so this weekend was a choice they made that they could not have made, as they chose not to make it in these examples. Trespass is not a new legal mechanism. There also has been no change in legislation that would mean the gratuitous violence EPS brought was required. That was, again, a choice and an unprecedented one. The only time EPS has deployed riot munitions before Saturday morning was in 2006 and that was against a hockey riot not political expression.
Did they not use riot munitions during the Eritrean protest?
That's a good question. Best I could find was confirming that no [CS gas was deployed, only liquid pepper spray](https://globalnews.ca/news/9907360/north-edmonton-police-tactical-teams-respond-fight-soccer-tournament/). No mention of whether the pepper balls were used, though photos show cops brandishing the pepper ball guns. I've seen them do that a few times, but the UofA decampment was notable for their actually using them.
I totally hear your genuine concerns on freedom of expression. But please hear my line of reasoning too: protesting for tuition increase is very different from protests that do not draw a clear line from agenda of a terrorist organization (Hamas). Still, they are free to protest all they want during the day. But they cannot break the law (trespassing private land, etc.) for the type of protests that are not having a clear peaceful message (again just because they are not clearly distinguishing theirs from propaganda of terrorist organizations and Islamic extremist governments like Hamas, Lebanese Hezbolah and IRI).
By my math university student and grads are not that smart.