For more information about what is happening at York, and how you can get involved, please read more of this article and the others posted on the site.

On January 20th 2004, thousands of people around the world protested the inaugeration of US President George W. Bush. At York University in Toronto, the Grass Roots Anti-Imperialist Network (GRAIN) and allies from local unions and community groups in solidarity with a call for a global disruption of empire under the People's Global Action hallmarks, organized a speakout and mass leaflet at York University, under the demands of "No to Empire, No to Campus Repression, Killer Corporations off our Campus". Six hundred pamphlets detailing ties between Toronto's York University and various corporate oppressors (among them Lockheed Martin and Exxon Mobil) were distributed, amidst a backdrop of speeches from GRAIN members and various community groups.

The 50-100 students who had gathered to outline York's ties to global and local oppression, racism, and imperialist globalization, were then forcibly dispersed by police called in on the orders of the York Administration. The police with the aid of York security guards then proceeded to arrest and beat five organizers. The action, which represented the latest effort by York-based activists to stand up for free speech and resist corporate power on campus, was brutally repressed, with cops hospitalizing one young organizer. The events of the day exhibit the York insitution's willingness to clamp down on any organized resistance, and the need for more research, popular education and direct action to build a movement for real democracy and justice on campus. Autonomy and Solidarity brings you statements, photos and video related to this action and its aftermath.

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Defend York Student Organizer from Political Repression!
Submitted by ant on January 31, 2005 - 12:46am. A&S News Wire | Student | York University
This coming Monday, January 31, the administration of
York University is hauling undergraduate student
organizer Liisa Schofield in front of a disciplinary
tribunal. She is being threatened with punishment for
speaking at an on-campus "Freedom of Dissent"
demonstration, organized by the Stewards Council of
CUPE 3903, in late November 2004.

Less than two weeks after bringing police on campus to
violently disperse anti-imperialist demonstrators,
this administration is again attempting to isolate and
punish an activist from GRAIN (Grassroots
Anti-Imperialist Network) for asserting her basic
political rights. It is imperative that we counter
these efforts at isolation, and stand together in a
show of strength and determination.

We call for all allies concerned with campus democracy
to join us in sending a clear message to the
administration: We will defend our right to organize
and speak out, and attempts to repress us will only
strengthen our resolve. Please meet at 12:50 pm, SHARP
Monday, January 31st, 2005. Inside main doors of Founders College
(*please be prompt, we will be moving from there*)

In Solidarity,

GRAIN (Grassroots Anti-Imperialist Network)






York and the Mainstream Media Lie About Police Attack
Submitted by ant on January 24, 2005 - 3:51pm. A&S News Wire | Toronto | Student | York University
The following are various main stream media accounts of the protest. Feel free to add other ones as comments to this article.

Three officers hurt, five students arrested in anti-Bush protest (from http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=3914)

A protest linked to the inauguration of US President George W. Bush turned violent at York University on Thursday, resulting in injuries to three paid-duty constables and the arrest of five demonstrators, reported the Toronto Star Jan. 21. The news was echoed in the city’s other major newspapers and on television and radio news casts. The incident was also mentioned in a Canadian Press story about anti-Bush protests across the country.

The officers, who were not seriously injured, were attacked as they tried to remove the demonstrators for trespassing, according to Toronto police. "Two of the officers were punched in the head while a third had hot coffee poured on him," Constable Isabelle Cotton said in a news release. One of the demonstrators also attempted to seize a Glock pistol from one of the officers, she added. Police Chief Julian Fantino called the incident "regrettable."

"It was highly ironic and regrettable that the officers, whose sole purpose was to watch over a peaceful anti-war demonstration, were subjected to any violence," Fantino said.

Dan Freeman-Maloy, a York student and one of the protest organizers, agreed the demonstration was to have been a peaceful event involving about 30 people, who met in Vari Hall, a central campus gathering place, at about 1 pm. The protest, Freeman-Maloy said, "was supposed to be pretty tame, just to speak out on the inauguration of President Bush and also talking against oppression on campus."

After repeated requests by campus security for the group to disperse, police were called in. York spokesperson George McNeillie said, "The use of violence on or off campus is totally unacceptable." 

The National Post quoted Richard Fisher, York’s chief communications officer: "This isn't about free speech. This is about allowing people to attend classes without being disrupted." He said the protesters were using megaphones in the academic corridors.

The Toronto Sun said Nancy White, media relations director, said the protest began around 1:30pm in the rotunda of Vari Hall and lasted about 40 minutes. "The group came in and they became extremely aggressive, shouting anti-Bush obscenities," she said. The police were called by University security staff who tried to speak to the leader of the group. "They started shoving a police officer and throwing punches. One of the officers had a hot beverage thrown at him."

Lance Maresky, a second-year psychology student, said he was heading to class when he heard shouting. "I ... saw about 10 police officers standing in front of a guy shouting into a megaphone and 15 other people," said Maresky. When the police tried to grab the demonstrator with the megaphone, Maresky said "all hell broke loose. "One of the guys started swinging at the cops and hit one of them in the head with the megaphone."

***

From the National Post (http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=03d8b2d4-fde5-4620-84e1-ee73b732c04f)

Protestors clash with police at York U. Global News January 21, 2005

TORONTO -- A protest linked to the inauguration of U.S. President Bush turned violent at Toronto's York University.

Three police constables suffered minor injuries and five demonstrators were arrested.

Constables Chris Commission, Steven Camponi and Eric Reimer were attacked as they tried to remove a group of protesters.

Two officers were punched in the head while a third had hot coffee poured on him and one of the accused tried to seize Reimer's pistol.

Chief Julian Fantino says it's highly ironic that officers watching over a peaceful demonstration were subjected to violence.

Charged with assault and obstructing police are Gregory Bird, Nicholas Birtig, Alissa Watt, Erin Gray and Konstantine Kilibarda.

Bird is further charged with attempt to disarm a police officer.

The accused are scheduled to appear in court Friday.







and from an eye witness
Submitted by ant on January 25, 2005 - 10:36pm.
Re- "Three Officers Hurt in York U Protest" Toronto Star, January 21 2005.

Dear Sir,
As a direct eyewitness to the incident, which took place on
the York campus yesterday, I read your account with incredulity. I
witnessed at close quarters, namely 2-3 feet, the actions of members of
the Metro Toronto Police in attempting to break up a student rally in Vari
Hall. A group of approximately 50 students assembled in the middle of the
hall
for a peaceful political meeting. They were surrounded by several hundred
other
students as onlookers. In one corner of the hall were some 6 members of
the Toronto police. When the students did not disperse, the police fanned
out around them and started pushing and grabbing some of the students.
Whatever violence occurred was clearly instigated by the police. They
hauled out one student right in front of me. Two policemen held him down
while a third repeatedly punched the prone student who was hauled to his
feet, handcuffed and lead away. Several students recorded these events on
video cameras, which will put the lie to the account published in your
paper.
It may come as a surprise to the taxpayers of Ontario who have
invested many billions of dollars in York University that the current
Administration has declared it to be "private property". Consequently
they reserve the right to declare whomever they see fit as guilty of
.trespass. and can call in the police to remove them. If York University
is "private property"-who owns it?
Who was trespassing on the York campus? Surely not fee paying
students who, one assumes, have every right to be there and to hold
peaceful meetings if they so choose. Who called in members of the police
force? What law was being broken? The York Administration demands that
permits be issued for on campus events. Is it a violation of a federal or
provincial law if a meeting is held without a permit?
This regrettable event plus the recent attempted expulsion of
Daniel Freeman-Malloy for three years for addressing a student meeting
with a megaphone is, I regret to say, rapidly eroding York.s reputation as
a liberal and tolerant institution.


Stanley Jeffers, Associate Professor,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University



---------- Forwarded message ----------

Hello,
I happened, by accident, to be in Vari Hall just before 2 pm on
Thursday. I saw a group of students holding some kind of meeting the
nature of which was not then clear to me. They were surrounded by several
hundred students who were observing the meeting. Also present were some 6
policemen in one corner of the hall. One policeman was adressing the
students but was ignored. The police then fanned out around the central
group and began pushing, shoving and grabbing some of the students. I saw
this at close quarters. One student was wrestled to the ground immediately
in front of me, held down by two policemen while a third repeatedly and
violently punched the prone student. The student demonstration was NOT
violent. The violence was initiated by the police action.
Statements that have been included in media releases and which
appear on the York web site to the effect that the students were violent
or initiated violence are quite simply not true and should be corrected.
I hope you will correct this inaccurracies.

thank you
Stanley Jeffers, Dept of Physics
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Open Letter to Chief Fat Tony*
Submitted by UnitedIrish on January 24, 2005 - 4:41pm.
//Chief Julian Fantino says it's highly ironic that officers watching over a peaceful demonstration were subjected to violence.//


Is that ironic Mr. Mob boss*? Isn't it highly ironic that officers that were on duty were simply standing around "watching over" a peaceful demonstration? Isn't it highly fucking ironic, Chief Pig Farmer*, that the police were simply "watching over" what you imply was a violent demonstration? If it was a fucking violent demonstration, as you imply, what the hell were they just standing around watching it for? They made it violent you pig-farming* moron!

(Explained further for cops: You implied violence by saying it was ironically peaceful but you contradicted yourself by saying your officers were innocently "watching over"(which would be a neglect of duty in the face of real violence).)

*No slurs intended. A police service is a right-wing organized mob and a "Pig" is a common expression for a cop. Fantino is the Chief, so he is the farmer. Terms arn't based on any historical precedent.


Endnote:

Although the interference by the police in the protest is justified under article 175 of the CC for causing a disturbance in a "public place" and a "public place includes any place to which the public have access as of right or by invitation, express or implied", it is not a matter of positivism. The "disturbance" took place at a university and the "disturbance" was a demonstration of behaviour not unbefitting students at a university. In fact, the disturbance wasn't reported by students, for whom the university exists, it was reported by the administration. If not at an institution of higher learning, where can progressive voices be heard and people be free? The mainstream media? Behind the walls of ones' "dwelling house"? Perhaps in front of magistrate and jury? I'm afraid those "opportunities" in society do not suffice. The university is ours.