On June 27, U of T’s Governing Council held its final meeting of the 2023–2024 academic school year. In the meeting, council members discussed the university’s world rankings, financial statements, and the student encampment at King’s College Circle. 

While the meeting was taking place inside Simcoe Hall, UofT Occupy for Palestine (O4P) — the student group that organized the encampment — held a rally outside the building.

Open letter, closed doors

On June 13, the Muslim Students’ Association at UTSG and UTSC collaboratively posted an open letter on their Instagram calling on the Governing Council to pressure U of T President Meric Gertler to meet O4P’s demands or remove him from his position.

For more than two months, O4P has demanded that the university disclose their financial holdings, divest from companies supplying Israel with weapons, and cut ties with Israeli academic institutions. The letter stated that none of O4P’s demands are unreasonable and that “it is essential for the university to respond as genocide unfolds before our eyes.”

The letter has since been signed by 490 U of T students, staff, faculty, and alumni. U of T’s Policy on Social and Political Issues with Respect to University Divestment requires complainants to present evidence of “general concern” and secure 300 endorsing signatories: 200 from either students, teaching staff, administrative staff, or alumni and the remaining 100 from at least two other constituencies. 

On the day of the meeting, O4P shared a post on Instagram where they alleged that student members requested to discuss their demands with the Governing Council, but were declined access. 

In response, the protesters rallied around Simcoe Hall to disrupt the meeting and block parking near the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering building. They wrote in the post that they “refuse to let [the school’s] complicity in apartheid go unaddressed.”

A spokesperson for U of T wrote to The Varsity that the protesters’ claims that connect the school with Israeli’s military actions in Gaza “have no basis in fact.”  In an email to The Varsity on June 16, President Gertler addressed protesters’ demands, noting that, “we cannot override our policies and procedures and adopt a predetermined conclusion guided by only one viewpoint.” 

The meeting 

In the meeting, President Gertler first gave an update on the encampment and “related protest activities,” stating that “the university has spent many hours in discussion with [O4P] representatives in our attempt to seek a peaceful and lasting resolution of the issues that they have raised in a way that adheres to our principles and long-established policies of the university.”

He then discussed the university’s “successful convocation season” and the QS 2025 World University Rankings — where U of T ranked first in Canada and 25th in the world — as well as the US News & World Report’s 2024–2025 Best Global Universities Rankings — where U of T ranked first in Canada and 17th in the world. 

The Governing Council chair then reviewed the university’s audited financial statements for 2023–2024. According to the report, U of T’s net assets increased to $9.9 billion in 2024, up $923 million from the previous year. The Council resolved to approve the statements.

Council members also discussed reappointing Ernst & Young (EY) Canada as external auditors for 2024–2025. While acknowledging that EY is a “very reputable firm,” some council members raised concerns about the school’s lack of rotation between different auditing firms for risk management purposes. U of T’s Vice-President & Provost Trevor Young clarified that there are “only three firms that audit universities in Ontario,” and that other Ontario universities have also not rotated their auditors within a similar timeframe. 

The council then approved the president as the “Summer Executive Authority,” which allowed President Gertler to take on urgent council decisions and approve potential curriculum changes until the start of the fall academic term. 

Concerns about the student encampment

During the meeting, several council members voiced concerns about the encampment and their limited ability to conduct the meeting amid the noise by the student protesters outside. 

Ramy Elitzur, a professor of accounting at the Rotman School of Management, vocalized his concerns about the encampment as a Jewish faculty member. 

Referring to U of T’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) initiatives, Elitzur said, “When you talk about inclusivity, I’m not included… Jewish people are not included, Jewish [lives] do not matter. The actions of the university over the last year showed me I don’t matter.” Elitzur accused that U of T is where EDI “became IED, improvised explosive device,” which he defined as “the preferable weapons of terrorists.” 

Elitzur also claimed that “If you are [a] Jew now, you won’t be admitted to [U of T’s] medical school,” to which Young responded by apologizing on behalf of the university for failing in “making the Jewish community feel safe and included.”

Elitzur also compared the Jewish protesters at the encampment to Jewish people who served in Nazi Germany’s military. 

“When somebody sits or stands in a camp where there are antisemitic remarks, they’re antisemites. If you are there, you are part of the problem,” he said. “I’m actually embarrassed that 300 thugs are controlling my agenda and the agenda of the university.” 

In an email to The Varsity, a university spokesperson wrote “suggestions and ideas can arise that may diverge from established university policies and practices,” and that U of T has a “high threshold” for speech and expression, including “speech and imagery that are uncomfortable and offensive to some.” 

Karandeep Sonu Gaind, a professor at Temerty Faculty of Medicine, responded to Elitzur’s claims by saying that it’s not fair to characterize all of the 300 protesters as thugs. He noted that the council “should not conflate the actions of bad actors with our broader student population, many of whom are outside, protesting for whatever reasons they are there.”

Alumnus Governor Brian Madden echoed Gaind’s sentiment, but added that he believes it to be “implausible that, with the technology we have at hand today — facial recognition, artificial intelligence, machine learning — that we couldn’t really just fly a drone over there” to identify the people inside and outside of the encampment.

The spokesperson wrote to The Varsity that Elitzur and Madden declined to comment on their statements. They also noted the university does not use “any form of facial recognition technology, artificial intelligence or drone technology for surveillance.”

Outside protest

Outside of Simcoe Hall, the protesters chanted at the council to let them into the meeting. Among them, O4P spokespersons Sara Rasikh, a masters student studying social justice education; Aviral Dhamija, a recent philosophy and international relations graduate; and Erin Mackey, a recent political science and environmental studies graduate spoke to the crowd. 

“This university does not actually want to commit to anything that it claims to stand for. It only wants to commit to the bottom line,” said Dhamija. “That’s all it’s proven to us in the past two months, in the past six months, in the past 76 years.”

Mackey added that U of T has to “end their complicity in genocide” and that “there’s no other option for us other than continuing to show up every single day here at this encampment.”

As council members left Simcoe Hall, Campus Safety and security guards escorted some of them to their vehicles.

Director of Campus Safety Michael Munroe, President Gertler, and a few other members boarded a Campus Safety vehicle, which was guarded by a group of approximately six Campus Safety officers — some on foot and some with bikes. Student protesters started gathering around the car, chanting “shame on you.” 

Some students who approached the vehicle were pushed away by Campus Safety officers. One officer used a bike as a blockade to stop students from approaching the car. Another officer told student protesters to form a line “or be charged,” as the officers with bikes continued to make way for the vehicle while the protesters blocked the car’s path.

One officer used their bike to push about six protesters holding a banner and blocking the vehicle into the fence around the encampment. The officer then used their bike to trip the protester as the vehicle sped down King’s College Road.

In an email to The Varsity, a university spokesperson said that Campus Safety officers “receive extensive training in conflict prevention and de-escalation” to keep U of T community members and visitors safe. 

They added that the officers only use force “as a last resort” and “in circumstances allowed under applicable laws and policies,” such as protecting themselves, community members, or campus visitors from “assault or threats of assault,” or when “applying or enforcing” the law.

Editor’s Note (September 4, 01:55 am): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that U of T’s 2024 net assets increased to $9.9 billion from $923 million in 2023. In fact, its net assets increased by $923 million to $9.9 billion in 2024. 

Editor’s Note (September 6, 12:55 am): This article has been updated to include U of T’s requirements for divestment requests, and reflect a U of T spokesperson’s statement and President Gertler’s statement on the student protesters’ demands.