On October 7, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) organized a campus-wide walkout to protest Israel’s ongoing violence in Gaza. Three days later, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) and students at the UTSG campus followed suit. 

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 Israelis, the Israeli military has killed over 44,000 Palestinians. Israel has continued its attacks on Gaza and recently intensified its attack on the Lebanese political party and militant group Hezbollah. Since September, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed over 700 people. 

The Varsity attended each walkout and spoke with students about their participation in the protests.

UTSG

On October 10, roughly 200 students at UTSG marched through the hallways of Sidney Smith Hall, McLennan Physical Laboratories, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Convocation Hall. This protest was part of UofT Occupy for Palestine’s (O4P) Week of Rage, a series of events held in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon. 

Students flying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs gathered at the steps of Sidney Smith at 2:30 pm. Speakers with megaphones encouraged attendees to reiterate their demands for the university administration to disclose their financial investments, divest from Israeli companies, and cut ties with Israeli institutions. 

The protestors marched up the steps of Sidney Smith and through the hallways before exiting onto St. George Street and continuing on their route through several major buildings on campus. 

GENEVIEVE SUGRUE/THE VARSITY

Second-year social justice education masters student Sara Rasikh, who is an O4P spokesperson and one of the organizers of the walkout, spoke about the purpose of the Week of Rage. “It has to do with the frustration and anger that is related to the university’s silence on what is going on in Palestine,” she said.

“The university claims to be neutral while their investments only serve the interests of the Israeli state,” Rasikh continued. “And so we are bringing forward the contradictions that exist at the university, and we are calling out [the] administration.”

The university has noted that any claims connecting U of T to the Israeli military have “no basis in fact.” 

Around 3:30 pm, the crowd entered Convocation Hall by pushing through security guards and Campus Safety who attempted to block the doors. One protester holding a door open was forcibly pulled away by a Campus Safety officer. When confronted by another protester, the officer remarked, “What are you going to do about it?” Meanwhile, dozens of other protesters continued to hold open other entrances to the building, insisting that they were students and should be permitted inside. 

The security guards and Campus Safety then reorganized to guard the entrance of Simcoe Hall as students rallied briefly near the doors before continuing the march north on St. George Street. The walkout concluded in front of Robarts Library shortly after 4:00 pm.

UTSC

In partnership with various other student groups, the SCSU held its walkout on October 10 at 12:00 pm. Around 70 students gathered in the Student Centre, where SCSU President Hunain Sindhu delivered his opening remarks. 

“Today we gather to call out U of T for its complicity in a year of genocide,” he said. 

Student Strike for Palestine (SS4P) at UTSC — a Palestinian advocacy group that participated in the walkout — was tabling in the Student Centre at the time. It encouraged students to sign a petition calling on the SCSU to support a student strike for Palestine as part of a national movement occurring on campuses across Canada.

Students then marched into the Instructional Centre, where Katherine Blouin, an associate professor of ancient history at UTSC, addressed the walkout attendees. 

“I want to thank you for showing us how the critical thinking abilities and the historical literacy skills [that] professors like me were hired by this institution to teach you ought to be used in practice… One day U of T will disclose, divest, and cut ties. When it does, it will be because of you. You are history and you are the university. Never forget that,” she said. 

Students then marched through the Sam Ibrahim Building and back toward South Campus, with Campus Safety Special Constables following the demonstration. 

Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario’s Chairperson Adaeze Mbalaja and National Executive Representative Cyrielle Ngeleka were also present and addressed walkout attendees in Highland Hall. 

“We are here to impress upon you, people, students of conscience, that we cannot stop, we cannot rest, until every single institution across so-called Canada divests from weapons and arms manufacturers and divests from genocide and destruction of the people of Palestine,” said Mbalaja. 

Ngeleka added that, “Student Union autonomy is under attack. Administrations are going to use tactics in order to implement divides… We need to stay consistent. We need to stay united in this movement.”

Students then marched to The Meeting Place, where the Health and Wellness Centre was holding its fall HealthyU Experience. The demonstration ended at around 3:00 pm with about 50 students present. 

UTM

On October 7 at 12:00 pm, UTM witnessed a large-scale walkout organized by the UTMSU. The protest called for the university to divest from companies that profit from the violence in Gaza and Lebanon. 

The walkout, which began at the Student Centre and ended at the William G. Davis Building, called on students and community members to protest the university’s complicity amidst escalating attacks and imperial violence by the Israeli government.

An Instagram post shared by the union ahead of the walkout called on the UTM community to “stand in solidarity” and demand divestment from Israel’s military investments. Multiple student groups — including the Association of Palestinian Students at UTM — voiced their support for the cause.

Students then formed a circle between the Communication Culture & Technology Building and the football field. They chanted, “The students united will never be defeated!” “No justice, no peace!” and “Free, free, free Palestine, from the river to the sea, even here at U of T.”

The students also expressed widespread frustration with UTM and Principal Alexandra Gillespie’s silence on the ongoing violence. 

Last year, Gillespie publicly condemned the UTMSU for releasing a statement on its solidarity with Palestine and civilians affected by the ongoing violence. 

OLGA FEDOSSENKO/THE VARSITY

UTMSU President Joelle Salsa remarked, “The University of Toronto remains complicit [and] silent [which] contributes to our grief and suffering. Shame!” 

Salsa reminded participants of the significance of the land on which the protest took place, noting that the university is built on stolen Indigenous land. “We have a responsibility to Indigenous people here,” she said, drawing a parallel between the historical oppression of Indigenous communities in Canada and the current plight of Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon. 

Salsa highlighted the long history of student activism at U of T, reminding the crowd that, “U of T students organized against the war in Vietnam [and] apartheid in South Africa.” She praised the university’s historical role in standing up against global injustice and called on today’s students to continue that legacy.

Another key concern raised during the protest was the alleged use of student tuition fees to invest in companies like Lockheed Martin.

In May, O4P issued a report claiming that the University of Toronto Asset Management’s (UTAM) investment partners hold billions of dollars in companies profiting from Israeli military action in Gaza. UTAM manages investing U of T’s endowment and allocates the majority of its endowment funds to external investment managers. 

In the report, O4P listed Lockheed Martin, which manufactures arms used by the Israeli military among 55 others, as a company that UTAM’s external investment managers oversee assets for.

According to a U of T spokesperson, the university’s investments are held in two separate funds. The Expendable Funds Investment Pool (EFIP) is “the fund that would include any tuition money not immediately spent.” They added that the EFIP, including other savings, is not invested in any company shares. 

One anonymous participant, who identified as half-Palestinian, expressed her personal connection to the cause. 

“My people are the ones dying… I’m here to support them… to be a voice for them,” she explained. 

In an email to The Varsity, Salsa noted that there was “No response from Principal Alexandra Gillespie or any of the administrative heads” regarding the walkout. 

In response to Salsa’s claim, a university spokesperson referred to the User Guide on U of T Policies on Protests.

Editor’s note (November 5, 8:50 pm): This article has been updated to reflect a U of T spokesperson’s statement to The Varsity, noting that tuition funds not immediately spent are held in the Expendable Funds Investment Pool and that the EFIP is not invested in company shares. 

Editor’s note (November 12, 9:23 pm): A previous version of this article stated that the O4P’s report claimed that U of T indirectly held billions of dollars in companies profiting from Israeli military action in Gaza. In fact, it is UTAM’s investment partners that hold the money.