To our Dalhousie Community,
We are writing to provide an update on the Studley Quad encampment organized by the Students for the Liberation of Palestine (SLPK), a coalition of students from Dal, SMU, UKC, NSCAD, and MSVU.
Through regular engagement with our Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) executive and Dalhousie students involved in this demonstration, we have arrived at principled actions that align with requests and demands made through approved motions at the March 2024 Dalhousie Student Union meeting, as well as several SLPK demands and motions passed by the Dalhousie Faculty Association. While many conversations remain ongoing, and we support continued opportunities for gathering, critical discourse, learning, connection, and demonstration, we have finalized our commitments and are taking steps to return the Studley Quad to be an open space available for the use of our whole community. Ongoing encampment activity will not have an impact on whether these engagements and commitments proceed.
Through significant efforts of staff, leaders, and various decision-making bodies at the university, we have confirmed the following commitments:
Student Supports
We have put in place and communicated student supports for current and prospective students impacted by the crisis in Palestine and surrounding regions, including admission fee waivers and deadline flexibility, financial supports, access to bursary and financial aid resources outside the typical application timelines, and individual support by a manager in the Registrar’s Office to support students in navigating these resources. These supports are consistent with our Senate-approved equity ethos statement guiding admissions and student support processes and establish a foundation for proactive resources we will make available for students impacted by geopolitical crises.
The DSU and Student Affairs have agreed to partner on fundraising initiatives this Fall to support Palestinian scholars at risk who have had their studies or research interrupted by significant destruction of the postsecondary education system in Palestine.
Dalhousie University Senate approved an academic amnesty request for Dalhousie and King’s students participating in the ongoing encampment to do so without academic penalty due to their absence, active until August 31, 2024.
Dalhousie will continue to support spaces for critical discourse, education, and community connection on this issue through support for campus space booking and safety-related supports for student organizers through our Student Affairs and Security teams.
Academic Partnerships
Dalhousie will launch a working group in Fall 2024 to examine the development and review of international partnerships, to ensure our processes responsively take into account ethical and human rights considerations.
Investment Disclosure and Divestment
Dalhousie discloses its investments annually through a transparent process and will continue to do so. The university is also a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investing and was one of the first universities in Canada to adopt Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investment practices.
Dalhousie, in collaboration with the DSU executive, has added a set of questions to its annual review process for fund managers, focused on geopolitical risk, human rights violations, and review for investment in assets involved in the production of controversial weapons and weapons of mass destruction. These review questions signal to fund managers who manage Dalhousie’s investments that these considerations are important to us and assist us in gathering additional information on the practices and risk mitigation processes of fund managers who make day-to-day decisions about the university’s investments.
In the Fall, representatives from the Investment Committee, the Board’s Finance, Audit, Investment and Risk Committee, University Treasury Office, and the DSU executive will meet to review a summary of information gathered to date from the investment managers. Following this meeting, if required, there will be avenues for discussion and consideration in advance of and in preparation for the October 15, 2024 Board of Governors meeting.
In addition, Dalhousie will explore a process for expression of concerns from Dalhousie community members around responsible investing.
Dalhousie recognizes and will continue to remain aware of UN bodies and international law organizations (International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court) who are monitoring this evolving crisis.
As we’ve shared previously, informed debate and critical discourse are fundamental aspects of university life. Dalhousie is an institution that welcomes and encourages respectful, non-violent debate and supports one another across our differences. We appreciate the efforts of our students who have created spaces for learning and demonstration on this important issue and encourage all members of our community to continue to engage on this, and other, complex global issues and to care for each other and our shared humanity.
In closing, we would like to recognize and extend our sincere appreciation to the individuals and units who played a part in maintaining a safe and functional campus over the past two months. We know that for many this has not been an easy period. We especially thank our many colleagues (students, faculty, staff, and wider community) who have worked hard to express, as generously as possible under their circumstances, their perspectives and social consciousness about complex world issues in a way that reflects our community’s care and compassion. We know that if we want to live in a world where people can listen to each other, learn, and thrive, we need to be able to navigate hard things together in alignment with the principles we strive to live up to as a community and institution. Our approach and learnings from the past months will help us effectively navigate the complex issues we are certain will continue to arise at a globally engaged university.
Sincerely,
Kim Brooks
President and Vice-Chancellor
Rick Ezekiel
Vice-Provost Student Affairs
Dalhousie University operates in the unceded territories of the Mi’kmaw, Wolastoqey, and Peskotomuhkati Peoples. These sovereign nations hold inherent rights as the original peoples of these lands, and we each carry collective obligations under the Peace and Friendship Treaties. Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms Aboriginal and Treaty rights in Canada.
We recognize that African Nova Scotians are a distinct people whose histories, legacies and contributions have enriched that part of Mi’kma’ki known as Nova Scotia for over 400 years.