At the March 21 Concordia Student Union special council meeting, a motion to call for a referendum on the strike was struck from the agenda, while several issues concerning the ongoing boycott of classes were addressed.
Councillors Sabrina D’Ambra, Iain Meyer-Macaulay and Nadine Atallah called for the meeting on March 17. It was held with the intent of calling a general assembly to take place March 22, before the emergence of the GA petition filed later that week, and announcement that the university would be closed that day. The GA is now scheduled to take place Monday, March 26.
At the meeting, councillors discussed the legality of holding a referendum on campus and the use of hard picketing tactics during the strike.
It was stated that due to the CSU’s bylaws, the organization of a referendum in which students could vote whether to remain on strike would not be feasible at this point in time.
Following this, D’Ambra spoke on behalf of students who felt confused regarding the CSU’s stance on hard picketing and suggested the CSU’s position be reiterated publicly.
Some students felt like their rights had been infringed on, she explained.
CSU President Lex Gill was against this proposal, arguing that the CSU’s stance has already been made public and that it would be disrespectful to those demonstrating.
She went on to say that sending out general statements can be problematic, often confusing students and faculty.
“We can inform students, but we can’t tell them what to do,” said Gill.
There was also some discussion regarding safety issues for Concordia students at the March 22 demonstration. It was later agreed upon that the volunteers and students acting as security would be sufficient.
Finally, it was decided that council would send out an email about tomorrow’s demonstration to remind students to remain peaceful and non-violent.
The March 22 day of action protest will begin at Canada Place at 1 p.m., with a Concordia
contingent leaving from in front of the Hall building shortly before.