Dawson College to close Thursday during pro-Palestinian student strikes

A downtown Montreal CEGEP is cancelling classes and closing its campus on Thursday in response to a planned pro-Palestinian student strike.

Administrators at Dawson College sent a note to all students on Tuesday saying they had received "numerous emails and calls from members of the community expressing concerns about the safety of students and employees on the day of the boycott" and that classes would be cancelled.

"We recognize that recent events have raised tensions at the college," the note said. "Our paramount concern is the safety and well-being of all our students and employees."

Dawson's student union voted to take part in the strike, which is organized by the Coalition de Résistance pour l'Unité Étudiante Syndicale (CRUES), a coalition that includes student unions in universities and junior colleges across Quebec. 

The organization says its objective is "the liberation and the end of genocide in Palestine and the Middle East," according to a statement on the CRUES website.

The group also wants "institutions, corporations, the federal government and the provincial government sever all ties with Israel," it said in a news release.

Other student unions are also participating in the strike, including AGEM, which represents 8,300 students at Collège Montmorency, according to CRUES.

Some smaller associations that represent students at Concordia University, Université du Québec à Montréal and Université de Montréal, and some representing groups at other CEGEPs, are also taking part in the strike.

Most of the student groups are striking both Thursday and Friday, but some are striking on only one of the days. The Dawson Student Union is striking Thursday and AGEM is striking Friday. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, Dawson College was the only institution to announce the cancellation of classes in response to the student strike.

McGill University said in a statement that its campus would remain open on Thursday.

"As long as student protesters respect our policies and all laws and are neither interfering with access points nor preventing core activities from proceeding, access to our campuses should be the same as it is today," a spokesperson said.

The pro-Israel advocacy groups Federation CJA and CIJA issued a joint statement saying that the college was caving to pressure from "radical agitators participating in an internationally organized 'student intifada.'"

"Dawson's decision to capitulate to extremist voices from an aggressive and vocal minority, allowing them to hijack more than 10,000 students' access to education, sets a dangerous precedent that must not become normalized," the statement said.

CRUES said it would hold a protest march on Friday starting at Place Émilie-Gamelin in downtown Montreal.