APR Has Consequences
Anti-Palestinian racism fosters exclusion, fear, and hostility, undermining equality, justice, and academic freedom. In educational institutions, it manifests through silencing, marginalization, and disciplinary actions against those advocating for Palestinian rights, reinforcing systemic bias and erasing Palestinian perspectives.
APR has serious emotional, academic, and professional consequences. Students and faculty risk harassment, institutional retaliation, and career setbacks for demonstrating solidarity. By enabling these patterns of discrimination, universities perpetuate injustice and fail to uphold intellectual freedom. Holding institutions accountable is essential to ensuring campuses remain spaces for open discourse and advocacy.
APR has Deep and Far-Reaching Impacts
Here, we’ve only begun to share the stories of those affected—more to come soon...
Sean Tucker, a sessional instructor at UBC's School of Population and Public Health, had his teaching contract terminated in October 2024 due to his support for Palestinian rights, including organizing events and speaking out on Gaza. His firing is seen as part of a larger trend of anti-Palestinian discrimination, where advocates for Palestinian rights are often targeted. The decision faced backlash from faculty, who condemned it as a violation of academic freedom and called for Tucker’s reinstatement. In December 2024, he publicly urged UBC to reinstate him, but the university has yet to respond.
Dr. Natalie Knight, an instructor at Langara College, was placed on leave in October 2023 after making public comments in support of Palestine. She was later terminated on January 26, 2024, following a meeting between BC's Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Selina Robinson, and the college administration, where concerns about Knight's reinstatement were raised. This intervention was widely condemned by the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), who criticized it as an unprecedented abuse of ministerial authority to suppress political expression.
Vancouver Island University (VIU) recently suspended two students—one Palestinian and one Canadian—who participated in a peaceful encampment on campus in solidarity with Palestine. The demonstration aimed to raise awareness of human rights violations in Palestine. However, the university suspended the students, citing unspecified rule violations and safety concerns, despite offering no evidence to support these claims. VIU’s response was both misleading and disproportionate. Rather than engaging with the concerns raised, the university’s actions suggest an effort to delegitimize the protest and suppress student activism. This blatant attempt to silence dissent should be condemned for its failure to uphold academic freedom and the fundamental right to protest. By targeting students advocating for justice, VIU sends a troubling message about its willingness to stifle free expression on campus.
While we have highlighted numerous examples of APR within post-secondary institutions, it is important to recognize that APR is deeply ingrained and pervasive throughout the entire education system. This systemic presence not only reinforces its normalization but also makes it easier for such discrimination to persist and escalate on university and college campuses.