Social justice groups are calling on UBC to implement further training for Campus Security and apologize following recent incidents perceived as targeted.
In a December 9 Instagram post, the UBC Social Justice Centre (SJC) wrote that students, specifically BIPOC and marginalized students, who have been involved in pro-Palestinian events or actions have been “targeted” by Campus Security. The post also included several videos of student interactions with Campus Security and RCMP officers.
“Campus Security has shown a blatant disregard for the wellbeing of BIPOC students on campus,” wrote the SJC.
Campus Security operates under the Safety & Risks Services department in the VP finance & operations office. All officers are certified and licensed for security work in BC.
One interaction occurred on November 3, after two students removed a tarp placed over the engineering Cairn after it was painted with pro-Palestine messages. The SJC wrote that an officer “followed the students and aggressively demanded that they put it back on the Cairn” and called the RCMP on the students for the theft of the tarp.
A video shared by the SJC then showed an officer standing and arguing with them inside the Orchard Commons residence.
In a statement to The Ubyssey, Rae Ann Aldridge executive director, safety and risk services at UBC wrote the tarp was placed as part of the policy that governs the Cairn and Campus Security called the RCMP after the tarp was removed for a second time.
According to Alridge, Campus Security followed the students per RCMP instructions.
But, Aleena Haq, a coordinator with the SJC, said the response by Campus Security put the students in distressing circumstances and did not consider their physical and emotional safety.
“They're so overwhelmed, they're being followed, they're getting the cops called on them. And nobody has any sort of concern for their emotional well being or their physical well being.”
RCMP presence at pro-Palestine event concerned organizers
The second incident concerned a presentation and talk on "Black-Palestinian transnational solidarity" co-hosted by the Black Muslim Collective at UBC (BMC), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights UBC (SPHR), the UBC Social Justice Institute Graduate Student Association and other local activist groups.
In an Instagram post co-signed by all groups involved, the BMC wrote the event was subject to "a coordinated campaign of intimidation and harassment."
The event was originally scheduled to be held in the Nest, but the AMS was not able to accommodate the booking. It was then moved to the Black Student Space (BSS), which had been booked as a backup, but the organizing groups wrote that this booking was cancelled day-of.
Aldridge did not provide specific comments on the BSS booking, but wrote the university could not accommodate the event in a UBC space through its space booking policy as the one-day notice made it impossible for “the required safety review and planning” to occur.
“Given the last-minute nature of the booking, the university felt there were many outstanding safety and risk concerns that were not able to be mitigated and was not able to allow the event to proceed on university property,” wrote Aldridge.
The event eventually occurred in another room in the Nest.
“Given that UBC admin had over two weeks to ask questions about the solidarity event, we view the negligence regarding these concerns and the sudden cancellation [of room bookings] on the day itself as a calculated attempt to censor speech,” wrote the groups.
However, Aldridge wrote the university is “satisfied that the protocols were applied guided by consistent principles given the uniquely chaotic situation without clarity on the organizing person(s).”
According to the BMC post, RCMP officers arrived as organizers set up the event in Nest who said they had seen social media posts about it. Organizers raised concerns about the presence, writing that “the unnecessary presence of RCMP officers caused extreme distress among the organizers and attendees.” In their public email template, the SJC wrote it was “unnecessary escalation.”
Haq said the SJC included the BMC event in their statement because it was involved similar “concerns of racial bias, lack of de-escalation and calling the RCMP on students in campus security.”
SJC calls for de-escalation training
The third event the SJC post identified occurred on November 23 outside of the Life Building, where Aldridge said Campus Security performed a citizen’s arrest on “a known individual who was actively banned from campus property” following his assault of an officer. The RCMP arrived shortly after.
A video shared by the SJC shows the individual being held down by three Campus Security officers and another Campus Security officer telling spectators to step back and approaching a racialized student filming the incident.
Haq characterized Campus Security's actions as “an extreme use of force” on the man being detained and expressed concern about the officer's conduct towards the students filming.
The SJC statement reads there is a “concerning inability to de-escalate” and Campus Security “should not be laying their hands on a young woman for recording.”
According to Aldridge, UBC “continues to explore ways to appropriately communicate safety interventions to campus community members while also respecting the privacy of individuals involved.”
She added the Office of the Vice-President Students and the Equity and Inclusion Office have held meetings with student groups and students about their concerns and will continue to do so moving forwards.
Haq confirmed the SJC attended meetings with UBC administration and its members have had “consistent meetings” with the university in the past months, but said it has been “a fight for our voices to be heard.”
“Why are we being shoved by campus security? Why is Campus Security calling the RCMP on students who pose no danger?”
Haq said the SJC is “looking for some sort of commitment to any sort of de-escalation training or any sort of trauma-informed training for campus security, because the way that they have handled these interactions has been so incredibly damaging. It just shows a lack of care.”
The Ubyssey reached out to SPHR, BMC and Black Void UBC but did not hear back by publishing time.
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