“Hey hey, ho ho, we don’t want to go!”
Shouts echoed across Freedom Square on SFU’s Burnaby Campus on Wednesday, March 18, as students, families, and supporters rallied in protest of the impending eviction of the residents of Louis Riel House (LRH). No representatives from the university were present.
SFU authorities announced on March 7 their decision to close the oldest residence on campus, effective as of August this year. SFU has condemned the building due to structural issues and health concerns associated with black mould.
Amid signs marked “We don’t want to change our school” and “Keep your promise SFU,” attendees gathered to listen to concerned residents share their stories from the steps of the AQ.
A current SFU student and resident of LRH, Teresa Dettling, told those in attendance that the residents would not be leaving quietly. “We want to save our community,” she announced to onlookers. “We want to be able to be moved across the campus to affordable housing. And we want in the future for SFU to include affordable low-income housing for students so that students from all different backgrounds can come to university and pursue their educational goals.”
For the past month, residents have been collecting signatures to petition the university to ensure that “all the current and future low-income families and graduate students in Louis Riel House are provided with appropriate housing on the SFU Burnaby campus.”
Nevertheless, the university website states that they “cannot guarantee that current residents will be able to find alternative housing within the same price range.”
Ten speakers shared their stories with the audience, including international student Shenwei Huang, who is pursuing his PhD in computer science.
“We feel we are abandoned,” stated Huang. “The university decided to close the building, but they don’t have a plan, they don’t have a considered plan in advance, to finance alternative, affordable, on-campus or near-campus buildings.”
He continued, stating that it was antithetical that SFU was “demanding their students to engage the world without considering their basic needs [such as] a safe home, affordable home, financial sustainability, and emotional support.”
Mai Abdelmoaty, whose husband is finishing his PhD in electrical engineering at SFU, reflected on the difficulties of the past month. “It [is] very hard, the stress that we’re going through,” she said. “They [SFU] only care that they don’t call it eviction, but it’s eviction. If you don’t ask us or consult us, it’s eviction.”
The rally lasted over an hour and a half, with more than 200 people joining in during the event. The group plans to continue demanding that SFU rehouse all the residents of LRH on the mountain at the same rents that they are currently paying, and that they replace the housing lost due to the building’s closure.
