Editor’s note: Chloë Arneson, a former news writer, was interviewed for this article. The Peak acknowledges this and has taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest or potential bias from influencing the article.
On February 26, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) held an election for its incoming student representatives. The election included a referendum to include the support for Palestinian liberation as the 10th of the SFSS Issues Policies (IP). The policy states support on a Council level for this cause. The adoption of this policy reached 1,801 votes in favour, and 442 against. The Peak corresponded with the incoming vice-president of equity and sustainability, Chloë Arneson, to learn more about the policy.
The decision to include this referendum came from a vote in the SFSS’ January 3 meeting. In the Council meeting, a call for a ceasefire was made in support of the Palestinian people, who are currently undergoing a genocide and apartheid at the hands of the Israeli Defense Force. In the same meeting, president Liam Feng made a motion of notice to strike all 12 of the IPs, stating that an “Issues Policy may inadvertently introduce bias or preference towards specific political stances, potentially compromising the society’s commitment to impartiality.” He continued by saying the motion was made “to safeguard the student union’s commitment to inclusivity and fairness by eliminating any potential sources of bias or partiality arising from the Issues Policy.”
However, Arneson told The Peak, “This notion seems to come from a fundamental misunderstanding of what we do.” The 12 IPs declare SFSS’s support for causes like reproductive justice, Indigenous rights and reconciliation, disability justice, tuition affordability, policing and militarization, anti-racism, and others. Including the policy referendum in the election “protects IP-10 from being unjustly repealed by Council without due consultation of the community, now requiring another referendum to do so,” Arneson said.
In the March 13 SFSS meeting, Feng was fined $700 for his attempt to remove these policies, and required to issue a public written apology.
“I want to ensure that the SFSS continues to stand by our statement on the Palestinian struggle for freedom,” Arneson said. “I want to ensure that we continue to consult with the various student groups mobilized around this issue to see how we can best support them and uplift their voices [ . . . ] I want to ensure that the SFSS is prepared to support the community in these instances.”
