By: Freida Watermelon, SFU Student
Content warning: mentions of genocide.
Joy Johnson is exasperated because she does not know what more she could’ve done! The Board of Governors meeting was moved online to prevent any more annoying disruptions, but that did not stop those little rascals from causing a scene.
She believes the university should be able to own shares in military equipment companies without all this fuss. This is not a good look for anyone. She has said it before and she will say it again: “SFU is committed to responsible investment,” not committed to being held responsible for its investments. That’s the tricky little nuance the hundreds of members of the SFU community calling for divestment don’t understand.
Suuure the Belzberg Library in Vancouver is named after a woman who equates criticism of Israel to antisemitism, but why is it so wrong to only want to talk about Israeli victims of October 7? Is it really hypocritical to say you “support freedom of thought” and then get angry when people see through Israeli propaganda? Johnson is truly saddened by this complex and tragic affair.
“The mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians” since 1948 is unfortunate, but must it disrupt business as usual (our fun little monthly dress-up chit chat sessions)? Johnson thinks that the incredibly diverse SFU community should be foregrounding difficult conversations to truly navigate these difficult times. (Without her, of course, her calendar is full).
For Johnson, it’s easy. When SFU says “engage with us,” they mean give us compliments, do not complain about layoffs, and pay increased tuition. There are plenty of opportunities on campus to talk about equity and freedom in ways that do not challenge the status quo. For example, Johnson plans on encouraging students to enroll in the social justice certificate program instead of participating in tangible acts of social justice.
She’s also considering not releasing a statement about the students occupying the library because if she ignores it, maybe everyone will forget. She is so confused about what the protesters must’ve been thinking. You can’t just rename the library after someone who hasn’t given us money!
