Shut ‘Er Down

Concordia University to Close for March 22 Day of Action

NewsLaura Beeston — Published March 19, 2012

Concordia University announced today it will be shutting down on March 22 for the province-wide protest against the increasing tuition fees.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 students and faculty are anticipated to begin the march from the downtown campus, which created “security concerns and related operational challenges regarding the size of the crowd expected to gather at Concordia,” said an official memo from the university, issued early in the afternoon on March 19.

“Yes, the university will be completely closed, and no one can have access to the building,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota prior to the communiqué being issued.

All classes, labs and studios will be closed on Thursday and faculty and staff members have been instructed not to report to work. The announcement also stated that there will be not be an extra day added to the semester to make up for any classes missed on March 22.

Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill said the move did not surprise her executive, given that a slew of regional schools and several CEGEPs have made Concordia their planned starting point.

Gill was also happy that faculty and staff would be able to participate in the demonstration without being penalized. She did, however, have some logistical concerns about not having access to CSU offices.

“It’s going to be a tough Wednesday night,” she laughed.

CSU elections will also be affected by the lockdown, as voting was originally scheduled to take place from March 20 to 22. Gill anticipated that an extra polling day will be added on March 23 to make up for the Day of Action.

“The Chief Electoral Officer is working on that right now,” said Gill.

More to come.