FASA first student association to vote to strike for Palestine
The strike will push for Concordia to divest from weapons manufacturers, issue a public apology
Almost a year after the Concordia University student strike for Palestine in November 2024, the Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) has officially become the first student association at the university to vote for a strike for Palestine this fall.
The strike is set to happen from Oct. 6 to Oct. 7, with FASA students voting 53 in favour to 1 at the association’s general assembly (GA) on Sept. 23. The membership also voted to discuss the details of the strike at a separate mobilization meeting on Oct. 2.
The Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) and FASA, along with help from Students for Palestine's Honour and Resistance (SPHR), are mobilizing to hold strike votes over Concordia’s ties to companies linked to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“FASA took [the strike] on, and we thought it was important to present it to the students of the Fine Arts Student [Alliance]. In regard to strikes, this one is specifically [about] financial disruption to the university,” said FASA outreach coordinator Paloma Thompson at the GA.
SPHR has proposed a strike motion for associations to vote on, which was adapted and modified by ASFA’s Mobilization Committee and would be amendable by associations during their GAs, as was done by FASA.
Adam Semergian, ASFA’s academic coordinator, says that ASFA has decided to co-organize the strike with SPHR because students still care about Palestine.
“Students have voiced strong opposition to Concordia University’s ongoing complicity in what the United Nations has officially recognized as a genocide, and ASFA has the responsibility to support and represent those voices,” Semergian said.
The strike motion will call on associations to demand that Concordia end its employment partnerships with Lockheed Martin and divest from Booz Allen Hamilton, Palantir, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and Triumph Group.
Companies associated with the demand for divestment have ties to Israel through the manufacturing of weapons or direct support to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
In January 2024, Palantir held its board meeting in Israel and entered into a “strategic partnership” with Israel’s Ministry of Defense to help Israel's “war effort.”
Boeing has also been accused of profiting from Gaza’s genocide. As one of the world’s biggest weapons manufacturers, Boeing produces several fighter jets and other military equipment that Israel has used to attack the Palestinian territories.
Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons manufacturer, supplies Israel with F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, which Israel uses extensively to bomb Gaza. Israel also uses the company’s C-130 Hercules transport planes to support the ground invasion of Gaza.
According to the strike motion, Concordia's employment partnerships with Lockheed Martin allow Lockheed Martin to seek tax credits from the Canadian and Quebec governments for employing Concordia students. These credits offer a financial boost to these companies to continue supplying weapons to Israel.
The motion also demands that the university cut ties with Perceptage International and Moshav Security, companies that have been accused of hiring ex-IDF soldiers and having ties to the Israeli government.
Further demands include that the university drop the Office of Rights and Responsibilities complaints against pro-Palestine students and activists and make a public apology regarding these complaints.
As of the time of publication, the Women’s and Sexuality Studies Student Association, the Sociology and Anthropology Student Union, the Geography Undergraduate Student Society, the Urban Planning Association, the Linguistics Student Association, the Concordia University Psychology Association, the Political Science Students’ Association, the School of Community and Public Affairs Student Association, the Concordia Association for Students in English, the COMS Guild, the Teaching English as a Second Language Student Association, and Students of History at Concordia have officially announced general assemblies for a vote on the strike motion.
According to an SPHR member who was granted anonymity due to fear of academic repercussions, student demands for another strike are not surprising.
“At this point, we are two years in, and the situation [in Gaza] is extremely dire. At this point, it can’t even be ignored,” they said. “I think it is important for us to continue this pressure [on the university].”
With files from Geneviève Sylvestre
A previous version of this article stated that the Biology Student Association had announced a general assembly to vote on the strike motion. This is incorrect, the Students of History at Concordia is the one set to vote on the motion. The Link regrets this error.
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