Blackwell Reference Online

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Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, has long been at the forefront of Canadian student activism. On January 29, 1969, a group of students protesting what they alleged as institutional racism within the university occupied the ninth floor of the Henry F. Hall building until they were dislodged by riot police on February 11. The ensuing confrontation – the most serious student disturbance in Canadian history – saw most of the university's student records destroyed as the computer lab went up in flames, resulting in the arrest of nearly 100 students. Some 30 years later, student activism at Concordia University was again in the headlines, this time for the prominent activity of anti-globalization and Palestinian solidarity activists. Coinciding with a new wave of pan-Canadian student activism in the mid-to late 1990s, anti-capitalist activist Rob Green was elected president of the Concordia Student Union (CSU) in April 1999. His presidency ushered in a four-year period of political activity which saw a flurry of Concordia University student activities, many reported on by the mainstream media. From 1999 to 2001, the CSU organized a series of mass mobilizations on campus, including a two-day student strike which succeeded in lowering student fees by $90 a year. Through the use of student referenda backed up by threats of direct action and protest, campus activists targeted university ... log in or subscribe to read full text