In an Instagram post published late Nov. 6, UW Voices for Palestine along with UWaterloo Model United Nations, North African Student Association, University of Waterloo NDP, and Occupy Waterloo accused the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) of attacking pro Palestinian student clubs. 

The post included an allegation that WUSA had threatened to revoke the official club status of the student clubs who endorsed their rally in the arts quad that took place on Nov. 7, 2024. The post also stated that WUSA had also attempted to intimidate students into cancelling the protest, pressuring clubs to censor events to exclude mention of the genocide, refused to provide legal advice and used personal information to send texts to club leaders harassing them to take down Palestinian related posts. The post demanded that WUSA denounce the genocide, adopt the ACLA definition of anti-Palestinian Racism, and acknowledge their role in said anti-Palestinian racism.

The email mentioned in the post was sent by WUSA on Nov. 5, and said that the clubs team had not received any event forms related to the rally, and that event forms are required, to be submitted and approved for any club event held on or off campus, big or small, just attending or hosting.” Imprint verified that this is stated on page 12 of the spring 2022 clubs manual.

“By not submitting an event form, this event is not officially sanctioned, and your club is no longer covered under WUSA insurance leaving your club members personally liable for damages,” said WUSA in the email. “In addition, not filling out an event form can jeopardize a club’s official status.”

Nicholas Joseph, media liaison for Voices for Palestine, said that requiring clubs to submit an event form for every event they attend is “absolutely nonsensical. Imagine everywhere you go, you have to ask for permission to do so.” 

The group’s problems with WUSA date back a year ago on Nov. 7, 2023, when they held their first rally as Voices for Palestine on campus. Joseph said that after that, WUSA suspended club activities for several weeks. 

“We kept asking ‘Why are you suspending our club events?’ They wouldn’t give us a solid answer,” Joseph said. “Eventually, they conceded that we didn’t violate a single policy.

“We did everything according to the rules, and it was the fact that we were doing Palestinian advocacy, the fact that we were doing a protest, that made them suspend our activities.”

WUSA President, Nick Pfeifle, confirmed that there was a suspension of events from Voices for Palestine, but that it was not a decision that was made lightly. Pfeifle acknowledged that in the wake of certain events (such as the rally), the organization needed to ensure that events adhered to safety protocols and complied with university policies. 

“WUSA is committed to supporting student freedom of expression, but we also have these logistical and legal frameworks we have to work within,” Pfeifle said. “We’re not out to restrict anyone’s views, but the protocols can sometimes feel restrictive from the outside.”

Voices for Palestine’s issues with WUSA have been ongoing – for instance, Joseph said that they would “deliberately” not respond to completed event forms. “When we submit an event form two weeks in advance, [WUSA] won’t approve or deny the event until the day of. Like hours before,” Joseph said. “So we don’t have time to properly prepare for the event, especially if we’re inviting guest speakers, because they have to travel here.”

Pfeifle said that there was no intentional withholding of event approvals, and acknowledged that some events might take longer to approve due to the complexity of the event and logistical challenges that WUSA faced in processing approvals. 

Joseph further alleged that WUSA has a priority list for which clubs to respond to first. When asked how he gathered this information, Joseph said that Voices for Palestine has incredible research teams. When asked about it specifically, Pfeifle said, “We don’t have a priority list per se, but if an event is more complex, it naturally takes longer to process.” 

Joseph brought up other instances of WUSA silencing students on Palestine, including the WUSA club Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity, and Equity (RAISE) service. “UW RAISE made a post about Palestine, and WUSA logged into their account and deleted the post and then also deleted a post about Palestine from 2021 on the basis that it was political,” Joseph said. “But what is a racial advocacy group if it’s not political?”

Pfeifle said he was not aware of these specific posts being deleted, and that the post from 2021 was still currently visible. He denied that WUSA intentionally deleted the posts and pointed to the structural autonomy of student advocacy groups in managing their own affairs. He suggested that the situation could have resulted from a miscommunication or misunderstanding regarding how these groups operate within the larger WUSA framework.

Joseph feels that the repression goes beyond WUSA, and that UW sends both campus police and Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) to their club events. 

In response to this claim, UW spokesperson Rebecca Elming sent the following emailed statement: “The Special Constable Service regularly coordinates with campus groups holding events to ensure safety of the entire community. This includes protests, ceremonies, large meetings like conferences and many other university events.”

The UW Special Constable Service has a WRPS officer embedded on the force as part of their partnership. 

When asked what he feels WUSA’s goal is, Joseph said that the student movement for Voices for Palestine has got many people aware and involved on the issue, which had the effect of creating division between university admin, the students and staff.

“I think the admin and also higher-ups in WUSA – they just don’t want this division existing,” Joseph said. “They want people to engage in the system as they intend it, and just come here and study and graduate. They don’t want political tensions on campus.” 

Joseph said that the goals of Voices for Palestine are for UW to divest from and boycott Israeli institutions, and to create ethical investing frameworks, and called for WUSA to stop repressing students. He encouraged students to get involved with organizations they care about.

“The only way we’re going to achieve liberation is through organization – join an organization, commit time to it – if not now, when?” Joseph said.

 

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