As the voting period draws closer to ending on Oct. 6, it’s time for students to ask themselves the important question of which side to vote for. But what does each side believe to be the best course of action and why? 

In this referendum, there are two questions being asked:

• Question 1: Should UW sever its partnership with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology due to its role in the research and development of technology used by the Israel Defense Forces?   
• Question 2:  Should UW review its partnerships and investment portfolios to ensure alignment with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and Amnesty International, to prioritize institutions that demonstrate a commitment to human rights, peace, and international law in a manner that is timely and transparent to the undergraduate student?

Students can either vote yes or no to these questions, and WUSA will advocate on behalf of the final majority opinion as representative of the student body. Referendums have demonstrated a significant amount of power, most notably the 2019 GRT U-Pass Referendum, which resulted in access to the GRT U-Pass that many students use to access transportation within the KW region. 

With that being said, what do the two sides of the Responsible Partnerships and Investments Referendum believe?

For the first question, the Yes side believes that ties should be severed between UW and Technion because of the Israel Defense Force’s use of technology developed by Technion. The No side believes that ties should not be severed between the two institutions. 

For the second question, the Yes side believes that UW should review their partnerships and investment portfolios to ascertain that each one is in accordance with ESG principles. The No side believes that there is no need for reviews of partnerships and investment portfolios with ESG principles — the approach the university has maintained thus far is sufficient.

Why are they taking these positions?
Yasseen Mobada, media representative for the Yes side explains, “The Israeli Defense Forces [are] frequently and currently committing very well-documented war crimes… they’re doing this with the help of many military weapons and so, Technion is participating directly in the research and development [for those weapons]… And because of that, we don’t think it’s ethical, defendable for [UW] to participate in research with them.” 

As for why they’re advocating for the inclusion of ESG principles, “The idea is that any university that is doing research that is violating human rights, that is harming the environment, that is going against social goals, these are all things that the university publicly at least in some of its language, is opposed to,” Mobada expresses. 

Mobada cites that UW expresses their efforts for decolonization, “So you hear that term, but then you look at the partnerships that we have [been] doing and that’s certainly not decolonization.” 

The No side believes that severing ties and reviewing partnerships and investments will have a number of negative consequences. They illustrate the numerous consequences that these actions will have, for example, ending innovation in water purification, delivering medicine for diseased areas, pollution-free future, quantum computing, infant respiratory treatment, and Parkinson’s treatment, to name a few. They stress the importance of the partnerships by describing how said partnerships will aid the ongoing water crisis for Indigenous communities. They mention that maintaining their position will lead to positive global impact, student opportunity, student-aligned interests, and collaboration between the two institutions which they believe will be for the better. They highlight that these relationships have spawned 11 research projects and $3.4 million in research grants. 

Students, your voice matters — you should carefully decide what you would like to support and what position you would like your own student association to take. Your voice will represent not just you, but your fellow peers as well. Not only that, but WUSA will also take into account this position when interacting with the university. Take some time and vote before the period ends on Oct 6 at 11:59 p.m.: https://vote.wusa.ca