Rules Of Conduct Within Our Space
Can’t Show Up But Still Want To Support?
Script To Send To Board Members and Administration
Why Are We Here? – Background
While the University of Toronto announced its divestment timeline in 2021, Victoria University, St. Michael's College, and Trinity College are federated colleges – they manage their own endowments. This means that while U of T has committed to divesting, Victoria College has not.
For a decade students have been calling on Victoria College to divest from fossil fuels. Currently, 3.5 percent of Victoria College’s 500 million dollar endowment is invested in fossil fuel companies. That is about 17.5 million dollars. To date, Vic has yet to respond to these demands through action. In 2021, after a period of intensified pressure from students and U of T’s announcement that it would divest, the Board of Regents (the highest decision-making body at Vic) asked the property committee and the investment committee to consider the question of divestment and separately produce a report advising whether Victoria College should divest by February 2023. Victoria College failed to meet this commitment, and the reports have yet to be released to the public. As a result, Climate Justice U of T disrupted the February Board of Regents meeting to demand Victoria College divestment. These reports have been finalized and it is expected that they will be reviewed at a closed meeting of the Board of Regents on the 30th of March.
All eyes are now on Victoria College, as we wait for them to make a decision. The choice rests in their hands.
Victoria College’s continual refusal to respond to students' demands shows a clear pattern: they are more concerned with slim margins of profits than their students' lives. We are protesting to have the concerns of students heard at the decision-making tables. We aren’t leaving until Vic divests.
Demands
We are demanding that Victoria College DIVEST from fossil fuels. This divestment must be FULL, TRANSPARENT, and TIMELY.
- Full: We demand divestment from all investments in fossil fuel companies, regardless of whether they are held directly or in pooled funds.
- Transparent: Including students and community members in the divestment process through regular town halls and consultations with students and community members. This also includes annual reports outlining Victoria College’s progress on achieving its divestment commitments.
- Timely: Fully sell all of Victoria College’s investments in fossil fuel companies within two years.
Link to petition
Must Knows
- The person with the green and white bandana is the security liaison
- If any security or cops arrive immediately alert the security liaison
- If security/cops try to talk to you direct them to the liaison, this is for the safety of you as an individual as well as the entire group
- If someone outside of the group is making you feel uncomfortable/unsafe immediately contact the security liaison
- The person with the blue bandana is the internal affairs mediator
- This person should be contacted if you notice anyone breaching the code of conduct and/or you feel uncomfortable/unsafe with someone in the group's behaviour
- Erin is in charge of media
- We understand the prospect of making it into the news at any level is exciting, but messaging is very important to this action. Saying the wrong thing could be detrimental to our demands and our safety. Please direct media to the media liaison to avoid the aforementioned
- Erin can be reached via email at climatejusticeuoft@gmail.com or via signal
- Do not take pictures of people without their consent
- This is a threat to security and will not be tolerated
- More info can be seen under the code of conduct
- Please attach a piece of the provided red fabric to your person with a safety pin. This makes it clear who is actively part of the occupation!
- When entering the space, assess your own level of risk.
There are 3 levels: green (low-risk), yellow (medium-risk), and red (high-risk). This is very important if things are to escalate.
- When assessing your risk be sure to consider your gender presentation, immigration status, race, ability, scholarships, etc
- Levels of risk are very important in case things begin to escalate and/or security/police arrive
- Green: Leave when Vic security requests the occupation to leave
- Yellow: Leave when Campus Police requests the occupation to leave
- Red: Leave when Toronto Police requests the occupation to leave
Rules Of Conduct Within Our Space
BY BEING IN THE SPACE AND PARTICIPATING IN THE ACTION YOU IMPLICITLY AGREE TO COMPLY WITH ALL THE LISTED RULES
If anything arises that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable please talk to whoever is currently the internal affairs mediator. While we tried our best to be expansive in our policies, we recognize that unique situations can arise. In this case, members of the organizing core will convene to assess the situation. Our goal will always be to de-escalate, but certain behaviour will not be tolerated and the offending party will not be welcome in the space.
Covid Policy
- If you are feeling unwell please do not come
- If this arises after already being in the space test as soon as possible and alert the group if the test is positive
- While we understand we cannot force you to wear a mask this is highly highly encouraged
- Keeping each other safe means keeping everyone safe – especially those with disability – masking is an easy way to combat rugged individualism and ableism
- We will have extra masks if you do not have one
Zero Tolerance
- Destruction of Property
- University or personal
- Do not sticker on walls
- Violence not out of self-defence
- Hate Speech
- Racism, Ableism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Classism, etc
- Badgering of University staff
- Taking pictures of people who do not want to be in photos
- This is okay if faces are blurred/crossed out before being posted/shared
- If you are unsure you can check with the organizing core
- Spreading of confidential information
- Engaging in conversation with security and/or police
- Do not talk to these people, instead direct them to the security liaison
- Contact without the consent of the individual/s
- This is not limited to physical contact; can also include saying inappropriate things, being creepy on social media, etc
Two-Strikes
- Excessive noise
- Littering and generally being unkempt
- Crowding liaisons when in discussion with security, crowding media liaison when in discussion with media, etc
- Necessary information will be shared, you do not need to ask (this is annoying and a security liability) – trust leadership
Schedule Of Events
Events of occupation will only be posted a week at a time and will be updated as new events arise. Link to schedule
27th of March – Monday
3 pm Chat with the PEARS Project
28th of March – Tuesday
3 pm Dig In!
6 pm Zine-making workshop with Art and Cultures Commission
29th of March – Wednesday
6-7 pm Trinity College Environmental Society will be hosting their meeting in our space
30th of March – Thursday
7 pm Young Communist League lecture and discussion on Militarism and the Environment
31st of March – Friday
1 pm Details to be announced later
1st of April – Saturday
1 pm Movie screening (Movie will be voted on Friday night!)
Can’t Show Up But Still Want To Support?
Great! There is still a lot you can do:
- Sign the petition
- Tell others to come!
- See the scripts below for contacting different parties
- Donate food
- Contact Minh-Ly (minhlydereboul@gmail.com) to arrange this
- Show your support on social media
- Repost posts from @ClimateJusticeUofT to your story
- Change your profile picture in solidarity
Script To Send To Board Members and Administration
People to email (in order of priority):
Board of Regents general email - vicu.regents@utoronto.ca
Rhonda McEwen (President of Vic) - vic.president@utoronto.ca
Cynthia Crysler (Chair of the BOR) - ccrysler@cavalluzzo.com
Dear {Their Name},
I am emailing you in support of the current occupation at Old Vic to push the Board of Regents to finally divest from fossil fuels. Vic currently invests over 17.5 million dollars into the fossil fuel industry and owns an active oil well in Saskatchewan. We are tired of your lip service.
We are demanding that Victoria College DIVEST from fossil fuels. This divestment must be FULL, TRANSPARENT, and TIMELY.
- Full: We demand divestment from all investments in fossil fuel companies, regardless of whether they are held directly or in pooled funds.
- Transparent: Including students and community members in the divestment process through regular town halls and consultations with students and community members. This also includes annual reports outlining Victoria College’s progress on achieving its divestment commitments.
- Timely: Fully sell all of Victoria College’s investments in fossil fuel companies within two years.
All eyes are now on Victoria College, as we wait for them to make a decision.
Victoria College’s continual refusal to respond to students' demands shows a clear pattern: they are more concerned with slim margins of profits than their students' lives. We aren’t leaving until Vic divests.
Best,
{Your Name}
{Your Student Number}
Script To Send To Friends
I am currently occupying Old Vic to push the administration of Vic (the BoR) to finally divest from fossil fuels. Vic currently invests over 17.5 million dollars into the fossil fuel industry and owns an active oil well in Saskatchewan. The BoR has a closed-door meeting where we expect divestment to be brought up, it is super important to put pressure on the admin before this meeting. Come join me at the occupation! If you can’t physically be here but would still like to support there are still things you can do: spread the word about the occupation, share social media about the occupation, donate food (fill out this spreadsheet), and/or sign the petition that can be found in @ClimateJusticeUofT Instagram bio.
Script To Send To Clubs
Hi, I am currently part of an occupation taking place at Old Vic to push the administration of Vic (the BoR) to finally divest from fossil fuels. While UofT announced its divestment timeline in 2021, Vic currently invests over 17.5 million dollars into the fossil fuel industry and owns an active oil well in Saskatchewan. The BoR has a closed-door meeting on the 30th of March that we expect divestment to be brought up, it is crucial that we show student support for divestment to increase the pressure to divest.
I was hoping that your club would show solidarity with this action. This can be done in a couple of ways:
- Share: The simplest way is to repost and amplify posts about the occupation from @ClimateJusticeUofT.
- Join: A step up from that would be coming to join the occupation whether it be as a club or as individuals. I understand this is a busy time for many so this may not be possible.
- Donate: As this is an occupation we need to feed a handful of people and will be accepting food donations. Fill out this spreadsheet.
- Host an event: Finally, we are happy to accommodate your club's meetings in the occupation. If your club would be interested in hosting your meeting with us or organizing an event in solidarity please reach out to us through instagram @ClimateJusticeUofT .
Hope to see you here!
Script To Send To Profs/TA’s
Hello Professor {Their Name},
I am currently part of an occupation taking place at Old Vic to push the administration of Vic (the BoR) to finally divest from fossil fuels. While UofT announced its divestment timeline in 2021, Vic currently invests over 17.5 million dollars into the fossil fuel industry and owns an active oil well in Saskatchewan. The BoR has a closed-door meeting on the 30th of March that we expect divestment to be brought up, it is crucial that we show student support for divestment to increase the pressure to divest.
I was hoping that you would be willing to show support with this action. This can be done in a couple of ways with the easiest being telling your students about the occupation! If they have further questions they can come talk to the organizers in person at the occupation or you can direct them to the instagram @ClimateJusticeUofT. Another way of showing support is by donating food. As this is an occupation we need to feed a handful of people. As this is student-run, finances are limited and donations are greatly appreciated! If this is something you’d be willing to do you can either drop food off directly or fill out this spreadsheet. Finally, we are happy to accommodate your class, tutorial, or office hours at the occupation. With this said, the space is not too large so the class size would have to be small and we do not have a projector. If this is an option you would like to explore please reach out to climatejusticeuoft@gmail.com to coordinate this.
In solidarity,
{Your Name}
