Dear Editor,
Re: “I have questions' UBC staffer speaks out after RCMP detained him while walking past Invictus Games wearing a keffiyeh,” published in The Ubyssey on March 5, 2025.
With press freedom under threat around the world, it is disturbing to learn that RCMP officers recently came to The Ubyssey’s office “seeking contact information for sources in a previous story, who they anticipated might stage a demonstration.” I commend The Ubyssey’s journalists for standing their ground.
The RCMP’s visit to UBC’s student newspaper is not an isolated incident, rather it represents an escalation of already excessive surveillance. Last year, dozens of faculty members decried the maximalist response by campus security and police to protest and speech against Israel’s war on Gaza and system of apartheid. Nowadays it is not uncommon for several UBC Campus Security staff to film (sometimes inconspicuously) related demonstrations. Often RCMP officers are present, too. The normalization of this level of surveillance of students at a public university is deeply troubling.
Instead of heavily policing protest and speech related to Palestine and Israel, UBC should shift resources to supporting engagement and dialog while at the same time expressing support for press freedom, freedom of expression and assembly and academic freedom to teach and learn about Palestine without intimidation.
As Dr. Roberta Lexier wrote in The Conversation: “If we are serious about solving global problems and creating a more equitable world, then university administrators, politicians and other stakeholders must stop using law enforcement to prevent students from asking inconvenient questions.”
Sean Tucker
Sessional lecturer, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia
Professor, University of Regina
This is a letter to the editor, which reflects a contributor's views on an article previously published in The Ubyssey. It does not reflect the views of The Ubyssey as a whole. Contribute to the conversation by visiting ubyssey.ca/pages/submit-an-opinion.
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