The Supreme Court of B.C. ruled Vancouver Island University had a right to suspend a student involved in a Palestinian solidarity encampment last year.
The judgment, issued in Nanaimo Courthouse on Monday, Dec. 15, came after VIU alumna Sara Kishawi brought a civil case against the university that suspended her as well as another student in October 2024. Kishawi sought to have the judge review and quash her suspension, as well as declare that the university’s actions failed to adequately weigh her rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Kishawi was suspended for two years last year due to protest activities involved with the encampment, which was dismantled in August 2024. The protesters at the time called for the university to release a statement condemning genocide in Gaza, disclose all investments, shut down the campus Starbucks and open an investigation into an incident of Muslim students’ bags allegedly being searched without their consent.
A report related to the suspension alleged Kishawi was part of a group of individuals who accessed a rooftop to hang a banner and then re-secure it the next day, disrupted a learning and working environment, damaged property and affixed “signage that was harassing in nature,” and entered an employee-only area.
During the hearing, Kishawi’s lawyer argued that VIU’s decision to suspend her disproportionately limited her charter-protected rights to engage in political expression.
Judge Barbara Young disagreed, determining that VIU has full autonomy to make policies about student conduct without the intervention of government and the actions which were subject to the disciplinary process related to the use of the university premises, which the university has independence to regulate.
“Universities can regulate the behaviour of student activities on campus without attracting charter scrutiny,” the judge wrote in her decision. “There is no express responsibility for the provision of a public forum for free expression on university campuses … While the petitioner was not participating in a university-sponsored activity, she was acting on VIU property, which VIU has the power and authority to regulate.”
Kishawi’s lawyer also argued the suspension was a disproportionate response to the student’s alleged breaches of the student conduct code.
The university came to its two-year suspension determination through a ‘decision matrix’ that applies a rating of 0-10 on every breach of the student code of conduct based on impact and consequence. The judge stated that decision-makers at VIU have full discretion in how they apply those ratings.
Kishawi is required to pay legal fees incurred by the university.