Is it illegal to set up encampments on university campuses? It’s illegal if the university chooses to ban it. Does McGill University prohibit it? No, because only the university administration was alone in making that decision. Now, there’s more to a university than its management.

Are professors, lecturers, researchers, support staff and students for or against these encampments? This should be a decision for the university assembly (senate). We need to include the real linchpins of the institution in the decision-making process, not just its top executives.

A university is not a private company. Top executives are not bosses, professors are not employees and students are not customers.

McGill University is publicly funded. University management must act in a collegial fashion. It is a minority within the institution, and decisions on issues affecting the entire community should not be made without involving the rest of the university community.

The university’s top management should be at the service of the university’s living forces, as they merely provide administrative services.