York University administration is gearing up to hire special constables to "reduce police involvement on campus", but the students know that this will only increase instances of racial profiling and brutality against students of colour, particularly our Black and Brown peers.
At a time when YorkU has a maintenance backlog of $1.4 billion, the administration chooses to instead invest in hiring police officers despite the already-existing private security. Special constables, who are members of the Toronto Police Services, would be granted the ability to violently suppress dissent with minimal consequences. This is incredibly shameful, and is a concerning display of York administration's priorities.
YorkU has a history of calling large groups of police onto campus to suppress anti-genocidal speech under the guise of "safety concerns." When Hillel York invited war criminal iOF soldiers to their event, former YorkU President Rhonda Lenton called Toronto Police Services on the student protest. In 2024, Rhonda called riot police to violently clear the student-and-faculty-led encampment in the Harry W. Arthurs common after it had been standing for only 3 days. That same week, students were subjected to searches and carded on campus by TPS. [Read more here]
TPS was also called on Palestinian sociology professor Muhannad Ayyash while he was delivering a lecture titled "Palestinian Struggle for Liberation: Aspirations for a Decolonial Life" because of "safety concerns".
YorkU has consistently and systematically weaponized the presence of cops on campus in attempts to intimidate, discourage, and discriminate against their students and faculty members. The fact that the administration now wants to hire cops on campus to be on-call seriously threatens the future of free speech at YorkU.
The Toronto Police Services's brutality is not a secret. On January 11th, 2026, during a counter-protest opposing white nationalist group Canada First, TPS broke a 42-year-old man's hip, leaving him hospitalized and requiring multiple expensive surgeries to recover.
On June 17, 2025, a 46-year-old man in mental distress was tazed multiple times by TPS and fell from a balcony while trying to get away from police.
It is clear that TPS has inadequate training in regards to de-escalation tactics, and the displayed patterns of brutality are a serious danger to students if brought on campus. At a time when YorkU could be putting their funds and energy into much more meaningful work, it seems completely nonsensical to hire special constables when they would only contribute to the violent repression of dissent and intensify situations of mental health crises.
Sign this petition to let YorkU admin know that the students want to keep cops off campus!