WUSA referendum votes to end partnership with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

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Graphic depicting the results of the WUSA referendum results (of the first question). Yes - 5942 votes, No - 1019 votes, Abstention - 122 votes.

The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) announced the votes from the 2024 Responsible Partnerships and Investments referendum on Oct. 8. Results were posted on the Waterloo Undergraduate Studentsโ€™ Union website. 

According to a press release from the WUSA website, 83.9 per cent of referendum voters said “yes” to the University of Waterloo ending its partnership with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and 88.6 per cent of the voters said “yes” to the University of Waterloo reviewing their partnerships and investment portfolios. 

“This one had a much better turnout than we expected,” said Nicholas Pfeifle, the WUSA president. “It’s higher than most of our previous general elections we had turnout.” 

Arya Razmjoo, the vice-president of WUSA, said the discussion topic of this yearโ€™s referendum could be one of the reasons why there was a higher turnout this year.  

“We have seen an increase in student engagement in our organization in the last two years,” he said. 

A WUSA referendum is a decision voted on by the association members. They hold referendums to answer questions posed by UW undergraduate students and take direct action. 

Undergraduate students bring up an issue and draft a petition, then submit it to the WUSA Chief Returning Officer, who completes approval and vetting processes and sends the document to the Board of Directors. They approve the petition, which later becomes a referendum.   

UW students create the referendum questions, which are then approved by the board. ย 

The Board of Directors then form two student-led groups, the yes (for the question) and no (against the question) committees. These two groups campaign for their position, and WUSA members vote for or against the questions. Voting results are tallied and submitted to the Board to determine next steps. 

In May, WUSA received a petition signed by over 10 per cent of the UW students from a WUSA member asking the board of directors to review the partnership between the University of Waterloo and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The petition outlines how Israel is violating human rights, breaching international law and committing war crimes, which is made possible by the Israeli academic institutions that helped develop weapons and technologies with full knowledge they are used to harm Palestinians. 

“By knowingly developing technology used for such a purpose, they are actively and directly complicit in the violations of the International law,” the petition stated.  

The petition explains how the University of Waterloo is helping the Israeli government harm Palestinians through their partnership with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.  

Both Pfeifle and Razmjoo said the genocide in Gaza could be one of the reasons why more students participated in the referendum this year, but it’s difficult to discern this fact because the voting was anonymous.  

 “We don’t record demographic information. We want to ensure people’s votes are secret,” said Pfeifle when asked about the demographic of the students who voted during the referendum and the potential that most voters were supporters of the Palestinian community. 

“One of the big things here is this is not an us-versus-them situation,” he said, explaining how the union is trying to keep the referendum as neutral as possible without letting personal opinions affect the votes.  

He said WUSA didn’t want the referendum to turn into a debate on who is in the right and who is in the wrong. “We are here to promote student voice, to provide the capacity for students to advocate and promote themselves,” said Razmjoo, explaining how the union is trying to protect the voters’ privacy while advocating their opinions. “We are a neutral organization, which will take whatever advocacy positions the students want us to take.”  

Despite Razmjooโ€™s neutral perspective on the referendum votes, Pfeifle explained that he favoured the University of Waterloo, ending its partnership with the Israel Technology Institute. 

“I feel like the ongoing development of weapons research only puts humanity more at risk,” Pfeifle said. “So, I’m comfortable advocating on the student’s behalf for what they have now expressed as a specific desire to see the partnership with Technion ended.” 

Despite the votes favouring the termination of the partnership between the University of Waterloo and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Pfeifle explained the union still wants to discuss the matter further to ensure it’s not showing one-sided opinions toward Israel and their part in the genocide in Gaza. 

“The students have expressed how they feel, but now, as the central organization, we have to explain our plans, right?” Nick said. “So, they can say something, but then we have to turn that into actionable items.” 

The Waterloo Undergraduate Studentsโ€™ Union Board of Directors are reviewing the voting results and will determine what actions they should take. They will announce their decision in the coming months. 


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