UWindsor student union cuts Royal Bank ties over location — not fossil fuels

Published Jun 19, 2024 • 2 minute read

The exterior of the University of Windsor’s CAW Student Centre is seen on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Photo by Taylor Campbell /Windsor Star

Amid nationwide calls for universities to cut ties with Canada’s largest bank over its fossil fuel industry financing, the University of Windsor’s student union said it severed its ties with the Royal Bank of Canada months ago, but the decision had nothing to do with the student-led movement.

It was a disagreement over a proposed location change for an RBC bank machine kiosk on the CAW Student Centre main floor — the only location on the UWindsor campus — that led to its removal last September, nearly three years after it was erected in 2020.

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“A lot of our students expressed that they didn’t like the location of the kiosk,” University of Windsor Student Alliance president Ghallia Hashem told the Star.

“Our issue was that a banking place in our opinion should not be in the open, because someone can walk by, see your information. So instead, we asked them to move to the basement, or the lower level of the CAW, instead of being in the main place.

“They disagreed — so we decided not to move forward with them anymore.”

In an email to the Star on Wednesday, an RBC spokesperson said that, “after careful consideration, we made the decision to consolidate our University of Windsor location with our nearby Windsor Main branch.”

Jill Hastie, SW Ontario communications director, said RBC’s post-secondary campus presence “is an important part of how we help youth and students manage their financial wellbeing.” The consolidation to the downtown branch, she added, came after consideration of such factors as “location, proximity to other branches, and local traffic.”

Hashem acknowledged the longstanding student movement push to cut ties with RBC, but said the local decision not to renew the contract was unrelated.

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“I think a lot of our students do care very deeply about this cause,” she said.

“Although we do respect the students and we commend them on their efforts, it was removed because the RBC kiosk ownership was not amenable to where we asked them to move their kiosk.”

Regardless of the reason, Jana Alrifai, a longtime organizer of an on-campus effort to boot out RBC, considers the decision a “big win.”

In March 2023 — about six months before RBC’s contract was discontinued — several UWindsor students joined 11 other Canadian universities protesting the bank’s funding of fossil fuel projects they allege contribute to the climate crisis and violate Indigenous rights.

“The ending of a contract is to me the same as kicking them out,” said Alrifai, who is also co-organizer of the pro-Palestinian encampment, which is urging the university to make its investment portfolio public.

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Hashem said the UWSA “didn’t think it was necessary” to make a public announcement last September. However, on Monday, the student union clarified the decision on social media after a news release from Change Course — a Canadian non-profit targeting fossil fuel funding banks — implying it was influenced by the student-led movement.

The CAW Student Centre is managed by two on-campus student unions: the UWSA and the Organization of Part-time University Students (OPUS).

When contacted by the Star on Monday, the University of Windsor deferred all comments to the UWSA, the student-led group responsible for the kiosk.

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