Eight students from Concordia University in Montreal learn their fate following a recent hearing after attempts at mediation failed. There was a total of two dozen students accused of disrupting classes during last semester’s strikes, but only eight are affected by the tribunal. The students call the tribunal problematic and abusive, and believe it is an attempt by the university to undermine student democracy.

The original charges came with anti-austerity protests broke out and student strikes took place during the spring of 2015. Approximately a month later complaints were filed by professors and Concordia agreed to join in as co-complainants. There were multiple mediators brought in to settle the charges informally, but all attempts failed and there are no further intentions of attempting mediation since the process was entirely voluntary.

It is assumed the remainder of the 24 students will also be called to a tribunal, though mediation efforts continue at the moment. The students are requesting that all charges by the university be dropped, but the university is reluctant to let students off the hook.

Students involved in the most recent round of tribunals are upset that the time they were forced to invest in building a defense took away from their studies. They had to build a case to support their actions during the strike and now they are upset that they cannot focus on their schoolwork. Now the students are bitter and believe they have been treated unfairly by the university. Some speaking publicly even pointing out how much like the real world the mediation sessions were, stating “I have to give it to Concordia, you know, a ‘real education for the real world.”