'DisOrientation' Week: What's really happening on Canadian campuses
New students arriving at Concordia University are being greeted with political messaging, raising questions about whether these are efforts intended to educate — or create new activists.
Incoming arts and science students at Concordia University in Montreal are being welcomed to campus with program featuring radical left-wing workshops.
Students can attend workshops focusing on "Palestinian Liberation," "Anti-Colonial Harm Reduction," "Sex Work," and "Grassroots Militancy" alongside programming connected to Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia's "DisOrientation" events.
QPIRG describes "DisOrientation" as an introduction to organizing on campus and beyond, with the group's interests ranging from promoting solidarity with Palestine to advocating for sex work.
Concordia's own orientation policies, however, call for an open, inclusive and diverse environment. Do events like "Palestinian Liberation" or "Anti-Colonial Harm Reduction" seem like they'd be willing to be open and inclusive towards diverse opinions on those issues?
In this report, we'll examine the political messaging, organizations and the funding behind the program, and ask whether newcomers to Concordia are being welcomed to become students or activists.
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COMMENTS
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Fran g commented 2026-09-03 18:11:23 -0400Thank God for brave young woman like this to bring this disturbing report about our secondary institutions that are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy left and sick. Pay attention parents that are sending your 18 yrs old child to secondary education in Chanada. -
Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-09-02 19:45:38 -0400I’m old enough to remember Registration Week at my alma mater, the University of Alberta, was one long party. The Quad was filled with all manner of tents and booths. The music was loud and the beer flowed freely. Political groups, however, tended to keep to themselves in more obscure areas of campus.
There are reasons why I stopped making donations as an alumnus.
