Students vote to impeach Queen’s rector

Undergraduates at Queen’s University have voted 72 per cent in favour of making a recommendation to the university to impeach rector Nick Day.

A referendum was held from March 22 to 23 where students were asked to respond to the question:

Shall it be recommended to the University Council of Queen’s University that Nick Day not continue to hold the office of Rector of Queen’s University at Kingston? Yes ___, No ___.

A total of 3803 students voted (out of an eligible 14244): 2714 votes were in favour of the recommendation (72 per cent), while 1061 of votes were opposed (28 per cent).

The Alma Mater Society (AMS) at Queen’s University immediately released a statement saying, "Since the result of this Special AMS Student Vote are in the affirmative, the Society therefore recommends to the University Council of Queen’s University that Nick Day not continue to hold the Office of Rector of Queen’s University at Kingston."

Day recently came under fire for writing a public letter defending Israeli Apartheid Week to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and signing with his official university title. Noting in his letter that that he "was elected to represent the approximately 20,000 students of Queen’s University," Day claimed that Israel was guilty of genocide and is acting as the perpetrator of "perhaps the biggest human rights tragedy of my generation."

Day was also formally censured by the AMS Assembly back in November for statements he made during a Remembrance Day address.