Sir George Williams Affair

Sir George Williams affair
The Henry F. Hall building in 1970.
Location	Montreal
Date	January 29, 1969 (1969-01-29) (EST)
Target	The Henry F. Hall Building

The Sir George Williams affair (also referred to as "The Sir George Williams Computer Riot") was a 1969 event at Sir George Williams University in Montreal, Canada, now a part of Concordia University. It was the largest student occupation in Canadian history.

In Montreal, the estimated population of black people was 7,000 in 1961 which increased to 50,000 in 1968. McGill University was the first choice of University for many students but since they had a strict admission policy and had a quota for Jewish students, they could not be easily accepted. Sir George Williams University had a more lenient admissions policy and accepted students from various backgrounds. Classes were offered during the day and night, which was convenient for students. Sir George Williams University was very popular among foreigners.

Beginning on January 29, over 400 students occupied the university's computer lab. The occupation was sparked by the university's mishandling of racism allegations against professor Perry Anderson at the school. Fed up with what they considered to be on the part of the administration, black and white students left a meeting and occupied the university computer lab on the ninth floor of the Henry F. Hall Building.

Most of the occupation was quite peaceful: the police were not involved, and negotiations continued. Some claim that the computer lab was not damaged, except for several million computer punched cards that were sent fluttering to the street below; but a Canadian Broadcast Corporation documentary shows smashed computer tape drives and extensive fire damage. The damage was listed in millions of dollars. It is unknown who caused the fire. The police accused the occupiers of the damages, while the occupiers accused the police of setting the fire as an easy way to get all the students out of the room without physically entering it. Other students also claim that they saw police locking doors and exits that were normally open and police confiscated fire axes from students the day before the fire was set.