Pro-Palestinian protesters at Western University say they aren’t planning to pack up their campus encampment by the weekend, despite the university president’s ultimatum.
In a statement released to the university’s community blog Thursday, Alan Shepard said the protesters must remove their encampment or face disciplinary action, but the nearly 40-tent setup remains on “concrete beach,” outside of the University Student Centre.
Western student protester Antai Rios said there is “no conversation” among the group, which calls itself the Western Divestment Coalition, about leaving.
“I do feel like [Western is] throwing us bones and barely anything, just to say they’re still talking to us,” said Rios.
The university administration said it has met three times with protesters in recent days, and has presented them with five commitments that will not compromise the school’s mission.
Shepard’s statement said the school is willing to undertake the following actions:
- Implement a feedback process with respect to responsible investing.
- Offer a meeting with Western’s investment team.
- Contribute to rebuilding higher education in Gaza.
- Increase support to the Global Students and Scholars at Risk Program.
- Formalize a framework for Western’s international partnerships.
“This proposal reflects a commitment to our shared interests and is as far as Western can go while remaining steadfast to our mission as an institution of higher learning, with all that this mission entails,” Shepard wrote.
The Western Divestment Coalition is expected to share an official response to Shepard’s proposal later Thursday.
Rios said the five commitments are not enough.
“The most they’re giving us is a scholarship,” said Rios, referring to Western’s promise to increase financial support by up to $200,000 per year for students displaced by war.
“[The scholarships] are most definitely not going to Palestinian students because Palestinians are not fighting right now to get an education. They’re fighting to stay alive.”
Western University has refused all requests for comment from CBC News, including requests to clarify the statements or answer any questions arising from the statements officials have used to communicate during the protests.
‘Following the footsteps of other universities’
It was not clear from Shepard’s statement what Western would do if the camp was not removed, or if the school was considering judicial or police action.
On Wednesday, students at the University of Toronto cleared the campus encampment that they’d occupied for 60 days. The move came after a court-ordered deadline issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granting the school an injunction to tear down the encampment on its property.
The courts gave Toronto police the authority to remove and arrest anyone who didn’t comply with the 6 p.m. deadline.
“I am, on a personal level, very sad to see it end,” said Rios. “Unfortunately, the university wasn’t giving them much of another choice at this point.”
She said students at Western’s encampment have talked about the possibility of Western requesting an injunction and are starting to discuss next steps if that happens.
“I think [Western] is aiming to follow the footsteps of other universities,” Rios said.
In his message to students, Shepard acknowledged that the entire school community has been hurt since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, and the ongoing war that’s killed innocent citizens.
“Many members of the Western Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian and Israeli communities are immensely affected by losses in Israel and Palestine as well as rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate here in Canada,” Shepard wrote.
“As a university, we have a fundamental duty to create the conditions for everyone on our campus to come together and make an impact in the world through scholarly activity.”
Shepard’s statement also said the eight-week encampment has been “well outside [the] bounds” of peaceful and lawful protest on campus. Protesters reject the statement, adding they have been peaceful and compliant.
Rios said that regardless of what the university does next, the Western Divestment Coalition will continue to work toward its goals.
“The encampment has helped so much and has moved so much toward divestment,” said Rios. “We have created such a strong coalition, such a strong movement that I know will keep going.”