Pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Ottawa have reached their tenth day of encampment action.
Students camping out in front of Tabaret Hall say they’ll stay put until uOttawa divests from Israel-affiliated companies.
Here’s what the uOttawa sit-in and divestment calls mean for the Carleton University community.
Is the Carleton community involved in the uOttawa encampment?
To date, 81 Carleton University faculty members, professors and instructors have signed a uOttawa encampment solidarity statement.
“While we write from our universities, there are no universities left standing in Gaza,” the statement read. “All [are] destroyed by Israel.
“Students are the heart of the university, and we support them as they ask questions, make demands, and refuse a world order in which Palestinians are not worthy of protection and life itself.”
Several Carleton groups have also staged events at the uOttawa encampment and expressed support for its calls to action. This includes Carleton’s branches of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).
Today, CUPE 4600, the union representing Carleton’s contract instructors and teaching assistants, partnered with SJP to host an educational event on Tabaret Lawn.
Has Carleton faced similar calls to action?
Carleton has faced divestment calls very similar to those driving the uOttawa protests.
In April, the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) voted 20-1 to call on the university to divest from nine companies, alleging links to Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory.
Carleton’s Graduate Students’ Association passed a similar motion that month.
Carleton did not respond to the Charlatan’s repeated inquiries about whether it is currently invested in the nine companies.
Steven Reid, Carleton’s media relations officer, said in an email that Carleton “has had a responsible investing policy in place for over a decade.”
“We sure aren’t getting any information about any investments [Carleton is] holding,” IJV Carleton president Nir Hagigi told the Charlatan in April. “[There is] a lack of co-operation from the university administration.”
Will Carleton divest from those companies?
“It’s complicated,” interim president Jerry Tomberlin responded to Hagigi’s question on the matter at a May 3 Senate meeting.
“Our world is very tied together, so taking all those actions is complicated.”
Tomberlin said the university is aware of CUSA’s divestment motion.
Will Carleton student groups stage a similar encampment?
To date, SJP and IJV have not publicly indicated plans to stage an encampment on Carleton’s campus — but it remains a possibility.
Notably, Hagigi asked Senate if Carleton is committed to protecting students’ freedom of expression and assembly if Carleton students “escalate matters.”
“University policies prohibit unauthorized access and use, disruption and damage to university property,” Abby McIntyre, Carleton’s acting communications director, wrote in an email.
“Our priority is the safety of all members of our campus community,” McIntyre added.
“We want to take this opportunity to emphasize that we respect the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.”
How might anti-encampment policies and measures influence a Carleton sit-in plan?
In spite of administrative statements and policies discouraging sit-ins, students across the continent have organized significant encampment actions, including at McGill University and the University of Toronto.
“We’ve seen heavily armed personnel on university campuses, and that hasn’t stopped [encampments],” Hagigi told the Charlatan. “I don’t think students are going to be discouraged.”
Featured image by Elissa Mendes.
