UVic Palestine solidarity encampment coming down

Protesters at the Palestine solidarity encampment at the University of Victoria took down their tents Monday morning after the university issued a trespassing notice.

Students were told they had to be out by 8 a.m. By 10 a.m., most of the tents had come down and dozens of people were packing up camp, dubbed People’s Park UVic.

Protesters told CTV News they decided to leave to avoid arrest.

“Palestine isn’t served if they’re arrested by the police or if they’re harmed by the police in any way,” said Audrey Yap, a UVic philosophy professor who has been supporting the students.

The encampment was established on May 1 in response to the Israel-Hamas war. At that time, protestors shared a list of demands, including for the university to “call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and publicly condemn the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

They’re also calling on the university to divest from companies that are profiting off of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

“The lack of an agreement is a massive failure on UVic’s part. It’s a bit of a stain on their legacy,” an encampment representative said. Protestors have not been identifying themselves due to fear of arrest and academic sanctions.

UVic said it has been negotiating with students through a facilitator since mid-June.

UVic declined an interview request, but in a statement released Monday afternoon, the university said work to restore the quad is underway.

“From the earliest days of the encampment, UVic has been committed to engaging in thoughtful and respectful dialogue,” the statement reads. “We were not able to achieve agreement with student representatives of the People’s Park UVic.”

The university has not publicly stated what action it would have taken if students continued to occupy the campus quad. In Nanaimo, Vancouver Island University is seeking damages and an injunction after protestors defied a trespassing notice.

“They feel so deeply pain that’s going on across the globe. It’s really moving,” Yap said.

“Knowing the commitment of these students, knowing their principles, I’m sure that student actions will continue.”

The People’s Park representative confirmed that to be true.

’“I don’t think it would be prudent to say what our plans are to continue fighting UVic… but it does not end,” the student said. “This ends when Palestine is free and I think that’s a little bit of a ways away.”