Unsanctioned encampment set up on University of Waterloo campus
'Please consider avoiding this area as we communicate with those on site,' school says
There is an unsanctioned encampment on the University of Waterloo campus as of Monday morning.
The school tweeted that the group is gathered in front of the Grad House.
"Please consider avoiding this area as we communicate with those on site and take steps to ensure the safety of the campus," the university wrote on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
A post on Instagram from a group called Occupy UWaterloo said an encampment was launched Monday morning.
"We refused to sit idly by and watch our university support genocide with our tuition dollars," the post said. "We will not back down or leave until we have achieved disclosure, divestment and boycott."
Tents and wooden Adirondack chairs were set up in a grassy area. A makeshift fence surrounded the encampment. The Palestine flag was hung on the fence in several spots and banners saying slogans like "silence is complicity" and "arms embargo now" were set up on the lawn.
'We've done everything we can as students'
Nick Joseph, the media liaison for the protesters, says they decided to set up the encampment because of the growing number of deaths in the during the Israel-Hamas war.
"We've been advocating for a Palestinian liberation for not one term, not two terms, but this is the third term," he said.
"We're just tired of it. We're tired of the [university administration's] complicity. We've done everything we can as students."
The group that organized the encampment has previously held rallies on campus and attended a university senate meeting last week to demand the university should boycott and divest from all institutions supporting Israel in the midst of the ongoing war.
"They've heard our our cries, they've had enough time to educate themselves, and we have done the educating for them, and they won't do anything about it and they won't stop being complicit. So we're here taking a stand," Joseph said.
Elfie Kalfakis is a UW alumnus who came to campus on Monday to show her support for the members of the encampment.
"I was kind of hoping that the student body would would do something and I'm happy that they did," she said. "I want to figure out, what do they need? What kind of resources do they need? I think it's important to support this generation. I think they know what's up, so let's help them."
She says if she and her classmates had known more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when she was a UW student 14 years ago, they would have likely started a protest, too.
"I didn't have the same kind of wherewithal when I was their age and access to information to understand," she said, adding first-hand accounts posted to social media and TikTok help keep people informed.
"In the light of all that happening, that's been enlightening for me and in hindsight, our generation should have done this."
Statement from university
Later Monday morning, the University of Waterloo said in an emailed statement later that "all members of our community are free to express their views, but we must aim to maintain a supportive, respectful and tolerant environment for everyone."
The statement added any form of violence or hate speech will not be tolerated and that staff have begun to engage with members of the encampment.
"Regarding the demands this group is making, the university has committed to considering the issues raised regarding investments at both the finance and investment committee and the pension investment committee of the board of governors," the statement said.
"Both committees are already working to look again at reporting on investments and the ESG [environmental, social and governance] factors that fund managers consider."
An update is expected to be provided at the June meeting of the university's board of governors.
Other protests
The encampment comes a week after about 100 people protested on campus, calling on the university to divest its investments from any company involved in the Israel-Hamas war.
WATCH | Pro-Palestinian protesters rally on UW campus on May 6:
It also comes in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests and encampments at university campuses across the country, including at McGill University in Montreal, the University of Toronto, McMaster University in Hamilton and University of Windsor.
The protests began at Columbia University in New York City on April 17.
Protestors say they are trying to draw attention to the ongoing humanitarian situation Gaza, resulting from the Israeli military response to a deadly attack on Oct. 7 launched by Hamas and other militants. About 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7, including several Canadians. Since then, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there.
The International Court of Justice is investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and accused the court of bias.
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With files from Kate Bueckert, CBC News