Inflammatory allegations say otherwise, according to People’s Park: ‘We are here to stay until they earnestly engage with our demands’
Photo by Ethan Barkley
UVic President Kevin Hall states UVic is “open to dialogue” with pro-Palestine encampment, but People’s Park says a good-faith meeting with high-level administrators has still not occurred. Further, a statement from UVic administration following a violent event on campus presents inflammatory allegations regarding the encampment, say protesters.
On Tuesday, May 14, an armed man threatened university staff inside UVic’s First Peoples House and was arrested by Saanich police. The Saanich Police Department stated after the arrest that although the man had been camping on UVic’s campus, he was not believed to be involved with the pro-Palestine encampment.
The next day, however, UVic president Kevin Hall released a statement saying that he is “concerned that the persistent presence, scale and prominence of the encampment at the university is attracting additional challenges to our campus.” He also stated that the individual who was arrested had appeared on campus after an open invitation to the community from People’s Park. President Hall then cited a series of alleged incidents, including obstruction of justice, profanity-laced disruptions, misinformation campaigns, and vandalism, as further evidence of the encampment’s disruptive influence.
In response to President Hall’s statement, a graduate student and spokesperson for the encampment, who chose to remain nameless, said that after the arrest of the armed man on May 14, the encampment felt compelled to make a public statement reiterating to the community that this incident was unrelated to them and their cause.
“It seems as though they are attempting to build a case against us as a violent situation that is perpetuating harm on campus,” said the encampment’s spokesperson. “It’s not true.”
President Hall also stated that members of the encampment who were assaulted on May 7 chose not to press charges to maintain anonymity, which “prevented the individual from being arrested and charged.”
The encampment spokesperson stated, “Police asking to press charges not even ten minutes after people had just experienced severe head injuries and other bodily injuries is not a situation where people can make informed or consensual choices on how they want to make an important legal decision.”
President Hall also expressed concern, in a May 15 statement, that members of the encampment were riding bikes on the first floor of the McPherson Library during unauthorized building hours. The spokesperson refuted these claims, saying that they don’t have a way to access the library after hours. They also mentioned that the building has campus security and police members inside during those hours.
“It also makes no sense for us to do that,” said the spokesperson. “Getting ourselves in trouble for no reason? It would be a pretty unstrategic and ridiculous thing to do, and I think we have shown from faculty and wider community testament that we are here in principle of dedication to our demands.”
On May 17, faculty members gathered outside the encampment demanding President Hall and his office meet immediately to facilitate the start of dialogue between them and the students. The letter, as of May 17, was signed by 75 faculty members. “We would not want to see the kind of police actions that took place at the University of Calgary or the University of Alberta take place here,” said Audrey Yap, philosophy professor and spokesperson during the statement, “and we believe that such resolution would be the worst outcome possible for all parties involved.”
On May 22, elders of the community organized and performed a peaceful march to stand in solidarity with the encampment. “Thank you to these students. Thank you to all you young people,” said a member of the elder community. “All you brave, young people.”
Regardless of the community’s support for direct communication between the encampment and UVic administration, such communication has not occurred according to an admin post from the encampment on May 22. In the post, People’s Park UVic informed the community they had once again requested a meeting with President Hall. “After THREE WEEKS of supposed openness to dialogue, we have yet to receive any direct communication from the president, let alone a meeting,” read the statement.
“We are steadfast in our demands and our devotion to standing up for Palestine. We are here to stay until they earnestly engage with our demands,” said the encampment spokesperson. “Until then, we are here and we are going to stay here.”
