Vice provost and vice-president (academic) Dianne Hiebert-Murphy released a statement on behalf of the university last Tuesday stating that the U of M would “pursue legal remedies” if the pro-Palestine encampment on campus was not removed by Monday, July 15 at 8 a.m.

The university asked encampment participants to “peacefully dismantle the encampment and return the use of the Quad space to the entire UM community.” The statement said “advocacy [should] not infringe upon the right to access public space.”

In response to the statement, Diversity 4 Palestine vice-president and organizer within the Palestinian community, Hussein Chokr, said “we are not restricting the access of [the Quad] to anyone. It is welcome to anyone.”

The encampment was started by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on May 7.

This came following pro-Palestine encampments being set up at universities around the  world. These encampments have come as part of the movement protesting against the war in Gaza, and in support of Palestinians.

In an Instagram post on May 15, SJP said they were no longer directly engaged with the encampment and were focused on “negotiations with the University of Manitoba and UMSU.” The post further clarified that going forward, the encampment would continue under the leadership of “students at large.”

Chokr said encampment organizers have retained legal counsel from the National Council of Canadian Muslims. He said the encampment organizers do not yet know what kind of legal remedies the U of M might pursue, but he thinks it “could be an injunction, or they could sue specific organizations or students.”

Despite this, Chokr stated that a collective decision was reached to comply and vacate the area due to safety reasons. “Directly after [the university’s statement] came out, we have been having people coming in with their vehicles and spreading abusive language,” he said.

The encampment was voluntarily dismantled on July 15.

 Negotiations between SJP and U of M administration.

Encampment organizers at the U of M had made five demands to the university. These included heightened safety measures for Palestinian U of M community members and their supporters, participation in a global academic boycott of Israeli institutions implicated in  human rights violations, disclosure and divestment of investments in such institutions, a public statement in support of Palestinian rights and the inclusion of a Palestinian identity course.

In a response to these demands, on June 11, the university committed to disclosing its investments by fall 2024. The university also stated that they will not be negotiating with SJP on any further demands.

In the July 9 statement, the U of M assured the continuation of anti-racism training for students, faculty and staff, as well as the continuation of the Scholars at Risk program. This program aims to protect scholars from around the world who are under attack in an effort to promote academic freedom.

SJP called for a flash rally at the university encampment on July 10, a day after the university expressed their expectations for the encampment removal. A speaker at the rally said “all we got from the university was their agreement to publicly disclose [investments]. They still refuse to divest from funding genocide.”

According to Victoria Romero, who said she was involved in the negotiations, the university administration met with SJP twice since the start of the encampment, with the final meeting occurring on May 31. Romero said “they told us many excuses.”

U of M administration declined the Manitoban’s request for an interview.

Romero said the university has weighed in on many global issues in the past, including flying a Ukrainian flag on campus and putting out a statement condemning the killing of Masha Amini in Iran. Romero said, “I don’t think we should pick and choose on who we’re supporting, especially if we’re claiming neutrality.”

University president and vice-chancellor Michael Benarroch previously stated in May that he wants the university to maintain “neutrality about the complex geopolitical situations in Israel and Gaza.”

Romero said they are currently working to develop a course on Palestinian identity and history. She said “we expressed to [the university] that we’d be more than happy to do all the work to assemble the course […] if they would guarantee their support at the Senate for the vote of it. And they refused to do so.”

Chokr said the administration’s response demonstrates a lack of care for student safety. “The university claims to care about all students from different backgrounds. However, when it comes to students standing up for the Palestinian cause, we are treated as if we’re not humans,” he said.

Romero said that UMSU was set to meet with members of the encampment on July 22 but cancelled their meeting.=

UMSU did not respond to the Manitoban’s request for comment and has not publicly commented on the university’s statement calling for the encampment to be removed.

 

Encampments come down across the country

The U of M encampment is not the only pro-Palestine encampment across the country to face legal challenges from university administration. On July 2, the University of Toronto’s request for an injunction to end the campus encampment was granted. Encampment attendees held a final rally and then left voluntarily on July 3.

In a statement, the U of T said “the court’s decision affirmed our conviction that no group has the right to appropriate any part of our campus for their use to the exclusion of others.”

In Alberta, the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Calgary was dismantled by police in early May. The pro-Palestine encampment at McGill University was removed by private security on July 10. Other encampments at the University of British Columbia and the University of Winnipeg have been dismantled voluntarily in the last month.

What is next for pro-Palestine student advocates at the U of M? 

While the encampment has been dismantled, Chokr said this is not the end for pro-Palestine advocacy on campus.

“This is just the beginning of another era. We’re going to be back with different ways of activism and advocacy,” he said.

UMSU has struck an ad hoc committee to work on a definition of anti-Palestinian racism. The committee is mandated to present its final report with recommendations to the UMSU board of directors by Dec. 9.

The university has stated that they “support students in sharing their perspectives in ways that do not disrupt the functioning of the university, and that maintain a welcoming and respectful campus and supportive learning environment for all community members.”

Chokr affirmed the work of the encampment over the past 68 days. “Ten, fifteen years in the future, they will look back at this and say […] these students were doing what’s right. They stood on the right side of history” he said.