Queen’s University and pro-Palestine protestors remain at odds as encampment enters its third day.
Students and faculty are unsatisfied with senior istration’s “performative” attempt to address divesting from companies connected to Israel and boycotting Israeli academic institutions.
READ MORE: Pro-Palestine protestors set up encampment on Queen’s University campus
In a statement to The Journal, the University reiterated its commitment to “respectful discourse and dialogue,” but will use the “tools at [their] disposal” to address harassment, discrimination, intimidation, threats of violence, or illegal acts.
“While this encampment is largely peaceful at the moment, there were reports of aggressive acts and threats made during earlier protests,” the University said in the statement.
Pushing and shoving between protestors and campus security ensued at the door of Richardson Hall following the Board of Trustees meeting on May 10, as captured in a video by The Journal.
The Queen’s University Faculty Observer’s Network, comprised of faculty in of the ongoing encampment, claimed it was campus security who instigated aggression outside Richardson Hall, not protestors.
Jake Morrow, president of PSAC 901, echoed the groups sentiments, pointing to Mackintosh Corry Hall where a campus security officer was seen roaming the halls.
“Security, especially on Friday, has been violent and instigated violence against peaceful protestors. The University has been trying to get ahead of that by putting out a statement by saying that protestors were violent,” Morrow said in an interview with The Journal.
Prior to the Board of Trustees meeting, three representatives from the student-run group, Queen’s University Apartheid Divest Coalition (QUAD), met with Principal Patrick Deane and the incoming and outgoing Board of Trustees Chairperson about divesting from companies connected to Israel, specifically those ing the military.
READ MORE: ‘Divest from death:’ Understanding Queen’s investments in the Israel-Gaza war
During the meeting, Deane told QUAD representatives he would create a “divestment committee” come May 13, according to Sophie Sterling, ArtSci ’25 and one of the QUAD at the meeting.
Sterling claimed the University hasn’t communicated further details about the divestment committee to QUAD and believes this is the University’s way of slowing down the process of divestment.
“[It’s an] attempt to tire us out and to get us to stop doing what we’re doing, but that is not something we want to do at all,” Sterling said in an interview with The Journal.
In addition to divesting, QUAD’s demanding the University boycott Israeli academic institutions including Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion universities and disclose further information about their investments.
Corrections
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated protestors are demanding the University divest from Israeli companies. In fact, protestors’ demands are to divest from companies and corporations connected to Israel.
The Journal regrets the error
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Zedrick Serson
The protesters do know that Queens has to first identify what they’re divesting *from*, right? It’s not “slowing down the process” to form a working group to determine what divestment would entail unless the protesters define “divesting from death” as “divesting from Jews”.