Pro-Palestinian encampment at McMaster University ending, school says
Tents to come down by Saturday evening after being set up on May 5, says McMaster
McMaster University says the student-led, pro-Palestinian encampment that has grown on campus over the past two-and-a-half weeks is ending after the school and protestors agreed on terms.
The school's update, posted Friday, said there were a "series of meaningful discussions" that led to the decision. The university says the students agreed to remove tents by Saturday evening and not form another encampment on campus.
"McMaster has voted to accept an offer," organizers of the encampment said in an online statement late Friday. "We secured commitments that begin to align with our principles of human rights and social justice for all."
Caleb Smolenaars, a third-year labour studies student at McMaster and a spokesperson for the McMaster Apartheid Divest Coalition, told CBC Radio's The Current, "we were able to accomplish a full disclosure of direct and pooled investments that will take place in fall. And this disclosure is a great step. It's something that not very many universities have gotten."
On Saturday, Sam, a McMaster student who participated in the encampment, said, "the security was very respectful... We're proud students of the university. At the end of the day, we want to make sure that our university is not complicit in genocide — the university we attend to and the money we spend in our tuition does not go towards contributing to a genocide."
Sam didn't want to reveal his full name for fear of being targeted by those who don't approve of student encampments like the one he participated in.
The groups, McMaster Apartheid Divest Coalition and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), have been demanding McMaster disclose its investments connected to Israel and the war in Gaza and divest from them.
Watch: Why students in the pro-Palestinian encampment protested against their own school
On Friday, McMaster said its new commitments included:
- Having its International Strategy Advisory Committee (ISAC) develop a framework for human rights considerations in international agreements.
- Meeting with its chief financial officer in June about the school's investment strategy, with SPHR in attendance.
- Annual disclosures of all direct investments and the names of the pooled funds held in the school's investment pool to the board of governors.
- Inviting SPHR to present on divestment to the board of governors.
- Creating an open process to allow questions about the school's investments.
- Making up to $200,000 available to support qualified Palestinian academics and students under the school's Scholars-at-Risk Program and Students-at-Risk Bursary.
- Publishing a series of stories about McMaster students impacted by conflicts and crises, including Palestinian students.
The ending of the encampment is in contrast with most other encampments on school campuses. Some have seen universities file injunctions on demonstrators, issue trespass notices or police cracking down on protesters.
"This has been a very difficult time for many people on our campus. We recognize the profound grief that so many are experiencing," read McMaster's update.
"We also appreciate the willingness of those in the encampment who were willing to participate in such productive discussions."
In their statement, the student organizers also thanked "students, staff, faculty members, and community members" for their support, adding: "Let us be clear: not all our demands have been met... These results are just the beginning of our efforts."
Smolenaars told Matt Galloway, the host of The Current, they're "hoping that McMaster's willingness to meet with us and reach this compromise will prompt other universities to take a little bit of a step further, and continue meeting with their students and meeting some of their demands, rather than just calling the police on them."
Listen | How the McMaster encampment ended in compromise:
The student groups set up the encampment on McMaster campus on May 5.
It drew attention to the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, where more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed since early October, according to health officials in Gaza.
While the health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its death tolls, it says the majority of the dead have been women and children.
The humanitarian situation follows the Israeli military's response to an attack on Oct. 7 that was launched by Hamas and other militants. In that attack, 1,200 people were killed, including several Canadian citizens. Hamas also took more than 250 people hostage.
The initial demands from the encampment were that the school:
- Disclose its investments in weapons companies and defence contractors, and divests from companies they say have ties to Israel and the conflict in Gaza.
- Terminate exchange programs and partnerships with Israeli academic institutions.
- Declare that Israel's bombardment of Gaza is a genocide.
Within a week, the encampment grew to have over 100 people and close to 70 tents, with daily activities and speakers.
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