MUN pro-palestine protesters disappointed after meeting with university president

MUN Students for Palestine have had an encampment at Memorial University for a week. They are demanding the university disclose its financial investments. (Abby Cole)

Pro-Palestinian student activists and student union representatives at Memorial University left a meeting Friday with school president Neil Bose and other university administrators disappointed by the university's refusal to negotiate, they said.

Nicolas Keough, director of external affairs for MUN's students' union, said he was hoping to bargain with university administration but was given no counter-proposals or comments on their demands.

"It was very, very clear as soon as we got into the meeting that they were not interested in speaking with us," said Keough.

Activists with MUN Students for Palestine have been camping on the campus in St. John's for a week, protesting the war in Gaza and demanding the university disclose its investments and divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Megan Scott, media liaison for MUN Students for Palestine, says she believes the university is trying to protect its image.

"They basically said, 'We'll listen to your concerns, but we're not going to do anything about them,'" said Scott.

In a statement, Bose said the university has had conversations about their investments as a result of the protest. He said he is open to hearing more from students about the topic and that he is grateful for the important discussions.

According to Bose, MUN's endowment funds, non-endowment funds and pension funds are invested in pool accounts with investment management firms. MUN expects the investment firms to make environmental, social and governance considerations, he said.

Bose said the university does not use student tuition to make investments.

"Pension, endowed and non-endowed funds are funded by employee contributions and donations received," he said.

The demands

MUN Students for Palestine have four demands for the university:

• Full disclosure of the university's financial investments.

• Full divestment from arms manufacturing companies.

• Divestment from "any entities that sponsor or are complicit in Israeli occupation, apartheid and the current genocide in Gaza."

• For MUN to "boycott and cut ties with all institutions and corporations complicit in Israeli war crimes, breaches of international law, and human rights violations across Palestine."

Protest organizers acknowledged they do not know much about MUN's financial investments but said that's partly because administration needs to be more up-front about them.

"We've been asking for transparency from the university administration for years," said Keough.

Similar student encampments have taken place across Canada and the United States. At McGill University in Montreal, students are also demanding disclosure and divestment, particularly divestment from Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer with direct ties to the Israel Defence Forces.

Organized by MUN Students for Palestine, the encampment will stay in place until the university responds to protesters' demands. (Abby Cole)

The students' union said in a statement that Bose refused to acknowledge "the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people."

Keough also drew a comparison between the Palestinian divestment movement and the divestment movement to end South African apartheid in the 1980s.

According to Keough, in response, Bose suggested that divestment doesn't have any impact.

Yazan's Yard

The encampment is located on a quad between the arts and administration building, science building and mathematics building.

It's named Yazan's Yard after 10-year-old Yazan Kafarneh, who had cerebral palsy and died of starvation and pneumonia in Rafah in March.

Organizers say the camp is growing and has been supported by community donations.

According to Scott, the encampment will continue until the university responds to demands.

"One thing we really want to get across to admin is there is no neutral stance on genocide," Scott said.

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