Vancouver Island University asks pro-Palestinian protesters to leave encampment – BC
Vancouver Island University has issued a trespass notice to pro-Palestinian protesters, asking them to leave their encampment on its Nanaimo, B.C., campus by Monday.
The university said in a statement that the notice was issued Thursday and that if the protesters had not left by 8 a.m. Monday, it would “take all necessary legal action to evict them.”
On Friday, protesters urged the university not to waste money on a legal challenge and instead engage in dialogue.
The university’s decision came after an Ontario court granted an injunction against a protest camp at the University of Toronto, prompting protesters to leave the site, Vancouver Island University noted in its statement.
The university said it would seek an injunction against the camp and damages from the protesters if the camp was not dismantled by the deadline.
He said the camp in place since May 1 posed “unprecedented challenges” and the university must prioritize safety and peace for everyone on campus.
She said those actions included occupations of university buildings and acts of vandalism, adding that she had already issued a trespass notice on May 2.
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Camp organizers, Palestinian Solidarity Encampment Nanaimo, said in an emailed statement Friday that they have “consistently maintained a peaceful and safe environment.”
They say they were committed to “reaching a resolution” with the school, but the school decided not to “engage peacefully with students.”
Vancouver Island University said that while it also hoped the situation could have been resolved through dialogue, it had “become clear that it was not realistic to continue to hope that the encampment could be resolved in this manner.”
The camp is one of a number of similar protest sites at universities in Canada and the United States.
A protest camp at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver was voluntarily evacuated by protesters last week.
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