Marking 80 days since they first erected an encampment on part of the campus' quad, University of Victoria (UVic) protesters on Friday (July 19) said the school refused to engage with their most recent proposal.
Amid the war in Gaza, the protesters' various demands include that the university divest from companies contributing to or benefiting from the "genocide of the Palestinian people." The continued impasse in negotiations means that, unlike other campus solidarity encampments, the UVic protest will remain for now.
"We understand that UVic does not want us here. We are prepared to stay strong and devoted to a free Palestine, our solidarity remains unwavering," UVic protesters said during a Friday press conference.
Similar campus encampments from across Canada have shut down in recent weeks as some protesters chose to the dismantle the sites, some universities threatened legal action against demonstrators and others were forcefully broken up. Vancouver Island University demonstrators are staying put after defying a July 15 deadline to disperse, which prompted the school to take legal action.
UVic protesters began talks with school officials in early June before entering a mediated process later that month. The demonstrators offered what they called a third and final proposal on July 16, but said university administration refused to engage on it and directed demonstrators to accept a previous offer.
"UVic is not only unwilling to agree to actionable solutions, they're actively fighting for and projecting their ability to fund the genocide of the Palestinian people," an encampment official said Friday. "The university's self-serving offer would be a betrayal to Palestine and everything that we have been fighting for at this encampment and others across the world."
The protesters said they will refuse any proposal that fails to guarantee divestment, but would not reveal the contents of what the school has proposed so far. Accepting any proposal will require unanimous approval by encampment members, the protesters said.
UVic said it was still crafting its response after Black Press Media asked about the negotiations on Friday morning.
