Protesters to face repercussions if Western University encampment not gone by weekend
CBC
Pro-Palestinian protesters must pack up their campus encampment by the weekend or face disciplinary action, Western University's president says.
In a statement released to the university's community blog Thursday, Alan Shepard said the administration has met three times with protesters in recent days, and has presented them with five commitments that will not compromise the school's mission.
"This proposal reflects a commitment to our shared interests and is as far as Western can go while remaining steadfast to our mission as an institution of higher learning, with all that this mission entails," Shepard wrote.
He said if students and staff voluntarily remove the barricade that's been blocking access on "concrete beach" in front of the University Student Centre for eight weeks, no "action" will be taken.
It was not clear from the statement what the university would do if the camp was not removed, or if the school was considering judicial or police action.
Western University has refused all requests for comment from CBC News, including requests to clarify the statements or answer any questions arising from the statements officials have used to communicate during the protests.
At the time of publication, student-led protesters had not responded to a request for comment. This story will be updated when that occurs.
On Wednesday, students at the University of Toronto cleared the campus encampment that they'd occupied for 60 days. The move came after a court-ordered deadline issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granting the school an injunction to tear down the encampment on its property.
The courts gave Toronto police the authority to remove and arrest anyone who didn't comply with the 6 p.m. deadline.
In his message to students, Shepard acknowledged that the entire school community has been hurt since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, and the ongoing war that's killed innocent citizens.
"Many members of the Western Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian and Israeli communities are immensely affected by losses in Israel and Palestine as well as rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate here in Canada," Shepard said.
"As a university, we have a fundamental duty to create the conditions for everyone on our campus to come together and make an impact in the world through scholarly activity."
Shepard said the school is willing to undertake the following actions:
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