U of T encampment enters 3rd week as talks with school continue

Organizers of a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto say concessions offered by the administration continue to fall short of their demands — and they're staying put until they see concrete progress.

Representatives for the protesters and university met for two hours Wednesday, the latest in a series of meetings aimed at addressing the students' demands and health and safety issues at the encampment.

The demonstrators' three official demands include disclosing the university endowment's investments, divesting from companies that "sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine," and cutting ties with Israeli academic institutions that operate in the occupied territories or support Israel's military efforts.

The university has offered to begin a process to consider disclosure and transparency about its investments alongside divestment, encampment leaders told reporters at a news conference Thursday.

But the students say they were told that process could take months and comes with no guarantee that it would end in disclosure or divestment.

"The complex procedure, which has no guarantees and many, many hurdles ... is completely superfluous and is designed to confuse us by drowning us in bureaucracy," said Kalliopé Anvar McCall, a fourth-year student. "We are not falling for it."

As the encampment enters its third week, there is no end in sight, although both sides say they're committed to negotiating in good faith and finding a peaceful resolution.

Dozens of students, staff and faculty have been occupying a green space at King's College Circle on the university's St. George Campus in downtown Toronto around the clock since May 2. They've set up tents and canopies in solidarity with other encampments at universities throughout North America, calling for an end to Israel's war in Gaza.

So far, the university has avoided asking police to clear the encampment by force, as happened at universities in Calgary and Edmonton last weekend.

A spokesperson for the university said Thursday the meeting was "constructive and productive."

"Our goal remains the same: to find a peaceful and sustainable conclusion to the encampment on front campus as soon as possible, in line with university principles and policies," Christine Szustaczek, vice-president of communications, wrote in an update on the university website.

Szustaczek said the two sides had worked together to mitigate concerns around sanitation, and that a ceremonial fire burning inside the encampment is being supervised by experienced Indigenous firekeepers.

"We continue to discuss signs and language and emphasize how important it is that they be consistent with the spirit of peaceful protest," the statement said.

The students say the university has shown some willingness to consider the disclosure and divestment demands, but appears unwilling to consider the third demand, citing academic freedom. That demand is to cut ties with academic institutions that operate in the occupied territories or support Israel's military efforts.