MEDIA RELEASE: Pro-Palestinian students arrested
On the evening of Friday, July 5, four weeks after students began occupying the Arts and Administration lobby, student protestors received an official trespass notice at 9:57 pm, followed by the RNC appearing at 10:01 pm- despite students being told that they had 30 minutes to collect their belongings before being removed. This resulted in three students being arrested and charged with petty trespassing.
Students have been continuously protesting both inside and outside Memorial University’s Arts and Administration building to demand action on the genocide being conducted by Israeli forces in Palestine. Among their demands were the public disclosure of all of the university’s investments as well as divestment from all weapons manufacturers and companies complicit in Israel’s war crimes. In early June, it was revealed that MUNL had invested over $7 million in companies flagged by experts as being complicit in the genocide in Palestine.
There have been several inconsistencies in the university’s communications throughout these events. The administration cited fire safety as a concern while withholding the fire safety report from student protestors. Students were told that they were not allowed to stay past 10 pm in the Arts and Administration building, but on July 10 over 30 students, faculty, and community members refused to leave for over an hour. The RNC was seemingly not called.
Despite making statements regarding the student encampment, MUNL administration was silent on the public outrage following the release of information that proved Glenn Barnes, chair of the Board of Regents, forwarded private emails to community members’ parents, potentially breaching confidentiality.
Following the raid, Dr. Dennis Peters denied that calling the police caused a safety concern for international and racialized students present, stating that students merely felt unsafe. Students are concerned with the level of unprofessionalism coming from MUNL administrators concerning this situation, and what implications the use of police force to silence dissent could have for the larger university community. The weaponization of invalid legal arguments and the intentional spreading of misinformation indicate a clear risk to democracy and the right to protest on campus.
MUNSU stands in solidarity with student protestors and calls for the immediate investigation of Glenn Barnes for his potential breach of confidentiality as well as Neil Bose, Jennifer Lokash, Greg McDougall, Lisa Browne, and any other administrators that may have been involved in the decision to inflict harm on peaceful protesters by using police force to remove them on July 5.
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MUNSU can be reached for comment via external@munsu.ca or (709) 330-6941.