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“I think it’s in the interest of the university to think very carefully where we stand as an institution in this historical moment.”

Pro-Palestinian protests continued for a second day on Tabaret Lawn outside the University of Ottawa. Organized by INSAF (Arabic translation: justice or equity) and the Palestinian Students Association (PSA), the protests are accompanied by a list of demands put forth to the university.

The demands include divestment from a list of 15 companies which INSAF says are “involved directly and indirectly in the surveillance, occupation, and murder of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank.”

Protestors once again took to Tabaret Lawn just after noon on Tuesday. A small group set up tarps just after 12 p.m due to the ongoing rain which let off later in the afternoon; the small group grew to about 75.

Professor Daniel Rück, a member of Faculty for Palestine, spoke to the crowd around 1:30 p.m. Rück, a researcher in settler-colonialism and a history professor, discussed the Nakba and drew connections between settler colonialism in Israel and Canada.

Rück, along with Professor Gulzar Charania, spoke to the Fulcrum about Faculty for Palestine’s efforts and the protesters’ demands. Professor Rück also called upon the university’s administration to reflect on their complicity. 

“As a historian, I would say that I would hope university administrators would put some thought into this historical moment, and what our role is, in terms of ‘are we working to facilitate th[e] genocide?’” Professor Rück continued, “I think it’s in the interest of the university to think very carefully where we stand as an institution in this historical moment.”

Throughout the afternoon, protestors took to reading, making art, and painting banners. The Ottawa Socialist Literature Group made a small library available, and students painted a Palestinian flag to display towards Laurier Avenue East.

As day turned to evening, students participated in chants directed at the university’s administration, such as “uOttawa you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide” and “Admin, Admin you’re a coward, the students have all the power.”

UOSU released a preliminary statement around 5 p.m., which called upon the university to revisit its “omnibus” ban against all forms of “encampments and occupations”. 

Just after 7 p.m., protestors began setting up tents to turn the sit-in into an encampment, following the lead of protestors at McGill. This encampment was set up independent of INSAF, but INSAF has since endorsed it. Student organizers asked for the encampment to be made up of Carleton and U of O students and also asked the community for sleeping bags and other supplies.