UVic Student and Alumni Letter of Support for People's Park Solidarity Encampment

To the Administration of the University of Victoria, We are UVic students and alumni writing in support of the autonomous student encampment in solidarity w/ Palestine & Occupied Indigenous Peoples everywhere. We support their demands that the University of Victoria boycott and divest from Israel. UVic states that it has a “strong commitment to sustainability, innovation, community engagement, and unwavering belief in equitable access to education, and equity, diversity and inclusion.” UVic is supposedly “committed to implementing the principles of decolonization and Indigenization in its programs and organizational structures.” Investing in genocide negates any steps towards equity and decolonization that UVic claims to take. We are calling on the administration to demonstrate your commitment to UVic’s own principles by taking the tangible actions being demanded by the students of People’s Park UVic: Divest from all investments connected to companies contributing to and benefiting from the genocide of the Palestinian people, such as Thyssenkrupp Marine Systens Canada LTD, BlackRock, and Scotiabank, Boycott Israeli universities and Zionist academics, including canceling all ongoing and future academic exchanges with Israeli academics and institutions, such as visiting scholars, student exchanges, and partnered publications, Condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. We Reject any attempt to characterize Israel’s actions as neutral or balanced - this is an intentional and purposeful genocide of the Palestinian people, Affirm Palestinian’s right to resist, their right to self determination, and their Right of Return , anything less is contradictory to UVic’s claim to upholding decolonization which is a right for all people under colonial occupation Protect all peoples on campus and involved in the encampment by keeping police off campus, and withholding charges and academic penalties for protesting students, faculty, and staff. We expect that UVic administration acknowledge the hypocrisy of boasting your goals towards reconciliation and your support for Indigenous self-determination on Turtle Island while maintaining financial and academic investments in Israeli apartheid of the Palestinian people. It is unacceptable that an institution claiming to prioritize equitable access to education is investing in companies, including weapons manufacturers, that are enabling genocide and scholasticide. We call on UVic’s administration to uphold your “commitment to implement core local, national and international responsibilities and calls to action that supports the rights and sovereignties of Indigenous Peoples,” as outlined by the UVic Strategic Plan. We also expect that the UVic administration will uphold the rights of students to demonstrate and not endanger or harass them by involving police, nor threaten them with suspension or expulsion. We sincerely doubt UVic wants to be seen as an institution that is willing to stifle and punish its own students for standing against genocide.