Protest encampment ends after 27 hours as UCSJP and UC reach agreement

3:49pm – Protestors start to pack up. Source: Charlotte Thornton / Canta.

The protest encampment in the Undercroft, led by University of Canterbury Students for Justice in Palestine (UCSJP), ended yesterday after 27 hours.

At about 3:30pm, UCSJP announced in the Undercroft that an agreement had been reached through negotiations with UC’s senior leadership. They said they were awaiting an email from UC with a bullet point list of statements.

The protestors were instructed to start packing their belongings in preparation for an end to the encampment. “On good faith, we are preparing to pack down,” said the person who made the announcement.

UC’s email was received by UCSJP about a half-hour later and was read out to protestors.

UCSJP told Canta that the “collaborative statement of support” is to be released on Thursday.

When asked by Canta about the details of the agreement, UCSJP said they had “secured a commitment to progressing scholarship opportunities for Palestinians through the Scholars at Risk program,” and that UC “has also agreed to bring a motion for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel to their academic board… [and] to investigate revising procurement to exclude Israeli companies.”

They said that UC confirmed the existence of their investment policies and “committed to a statement” describing these policies and how they prevent investment in armaments.

4:17pm – Encampment being taken down. Source: Charlotte Thornton / Canta.

UCSJP said that UC assured them that no one involved with the protests would face any consequences.

UCSJP did not secure “disclosure of the contents of [the] University of Canterbury Trust Funds and the University of Canterbury Foundation, as this falls outside of the control the senior leadership team,” but said they hoped that UC would be “placing pressure” on the people managing these funds.

Just after 7:30pm, UC’s Executive Director of People, Culture and Campus Life, Paul O’Flaherty, sent out an email to the student body stating that Canterbury Cards were no longer required for daytime access to Ilam campus buildings.

UCSA President Luc MacKay, who said he visited the protest multiple times throughout the day, was present for the announcement.

He told Canta, “It’s really encouraging to see that the University is working with the students and staff who are part of this protest.”

When asked if the UCSA were involved in negotiations, MacKay said, “the UCSA continued to advocate for students and their right to protest… we did everything we could to make sure that both sides were heard.”

UCSJP issued a statement to media in the evening.

“This does not mark the end of SJP's campaign. It is the first step on our journey together. There is more work to be done; we will not rest until Palestine is free.”

A protest on C-Block lawn is planned for 12pm on Thursday. It will be part of a nationwide student protest action, with protests also scheduled for 12pm at AUT, Auckland, Massey, Otago, Victoria, and Waikato universities. It has not been organised by UCSJP, but the group lends its support.

Canta asked UC to respond to UCSJP’s allegation that UC refused to let journalists into campus on Tuesday. The unnamed UC spokesperson said, “In respect of the wider UC Community, who are currently preparing for exams, we asked media to not come onto campus last night to mitigate any further disruption.”