Canadian university sues its own students over encampment for Palestine ( www.middleeasteye.net )

The University of Waterloo in Canada has filed a lawsuit against its students for continuing its pro-Palestine encampment urging the university to disclose and divest from Israel.

According to reports in the Canadian press, administrators were suing the encampment for $1.5m in damages including "trespass[ing], damage to property, intimidation and ejectment".

The university alleges the student encampment has damaged the school's reputation, driven up administrative and operational costs for the university and depreciated the university's property values.

In statement released by organisers of the encampment, Occupy UWaterloo, the student group said it was "incredibly shameful" that the university adminstration had decided "to sue their own student body that's protesting the university's complicity in a genocide that's almost nine months in and has claimed the lives of over 40,000".

swordgeek ,

Good.

Bring it on! Let them sue, let them lose, and let them be forced to pay damages to the students.

I fucking hope the students can raise the money to make this a big case that destroys the University's leadership.

AnotherDirtyAnglo ,

Yeah, because students... THEY'RE the ones with all the money.

BCsven ,

Wow, univesities are supposed to be thought incubators, not censors

Routhinator ,
@Routhinator@startrek.website avatar

Now they mostly just incubate capitalism and behave like a business.

avidamoeba ,
@avidamoeba@lemmy.ca avatar

Not a good look UWaterloo..

psvrh ,
@psvrh@lemmy.ca avatar

A liberal is a conservative whose privilege hasn't been challenged yet.

SpaceNoodle ,

I think you've got that backwards.

jerkface ,
@jerkface@lemmy.ca avatar

lol cope harder

Linkerbaan OP ,
@Linkerbaan@lemmy.world avatar

This goes hard.

Seigest ,
@Seigest@lemmy.ca avatar

The Ezra street parties that cost the city thousands are totally fine. but they freak out over a few tents. The only reason this school is around is that it's a feeder school to a lot of local tech companies that want fresh meat to grind.

owenfromcanada ,
@owenfromcanada@lemmy.world avatar

It also gets a lot of research money. As a UW grad, I can confirm that the students are the absolute lowest priority though. If you're not in a research-focused post grad program, you're seen as a chore.

Luci ,
@Luci@lemmy.ca avatar

People outside of KW might not be aware of how much these parties sucked for everyone. The universities did nothing about them

jerkface ,
@jerkface@lemmy.ca avatar

UW administration hates its students.

rozodru ,

always has. If you're not researching or willing to be a feed to some tech company then you're not much good to that place.

Bookmeat ,

Shame.

adespoton ,

Has UW never met Barbara Streisand before?

rozodru , (edited )

has damaged the school’s reputation

yeah that was damaged well before this encampment but ok.

driven up administrative and operational costs for the university and depreciated the university’s property values.

Or "We're the UofW, we've never cared about students or what they believe in...like never. IF they refuse to be fed to the grinder of a US tech company or refuse to be a research zombie then we couldn't give two shits about them. We spend what little we can on facilities here and have done so for....well forever, I mean really have you ever been to Dana Porter Library? and we said the quiet thing out loud with property value cause....yeah. Fuck the students and fuck Waterloo and especially fuck those peasants living in Kitchener...just ew."

Eheran ,

Complicity in genocide? Okay?

jerkface ,
@jerkface@lemmy.ca avatar

How is this in any way difficult to grasp?

Eheran ,

How are they complicit in it?

Jtee ,
@Jtee@lemmy.world avatar

Quick google search returned:

A group of about 100 protesters gathered outside the University of Waterloo during a senate meeting Monday demanding the school boycott and divest from all institutions supporting Israel in the midst of the ongoing war.

So it sounds like UW is still supporting groups who are supporting the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Eheran ,

So they might have year long projects with universities in Israel = they are complicit in genocide?

jerkface ,
@jerkface@lemmy.ca avatar

Being okay with genocide as long as you have other interests you don't wish to risk by taking a stand against it is kinda basically "complicit", isn't it?

Eheran , (edited )

No, that is not what complicit means.

Using the same logic: You pay taxes? Complicit in everything that happens with those. From good to bad. Not stopping cars on the road? Complicit in stealing buses etc. their customers. And of course also complicit in road kills.

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