Ontario university makes historic move, aligning with pro-Palestine protesters and vowing to avoid investments linked to Gaza conflict profiteers.
Administrators and protest organizers at the Ontario Tech University in Oshawa say they have reached an agreement, bringing campus encampments and demonstrations against investments connected to Israel’s military to an end.
A copy of the agreement circulated to students shows it was signed on Monday and includes a number of commitments from the university if the encampment was taken down within 24 hours.
Among the commitments listed in the agreement is the university’s affirmation that it is engaged in “responsible investment practices”, adding that it is not “aware of investments in any companies that are benefitting from the current Palestinian Humanitarian Crisis”.
Under the agreement, the university will establish ‘a responsible investment working group that will review best practices and make recommendations’ in its investments
Meanwhile, administrators have also assured that students and faculty who participated in the encampment will be protected from “academic and/or employment-based retaliation.”
The agreement between protesters and Ontario Tech University comes after weeks of encampments on university campuses across Canada in response to the Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
Student protesters nationwide are urging their universities to divest from companies supplying weapons or benefitting from the conflict in Gaza. At the University of Toronto, dozens of students remain camped out, with several rounds of negotiations yet to yield an agreement.