This afternoon, Occupy UW led a surprise protest at Needles Hall during the Board of Governors meeting.
Nicholas Joseph, media liaison for the encampment, provided an explanation for today’s protest: “In today’s board of governors meeting, on their agenda, they were not going to discuss the demands of the campers, but they also weren’t going to discuss the recommendation to disclose their investments from the emergency senate meeting on June 10.”
This dismissal sparked a protest from a group outside the meeting room, which caused a quick cancellation of the meeting.
Sarah Ahmed, media liaison at the protest offered a statement regarding the recent decision. “Students made it clear today that they will not be placated by committees, they want commitments,” she said. “A sit-in was held, and a tent was set-up in solidarity with the encampment, forcing admin to face the students whose families are being bombed due to their complicity. The students will continue to shut it down, just as they did today, until our demands are met: boycott and divest.”
Shortly after the cancellation, Vivek Goel released his own statement regarding the matter, condemning the actions of OccupyUW, believing the actions today obstruct the way of constructive discussion. “Today’s action crossed the line from protest to intimidating behaviour and harassment of individuals,” Goel said. He reiterated that the university has been civil and attentive to the demands of the encampment and reminded the community about UWs plans regarding a task force to examine their investments and partnerships.
“There’s one million people projected to be at risk of losing their lives by mid-July, and he wants to have a task force report done by the end of December. This is unacceptable,” Joseph said.
