Several hundred people flocked to the campus of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) on Saturday to support the students who are mobilizing for the Palestinian cause. General meetings, workshops, yoga, music and discussions punctuated the day.
Since Thursday, the lobby of the Geopolis building has been occupied by a group of students who are calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They obtained the right to stay until late Monday afternoon, where a new meeting with the rectorate must be held.
On campus, Palestinian flags and various banners signal the occupation of the premises and recall the students’ demands. The highlight of the day was a gathering attracting some 400 people to the site. It took place in a relaxed atmosphere, with participants remaining outside the building.
Supportive teachers
“Gaza, UNIL is with you” and “Down with Israeli apartheid” chanted the participants, between two speeches. Joseph Daher, visiting professor from UNIL, will later hold a conference. He welcomes the mobilization of students who “are outraged over something that is unacceptable, a genocide,” he says.
A second professor, sociologist Olivier Fillieule, also provides his support, recalling “that the goal of teachers is to transform students into citizens”. He demands “total transparency” from the University on its collaborations with Israeli institutions, a demand taken up in a letter addressed to management and which UNIL staff are called upon to sign.
Willingness for dialogue
The teacher welcomes the attitude of the rectorate which has shown “for the moment at least” a desire for dialogue, unlike the EPFL. This in fact threatens to suspend the Polyquity association, due to a conference deemed “partisan”. Several speakers asked the Haute Ecole to reconsider its position.
Inside Geopolis, life is organized. Students hold two general assemblies per day to make decisions. Sofas have been moved to the ground floor. Three small gray tents sit in the atrium, and a room with mattresses serves as a dormitory, explains a spokesperson. Some are preparing to spend a third night on the site.
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
