UVic Palestine Supporters Stage Walkout for Student Strike

While the encampment has been defeated, UVic students are still fighting their institution until it divests from the genocide in Gaza. But can they muster the numbers for a student strike?

One hundred students urged their peers to walk out of class ahead of a vote at the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS) general assembly next week for a student strike aimed at pressuring the university foundation into divesting from corporations complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and beyond.

Watch more videos on Youtube.
Beautiful weather for a walkout.

This protest was only the latest in a long campaign by students duelling with University of Victoria president Kevin Hall over continued investments in weapon manufacturers and others enablers of the Zionist regime, such as ThyssenKrupp, which provides the Israeli navy with warships for its naval blockade of Gaza, and tech giants such as Google and Amazon which partner with Israel’s government in mass surveillance of Palestinians.

Administrators have too much grey hair to share that sentiment. The world would be a better place if universities were run by students.

The university has responded to the allegations in a tone deaf manner, dodging the accusations by pointing out the holdings in question are largely indirect, such as through mutual funds such as one managed by investment firm BlackRock. It also invokes the BC Human Rights Code in its defence, an allegation I call spurious being a legal advocate specialising in human rights law; if nothing else, corporate investments aren’t a service commonly available to the public, while the divestment demands do not revolve on protected characteristics under the Code.

Even if only a fraction goes to murdering civilians in Gaza, it’s still way too much.

In the past several weeks, a committee of students undertook to escalate the resistance following the crushing failure of the encampment, by joining a national university student strike movement. This walkout was held in collaboration with the local chapter of the Revolutionary Communist Party, which I do not endorse but have to concede its message today: capitalism fuels this crisis, and divestment is the only realistic strategy to shut the war machine down.

Morale seems to be low at UVic, in spite of the level of organisation. In contrast, students at Concordia University in Montreal are rioting against their institution.

Convincing students to mobilise in sufficient numbers, however, is proving difficult. While respectable, today’s turnout is a small fraction of those I recorded in previous walkouts such as the one in January, and a far cry from the numbers required to secure a student strike. When we marched around the campus, exhorting students to join us, the reaction from bystanders was indifference. It could be that they feared expressing their support or opposition openly, or could signal fatigue from a crowd that has done much yet obtained little in the past year. How this may reflect on the upcoming vote is unclear.

Not bad, but we had about 440 in January, so a mere hundred today is a real downer. Come on students, what’s holding you from walking out on your lunch break?
Onward!
The march around campus. Divest from the Israeli war machine!
Can you hear us, Kevin Hall?

I have noticed that while this campaign coordinates with the organisers of the weekend Palestine rallies, it proceeds without the backing of organisations outside of socialist circles, like Independent Jewish Voices Canada and the Tzedek Collective, which have proven instrumental in keeping students engaged in the past. This may largely explain the disappointing turnout in spite of the outstanding level of organisation and outreach.

Nevertheless, the organisers aren’t giving up. At the conclusion of the rally, the emcee enjoined the attendance to reach out to their social networks in order to recruit volunteers for the campaign and muster the vote at the general assembly. In the end, what will determine the outcome of the vote isn’t the opinion of those who don’t mobilise but the actions of those who do, a principle well known by political campaigners, and mobilisation is the socialist movement’s strength.

Recent Posts

Calling Sick, On Break Until Further Notice

Once again I've reached my breaking point, and I'm forced to take some time off for my own survival.

2 days ago

Advocates Rally for Shea Smith on National Homeless Persons Memorial Day

I'd been itching to organise a celebration of life for Shea Smith, because I think no one in town was…

3 days ago

Cool Ideas for Next Victoria Homeless Encampment

You know where would be cooler than by City Hall for the unhoused to set up their next encampment? On…

2 weeks ago

Come Smoke the Psychedelic Mushroom Cloud: Insider Peek into Street Legal Advocacy

In the past several months my life has started looking like a TV show scripted by a screenwriter on an…

2 weeks ago

We Are Entering DEFCON 2

So far I've been holding back in my fight against the City of Victoria's Alto administration. You're about to see…

2 weeks ago

Advocates Rally at Grace Lore’s Office Demanding Government Raise Disability Benefits

No rally is too small to be worth media coverage, especially when the cause is good and underreported. Let's talk…

3 weeks ago

Are you protesting social injustice?

Whether you're denouncing police brutality or government overreach, clamouring for a safe drug supply or affordable housing, defending homeless encampments or fighting off the colonial invader, advocating for the disabled or racial minorities, pursuing either legal or extralegal means of retaliation, you'll find plenty of interest within these pages by a fellow insurrectionist butting heads with a callous society and a corrupt system. Come misbehave with the rest of us!

Subscribe on wordpress.com (click the "Subscribe" button for email notifications)

Recent Posts