Photo Resource. The occupation of the bridge between Orion and Forum marked its hundredth day on the night of 21 August, making the Wageningen student protest a long haul. The activists ‘celebrated’. Leaving is not on their minds.
It all started on Wednesday, 15 May, with a dozen tents and forty protesters occupying the bridge between Orion and Forum at around noon. Their demands included severing all ties with Israeli institutes. Although WUR has met several of the protestors’ demands – such as publishing a list of Israeli knowledge institutes with which WUR cooperates with – the students and the board have failed to reach an understanding, and the activists continue to call on WUR to take a definitive position. Several employees have also taken a stand.
New stage
The one-hundredth day was cause for ‘celebration’. While the annual introduction for new students (AID) was being wrapped up within earshot on the festival grounds, some forty supporters came to the bridge. Student Lila (whose name is known to the editors): ‘At midnight, we celebrated the hundredth day on the bridge with AID participants who came by. Although I had hoped to have something real to celebrate, such as an agreement with the executive board.’ According to Lila, the atmosphere was always fine, although it was never celebratory. ‘The topic is a serious one. We wanted to celebrate all we have done these past one hundred days. But our feelings are mixed.’
Francesca Albanese
Lila states that there have been talks with Dean of Education Arnold Bregt during the AID, as well as with rector Carolien Kroeze and Wageningen Alderman Maud Hulshof. ‘No promises were made, but we agreed to remain in dialogue. They all stated that the situation in Gaza is terrible. We continue to hope the entire board will be willing to talk with us and hopefully reach an agreement enabling us to terminate our occupation of the bridge.’
Lila reveals that an alternative celebration of the opening of the academic year is currently being organised by several employees and students. ‘UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is to be present to deliver a speech on 3 September. More information will follow as it becomes available.’
Please join us for the Alternative Opening Academic Year 2024/25, Tuesday September 3rd, 16.00 – 17.30, Impulse Speakers Corner. Francesca Albanese (UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories) and Lama A. Samad (Oxfam International) will speak on the theme ‘Global Justice and the Politics of Water and Life in Palestine’. This is a hybrid event, register for the online session here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dG-VJSGiTam8IRxNqvtXqg#/registration