Occupy’s first night on campus mostly without incidents; ‘Death to Israel’ banner removed

Wednesday marks the second day that protesters were camping on the Erasmus Plaza, protesting budget cuts, university ties to Israeli institutions, ties with fossil fuel industries and more.

A handful of protesters stayed the night, and didn’t experience serious disturbances during their sleep. Sophie, one of those protesters, said: “It was a really nice sleep. There were some students coming back from partying, and they were chanting ‘Free Palestine’ which was nice.”

According to the house rules for protests, spending the night on campus and in buildings isn’t permitted. The protesters were allowed to remain the night however. A spokesperson for the university highlights the ‘good and clear’ communication between the university and the protesting group, warranting them the ability to stay overnight.

“Demonstrations are allowed within the framework of the law, as long as education and research are not disrupted and the safety of students, staff and visitors is not jeopardised”, said the spokesperson.

'Death to Israel'

Security guards patrolled the campus during the night. “Sometimes the guards would walk near the encampment, sometimes they would walk around other parts of the campus”, Sophie said.

The guards did ask the protesters to remove slogans. “They told us we should remove a ‘Death to Israel’ slogan, as it indicated violence”, said Sophie. She didn’t agree with this decision. “It’s about freedom of speech. It’s important to express criticism against an apartheid and occupation regime.”

Sophie believes that the presence of security guards did not make her feel safer. “We know that the security guards tend to collaborate with the police, who came and violated the boundaries of our camp during last year’s protest. They did so by walking through our camp and talking to random students.”