June 10, 2024 - 1:00pm
Dear VIU community,
Today, Vancouver Island University (VIU) held a follow-up meeting with the Students for Palestine Committee and the Palestine Solidarity Encampment (PSE) to continue the dialogue from our initial meeting last week.
As promised in our initial meeting, VIU came prepared for a mutually respectful dialogue, ready to discuss the item identified by PSE as the core issue of the encampment: the disclosure of our investments.
VIU came to the meeting prepared to be open, collaborative and continue the dialogue in good faith. We had made some progress after the first meeting and hoped to see that continue. We requested that the PSE provide assurances that they would not disrupt the upcoming convocation events. This assurance was sought as a sign of their good faith in working collaboratively with the administration towards a successful resolution. However, the PSE indicated that they would not provide any assurance that convocation would be free of disruption, which led to the meeting ending without discussing any further items.
While VIU firmly supports the right to protest and the right to freedom of assembly, we stress the profound significance of convocation. Convocation is a foundational community event for the entire campus community. It is a celebration of the culmination of our students’ hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Ensuring that this celebration can proceed without disruption is central to VIU’s mandate of providing a quality educational experience for our students and their families.
VIU remains committed to fostering an environment where open dialogue and mutual respect guide our interactions. We hope to continue dialogue with the PSE to address their concerns while upholding the values and traditions that define our university community. We will continue to update the campus community.
Regards,
Dr. Michael Quinn, Provost & VP Academic
Carolyn Russell, VP, Students
Emily Huner, CFO & VP Administration
Tags: Announcements
