Pro-Palestinian protesters who are part of an encampment at the University of Windsor are vowing to be heard.
They protested outside of the university's Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday.
The board met Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Assumption Hall and faced heavy disruptions from the group who was protesting outside.
Those with the Pro-Palestinian encampment near Dillon Hall have been making their voices heard as they near two weeks of protests at the school. University officials met with organizers of the group on Friday, but the group stated their demands are not being met.
While those with the group were invited to sit in the gallery of the meeting if they followed decorum, majority of the group declined and continued to bang drums and chant just outside of Assumption Hall.
However, a couple of individuals did end up going inside of the Hall where they demanded to know where the school stood and what was being done, as well as why Dr. Robert Gordon, the UWindsor President, didn't attend the meeting on Friday.
Dr. Robert Gordon, UWindsor President, spoke to those who interrupted the meeting and says the University remains committed to moving this process forward.
"We also hear you, and I hope that you can appreciate certainly that we have respected your presence on campus over the past 10 days, we are fully committed to doing our best until we move these issues forward."
Dylan Kristy, Strategic Communications Manager for the University of Windsor, says the University of Windsor supports their rights to protest.
"The University remains in discussions with the University of Windsor Students' Alliance, and the Windsor University Faculty Association. That said, there were a number of disruptions that did occur during the Board of Governors meeting, and there are processes in place for the public to address the board. Having said that, we did allow some of the demonstrators to speak to the Board of Governors and Dr. Gordon did address them as well."
Jana Alrifai, one of the organizers of the student-led coalition, says they decided to not attend the meeting.
"If you go into that meeting you are being silenced, every time we tried to talk, every time we tried to say what we wanted to say, we wanted to tell the voice of the students - the Board of Governors didn't care. 'You should not speak out of turn' is their mentality, but we are the children of the student movement and we will speak until we are heard."
One of the members of the encampment at the University says he and the others will do what they have to do to be heard.
"They care more about procedure and decorum in these meetings, they cared because we're coming in and interrupting their meetings, their procedures, more so than the fact that our families are dying, and we're telling them we're losing family. Every second we spend here not talking about divestment and all of our demands, more of us will die."
The group has six demands for the university which include disclosing all institutional expenditures, divest from companies profiting from the Israeli occupation, and declare its opposition to the Israeli occupation in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.
In a statement provided by the University of Windsor, they state 'As we have communicated to representatives of the encampment, we continue to welcome opportunities to dialogue and find a way forward.'
They add that they 'support the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of expression', and that their top priority 'continues to be our educational mission and the safety and well-being of all students and campus members.'
Individuals with the Pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Windsor are protesting outside of the Board of Governors meeting at Assumption Hall. Those protesting have been invited inside to the meeting, so far no one has come into the Hall at this time. @AM800CKLW pic.twitter.com/DtZoJrNszt
— Meagan Delaurier (she/her) (@DelaurierMeagan) May 21, 2024