Students launch UWindsor 'Liberation Zone'

The Liberation Zone was set up in front of Dillion Hall in Windsor, Ont., on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Rich Garton/CTV News Windsor)

University of Windsor students are launching a “Liberation Zone” on campus in solidarity with the Popular University for Gaza and striking students around the world.

The Liberation Zone was set up at 12 p.m. on Thursday in front of Dillion Hall. It comes after encampments and Liberation Zones at other universities such as McGill, McMaster, Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto, among others.

A news release from organizers say the zone will include chanting and teach-ins about Palestinian history, culture and solidarity with other groups.

“There are no more universities in Gaza and we stand strictly in opposition that our education funds their death,” says a spokesperson from the Liberation Zone. “For over seven months as we watched people get killed, life continued on as normal and that is no longer acceptable.”

The protestors demand that the university “disclose 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."

The university released a statement on Thursday afternoon:

"The University of Windsor’s dedication to responsible investing was demonstrated in 2020 when it became a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, pledging to integrate environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues into all of our investment strategies. The commitments that the University made by becoming a signatory are articulated in our Responsible Investment Policy. The integration of ESG factors into the University’s investment decisions is primarily done by external investment managers, who may screen portfolios to assure alignment with the University’s ESG values."