*Updated with clarification: NSCAD's student union and the NSCAD Student Action Group are separate student organizations within the university. The 12 demands released below, calling for divestment and disclosure, are from the NSCAD Student Action Group, not from SUNSCAD*
On Friday, May 10, student groups from four Halifax universities–NSCAD, Dal, King’s and SMU–formed a shared group online, called Students for the Liberation of Palestine - Kjipuktuk/Halifax.
In a post, they call on their universities “to immediately disclose and divest from any investments that sustain settler-colonial projects, including the Zionist state known as Israel.”
As of May 12, three of these schools have issued specific demands of their own university through specific student groups.
At NSCAD, members of the student union–SUNSCAD–joining with colleagues as the "NSCAD Student Action Group" released a series of 12 demands to their university on the Student Action Group's Instagram page, as follows:
We demand:
- Public disclosure of the entirety of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University investment portfolio.
- Immediate divestment from all weapons manufacturing, military supplying, and companies operating in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories.
- In response to emails sent from Dr. Shannon regarding the rights and responsibilities for students and faculty to speak truth to power, and exercise their academic freedom: an apology from, and the resignation of, the President of NSCAD University, Dr. Peggy Shannon.
- Anti-oppression training for ALL faculty and administration at NSCAD, focusing particularly on Queerness, indigeneity, and anticolonialism.
- Free tuition for all students.
- Free housing for all students.
- The implementation of a Palestinian Art History course.
- A scholarship offering free tuition and housing for one student currently living in Palestine.
- That the NSCAD Board of Governors be made up entirely of students, faculty, and staff, with at least 50% +1 seat on the Board being held by students.
- That NSCAD university moves all its banking to a credit union.
- The immediate breaking of the lease of NSCAD with the Port Authority, regarding NSCAD’s Port campus, and a commitment of no financial dealings with the Port Authority going forward.
- That all funds divested through the process of realizing the above demands be reinvested in the rebuilding of universities from the Gaza Strip that have been destroyed.
The King’s Students in Solidarity with Palestine group released a series of demands on their page, as follows:
- Divest
- Disclose
- Issue public apology
- Increase student representation
- Commit to decolonizing
- Protect students
- Hold administrators accountable
This group from King’s has issued a call-out for community members, students and faculty, to sign a letter which includes these demands, addressed to King’s’ administration, “in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
On Saturday, May 11, the SMU Students in Solidarity with Palestine group released a letter to their administration from “a group of concerned students, alumni and staff ]wanting] to express our deep frustration with Saint Mary's University's silence on the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.”
On Instagram, SMU's student group published demands for their university disclose and divest their financials in similar terms as King's' and NSCAD's student groups:
- We demand full public disclosure of all financial investments
- We demand divestment…Any money that funds or maintains Israel’s occupation and Western imperialism must be divested immediately.
- We demand that SMU switches to a local Credit Union and removes all funds from RBC.
- We demand all money being invested into the maintenance of settler colonialism, Western imperialism and the illegal Israeli occupation be divested and invested into rebuilding universities in Palestine as all universities have been destroyed by Israel’s deliberate scholasticide.
- We also demand a Palestinian student scholarship fund, including full coverage of housing…
- We demand a full review of [certain courses at SMU in political science, history, social justice and religion] by a council comprised of at least 50% + 1 Palestinians.
- We call for the resignation of any member of SMU who has any ties to the Israeli project.
- We demand president Robert Summerby-Murray resigns immediately.
- We demand a student union.
The Coast has reached out to all four university administrations and is awaiting comment on these published demands.
