A group of around 80 Oxford students occupied the historic Bodleian Library at Oxford University today in support of Palestinians and to protest the university’s policies towards Israel, notably calling for divestment from Oxford’s stake in the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems, a statement of support from the university in reaction to Israel’s bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza, and the cancellation of a series of lectures inaugurated by Israeli President Shimon Peres (which the students had earlier staged a protest against). They are also asking for scholarships to be created for Palestinian students and support for Palestinian academia. Their full statement is after the jump. The students have a blog, Occupied Oxford, a Twitter feed and a YouTube page with videos of the occupation of the library.
The building occupation was ended after ALL of the demands from university administration were met.
Political involvement of students is rising, and this brave, non-violent & peaceful act by a group from oxford shows student activism can make a differrence!
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/7844890.stm
http://arabist.net/archives/2009/01/22/oxford-students-occupy-bodleian-library-in-solidarity-with-palestinians/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/23/student-protests-gaza
No comments:
Post a Comment