Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block entrances to Administration Building

Once again, the activists blocked the doors of the two main entrances with bicycles and then sat in front of them. However, this time around, there were about 150 employees inside who had arrived before 8:30 am. The emergency exits were kept clear, an agreement between UU and the activists.

On Wednesday afternoon, the university sent an email to all employees working in the Administration Building, stating that only one entrance would be open. The email followed an Instagram post in which the activists said they would be protesting in front of the Administration Building again, in keeping with their slogan ‘We will be back’. The activists said: ‘Two weeks ago, we successfully blocked the administration building of our university and gave them a 10-day ultimatum to consider our demands. They did not do that, so we are going to protest there again.’

The activists called on supporters to leave their lectures at 11:30 am and gather in front of the Administration Building at noon. The Executive Board offices are in this building. 

The action protests the ‘continued complicity of our university in genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing’. Participants were offered a free vegan lunch and engaged in reading groups with poetry, fiction and non-fiction from Palestine and about Palestine. They also painted banners and made bracelets.