Free to protest, but not free to camp — that’s the message from police and campus security as protestors return to the University of Calgary for day two of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
A student encampment was set up on the south lawn of MacEwan Hall Thursday morning and was removed by officers in riot gear later in the evening, resulting in five arrests.
“It was probably the most terrified that I’ve ever been in my life,” says Julia Lee, a student who was part of the one-day encampment from the beginning until the end.
At it’s peak, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) estimates there were 150 people participating. Protestors were asked to leave by the university and police, and many refused, police say.
The scene Thursday night included pepper bombs and flash bangs as police tried to disperse the crowd. The camp is now gone and the area where it was setup looks as if nothing was ever there.
“My night ended with me riding in an ambulance with one of my closest friends,” says Lee. “She currently has a concussion. I tried to hold my ground for as long as I could, linked arm and arm and I tried singing for as long as I could.”
The group of protestors were calling for several actions from the university, including a commitment to full disclosure and regular updates about the post-secondary’s investments and donations, and the termination of “investments involved in surveillance, military technologies, oppression of Indigenous peoples, and any corporations linked to regimes under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).”
On Friday, a special prayer was held at the campus where members of the Muslim Students’ Association reflected on the previous night.
“We’re just having a protest today, and that’s it,” says Mujtaba Khan. “We’re just having a protest a peaceful protest against what happened last night.”
Following the Jumma prayer, hundreds of students gathered at the encampment site to chant slogans in support of the Palestinian movement and against those who ended their encampment.
Many in the group echo Khan’s sentiments, saying this will be the extent of their protest moving forward, with some planning to continue the protest outside city hall, rather than setting up any more encampments.
A similar event in Edmonton, at the University of Alberta, is ramping up Friday, and so far, has seen no intervention from campus security or police.
Premier Danielle Smith was asked about the situation at the province’s two biggest post-secondary schools, and said Calgary police did the right thing in removing the encampment.
The NDP opposition are asking for an investigation into the actions of police, which they say appeared disproportionate to the actions of the protestors.