A pro-Palestinian protest took place on Laurier’s Brantford campus over the summer

Pro-Palestinian students from the Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford campus participated in the Laurier Brantford for Palestine protest earlier this summer, aiming to stop post-secondary institutions from financially supporting Israeli companies. 

Recently, there have been student protests about post-secondary institutions receiving funding and support from Israeli companies, such as Lockheed Martin Israel. As a result, encampments and protests started at schools like the University of Waterloo and McGill University. There are nine different post-secondary institutions involved in this nationwide protest. Now, the Laurier community has joined the protest as well.  

Usfer Syed, a former president of Laurier’s Muslim Student Association on the Brantford campus, partnered with another anonymous alumnus, who informed him that students on campus are eager to hold protests. They also have support from the school, who are willing to provide them with funding and financial support. 

The constable and campus security did not actively participate in the event the Brantford police department showed their support by showing up and dealing with security measures. 

“They were pretty helpful. They wanted to ensure that everything went well. They even asked me whether I needed a specific section of the street to sit down, and they had multiple officers nearby, ” said Syed. “They didn’t want to interfere with the protest.” 

Despite the support from the Laurier community and the local law, there were interferences. An anonymous individual claiming to be part of the LGBTQ+ community sent a message to Syed saying he was insensitive for scheduling the protest at the beginning of Pride Month. 

“It was an anonymous account, someone who claimed to be at Wilfrid Laurier. When I reached out to them there was no response. So, to me, this was someone who wanted to be an internet troll, ” said Syed. “But police were still notified and they were still concerned about it just in case someone tried to interrupt the protest.” 

Although this was a student protest, Syed said he independently organized the protest by working behind the scenes and connecting with individuals interested in participating. 

Syed explained that the goal of the protest is to ensure that post-secondary institutions respect the rights of Palestinian students and emphasize the critical importance of student rights and voice.   

“After all, we are the future of the universities, whether it’s government or politics,” he said.   

Many post-secondary institutions, like the University of Toronto or the University of Waterloo, tried to stop the protests, even involving the law. Laurier, however, showed support for the protests. The university posted on their website saying, “We unequivocally support everyone’s right to engage in these activities.” 

A student protestor, Mustafa Khalil, said he believes that other Palestinian student communities at Laurier will join the cause.  

“The protests we are doing and the protests we will do will continue. It is going to have results and I can promise you it will have results soon,” said Khalil. “The government has to hear our voices and if a one per cent change occurs, other students will see that there is a little bit of impact.” 

Khalil said the protest is about bringing awareness to the cause, showing that students have a voice and what they say matters. He encourages the Laurier community to support the protests and promises what the Palestine protests are doing matters. 

“You don’t have to bring flags or slogans or come prepared for the protest. Just having your presence, standing there shows a lot of support and makes a big impact,” said Khalil. 

There are recent negotiation attempts between the protestors and post-secondary institutions about cancelling their contract with Israeli defence companies. The protesting students are firm on continuing their rallies, sit-ins and encampments to convince institutions to defer their partnerships and cut all ties with Israel-associated organizations. 

This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 1 on Thursday, August 29.