News

“It’s not a metaphor”: Strawberries, forgiveness, and renewal

Originally published at NB Media Coop on August 8th, 2024 This year, June 21st marked the night of the “strawberry moon” – a full moon that glows smoky pink. To honour Grandmother Moon, King’s University College sociology professor Jess Notwell shared “strawberry teachings” from their Elders with attendees at the Western University encampments. They also contemplated the meaning of strawberries in Gaza. The teachings took place on June 23. Encampment attendees gathered at a picnic table, sitting shoulder to shoulder beneath a soft gray sky. Notwell joined the table with a microphone, a moon stone, an abalone shell, tobacco, and cartons of…

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Western University administration response to student encampments inconsistent with international law

Originally published at NB Media Coop on June 11, 2024 Note: The content of this article was proofread by a legal scholar to ensure its accuracy with reference to international law. On May 29, Western University’s President and Vice-Chancellor Alan Shepard released a public statement about the student encampments’ divestment demands. For 31 days, Western University students have maintained encampments filled with protests, teach-ins, and cultural celebrations. They will remain until Western University’s administration ceases its 33.6 million dollar investment in Israel’s occupation of Palestine and publicly condemns the occupation. Meetings between students and administration have been unproductive since. The latest…

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‘And if we don’t get it – SHUT IT DOWN’: University students rally for a new world

Originally published at NB Media Coop on April 29, 2024 “Please keep going because you are our only hope. And we promise we will hold our ground and tell you the truth, always,” says Bisan Owda, a Palestinian journalist who has reported live from Gaza, fled bombs, held children, flocked to and from tents, sobbed, and starved for over 200 days of genocide. Owda is in a dimly lit tent, a keffiyeh around her shoulders, her dark curls pulled back. Her face is strained. The bags beneath her eyes are deep and hollow out her cheeks. Her gaze is fierce,…

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“Under the rubble of our dreams”: Vigil honours university students killed by Israeli forces, as Western University graduation ceremonies unfold

Originally published at NB Media Coop on June 29, 2024 It is June 12th. Western University hosts graduation convocations. Families fill the halls. Names reverberate. Students traverse the stage; gowns billow, tassels sway, and degrees are photographed. There is warmth, nostalgia, glee, cheer, and peace. Among the tents and human rights slogans forming the student encampments, another graduation convocation unfolds. This convocation is cheerless. This convocation is filled with tears and red eyes. This convocation is a vigil. It is called “Honouring those who will never graduate” – a title strung on a banner facing rows of chairs. No students…

Read More“Under the rubble of our dreams”: Vigil honours university students killed by Israeli forces, as Western University graduation ceremonies unfold