Anti-Israel protesters have set up an encampment on restricted campus grounds that were closed off in preparation of the upcoming University of Toronto (U of T) graduation ceremony. About 150 pro-Palestine protestors entered the fenced-off recently renovated King's College Circle Wednesday in the dark of night, stretched out a banner that says “From the river to the sea,” and erected about 50 tents in a giant circle. The slogan is a reference to all the lands from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, a suggestion Palestine will be “free”, which some have taken as a call to genocide..University officials upon arriving on campus Thursday said they are concerned the pro-Palestine protest, the likes of which have torn US university campuses apart in recent weeks, will interfere with the schools graduation ceremony beginning June 4, per CBC. A spokesperson for the Hamas supporters said they will not leave the area until U of T has met their demands, which includes supplying protestors with a complete list the school’s endowment's investments and divest from assets that "sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine." The group also insisted U of T cut ties with all Israeli academic institutions in the West Bank..The demands mirror those of protestors at other institutions, including McGill, University of Victoria, Columbia University, UCLA, and numerous other schools in North America. The U of T protestors decry the university's administration for not catering to their demands. "We're not looking for any empty words from the administration, we're not looking for any meetings that don't really get us anywhere," said pro-Palestine protestor Kalliopé Anvar McCall, per CBC, adding the pro-Hamas demonstrators intend to stay until U of T has met their demands "to the word.""We're not leaving until we get that," she said..Pro-Palestine protestor and U of T student Erin Mackey told the state broadcaster protesters aren’t worried about how long it takes — they have plenty of supplies and are in for the long haul. She also claimed the occupation has the support of faculty as well as students. "We have lots of supplies here. There are students and faculty who are supporting this. We will be here, we will continue to be here, we will continue to make these demands until our university divests from Israeli apartheid," said Mackey..After the encampment was erected overnight, school administration warned students there would be consequences for their participation. “The university respects the rights of members of our community to assemble and protest within the limits of the law and U of T policies, but they must not interfere with the ability of students, faculty, librarians and staff to learn, teach, research and work on our campuses, or disrupt or impede other university activities," a spokesperson said Thursday morning. "Our preference is to start with dialogue. Those who contravene university policy or the law risk the consequences set out in various laws and policies such as the code of student conduct, which could include suspension.”.University officials on Monday issued a campus-wide notice that trespassing would not be tolerated. "U of T's lands and buildings are private property, though the University allows wide public access to them for authorized activities. Unauthorized activities such as encampments or the occupation of University buildings are considered trespassing," school officials said in an email. A group of faculty issued a statement in support of the pro-Palestine protestors and urged the university not to involve the police. The letter was signed by the U of T chapters of the Jewish Faculty Network, Faculty for Palestine and Health workers Alliance for Palestine."I think the encampment has been set up because the administration has not listened to students, students who feel very aggrieved by what is happening in Gaza and the genocidal war the Israeli state is waging on the Palestinian people," said Alejandro Paz, an associate professor of anthropology."They've been trying to get the university's attention for several months, and the university's administration has simply ignored them or pushed them off."
