On Sept. 12 at about 11:30 a.m., the group of students behind Occupy UWaterloo and UWaterloo Voices for Palestine held a pro-Palestinian rally and march starting in the arts quad in front of Dana Porter Library. This rally was planned and held without informing the university.

Nick Joseph, the media liaison for the group, spoke out against Waterloo’s “Liberal apathy” and their “insistence to maintain their good relations with colonialism, apartheid, and genocide” in a speech before the march started. He further disparaged UW President Vivek Goel for his hypocrisy in boasting about not divesting from Apartheid South Africa while sitting on land stolen from the Six Nations. 

When asked why the group is continuing their peaceful protests, Joseph mentioned that their demands stay the same — they want the university to divest from Israel and end their complicity in genocide. He stated that the previous $1.5 million lawsuit leveled against the group and the list of “ridiculous demands”— like no megaphones in protests — will not impede their fight. Joseph said the university is directly complicit in genocide and they will exercise their constitutional right to protest until “they get their hands out of Palestine.” 

In terms of future events, Joseph said that they have a lot planned. He said the encampment was a great segue, as it connected them with liberation groups worldwide. He is hopeful that this will enable them to better show how questionable the institution’s decisions are. While specific details have not been mentioned publicly yet, Joseph said there will be another rally in the coming weeks. 

The student body’s public opinion is varied and polarized. The number of participants in the rally was noted to be quite impressive for just the second week of school. An anonymous UW student, however, said, “Why are they marching on campus? What am I going to do about it?” when prompted about their thoughts on the movement. 

One student in the group has lost dozens of family members in the past couple of weeks after Israel’s attack on al-Mawasi. “This is a matter of humanity,” Joseph said. “People have been slaughtered by the millions. If they come with another lawsuit, I say come. I will fight for Palestine until I die.”