Pro-Palestinian protesters expected to meet with U of T administration

Pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up an encampment on the University of Toronto campus are expected to meet with school officials today.

The meeting, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time, comes after the university issued a trespass notice to the protesters on Friday.

The school has said it will take "all necessary legal steps" if the protesters don't clear out by Monday at 8 a.m.

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The notice threatens to seek a court order against the camp.

The encampment was set up on May 2 at the heart of the university's downtown campus, part of a massive wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at post-secondary institutions in Canada and the United States.

Organizers called on the university to cut its ties with Israel, divest from companies profiting from Israel's offensive in Gaza, and terminate partnerships with the country's academic institutions deemed complicit in the war.

The school made an offer to the protesters on Thursday, which organizers say doesn't meaningfully address their demands.

Organizers say the university's offer was presented to them at the same time President Meric Gertler held a hastily arranged press conference Thursday publicizing its terms and imposing a Friday deadline to accept.

The university's offer said it would form a working group to consider options for the disclosure of the school's investments, but it would not end any partnerships with Israeli universities.

On divestment, the university said it would strike an advisory committee to review the students' request under existing school policies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2024.