300 UCC students walk out of lectures to demonstrate solidarity with Palestine

A mass walkout of lectures was held by UCC students to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the university's silence in the face of the ongoing actions of the Israeli government in Gaza which have been described as "genocide".

The protest, which was organised by the Students' Union, called on the Irish government to expel the Israeli Ambassador and not to meet with Joe Biden on St. Patrick's Day at the White House.

The students also demanded for the University to make a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Along with this the students called for direct action in the form of the institution reviewing all academic links between UCC and Israeli academic and industrial institutions. The strike called own the University to fund and seek funding for short-term and long-term supports, programmes, and collaborations with Palestinian universities.

They also demanded that UCC to adopt a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Policy across the university, weeks after Cork County Council passed a motion formally endorsing the BDS campaign and declaring its intent not to purchase Israeli goods or those from companies “that support the Israeli state.”

UCC Student Walkout for Palestine. 11/03/2024

A number of people spoke at today’s protest on the University campus including students Caoimhe Lyons of the University's Socialist Society, Hayley O’ Connell - Communication and Engagement officer for UCC students Union, and Morgan Ó hÉigceartaigh of the UCC Student's Union Anti-Imperialism Committee.

Alongside students prominent proponents of the BDS movement in Cork City spoke including Kathy Gavanis of the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and Cllr Brian McCarthy of the Socialist Party.

Speaking to Hot Press Morgan Ó hÉigceartaigh, a masters student in UCC said: "Today we are protesting against UCC's refusal to join the international BDS movement. UCC has an ongoing active cooperation across many research projects with Israeli universities, while Israel has bombed all of Gaza's universities".

One attendee of the protest, final year arts student Sarah O'Mahony spoke to Hot Press saying: "It's important to demonstrate the student and staff's support for the Palestinian people who are experiencing a genocide- to show that this not a political or bureaucratic issue".

Today's protest comes shortly after a Palestinian student, Leen Maarouf, was denied the opportunity to bring a Palestinian flag into the graduation hall with her for her MA conferring ceremony.

 

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Speaking in a heartfelt post on Instagram, Maaroufe said: "Not having the right to represent my heritage was crushing".

When Ms Maaroufe was called to collect her MA, she shouted 'Free Palestine" but her footage was removed from the live stream which she described as "depriving my family the opportunity to witness my moment of just 'being'".

"It was a painful reminder of the silence and erasure surrounding the Palestinian struggle, even within academic spaces. In a room where people were graduating with degrees in International Relations, Politics, International Public Policy, and Diplomacy, Irish revolution etc., I didn't help but feel embarrassed by the glaring absence of acknowledgment of the Palestinian genocide".

Referencing the incident at today's protest, Communications and Engagement officer Hayley O'Connell Vaughn said in their impassioned speech:"Not even a week ago, we had a student forced not to bring her homeland flag into her own graduation from this University- that is an absolute disgrace".

"They [UCC] sprung to action to help Ukrainian students, as they should, we are a University of Sanctuary [but] Where is that same energy for all out Palestinian students?"