Here they have moved in for Gaza:

On Wednesday, UA announced that Students for Palestine and the Academic Network for Palestine at NTNU would set up a tent camp at Gløshaugen for Gaza.

On Friday afternoon, the tent camp is more or less ready and students and staff at NTNU have moved into the west side of the main building, directly behind the Information Centre.

– We have sent our demands to the NTNU board. We expect that they will be discussed, says Shams Jabari.

– Many at NTNU support us

She studies sociology and is a board member of Students for Palestine Trondheim. The demands are, among other things, that NTNU freezes its collaboration with Kongsberg Gruppen and that NTNU must not enter into academic collaborations with Israeli institutions.

– We have given the board two choices: Either that it is discussed on 15 May, which is the next board meeting, or that they set up an extraordinary meeting by 1 June, she says.

– Do you think they will listen to you?

– We hope so. In total, we are 300 students and employees in our organizations alone. In addition, we know that there are many more at NTNU who agree with us that NTNU must take a position on the genocide that is taking place now, replies Jabari.

She says all 300 members in the two networks are willing to camp in the camp until the demands are met. They have set up a roster, so that someone will be in the camp at all times.

Will take action in connection with the board meeting

One of those who have established themselves in the camp now is Conor Kelly. He is a research fellow at the Department of Sociology and Political Science.

– Now we are doing our job by being here, so now we just wait for the board to do its job, he says.

They say that they will take action in connection with the board meeting, which will take place a stone’s throw away from the camp, in NTNU’s main building.

– When they come out of that meeting, we expect them to be able to tell us something concrete about the way forward, notes Kelly.

– We would rather work on the exam

Ahead of the demonstration, the leader of Students for Palestine said that several people are willing to drop exams for the demonstration. This agrees with Jabari.

– We would rather not be here. We would rather sit and work on the exam. There are several who had to drop one or two exams. But since those who have the main responsibility for taking action don’t do it, we have to be here, she says.

– In the Genocide Convention, it says that you must do everything you can to stop or prevent a genocide. We are here until NTNU does what is needed, she asserts.

– Appreciates orderly dialogue

The rector at NTNU, Tor Grande, says in a statement on the internal channel Innsida that he is positive about the demonstration.

– I understand that the students want a peaceful demonstration, and I greatly appreciate good and orderly dialogue in advance of the marking. I think it is positive that the students take a clear stand and also ask critical questions of the university management, says Grande.

– As a university, we have a responsibility to facilitate a free exchange of opinions and a diversity of opinions, he concludes.