
Google DocsUW & WLU Faculty, Librarians and Staff Letter in Support of Student EncampmentAs faculty, librarians, and staff at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, we unequivocally support our students’ right to peaceful assembly and protest in solidarity with Palestine. We call on all faculty, librarians, and staff to support our students, and to condemn any form of repression and incrimination that may be directed at them during their peaceful encampment.
At this point, Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and it is forcibly starving and collectively punishing Palestinians. The current violence against Palestinians is preceded by a long history of Israeli settler colonial violence, occupation, and dispossession.
Everyone working in a university has a duty and obligation to speak out against the campaign of “scholasticide” in Gaza. Israel has destroyed every single university in Gaza. Hundreds of our Palestinian colleagues, including UW Visiting Scholar Sofyan Taya, have been killed or maimed. Over 100,000 university students have no access to education. This is equivalent to every single post-secondary student in the KW area (Waterloo, Laurier, Conestoga) not being able to attend classes. Over 80% of the entire educational infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed. This, according to the UN, is an "intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system.”
Our students have come together to peacefully protest and advocate for the human rights of the people of Gaza. Our students are participating in an international conversation that values multifaith communities of care and respect. Our students should be celebrated for their moral courage in standing for peace, human dignity, and life, as they challenge our university administrators who have chosen to remain silent about the dehumanizing levels of violence and insecurity of life imposed upon the people of Gaza.
Our demands mirror the demands already put forward by our students:
We call on our universities to protect and respect the right of students to peacefully protest without harm, intimidation, or the threat of police violence. We support their right to protest and the right of students to criticize and oppose our university’s relationship with Israeli institutions. We urge our university administrations to meet with the student leaders to discuss their demands, as they are requesting, and productively enact change in response to their demands.
We call on our university administrations to publicly commit to forming committees to work with our Scholars at Risk programs and establish a stream to facilitate the nomination of Palestinian students and scholars via the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Program.
We call upon our faculty, librarian, and staff associations (such as FAUW, RAAS, SJUASA & WLUFA) to, where applicable, also disclose and divest all funds and investments from all companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide.
Following the recent decisions made by the general bodies of faculty associations (Renison Association of Academic Staff on April 25 & Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association on April 18), and in support of our students' demands, we call on our university administrations to:
Disclose and divest all university funds and investments (including pensions) from all companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide; and
Terminate all academic and research partnerships with Israeli universities that operate in the illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, or sustain or support Israel’s apartheid policies and its ongoing genocide in Gaza, such as UW’s partnership with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with our brave students:
Kim Hong Nguyen, Associate Professor, UW
Greg Bird, Associate Professor, WLU
Vinh Nguyen, Associate Professor, UW
Sara Matthews, Faculty, WLU
Jasmin Zine, Professor, WLU
Nasser Mohieddin Abukhdeir, Associate Professor, UW
Jessica Joy Cameron, Faculty (Contract), WLU
Steve Wilcox, Assistant Professor, WLU
Neil Balan, Contract Teaching Faculty, WLU
Heather Smyth, Associate Professor, UW
Natasha Pravaz, Associate Professor, WLU
Adan Jerreat-Poole, Assistant Professor, UW
Hillary Pimlott, Associate Professor, WLU
Alexandra Boutros, Associate Professor, WLU
Clarice Kuhling, Contract Faculty, WLU
Nathan Rambukkana, Associate Professor, WLU
Milo Sweedler, Professor, WLU
Penelope Ironstone, Associate Professor, WLU
Gerald Voorhees, Associate Professor + Department Chair, UW
Alex Levant, Contract Faculty, WLU
Craig Fortier, Associate Professor, UW
Sue Ferguson, Faculty (emerita), WLU
Jordana Cox, Assistant Professor, UW
Nazli Akhtari, Assistant Professor, UW
Frankie Condon, Associate Professor, UW
Jay Dolmage, Professor, UW
Peter Eglin, Professor Emeritus, WLU
Nomair Naeem, Faculty, UW
Ardavan Eizadirad, Assistant Professor, WLU
Mariam Pirbhai, Professor, WLU
Kim Rygiel, Professor, WLU
Ehaab D. Abdou, Assistant Professor, WLU
Todd Gordon, Associate Professor, WLU
Kevin Carey, Continuing Lecturer, UW
Stacey Hannem, Professor, WLU
Helen Ramirez, Contract Faculty, WLU
Amilah Baksh, Sessional Instructor, WLU
Abderrahman Beggar, Professor, WLU
Samer Al-Kiswany, Associate Professor, UW
Honor Brabazon, Associate Professor, St. Jerome's, UW
Zabedia Nazim, Contract Faculty, WLU
Ali Zaidi, Associate Professor, WLU
Emma Alderman, Technical Coordinator TofA, UW
Maissaa Almustafa, Lecturer, UW
Ann Marie Beals, Assistant Professor, WLU
Natalie Kivell, Assistant professor, WLU
Paula Butler, Sessional Instructor, WLU
Audra Mitchell, Professor, WLU
Keri Cheechoo, Assistant Professor, WLU
Tamer Ozsu, University Professor, UW
James Cairns, Associate Professor, WLU
Semih Salihoğlu, Associate Professor, UW
Edmund Pries, Associate Professor, WLU
Katie Honek, Coordinator, UW
Marcia Oliver, Associate Professor, WLU
Adam Lewis, Contract Faculty, WLU
Patricia Molloy, Contract Faculty, WLU
Percy Lezard, Associate Professor, WLU
Ciann L. Wilson, Associate Professor, WLU
Stephen Svenson, Contract Faculty, WLU
Sarah Klein, Assistant Professor, UW
Anna Cunningham, Academic Services Coordinator, UW
Bojana Videkanic, Associate Professor, UW
Susan Brophy, Associate Professor, UW
Sara Perkins, Communications and Memberships Services Officer, UW
Aparajita Bhandari, Assistant Professor, UW
Paule Charland, Adjunct Faculty, UW
Rachel Anderson, Academic Advisor, UW
Alison Murray, Library Staff, UW
Laura Ashfield, Career Advisor, UW
Judith Nicholson, Associate Professor, WLU
Linda Zhang, Assistant Professor, UW
Anna Drake, Associate Professor, UW
Johonna McCants-Turner, Associate Professor, UW
Nick Bendo, Technician, UW
Shannel Noseworthy, Academic Services Coordinator, UW
Sarah Turnbull, Assistant Professor, UW
Martha Lauzon, Library staff, UW
Tanya Pompilio, Staff, UW
Anh Ngo, Associate Professor, WLU
Luke Balch, Academic Advisor, UW
Catalina Garcia, Undergraduate Coordinator & Advisor, UW
Amr El Alfy, Assistant Professor, UW
Laura Enns, Museum Host, UW
Carol Acton, Professor, UW
Miljana Kovacevic, Administrative Manager, UW
Andy Houston, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Theatre and Performance, UW
Maya D'Alessio, Data Analyst, UW
Taha Gilani, Staff - Data Analyst, UW
Becky Verdun, Accommodation Consultant, WLU
Omar M. Ramahi, Professor, UW
Jessica Huang, Undergraduate Advisor, UW
Nick Garside, Contract Faculty, WLU
Katy Fulfer, Associate Professor, UW
Michael Gordon, Postdoc, WLU
Olivia Vanderwal, Digital Communications Specialist, UW
Nadine Quehl, Senior Manager, Knowledge Mobilization and Partnerships, UW
Emma Dunn, Writing and Communication Advisor, UW
Anum Urooj-Sage, Field Advisor and Placement Coordinator, WLU
Nadeem Lawji, Resource Sharing Coordinator, UW
Doaa Elfayoumi, Information System Specialist, UW
Vivienne Hang, Staff, UW
Maya El-Baltaji, Undergraduate Advisor & Operations Coordinator, UW
Calyssa Burke, Research Equity Advisor, UW
Devin Herman, PhD Administrative Coordinator, UW
Monica Darroch, Career Advisor, UW
Eric Praetzel, Network Specialist, UW
Michele Martin, Staff, UW
Victoria Cotton, Academic Services Coordinator, UW
Khaled Ammar, Instructor, UW
Suzan Ilcan, Professor, UW
Taylor Pacholko, Outreach Coordinator & Classroom Demonstrator, UW
Becca Tanouye, Outreach and Enrichment Specialist, UW
Kierra Young, Career Advisor, UW
Georgia Graves, Staff, UW
Steffanie Scott, Professor, UW
Kristin Snell, Staff, UW
Khyati Nagar, Educational Developer, UW
Farah Mohd Fadzil, Career Education Liaison, UW
Crystal Cooper, Academic Services Coordinator, UW
Debra Chapman, Faculty, WLU
Julie Kate Seirlis, Faculty, UW
Clare Bermingham, Director, UW
Aula Al Muslim, Postdoc, UW
Nadine Fladd, Manager, Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Programs, UW
Joy Harris, Staff, Admin. Coordinator, UW
Zainab Mahmood, Staff, UW
Maureen Drysdale, Professor, UW
Farhia Hussein, Computing Consultant, UW
Laine Young, Contract Teaching Faculty, WLU
Rania Ibrahim Ambrad, Counsellor, UW
Lisbeth Berbary, Associate Professor, UW
Laura Girard, Library Staff, UW
Meghan Ashdown, Operations and Marketing Coordinator, UW
Bushra Shaikh, Faculty, WLU
Kishori Opatha, Staff, UW
Rashmee Singh, Associate Professor, UW
Nestor Mahkno, Staff, UW
Johanna Whitson, Librarian, UW
Garry Potter, Professor, WLU
Emma Vossen, Research Communications Officer, UW
Rowland Keshena Robinson, Assistant Professor, UW
Alana Cattapan, Assistant Professor, UW
Mark Allinson, Staff, UW
Aishah Awan, Staff, WLU
Alexandra Rideout, Staff, UW
Elise Vist, Staff, UW
Karen Davidson, Resource Sharing Staff, UW
Bree Akesson, Associate Professor, WLU
Mike Bratton, Contract Faculty, WLU
Quan Thai, Teaching Fellow, UW
Zoe Tipper, Manager, Communications, UW
Jennifer Root, Associate Professor, WLU
Adam Molnar, Assistant Professor, UW
James Nugent, Continuing Lecturer, UW
Lirondel Cheyne-Hazineh, Contract Teaching Faculty, WLU
Shana MacDonald, Associate Professor, UW
Maryam Khan, Faculty, WLU
Lily Viggiano, Project Manager, UW
Stephanie Kears, Co-op Student Experience Manager, UW
Bibi Baksh, Faculty/contract, WLU
Tammy Kavanaugh, Library Supervisor, UW
Adria Joel, Counsellor, UW
Brianna Wiens, Assistant Professor, UW
Daniel Harley, Assistant Professor, UW
Stephanie Bailey, Career Advisor, UW
Joanna Sinn, Adjunct Assistant Professor, UW
Nicholas Ray, Lecturer, UW
Jan Boomhouwer, Alumni Relations Officer, WLU
Chizuru Nobe-Ghelani, Assistant Professor, UW
Susan Cadell, Faculty, UW
Samantha Clarke, Lecturer, UW
Emily Paquette-Leahy, Student Advisor, UW
Margaret F. Gibson, Associate Professor, UW
Jim Perretta, Contract Faculty, UW
Laura Mae Lindo, Assistant Professor, UW
Jeff Wilson, Professor, UW
Katie Cook, Instructor, Renison University College, UW
Douglas E. Cowan, Professor, UW
Rob Hicks, Operations Manager, UW
Kate Steiner, Assistant Professor, UW
David Lubell, Adjunct Professor, UW
Mary Jackes, Adjunct Professor, UW
Sara Gallagher, Sessional Lecturer, UW
Jennifer Liu, Associate Professor, UW
Secil Dagtas, Associate Professor, UW
Samir Elhedhli, Professor, UW
Ann Curry-Stevens, Professor, WLU
Fatma Gzara, Professor, UW
Andrew McMurry, Professor, UW
Umair Shah, Faculty, UW
Chris Hiller, Assistant Professor, UW
Angela Rooke, Staff, UW
Elisabetta Paiano, Social Media & Digital Communications Officer, UW
Reid McRob, Staff, UW
Eihab Abdel-Rahman, Professor, UW
Katherine Bruce-Lockhart, Assistant Professor, UW
Erin Hogan, Staff, UW
Heena Mistry, Faculty, WLU
Suleiman Salih, Staff, WLU
Richard T. G. Walsh, Professor Emeritus, WLU
Sarah Lang, Electrical Engineer, UW
Ashley Lebner, Associate Professor, WLU
Nancy Worth, Associate Professor, UW
Anastasia Rose, Research Assistant, UW
Trish Van Katwyk, Associate Professor, UW
Giselle Dias, Faculty, WLU
Dhriti Guliani, Staff, UW
Karim S Karim, Professor, UW
Anika Williams-Hewitt, Career Advisor, UW
Sinem Ozkardas, Staff, UW
Debora VanNijnatten, Professor, WLU
Tonya Elliott, Associate Director, UW
Mario Boido, Associate Professor, UW
Shohini Ghose, Professor, WLU
Humera Javed, Contract Faculty, WLU
Sonia Meerai, Faculty, WLU
Sandra Dalpe, Administration Coordinator, WLU
Dana Sawchuk, Professor, WLU
Jessica Hutchison, Assistant Professor, WLU
Shaunasea Brown, Assistant Professor, WLU
Pia Grizzle, Academic Advisor and Awards Coordinator, UW
Becky Anderson, Career Advisor, UW
Phil Miletic, Career Advisor, UW
Laura Gordon, Staff, UW
Jermal A Jones, Associate Director, EDIA , UW
Patricia Marino, Professor, UW
Deanna Yerichuk, Assistant Professor, WLU
Laura Pin, Assistant Professor, WLU
Ian Roderick, Associate Professor, WLU
Maria Sandoval, Staff, UW
Maritt Kirst, Associate Professor, WLU
Erich Fox Tree, Faculty, WLU
Slim Boumaiza, Professor, UW
Hanan Abdullatif, Sessional Instructor, WLU
Izabela Steflja, Assistant Professor, WLU
Nada Alshehabi, Staff, UW
Ellen Russell, Associate Professor, WLU
Katrin Roots, Assistant Professor, WLU
Hari KC, Contract Faculty, WLU
Gissele Taraba, Contract Faculty, WLU
Elizabeth McGill, Staff, UW
Andrea Daley, Professor, UW
Colleen Kim Daniher, Assistant Professor, WLU
Sam Sprizzi, Staff, UW
Lucy Luccisano, Associate Professor, WLU
Regina Vera-Quinn, Lecturer, UW
Kim Penner, Adjunct Instructor, UW
Lamees Al Ethari, Faculty, UW
George Nichols, Research Associate, UW
Stavros Stavroulias, Staff, UW
Natasha Poley, Communications and Outreach Officer, UW
Jesse Blackwell, Librarian, UW
Rebecca Godderis, Associate Professor, WLU
Jordan B. Kinder, Assistant Professor, WLU
Kevin Burrell, Associate Professor, WLU
RJ Lepage, Computing Consultant, UW
Madelaine Hron, Associate Professor, WLU
Malak, Student Engagement Coordinator, UW
Fatih Safa Erenay, Associate Professor, UW
Carter Neal, Continuing Lecturer, UW
Jesse Blackwell, Librarian, UW
Kassandra Lenters, Staff, UW
Greig de Peuter, Associate Professor, WLU
Karen Stote, Assistant Professor, WLU
Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer, Assistant Professor, WLU
Ola Idris, Community Engagement Manager, UW
Selcuk Onay, Associate Profess, UW
Zoe Cleeves, Instructor, UW
Tarah Brookfield, Associate Professor, WLU
Kari Brozowski, Associate Professor, WLU
Lara El Mekaui, Contract Faculty, UW
Kimberly Ellis-Hale, Contract Faculty, UW
Ramanpreet A. Bahra, Contract Faculty, UW
Maher Ahmed, Associate Professor, WLU
Paul Fagan, Library Associate, WLU
Christopher Lowry, Associate Professor, UW
Bintou Barrow, Staff, UW
Valerie Uher, Sessional Instructor, UW
Jazz Fitzerald, Student Equity & Community Manager, UW
Quinn Andres, Library Staff, UW
Luis Jaimes-Domiguez, Faculty, UW
Sarah Menzies, Anti-racism Specialist, UW
Eden Mekonen, Senior Training Specialist, UW
Kyla Campbell, Academic Scheduling Coordinator, UW
David Neufeld, Assistant Professo, UW
Alex Latta, Associate Professor, WLU
Sam Germann, Student Leadership Development Specialist, UW
Rania Al-Hammoud, Faculty, UW
Mustafa Yavuz, Professor, UW
Anders Bergstrom, Lecture (Associate Chair), UW
Jorge Castañeda, Instructor, UW
Jessica Parris, Admissions Process, Analyst, UW
Brendon Larson, Professor, UW
Benny Skinner, Indigenous Research Advisor, UW
Melody Morton Ninomiya, Assistant Professor, WLU
Typer Hampton, Postdoc, UW
Jenna Hennebry, Professor, WLU
Eric Lepp, Assistant Professor, UW
Erin Dej, Associate Professor, WLU
Jonathan Finn, Professor, WLU
Manuel Riemer, Professor, WLU
Alicia Sliwinski, Associate Professor, WLU
Shanna Howse, Administrative Coordinator, WLU
Jade Hill, Indigenous Research Advisor, UW
Adrianna Tassone, Staff, UW
Sacha Geer, Manager, UW
Cameron McKenzie, Assistant Professor, WLU
Lauren Smith, Sessional Faculty, UW
Jeremy Hunsinger, Associate Professor, WLU
Besty Brey, Sessional Instructor, UW
Emma Arppe-Robertson, Staff, UW
Adrian Blackwell, Associate Profess, UW
Brent Hagerman, Contract Faculty, WLU
Felicia Waterodt, Admin & Research Coordinator, UW
Lisa Wood, Associate Professor, WLU
Sohaila Isaqzai, Contract Faculty, WLU
Michael Woodford, Professor, WLU
Qian Wei, Assistant Professor, WLU
Christina Mancini, Scheduling Specialist, UW
Andrea Collins, Associate Professor, UW
Simona Pruteanu, Associate Professor, WLU
Melissa Johnson, Sessional Instructor, UW
Elizabeth Clarke, Staff, WLU
Jay Havens, Assistant Professor, UW
Washington Silk, 2SLGBTQ+ Student Support Counsellor, UW
Mahdi Beedel, Postdoctoral Researcher, UW
Seyed Behzad Behravesh, Postdoctoral Researcher, UW
Rebekah Rempel, Coordinator, WLU
Kunal Karkanis, Staff, UW
Briana Oenputera, Records Coordinator, UW
Sana Ahmad, Instructor, UW
Rachel Jung, Multimedia Design Specialist, UW
Eloise Fan, Theatre Staff, UW
Graeme Beaton, Staff, UW
Andrea Bale, Communications & Engagement Manager, UW
Martine August, Associate Professor, UW
Ambreen Husain, Staff, UW
Molly Fernhill, Career Advisor, UW
Pamela Maria Schmitt, Interdisciplinary Project and Coms Manager, UW
Sabinra Yorke, Development Officer, WLU
Swaroopa Reddy, Lecturer, UW
Maha Eid, Staff, UW
Sarah Badran, Career Advisor, UW
Mina Momeni, Assistant Professor, UW
Rebecca Rooney, Associate Professor, UW
Amy Smoke, Sessional Instructor, UW
Hoda Fahmy, Research Scientist, UW
Morgan Holmes, Professor, WLU
Andrea Chittle, Adjunct Assistant Professor, UW
Colin Hastings, Assistant Professor, UW
Any Houston, Associate Professor, UW
Tara Kleinsteuber, Staff, UW
Paulina Cisneros, Career Advisor, UW
Marta Berbes, Assistant Professor, UW
Anne Brackenbury, Senior Editor WLU Press, WLU
Julia Roberts, Associate Professor, UW
Last updated May 20