In recent weeks, students around the world have been raising their voices to demand an end to the violence being inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza and calling on universities to understand and to end their complicity with genocide and occupation in Palestine. Here in Tampere, students have set up a Palestine solidarity camp in front of the Main Building on the city center campus.
Responding to calls from Palestinian academics and unions last fall, TATTE has called for a ceasefire and for an end to occupation and apartheid in Palestine, and we welcome the students’ continued action and leadership in this moment, when so much is at stake.
This kind of activism is an important part of university life that deserves protection and support. We thank the students for leading the way in pushing the university community to reckon with our responsibilities, and for being the critical voices that many of us as researchers and teachers seek to support in our work. We urge our members and the entire university community to visit the encampment, to learn from and about what the students are doing, and to find ways to respond to their call for action and their example of solidarity. You can also find out more about the camp, current donation needs, etc. from their instagram account: @tuni_leikkauksiavastaan.