Cambridge University students set up pro-Palestine encampment in city centre

Cait Findlay

6 May 2024 at 8:07 am·2-min read

Students have set up an encampment on King's Parade in Cambridge -Credit:CambridgeshireLive reader

Students at the University of Cambridge set up a pro-Palestine encampment in the city centre on Monday (May 6). The students set up tents and banners on the lawn outside King's College.

It follows after activists disrupted open days at the university and told prospective students they would be "complicit in Israel's genocide" in Gaza if they apply to Trinity College. Red paint was also thrown at Trinity College with a slogan reading "divest from genocide" painted on the wall earlier in the week.

Students at universities across the country have set up encampments, including at Oxford, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield. Earlier this week the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) released a statement saying campus protests in support of Gaza were creating a "hostile and toxic atmosphere for Jewish students".

A spokesperson for Cambridge for Palestine, the group behind the encampment in Cambridge, said: "We demand that the University of Cambridge: discloses and divests from its financial and professional support for Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza; re-invests in affected academics; and protects all forced migrants and protesting students."

They added: "As we support the Palestinian resistance in protest, we are committed to making the camp a liberated zone: safe, solidaristic, and free of all forms of oppression." A rally is planned for 3pm on Monday.

Pro-Palestine encampment on King's Parade in Cambridge -Credit:CambridgeshireLive reader

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said: "The University is fully committed to academic freedom and freedom of speech within the law and we acknowledge the right to protest. We ask everyone in our community to treat each other with understanding and empathy.

"Our priority is the safety of all staff and students. We will not tolerate antisemitism, Islamophobia and any other form of racial or religious hatred, or other unlawful activity."

King's College has been contacted for comment.

The Independent
Teachers could get protection against blasphemy claims under new laws
The report has been influenced by recent blasphemy cases, which has seen some teachers forced into hiding
BuzzFeed
Here's How Different The Japanese Elementary School System Is Compared To The US, As Told From Someone Who's Experienced Both
I still dream of the school lunch.
BuzzFeed
Teachers Are Sharing Just How Much The Pandemic Changed Their Jobs
"I am no longer just a teacher. I am now a social worker, therapist, guidance counselor, parent, etc. all while trying to get kids to care about whatever topic we're covering."
The Guardian
Schools in England send police to homes of absent pupils with threats to jail their parents
‘Heavy-handed’ crackdown ignores underlying reasons for failure to attend classes, say critics
People
High School Senior Accepted into 231 Schools and Awarded More Than $14 Million in Scholarships: It's 'Heartwarming'
Madison Crowell will attend High Point University in North Carolina later this year
PA Media: UK News
Cambridge students graduate at alternative location due to Gaza protest camp
The university departed from tradition by staging ceremonies away from Senate House.
Eastern Daily Press
Leaders chosen for two new Norfolk schools - creating 270 much-needed places
Two new Norfolk special schools - in Great Yarmouth and Downham Market - have moved a step closer after leaders were selected to run the sites.
Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh University named second best in Scotland but drops three places in UK table
All four of Edinburgh's Universities were able to place in the top 100 of the UK League Table. Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt were able to crack the top 50 but Edin Uni lost out on stop spot.
CBC
Pro-Palestinian student movement arrives on Sask. campuses
A campus Palestinian solidarity movement rolled into Saskatchewan's two universities with dual events on Friday.The all-day events at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and the University of Regina featured activities such as teach-ins, letter writing, and speeches from students, professors and Palestinians.Protests across the country have followed others that began on campuses in the United States. At some universities in Canada, encampments have popped up, and some have been dismantle
CNN
Teen awarded whopping $14.7M in scholarship funds
Madison Crowell, a college-bound Georgia teenager reacts to being awarded nearly $15 million in scholarships after working with her parents to create a spreadsheet she calls the “war board.” CNN affiliate WJCL reports.
CityAM
Euan Blair shrugs off Multiverse troubles to become one of Britain’s richest people
Tony Blair’s son Euan has appeared on a list of the richest Brits for the first time on the back of a hefty stake in his educational tech ‘unicorn’ Multiverse.
The Guardian
Graduate workers in California to strike over treatment of Gaza protesters
Widespread disruption expected after workers vote to hold series of strikes, starting Monday with UC Santa Cruz
Watford Observer
Full Ofsted report for school where pupils 'come happily each day'
Read the full Ofsted report for Hartsbourne Primary School, which said pupils “come to school happily each day”.
ABC News
19 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested for trying to occupy UPenn building
The University of Pennsylvania police arrested 19 pro-Palestinian protesters Friday night after they allegedly tried to occupy a campus building, the school said. The university's police department said the protesters, the majority of whom were not students, attempted to get into Fisher-Bennett Hall when campus officers and officers from the Philadelphia Police Department intervened. Officers were seen scuffling with protesters and several people were taken away in handcuffs.
The Hill
Did colleges give away the store in deals with student protesters?
Colleges that used police force to end their recent on-campus student protests are facing criticism for their handling of the situation, but so are the small handful that cut deals to end the demonstrations. The few universities that successfully negotiated to end the pro-Palestinian encampments — among them Northwestern, Brown, Rutgers and Johns Hopkins —…
Associated Press
Biden will deliver Morehouse commencement address during a time of tumult on US college campuses
President Joe Biden is delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday, a key opportunity for an election-year appearance before a Black audience but one that also could directly expose him to the anger that some of these and other students across the country have been expressing over his staunch support for Israel in its war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The White House hinted that Biden would reference the concerns of students and faculty at the male-only, historically Black college over his approach to the war.
The Guardian
Pro-Palestine protesters vow to rally as La Trobe joins universities enforcing encampment ban
La Trobe on Friday followed Deakin in issuing a formal directive for protesters to end their encampment
Belfast Live
Magherafelt nursing student’s unique parkrun around Prime Minister’s Downing Street garden
Anne Smith was introduced to parkrun by a friend back in 2014 and began running once a week, before volunteering.
Swindon Advertiser
Swindon school opens gym rated ‘best in the county’
A secondary school in Swindon has opened a brand new professional gym that claims to be ‘one of the best school gyms in the county’.
CNN
Civil rights groups accuse conservatives of recasting landmark Brown v. Board ruling on 70th anniversary
Seventy years after the Supreme Court acknowledged that “separate but equal” had no place in the United States, one of history’s most celebrated legal opinions is being used by conservative groups to challenge race-related policies in schools across the country.

Latest stories