UBCBroadcast

Message from the President: Campus protest

This message was sent to faculty, staff and students in Vancouver and the Okanagan.

May 7, 2024

A message from Benoit-Antoine Bacon, President and Vice-Chancellor

Dear members of the UBC community,

The violence unfolding in Israel and Palestine continues to evoke complex emotions around the world, and many in our diverse community are deeply affected. The grief and suffering we all witness and feel is heartbreaking.

As you are aware, about a week ago a protest began at MacInnes Field on the Vancouver campus and is ongoing. There are currently about 75 tents and 100 people at the site. This protest is part of a broader movement that started in the United States and has now spread to Canada. Students are looking at a world in crisis and at their core, the campus protests are seeking the end of violence in Israel and Palestine.

UBC deeply values freedom of expression and respects its corollary of peaceful protest. We are actively monitoring the situation and prioritizing the safety of all our community members and visitors to campus. We have made clear the university’s expectations of the protestors at MacInnes Field. I want to stress again that protest actions must be conducted with respect for others and within the boundaries of UBC policy and the law and any action that contravenes this will be taken very seriously.

Read the full message


UBC Broadcast is used to communicate time sensitive, organization-wide information to faculty, staff and students. Learn more

Find the latest news, updates, events, and useful dates from across UBC, curated for faculty and staff by Internal Communications.
Access a library of resources from multiple UBC websites, all in one place.

UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. Time A clock. Chats Two speech clouds. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Feedback Dots inside a speech bubble, indicating discussion. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. Lightbulb A lightbulb inside a circle. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Location Pin A map location pin. Mail An envelope. Menu Three horizontal lines indicating a menu. Minus A minus sign. Parking The letter 'P' inside a circle. Telephone An antique telephone. Play A media play button. Plus A plus symbol indicating more or the ability to add. Search A magnifying glass. Submit content An inbox filled with paper. Team A group of people inside a circle. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service.