Protests At ETH, Lausanne & Geneva: Students Take Direct Action

Tue, May 7th 2024

Student-led pro-Palestine demonstrations escalate at major Swiss universities.

This week, Swiss universities have become focal points for pro-Palestinian protests, with students at ETH Zurich, EPFL Lausanne, and the University of Geneva staging significant demonstrations.

At ETH Zurich, students gathered in the entrance hall, vocalising support with chants of “free, free Palestine” and displaying posters stating “no Tech for Genocide.” This protest, confirmed by university sources, reflects a growing dissent among students over technological collaborations they perceive as supporting oppression.

At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), a group of students took over a hall to protest against what they term the “impending genocide in Palestine,” linked to EPFL’s institutional relationships.

The protestors called for an academic boycott of Israeli institutions and the reinstatement of the feminist association Polyquity, which was suspended after a controversy over a conference it hosted on decolonial feminism related to Palestine.

Further west, the University of Geneva also saw student mobilisation. Protesters occupied the main entrance hall, arranging tables, chairs, and sofas into a makeshift camp and hanging Palestinian flags and banners. Their public letter pressured the university administration to address the Gaza situation and sever ties with Israeli academic institutions.

These protests across Swiss universities underscore a significant movement among students urging their institutions to reconsider their international collaborations and stand against what they view as injustices against Palestinians. The coordinated efforts across multiple campuses highlight a robust solidarity network and a strategic push towards influencing university policies on a national level.

©Keystone/SDA

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Protests At ETH, Lausanne & Geneva: Students Take Direct Action

Protests At ETH, Lausanne & Geneva: Students Take Direct Action

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