‘Are you not ashamed of your silence?’: Pro-Palestine protesters disrupt vice-chancellor interview

Pro-Palestine protesters chanted ‘ceasefire now’ at the event

Churchill's master responded: 'Whatever the rights and wrongs this is not the place for it'Varsity News

by Varsity News

This article is 2 years old

Wednesday January 31 2024, 9:13pm

Pro-Palestine protesters disrupted an interview tonight (31/01) between the University’s vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, and the Master of Churchill College.

A student protester holding a Palestinian flag accused the University of being “complicit in Israel’s atrocity” and asked “Are you not ashamed of your silence?”

The protesters spoke about the University’s financial ties to Israel and chanted “ceasefire now” as they were ushered out of Churchill College’s Wolfson Hall by porters.

Professor Dame Athene Donald told the protesters: “Whatever the rights and wrongs this is not the place for it”, as the protesters repeatedly said: “This is disgusting.”

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The interview livestream, which was shown live on Zoom, showed that the recording of the livestream was temporarily paused, before resuming after the protester’s exit.

The disruption took place at 6.21pm, after which the interview resumed.

During the interview, the vice-chancellor spoke to Professor Donald about her educational background and psychological research, as well as the challenges facing academics today.

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