A more permanent barricade is being built by pro-Palestinian protesters who have been camped out at Western University for the past eight weeks.
The university issued a statement Friday that members of the encampment have brought "substantial construction materials" to campus to construct a fortified barricade, despite repeatedly being told by Western police that it is prohibited.
"We continue to grapple with concerning behaviours – some illegal and some in violation of Western’s policies," read the statement from Vice-Provost Students John Doerksen and Associate Vice-President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Opiyo Oloya. "This fortification creates further dangers in addition to the hazards already presented by propane tanks, heaters, and so on."
Officials also highlighted so-called "egregious" abuse of washroom space in the University Community Centre that has taken place this week.
"Patience is running thin, as our property and our staff are subjected to further abusive behaviour, and as we continue to hear from other members of our community and visitors that they feel unsafe and unwelcome," the statement continued.
Western is monitoring what other Ontario post-secondary institutions are doing to end similar encampments and is exploring "all options" available.
"Our support for peaceful and lawful protest has been unwavering, but this encampment does not fall into that category," the statement reads. "We have been working in good faith with student representatives to find a peaceful resolution to the encampment.... We hope to meet with student representatives again to seek some alignment on the actions Western is able and willing to take."
Protesters established the encampment at Western on May 8, a response to Israel's military offensive against Hamas in Gaza. The war, which has been raging since last October, has seen more than 37,000 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
The protesters have made repeated calls for Western to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
