Palestinian students, academics killed in Gaza mourned in honorary graduation in Edmonton

It was a solemn ceremony at MacEwan University on Tuesday as volunteers with the advocacy group People's University For Palestine accepted symbolic degrees on behalf of Palestinian students and academics killed during Israel's military operation in Gaza. 

"The least that we can do is remember their existence and acknowledge what once was and recognize their names, remember their names and what they were known for, the degrees that they were, that they were achieving," said 
Abraar Alsilwadi, a MacEwan student organizer and Palestinian.

Alsilwadi told CBC the situation weighs heavily on her.

"It is very difficult for me to concentrate on my own studies, as my people back home are not able to continue their studies due to the genocide that has been perpetrated against them."  

More than 50 people were remembered for their lives and their accomplishments.

A set of chairs lined with commencement caps sat empty with each chair having a poster with the names and photos of students or faculty member that had been killed. 

Tuesday's event was the latest demonstration from the People's University For Palestine group that previously organized an encampment at the University of Alberta.

Nour Salhi, another organizer and MacEwan student, said in an interview that these were among a few of the stories that showed the range of stories coming out of Gaza.

"In the month of June, often we see celebrations of graduation and commencement, and we saw many of our peers with their gowns and their caps, and we just needed to remember that too many students in Gaza will never get to do the same," Salhi said. 

"Those are the names that you see behind posted on the chairs, and we only got to put up 50. But honestly, if we were to honour every single martyr from the past 10 months, we would be here for months."

In April, special rapporteurs with the United Nations expressed deep concern over the potential for 'scholasticide' in Gaza.

Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,900 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry. 

Independent third-party review 

The University of Alberta also announced the lead for an independent third-party review of the university's decision to have Edmonton Police Service remove the People's University For Palestine's encampment on May 11. 

Adèle Kent, a retired Court of King's Bench of Alberta justice, has been tasked with beginning her review immediately and will seek input from the university community throughout the summer and early fall, according to an update from U of A's board of governors. 

"I encourage everyone affected by the encampment and its removal to cooperate with the review. There will be no recriminations for cooperating with the review," said board chair Kate Chisholm. 

The final report will be released to the university community and made public later this year. 

"If they do not come out the decision to hold the U of A accountable, or that they were in the wrong for calling in EPS, then we are going to be very disappointed by this third-party review," Salhi said. 

"We are a bit disappointed to hear that the mandate does not include the actual actions of EPS. As we feel that without those you cannot fully understand the full extent of the University of Alberta's decisions and all of those who played a part in making that decision."