Dear students, dear colleagues,
As you know, our campus is affected by the critical situation which is also impacting many other of the world's universities.
Faced with the terrible conflict that has been unfolding since October 7, 2023, it is impossible to remain insensitive: there have been many lives lost and no one is indifferent to the suffering of the civilians, whatever their nationality, religion or culture. If you or someone you know has been affected by this crisis, we offer you our deepest sympathy.
On campus, we quickly mobilized to bring comfort to those affected: proactive approaches with the Israeli and Palestinian communities, meetings were organized with all those who directly reached out, secular support was provided by campus chaplains, a dedicated group was created to meet current needs, etc.
EPFL, with its community of over 120 nationalities, is a particularly sensitive landscape when such an acute crisis erupts. To maintain the well-being of our community, which you are all a part of, and the balance between the different faiths, origins and cultures which make up our community, we adhere to a strict guideline: we must refrain from taking any political stance in the name of the institution.
Our priority, in line with our missions, is to help those in need. Unfortunately, we have had several precedents (Ukraine and Iran, to name but the most recent) and each time, we have had to explain this position. Our first step is to express our deepest empathy, which must be done with both tact and balance. Our words are measured and framed by the Swiss Confederation's interpretation of the situation. In this case, we were criticized for appearing to be leaning more towards one side or the other. We have listened to the students and have subsequently updated our position, with the simple intention of explaining the reasons for our support for those affected and to express our sympathy. Some have also pointed out the difference in treatment between this crisis and the war in Ukraine. What differ between these two cases are the framework and the political assessment made by the Federal Council which therefore allow us to take a lesser or greater stance and determine the support that can be implemented.
We also try to provide guidance for people wanting to organize events on campus, which go along the same lines: their conferences, debates and demonstrations must be open to all and offer a welcoming environment for all opinions. If the event deals with a political issue, it must take an impartial approach. These are the conditions under which we provide rooms, equipment, support from our logistical teams, spaces to display posters, etc., for our events.
It is unfortunately clear that over the last few days, we have failed. Around 80 people - including some from the EPFL community - intended to occupy the SG building on 7th May. EPFL’s position was very clear: we approve of a dialogue, but we do not accept the exploitation of a space for activist purposes. Whatever the cause may be, if an activity does not fall within our missions (education, research, innovation) and does not meet the minimum criteria for a debate framed by the academic values of dialogue and openness, it is not something we can adhere to. We continued to host discussions with some of the individuals involved in a more appropriate setting the day after the demonstration and we continue to update a webpage on the subject.
Despite deep-seated disagreements - notably surrounding a discussion concerning the boycott of Israeli universities, which we will not enter in to - we were able to engage in what we felt was a constructive discussion. Contrary to the manner of communication that was established and with a certain disregard for the content of our discussions last week, the same "student coordination for Palestine" (which is not a recognized EPFL association) again intended to occupy the same space as before on 16th May. We were therefore required to reiterate our position, which is the same as explained above.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere was much more tense this time. The situation during the demonstration greatly deteriorated. A fight broke out in another building around the removal or placing of a poster, there were some hostile reactions from various members of our community towards the event and the disruption caused, at least one member of EPFL staff was insulted during the proceedings, a lecture in SG had to be cancelled and part of the occupying group’s insistence on staying despite repeated requests to leave has led us to fear that the situation may deteriorate uncontrollably.
Therefore, we will no longer tolerate any unauthorized events or demonstrations within EPFL buildings. Any person found to be in violation of this will be identified and could face disciplinary or legal action; immediate evacuation of the building in question will be enforced.
We understand that our position can cause a great level of frustration: we are "your" EPFL and yet we are not taking the same stance that you are! That is because we are also the EPFL of all our several thousand students, researchers and employees who have their own stances, which may sometimes differ; we however hope we all share the same aim for a harmonious coexistence and the values of exchange and dialogue.
We are in the process of organizing a town hall next week to open the lines of communication (details to follow). In the meantime, we will continue to meet with all those who request to do so. We will also create additional spaces and moments to promote an open dialogue on campus. We are also committed to analysing our agreements with Israeli partner universities by this summer (further information can be found in the details of the meeting conclusions with representatives of the pro-Palestinian movement - French only).
We hope that the sense of togetherness and the values of exchange and dialogue will prevail over political differences, despite the dramatic events affecting Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Over the years, what has made EPFL an exceptional place was the unparalleled predominately positive energy on our campus. I welcome any ideas you may have to further strengthen our EPFL community during this particularly troublesome time and look forward to seeing you at the town hall meeting.
