The offer from the rector of the University arrived a few minutes before the new complaint against him was triggered. «For the purpose of a further moment of comparison», Stefano Geuna “magnifico” of Regno has called a meeting for Wednesday, June 5, with the elected student representatives and a delegation of the occupiers. It could be an opportunity to overcome the stalemate of the last few weeks between the university leaders, eager to obtain the reopening of Palazzo Nuovo, and the pro-Palestinian activists determined in the request for an “open session” of the Academic Senate.
«We will discuss the proposal in our assembly. On Saturday we will be in Rome, with tents, for the national demonstration. At this point, the occupation will continue at least until Wednesday”, explained one of the leaders yesterday afternoon «Free Palestine» at the end of the procession which attempted, but failed, to reach the Museum of the Risorgimentowhere an event is taking place Festival of Economy with guests the rector Geuna and the “colleague” of the Polytechnic, Stefano Corgnati.
«We organized a moment dedicated to dialogue with student representatives. It will be the new act of discussion to try to find a solution to, first of all, untie the knot of the teaching block at Palazzo Nuovo”, explains the rector Geuna.
One fact weighs heavily on the reality of Turin: in Turin alone, the protest blocked lessons and exams for almost three weeks, as Geuna himself recalls. A “peculiarity” also underlined by the participants in the demonstration – let’s talk about a handful of students and professors of Humanities — found himself in front of the Rector’s Office to ask «New Palace free from Askatasuna», as written on a sign. «We ask for an end to this blockade.
It is the third time that Palazzo Nuovo has been occupied in the last academic year. I think, speaking in a personal capacity, it is right to reflect on the hypothesis of a request from the rector for an eviction intervention”, he says Giovanni Palorepresentative of Cultural Heritage students, organizer of the anti-occupation sit-in (little publicized to avoid discussions with pro-Palestinians).
«Ours is a continuous dialogue. On Thursday, at the Academic Senate, the protesters reiterated their demands. It is difficult to carry out negotiations to find a solution. Also because, I repeat once again, if anyone thinks that listening means taking orders, I’ll say it right away: the University does not function like an army”, comments Geuna again. Today, pro-Palestinian activists are expected in Rome for the assembly of the Italian camps. The appointment will also serve to understand what the future trajectories of the protest may be.
