Protest puts Otago Uni’s involvement with Palo Alto in its sights

It was the first pro-Palestine march in Dunedin in a while and this one had the added focus of the University of Otago’s partnership with IT firm Palo Alto. The march was in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Several dozen gathered on Saturday, marching beside the Leith, to the University Clocktower and eventually hanging a giant Palestinian flag from the Leith St pedestrian bridge. They were also protesting the university’s partnership with Palo Alto as part of its joint Queenstown campus project, which has proved controversial. COPYRIGHT — ALLIED MEDIAA rally on Saturday protesting University of Otago’s joint Queenstown campus project with Palo Alto. Photo: Gerard O’Brien The university commissioned a report from Prof Alexander Gillespie, into the institution’s partnership with the firm. His report concluded there was “no substantive evidence” the university should discontinue its relationship with Palo Alto and that “trust must be rebuilt”. The OUSA subsequently issued a draft statement saying Prof Gillespie’s report “hides behind legal arguments which neglect to address the concerns we raised”. “Essentially what we are being told by the university is as long as the company isn’t directly firing the guns, murdering people, or directly infringing international law (even if they are heavily connected to Israel which is built on all of those things), it isn’t illegal,” the draft statement said. The university has often reiterated that Palo Alto would not be writing the curriculum for the masters in digital technology. Protesters told the ODT there would likely be further marches.