Nimiah and Leon from the University of Newcastle Students for Palestine encampment told Green Left on May 28, when the protest had been in place for 16 days, that it was receiving a lot of support.
The encampment includes around 20 tents and about 30-40 people present on any given day.
They said a lot of passers-by drop in and ask questions.
The students set up an information tent at the engineering faculty. At first many were negative, Leon said.
But a lot of students who took leaflets came back later, saying: “You’re not some scary bunch at all. What you are asking for is quite reasonable.
“The educational nature of our material doesn’t work every time, of course: you can’t argue with a Zionist,” he added.
The students’ demands on management are: Disclose ties to weapons manufacturers and ties with Israel; Divest and start an academic boycott of Israeli universities; and Demilitarise education.
At the time of the interview, they had only received a weak response from the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor.
Strong popular support for the encampment includes visitors such as Greens NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi.