November 28, 2024
We are pleased to announce that the person concerned has not pursued the action to the merits. This means that the contested General Assembly’s decision is now final and fully applicable.
October 14, 2024: Additional information following the General Assembly of May 7, 2024
The General Assembly of May 7 took a decision on EPFL’s position at that date regarding the situation in Gaza and other related issues, such as the suspension of Polyquity and EPFL’s reaction to the occupation of the SG on May 7.
Text taken and translated from the statement of the General Assembly (available only for our members):
Agenda item: Distancing from EPFL’s unilateral position on the situation in Gaza
Object of vote: Does the General Assembly agree that AGEPoly should distance itself from the school’s position by publishing a statement and an open letter from AGEPoly distributed to all EPFL associations, and communicate them via an Instagram post whose compositions are as follows:
– Issued statement: “EPFL’s unilateral stance on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has led to a considerable rise in tensions on campus. In a bid to calm the situation, AGEPoly distances itself from this position and calls for it to be reviewed in cooperation with student representatives.
It condemns the authoritarian drift in the School management’s overall handling of the campus climate, notably through its police response to the peaceful occupation of the SG building. AGEPoly demands respect for equality and freedom of expression on campus.”
– Open letter in support of Polyquity: “We, the undersigned student associations of EPFL, condemn the disproportionate, hasty suspension of Polyquity by the Management that happened without any dialogue. In a gesture of associative solidarity, we demand that this suspension be lifted as soon as possible.”
A member of the association has challenged the decision of the General Assembly of May 7, which remains in force pending a possible court ruling. The member is asking the court to “declare null and void the decision taken on May 7, 2024 by the General Assembly of AGEPoly voting to publish a position paper on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” (translated from French).
The conciliation procedure before the judge failed, i.e. no agreement was reached between AGEPoly and the member.
According to the Civil Code, the General Assembly is the supreme power of the association, so a request to declare null and void a GA decision cannot be fulfilled by the AGEPoly Board, but only by the GA or following a court decision.
The Board is still waiting to hear whether the challenge to the GA decision will be pursued through the courts.
The Board is aware that this eventuality may give rise to concern, so the Co-Presidents (Alexia and Khadija) and the Secretary General (Tancredi) are available to answer any questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact them via presidence@agepoly.ch.