Pro-Palestinian student protesters and University of Minnesota leadership agreed last Wednesday, leading to the days-long encampment ending.
The UMN Divest Coalition is a collective group of student organizations made up of local chapter organizations of Students for Justice in Palestine, Young Democratic Socialists of America, Students for a Democratic Society, and Students for Climate Justice. They want the university to take steps toward meeting a list of six demands before they will agree to dismantle the encampment on Northrop Mall.
Initially scheduled for a half hour, the discussions between student organizations and university administrators lasted roughly 90 minutes as they sorted out the details of the demands.
Students requested that the university divest from corporations such as Honeywell and General Dynamics for their ties to Israel, divest academically from Israeli universities, provide transparency about university investments, make a statement in support of Palestinian students and Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and provide amnesty for previously arrested protesters.
Interim University of Minnesota President Jeff Ettinger sent an email that evening to university faculty, staff, and students stating that students would be allowed to address the Board of Regents on May 10 to discuss divestment from certain universities. Ettinger also stated that the university would make a good faith effort to disclose its holdings in public companies by May 7 and share details of those investments over 10 days.
Once the encampment cleared, the university reopened 13 closed buildings near Northrop Mall. As part of the agreement, the coalition has agreed not to disrupt finals and commencement ceremonies as the university works to meet their demands.
Ettinger regretted that the university hadn’t met with the coalition earlier but praised the progress made in their conversation.
“While there is more work to do, and conversations are still planned with other student groups affected by the painful situation in Palestine, I am heartened by today’s progress,” he said. “It grew out of a desire among those involved to reach a shared understanding. While we do not condone tactics outside our policies, we appreciate student leaders’ willingness to engage in dialogue. I value the challenging and healthy conversations we’ve had.”
After conversing with the university’s president, the Divest UMN Coalition also released a statement online. “While we take these concessions as a win for the movement as a whole, we know that the fight for divestment is not over and are committed to continue fighting for divestment from apartheid Israel until it is won and Palestine is free,” they said on Instagram.
The U of MN Twin Cities is just one of dozens of university campuses across the country where students have taken to demonstrate against the rising number of civilian deaths in Gaza.
Over 2,100 people have been arrested across the country at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses. Police in riot gear have been dispatched to institutions such as Columbia University and the University of California Los Angeles, where several students have gotten injured during clashes with counter-protesters.
The death toll out of Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel has reached over 34,000 people, the majority of whom were women and children. The United Nations humanitarian agency warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were at risk of death if Israel continued its military assault on southern Gaza.
Several individuals at a rally on Northrop Mall last week shared their thoughts on the current crisis and the university’s handling of the protest before dismantling the encampment. Some individuals opted to have their names altered so as not to risk consequences for their statements.
Dr. Galadhon, a member of the university faculty who supported the encampment, expressed disappointment in the university having not taken action against Israel sooner.
“How can anyone who actually pays attention watching these kids being slaughtered for six months not step up and say, ‘It’s messed up and we gotta do something’”? he questioned. “The role of a university is to be a place of open discourse and learning.”
Dr. Galadhon stated that he would like transparency as to where tuition dollars are being spent and that no money should be allocated to weapons manufacturers.
Several people only used their first names when speaking with the MSR. Abdi, a young man from Bloomington, heard about the campus protest through social media. “I saw the Columbia protest, the different other protests throughout the country…and I decided to show today,” he said.
Abdi saw the rising student protests across the country as reminiscent of the large-scale protests following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and believed he had to take part to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Mary, a sophomore at the university, has two friends who were a part of the encampment. She was disappointed in the idea that students were expected to keep quiet and not speak out about the death toll out of Gaza.
“It’s crazy that we’re in 2024, and a genocide is happening,” she said. “I think it’s important for us as students and people who have the privilege to be here and to sit here, and we have a duty to speak out about it and fight for their freedom.”
The University of Minnesota has a storied history of campus protests. There were several protests on campus throughout the Vietnam War as thousands of students and community members descended onto the university. In the spring of 1970, thousands of students, faculty and staff went on strike to protest President Richard Nixon’s expansion of the war.
In 1969, 70 Black students demonstrated at Morrill Hall, the university’s administrative building, holding the space for 24 hours to demand the hiring of Black faculty and staff and the inclusion of courses that were reflective of their lives. This protest led to the creation of the university’s African American and African Studies Department.
Along with the University of Minnesota, Rutgers University, Brown University, and Northwestern University have recently announced agreements with student protesters to explore paths to divesting financial and academic ties to Israel.
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