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2024 University of Oregon pro-Palestinian campus occupation

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2024 University of Oregon pro-Palestinian campus occupation
Part of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
The University of Oregon encampment on May 1, 2024
DateApril 29 – May 23, 2024 (2024-05-23)
(24 days)
Location
University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

On April 29, 2024, approximately 100 University of Oregon students established a camp on the Eugene campus to support Palestinians in Gaza and demanding action from administrators.[1][2][3][4] As part of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, demonstrators requested for the university to divest from “the state of Israel, Israeli companies, and any weapons or surveillance manufacturing.”[5]

Background

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Further information: Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States
These paragraphs are an excerpt from 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.[edit]
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses started in 2023 and escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians.[6] In the U.S. over 3,100 protesters have been arrested,[7] including faculty members and professors,[8][9] on over 60 campuses.[10] On May 7, protests spread across Europe with mass arrests in the Netherlands.[11][12] By May 12, twenty encampments had been established in the United Kingdom, and across universities in Australia and Canada.[13][14] The protests largely ended as universities closed for the summer.[15]

Timeline

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May 1

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On May 1, the University of Oregon president, Karl Scholz, made a statement regarding the encampment. While explicitly supporting the student right to protest and exchange ideas, he criticized protester demands for divestment as having a "performative aspect."[16] Despite this, 74 university faculty and staff have signed an open letter in support of the encampment.

May 5–6

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By May 5, the encampment had grown to nearly 150 tents.[17] On the afternoon of May 6, encampment spokespersons alleged that they had received a letter from university administrators threatening to revoke academic amnesty from protesters should the camp remain the following day at noon. This came amidst complaints from some Jewish students among whom the encampment had caused discomfort. In response to this, one protester stated that the demonstration calls for formal protection for Jewish students, and that Jewish student-represented organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace have helped in setting up the encampment.[18]

May 15–16

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On May 15, the first criminal charge in relation to the occupation was handed to a student protestor for applying posters to campus buildings. On May 16, the encampment relocated to Johnson Hall and a total of 17 meetings were held between the protestors and various representatives and negotiation teams from the university.[19]

May 22

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On May 22, the protestors came to an agreement with the University of Oregon negotiation team. This agreement included the end of Sabra Hummus sales on campus, a new Middle Eastern North African cultural space on campus, new initiatives to expand opportunities for Palestinian scholars to study at University of Oregon, the creation of the UO Senate Working Group on Ethical Investment, Purchasing & Contracting, and a ceasefire statement to be made by President John Karl Scholz. [20]

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Cyr, Miranda (2024-04-29). "Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampment at University of Oregon campus in Eugene". The Register-Guard. Archived from the original on 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  2. ^ Wilk, Nathan (2024-04-29). "University of Oregon students begin encampment, call for boycott of Israel". opb. Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  3. ^ Pietsch, Chris (2024-04-29). "Coalition of pro-Palestinian protesters gathers at University of Oregon encampment". The Register-Guard. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  4. ^ "Pro-Palestinian protest sweeps University of Oregon". KEZI 9 News. 2024-04-30. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  5. ^ Team, Daily Emerald News (2023-11-27). "University of Oregon pro-Palestine encampment wraps up first week". Daily Emerald. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  6. ^ "US college protests: Who are the student groups and others involved". Reuters. April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024. Among the lead student groups in the coalition are the Columbia chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. The two decades-old anti-Zionism advocacy groups that protest Israel's military occupation have chapters across the country that have been key to protests on other campuses.
  7. ^ Taft, Isabelle; Lemonides, Alex; Gamio, Lazaro; Betts, Anna (2024-07-21). "Campus Protests Led to More Than 3,100 Arrests, but Many Charges Have Been Dropped". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  8. ^ "Mapping pro-Palestine college campus protests around the world". Al Jazeera. April 29, 2024. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  9. ^ Treisman, Rachel (May 1, 2024). "How some faculty members are defending student protesters, in actions and in words". NPR. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024. It's one of several schools around the country where professors are getting arrested at demonstrations, circulating letters in support of arrested protesters and holding no-confidence votes in their administrations.
  10. ^ Rubin, April; Beheraj, Kavya; Lysik, Tory; Chase, Will (May 3, 2024). "Mapped: Where pro-Palestinian student protesters have been arrested". Axios. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  11. ^ Kassam, Ashifa (2024-05-08). "Clashes and arrests as pro-Palestinian protests spread across European campuses". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on May 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  12. ^ "Pro-Palestinian student protests spread across Europe. Some are allowed. Some are stopped". AP News. 2024-05-07. Archived from the original on May 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  13. ^ Tait, Albert (2024-05-12). "Birmingham University threatens pro-Palestinian students with police action". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  14. ^ Regan, Helen (2024-05-03). "Where pro-Palestinian university protests are happening around the world". CNN. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  15. ^ "Harris faces an 'uncommitted' quandary of her own". politico.com. Politico. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  16. ^ Team, Daily Emerald News (2023-11-27). "With no plan to remove students, Scholz says divestment is a "performative aspect"". Daily Emerald. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  17. ^ Team, Daily Emerald News (2023-11-27). "University of Oregon pro-Palestine encampment wraps up first week". Daily Emerald. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  18. ^ Desaulniers, Robert; Vacca, Joey (2024-05-06). "Jewish students speak out about protest at University of Oregon campus". KEZI 9 News. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  19. ^ Brady, Emerson (2024-06-06). "After the Encampment". Eugene Weekly. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  20. ^ Cyr, Miranda (2024-05-23). "University of Oregon, pro-Palestinian protesters reach agreement, encampment comes down". The Register-Guard. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
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