Shirts with pro-Palestine messages hang from tents as people line up to receive shirts, patches and other items inside of the encampment on April 30, 2024. Students and community members are on their second day of a pro-Palestine encampment demonstration on the UO Memorial Quad; the protest is one of many across college campuses nationwide. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
The Daily Emerald is providing live coverage of the University of Oregon’s pro-Palestine encampment, which began on April 29 at 7 a.m. All of our coverage on the encampment can be found here.
The pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Oregon is nearing the end of its second day on the Memorial Quad. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the encampment, as collected by the Daily Emerald over social media.
What are the protesters asking for?
UO Coalition for Palestine protesters have given a list of eight demands to the University of Oregon with a May 2 deadline to meet their demands.
According to a SJP Instagram post, the eight demands are:
1. “Immediate divestment from Jasper Ridge, from their financial assets of 2.8 billion dollars that is funneled into a 34 billion dollar pool into the war machine, Boeing, Elbit, Vanguard, defense companies perpetrating the genocide in Palestine.”
2. “Implement a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign on campus in accordance with the ASUO resolution passed on May 23, 2018. This includes but is not limited to, Sabra, Tribe, Hewlett Packard, Sodastream, Motorola, Caterpillar, G4s, Elbit Systems, EdX and any other company that fits within BDS guidelines.”
3. “We demand that the UO establish a commission to this end, composed of faculty, students, classified staff, and administrators to oversee the incorporation of the proposed BDS program into campus governance.”
4. “During faculty onboarding processes, distribute education and resources to faculty regarding their retirement plan, allowing them to choose options not invested in defense companies and the military-industrial complex.”
5. “We demand that the UO provide and promote formal protections for faculty, students, and staff when speaking, writing, or having views that express solidarity with Palestinians.”
6. “Issue a statement affirming the safety and security of Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians, and Jewish community members, on campus, in light of the rise a of Islamophobia, Anti-semitism, and Zionism within the U.S.”
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“Condemn the genocide against Palestinians, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF, and it still persists.”
7. “We demand that the UO cease all academic exchanges and other relationships with Israeli universities which includes, but is not limited to, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Ben-Gurion University, and Technion.”
- “No acceptance of bi-national US-Israel research grants.”
8. “We demand education for our students that exposes the true nature of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, as well as its ideology that conflates Palestinian liberation and challenges Zionism as antisemitic.”
How long will protesters be there?
According to multiple media liaisons at the encampment, the UO Coalition for Palestine will remain outside the library until the university meets their eight demands.
According to UO Scheduling and Event Services, there are no reservations on the Memorial Quad until Friday, May 3, for the ASUO Street Faire. ASUO has said they will not need to access the quad until Tuesday, May 7 to set up space for vendors, but may consider their options if the encampment remains at that point.
Are they setting up overnight?
Yes. Approximately 50 tents were set up on the Memorial Quad during the first night of the encampment, April 29, with organizers planning for more tents to join. On the second night of the encampment, that number had expanded to over 60, as organizers indicated they would seek to expand the encampment south towards the Knight Library.
What is a BDS campaign?
A Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) campaign is part of a global movement started in 2005 made up of unions, academic associations, churches and grassroots movements that call for challenging international support for Israel, according to the movement’s website.
ASUO, the University of Oregon’s student government, had previously passed a resolution supporting the BDS movement in 2018, which student organizers have alluded to in their demands.
What is Jasper Ridge?
Jasper Ridge is an investment group that manages the University of Oregon Foundation’s assets. The Jasper Ridge hedge fund, which has ties to the university, has allegedly invested $2.8 billion into a $34 billion pool that fund companies such as Boeing, which designs and manufactures airplanes, as well as Elbit, a defense contractor.
The protestors want the university to divest their funds from Jasper Ridge; several organizations demonstrated in front of Johnson Hall on April 12 regarding the divestment.
SJP protesters have previously accused Jasper Ridge of supporting BlackRock and Vanguard, two investment firms with large shares in defense companies that supply Israel with weapons. In March, a spokesperson for the UO Foundation disputed the claims with KLCC.
Does UO have university exchanges with Israeli universities?
The university has study abroad programs with Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jeursalem.
The University typically offers both semester-long and year-long study abroad programs with these universities. However, it is unclear whether the programs are currently being operated amidst the Israel-Hamas war.
UO spokesperson Angela Seydel had not commented on the status of these programs at the time of publication.
Is the encampment in line with UO policy? What do university officials say?
Daily Emerald reporters were referred to UO’s Frequently Asked Questions page on its Alerts Blog when they asked the university. Upon further inquiry, UO spokesperson Angela Seydel referred to UO’s Proscribed Conduct page, which states that “any person” who uses UO grounds for “residential purposes,” including “camping,” are subject to “sanctions” by UO.
The full policy on camping reads as follows.
“Procedures to impose applicable sanctions may be instituted against any person engaging in any of the following proscribed conduct.
[…] (3) Unauthorized entry to or use of University facilities, including buildings and grounds. Unauthorized use includes but is not limited to using non-residential facilities and spaces for residential purposes (e.g., prolonged sleeping, bathing in restrooms lacking shower facilities or that are not open to the general public, cooking, camping), and entering into any areas that are not open to the public without advanced authorization.”
Are the protesters all UO students? Are other community members allowed to join the encampment?
Organizations leading the event have said that only UO students are permitted to be within the encampment. Organizers said university administrators told them they would take action if outside community members were actively participating in the encampment.
Therefore, organizers have asked community members to support them from outside the encampment to prevent UO administration from taking action. Many have donated supplies including tarps, tents and foodstuffs.
There are also numerous volunteers from the National Lawyers Guild, wearing green caps, who are tasked with observing if individuals are arrested “under any sort of false pretenses,” according to UO student and Coalition media liaison Carolyn Roderique.
