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.
Read on for live updates.
Updated 9:11 p.m.
The Memorial Quad, where the encampment first started, has been marked off with caution tape. Signs posted read that the grass has been “closed for turf restoration.”
Large patches of dead grass checkered the quad after nearly two and a half weeks of the encampment being held at the Memorial Quad.
Members of the encampment held Shabbat dinner outside of Johnson Hall, which the coalition “renamed” to “Alareer Hall,” on May 16. The dinner began at 6:30 p.m.
Approximately 60 tents are set up on the lawn between Fenton and Friendly Hall.
Four demonstrators are currently chained to the columns of Johnson. Other encampment members are currently partaking in sporting activities in the middle of East 13th ave outside Johnson.
There is one Campus Safety vehicle currently parked adjacent to Johnson. At least one UOPD community service officer was seen inside the lobby of Johnson. No police were visibly present at or around Johnson as of this writing.
Updated 4:21 p.m.
A media liaison for the encampment going by Kermit rejected the notion that “wanted” posters distributed by protesters constituted a “physical threat.”
“We do not think we have made any physical threats,” Kermit said. “This is a nonviolent movement and we would not do anything to cause any physical harm to anyone on this campus.”
Kermit also indicated that negotiations would resume between university officials and protesters at 7 p.m., though a UO spokesperson was unaware of any such meetings.
In a separate statement, the UO Coalition for Palestine denied involvement in the May 15 vandalization of the Franklin Boulevard Starbucks and expressed . The store’s windows were broken and messages including “land back” and “free Gaza” were spray-painted on its side.
“It is important to have a focus on the right targets,” the statement read. “Starbucks is not on the [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] list of companies to be boycotted. Furthermore, the affected Starbucks location is a union shop, represented by Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), which is an ally in the movement for Palestinian liberation.”
The statement said the coalition would be “willing to contribute” if necessary to compensate workers for lost hours or wages.
Updated 3:45 p.m.
UO spokesperson Eric Howald accused protesters of “physical threats to safety” and “vandalism of property” in a 3:32 p.m. statement to the Emerald.
Howald said that protesters’ “targeted physical threats” have required “securing the building [Johnson Hall]” and “increasing safety monitoring” from “Safety and Risk Services, community safety officers, public safety officers, and the university fire marshal.”
When asked to clarify what constituted “physical threats,” Howald referred to the “Wanted” posters that have been distributed throughout campus in recent days. The posters advertised yesterday’s mock tribunal, where demonstrators from the encampment put mock versions of UO President John Karl Scholz, UO Foundation President Paul Weinhold and Steve Holwerda, chair of the UO Board of Trustees “on trial” for “complicity in genocide.”
Howald also indicated that negotiations had not taken place between students and the university today, in contrast to statements made by a media liaison from the encampment late yesterday.
Howald did not elaborate on potential police involvement at the scene. The Emerald has reached out to members of the encampment for comment.
Updated 11:34 a.m.
Roughly 30 tents remain on the Memorial Quad, the original site of the encampment, as more tents have been moved to Johnson Hall and the lawn between Friendly and Fenton Halls. There are around 50 tents at the new location.
Five demonstrators remain chained to the columns of Johnson. Around 30 others are sitting on the steps of Johnson playing musical instruments and chanting “ from the river to the sea” and “free, free Palestine.”
Demonstrators have renamed the garden area between Fenton and Friendly Hall to “Ghadeer’s Garden” after Ghadeer Mansour, a 24-year-old woman killed in a bombing in Gaza.
There is one UOPD car parked adjacent to Johnson Hall. The location of the officer is unclear.
Elsewhere, a pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Washington — which also began on April 29 — will disband after encampment leaders reached a deal with the university.
Updated 9:35 a.m.
A potentially eventful day looms for UO’s pro-Palestine demonstrators after roughly half of the encampment, which has been located on the Memorial Quad since April 29, moved in front of Johnson Hall, the UO administration building.
A media liaison for the encampment said that negotiations between protesters and university officials are scheduled for today and will be moderated by the “UO Faculty Senate.” The university has not yet commented on the veracity of these claims. Negotiations have not occurred since May 9, when an offer from the university was rejected by student leaders.
Daily Emerald reporters are on scene and will continue to provide updates throughout the day.