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.
Below is the Emerald’s coverage of May 9, the eleventh day of the encampment.

Day 11 of UO’s pro-Palestine encampment saw student demonstrators appear to reject the latest offer from university officials, as over 100 tents remained on the Memorial Quad by end of day.

University officials released a formal response to student demonstrators’ demands asking for an end to the encampment at “a specific date and time within the next two days” and “agree to no further overnight camping,” while expanding on the university’s responses to the demands in certain areas.

In exchange for an end to the encampment, the university has offered to:

• Create a “visiting scholar program” and increasing resources for “public educational events” on the “Israel-Palestine conflict.”

• Add language, where applicable, to “ensure clarity on options for personal direction of retirement savings investment” for faculty.

• Release a statement calling for “a rapid cessation of hostilities and the resumption of efforts to achieve peace in this troubled region.” The university said it would not release a specific statement in support of a ceasefire in Gaza because the institution does “not take positions on political issues.”

• Arrange for five UO Coalition for Palestine members to meet with UO President John Karl Scholz, and leaders of the UO Foundation on “investment,” “divestment” and “endowment management.” 

The university said that any sanctions resulting from student conduct code violations due to overnight camping “will not result in suspension, expulsion, revocation of degree, eviction or restitution as part of participation in the encampment.” UO spokesperson Angela Seydel clarified that this is contingent on protesters “agreeing to remove the encampment and not return.”

The university also refused several of protesters’ demands. It indicated it would not cease academic exchanges with Israeli universities, describing it as “antithetical to our educational mission.” Nor will the UO Foundation divest from Jasper Ridge Partners or boycott specific companies, though “none of the vendors you [student negotiators] listed are currently preferred vendors providing best value to the campus.”

Student demonstrators largely rejected the response, as indicated in various social media posts. Copies of the response could be seen throughout the camp with red “F”s and messages like “I ain’t reading all that” written on them. Various faculty members supporting the encampment weighed in as well.

The UO Coalition for Palestine has stated that it will be holding negotiations with university administrators during the gathering at 10 a.m. The event is described as a “public negotiation,” though it’s unclear how the gathering will operate. The Daily Emerald has reached out to the university for comment.

Andy Gitelson, Oregon Hillel interim executive director, issued an email statement this morning on the ASUO Senate’s BDS resolution passed on May 8. The statement also condemned the actions of ASOSU, the Oregon State University student government, which presented and passed a resolution of their own.

The coalition posted a statement indicating they were “disheartened and saddened” by the break-in reported by Chabad of Eugene earlier this week. The statement, led by UO Jewish Voice for Peace, said that “we strive to end all forms of antisemitism and create a safe space for the Jewish community across campus and throughout the greater Eugene area.”

The coalition has created a fundraiser to help Chabad recover stolen materials from the break-in, including computers and tefillin — which are black leather boxes and straps with scrolls containing verses from the Torah.
Read on for live updates as they happened.
Updated 10:01 p.m. 
It was a quiet evening at the pro-Palestine encampment as demonstrators prepared for an “all out for Palestine” gathering tomorrow morning.
Student demonstrators largely rejected the response to protesters’ demands made by the university earlier this afternoon, as the coalition indicated in various social media posts. Copies of the response could be seen throughout the camp with red “F”s and messages like “I ain’t reading all that” written on them.
The UO Coalition for Palestine has stated that it will be holding negotiations with university administrators during the gathering at 10 a.m. The event is described as a “public negotiation,” though it’s unclear how the gathering will operate. The Daily Emerald has reached out to the university for comment.
Daily Emerald reporters have left the scene and will monitor conditions throughout the night. Live updates will continue tomorrow morning.
Updated 5:43 p.m.

Multiple members of the newly-founded UO Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine shared concerns over the university’s response to protesters’ demands this afternoon, saying that UO would not divest and asking for demonstrators to take down the encampment in the next two days.

In the response, the university said they would not specifically call for a ceasefire in Gaza because they don’t take stances on political issues. 

Kaleigh Bronson, a research assistant in the College of Education and a member of UOFSJP, said that the university has previously taken stances on political issues, citing a 2022 statement issued by Dean and Vice Provost for Global Engagement Dennis Galvan that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Bronson argued that, since the university had previously set a precedent for taking political stances, the Israel-Hamas war should be treated no differently. 

“It’s upsetting to me that there has been a precedent set about making statements on political issues,” Bronson said, “that for some reason on this issue we are unable to make any progress.” 

Sociology professor and fellow UOFSJP member Michael Dreiling agreed.

“The students deserve an understanding as to why in the case of Ukraine and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, that warrants actually a condemnation, [and] why a similar condemnation or comment cannot be made with respect to what the International Court of Justice, various UN bodies, and numerous human rights organizations around the world have said and declared about Israel’s conduct in this invasion of Gaza,” Dreiling said.

According to Bronson, negotiations between UO Coalition for Palestine representatives and university officials are expected to continue tomorrow. Coalition representatives are encouraging the university to hold “open” negotiations; this would allow for students and faculty to witness negotiations in real time. It is unclear if and how open negotiations would be implemented at the time of this writing. 

Bronson said that the issue of divestment is “not a controversial” issue and that claims of antisemitic provocations being made by the university are “not accurate.”

“The issue of divesting from weapons manufacturing and companies that are benefiting off of the death of innocent civilians should not be controversial in any case beyond this issue,” Bronson said.

The coalition posted a statement indicating they were “disheartened and saddened” by the break-in reported by Chabad of Eugene yesterday. The statement, led by UO Jewish Voice for Peace, said that “we strive to end all forms of antisemitism and create a safe space for the Jewish community across campus and throughout the greater Eugene area.”

The coalition has created a fundraiser to help Chabad recover stolen materials from the break-in, including computers and tefillin — which are black leather boxes and straps with scrolls containing verses from the Torah.

Updated 5:01 p.m. 

An announcement from organizers of the encampment praised the BDS resolution passed by the ASUO Senate last night, and said that tomorrow will be an “all out for Palestine” day of action at the encampment. They also indicated they had “invited university administration to open negotiations at 10 a.m.”

The statement did not give a reaction to the university’s response to protesters earlier this afternoon, but stated the encampment “will continue to stand against the genocide in Gaza and our university’s complicity in it” until divestment, and the rest of their demands are met.

Multiple students and faculty members at the encampment appeared to be unaware of the university’s response when asked by Daily Emerald reporters. At the time of this writing, copies of the response were being handed out at the encampment with large red “Fs” written on them.

Salem Younes, a co-president of UO Students for Justice in Palestine, said the response made it “clear administration doesn’t care about us.”

“They don’t care about Palestinian people, they don’t care about genocide, it’s clear,” Younes said. “It’s very clear to me that they’re a bunch of heartless, money-hungry businessmen.”

UO spokesperson Angela Seydel said that the university is “aware” of ASUO’s vote last night approving a BDS resolution “and respect their process. It is an ASUO resolution and non-binding for the university.”

The muted statement stands in contrast to the university’s response to ASUO’s 2018 BDS resolution, which then-President Michael Schill referred to as divisive.

Jeffrey Cina, a UO professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said that he found the two-day deadline “unreasonable and unproductive.” 

“I’d like to see a more open-ended approach and a willingness to engage, especially in light of the fact that the encampment in and of itself is not problematic to the education and research missions of the university,” Cina said.

Updated 2:59 p.m. 

University of Oregon officials just released a formal response to student demonstrators’ demands. The response asks for an end to the pro-Palestine encampment on the Memorial Quad, while expanding on its responses to the demands in certain areas.

This is the first university statement on the negotiations since May 7, where university officials gave encampment members a 12:00 p.m. deadline to vacate the camp before academic amnesty expired and student conduct charges were pursued. 

The statement, provided to student negotiators for the encampment earlier today, asked students to:

• Agree to “remove the encampment, cease overnight camping and dismantle the encampment” at “a specific date and time within the next two days.” 

• Agree to “no further overnight camping and to reserving a designated space for gathering during daytime hours (8am- 7pm) through an officially recognized student group, and to do so through appropriate channels and following standard rules on the use of amplification and other guidelines for assembly.”

In exchange, the university has offered to:

• Create a “visiting scholar program” with “prominent academic figures working on the contemporary realities and historical, economic, social and cultural contexts of the Israel-Palestine conflict,” while increasing resources for “public educational events” that “teach the value of multiple perspectives, mutual respect, civil discourse, and empathy for ‘other sides.’”

• Add language, where applicable, to “ensure clarity on options for personal direction of retirement savings investment” for faculty.

• Release a statement calling for “a rapid cessation of hostilities and the resumption of efforts to achieve peace in this troubled region.” The university said it would not release a specific statement in support of a ceasefire in Gaza because the institution does “not take positions on political issues.”

• Arrange for five UO Coalition for Palestine members to meet with UO President John Karl Scholz, President and CEO of the UO Foundation Paul Weinhold and UO Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Jamie Moffitt on “investment,” “divestment” and “endowment management.” 

The university said that any sanctions resulting from student conduct code violations due to overnight camping “will not result in suspension, expulsion, revocation of degree, eviction or restitution as part of participation in the encampment.” UO spokesperson Angela Seydel clarified that this is contingent on protesters “agreeing to remove the encampment and not return.”

The university also refused protesters’ demands to cease academic exchanges with Israeli universities, describing it as “antithetical to our educational mission.” The university indicated it would “expand exchange opportunities in the parts of the region where we have no such ties and programs.”

The ultimate decision to divest is up to the UO Foundation. The response says that “divestment is counter to the UO’s obligations to its students and the state,” and that the UO Foundation will not divest from Jasper Ridge Partners, despite protesters’ demands. Additionally, the response said the university would not boycott specific companies, though “none of the vendors you [student negotiators] listed are currently preferred vendors providing best value to the campus.”

“We are not in a position to boycott companies simply because they are listed on a website that expresses concerns over who else that company may contract with,” the statement reads. “In addition, our ability to obtain the best value in our contracts would be substantially impaired if vendors come to believe that the terms and conditions of our contracts are subject to change in response to political campaigns.”

 It was unclear how students in the encampment would react to the university’s response. Spokespersons for the camp have previously indicated that they would not remove the encampment until their demands on divestment were met. 

Updated 2:00 p.m.

Dozens of members of the encampment are marching through the ASUO Street Faire up and down 13th Avenue. Some are chanting slogans including “long live Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Updated 12:28 p.m.

Over 100 tents remain in the encampment as the ASUO Street Faire’s second day gets underway. Thus far both events have peacefully coexisted, with minimal disruption to either event.

A timeline of university officials’ negotiations with student leaders indicates that another meeting has been offered between the parties today at 1 p.m. It is unclear whether student negotiators accepted the university’s timeframe. An encampment media liaison, Tea Bland, said that negotiations are continuing.

Yesterday, undergraduate, graduate students and the “majority” of faculty members of the UO Philosophy Department released a statement condemning the “repression” of student activist movements across the country. 

The letter cited examples of violence that have broken out on campuses at UCLA, Columbia University, New York University, University of Texas, and Emory University, whom they say have responded to pro-Palestine protests with “extreme militarization.”

The letter called on UO to reinstate academic amnesty for student protesters. The university had previously given students a 12 p.m. deadline on May 7 to clear the camp or face academic conduct charges. 

“Students who are protesting should face no reprimands or suspensions, nor should they be subjected to arrest, for demanding transparency in the handling of the university finance and its divestments from military enterprises or for occupying university lawns and outdoor spaces for the purpose of political demonstration and free speech,” read the statement. 

The statement further calls on the university to protect students, graduate employees and faculty members’ right to address the Israel-Hamas war in the classroom. 

At 11 a.m., encampment members participated in a “mass teach-in” before splitting into break-out groups around the encampment. 

UO sociology professor John Foster is scheduled to hold another “teach-in” at 2:30 p.m. That event will be followed by necklace-making for the Native American Student Union’s Mothers’ Day Powwow this weekend. 
Other events this evening will include a “Jewish Talks for Peace” event,  a speech from SOJC doctoral student Rajeev Ravisankar and an “open mic” session scheduled for 8 p.m. 
Updated 9:06 a.m.
Andy Gitelson, Oregon Hillel interim executive director, issued an email statement this morning on the ASUO Senate’s BDS resolution passed last night. The statement also indicates that ASOSU, the Oregon State University student government, presented and passed a resolution of their own.
“It has never been more clear how fractured the Jewish and campus community is, and despite a thoughtful plea to reconsider or table the vote to a later date, the ASUO BDS Resolution passed,” Gitelson said.
Numerous Jewish students spoke for and against the resolution at the ASUO Senate’s three-hour public forum last night, including students from Ducks for Israel and Jewish Voice for Peace.
The statement said Hillel “will continue to support students and monitor the climate on our campuses.”
The Daily Emerald has reached out to the university, as well as President John Karl Scholz, for comment on the ASUO resolution.
Updated 8:38 a.m.
It’s day eleven of UO’s pro-Palestine encampment as the ASUO Street Faire continues.
Last night, the ASUO Senate passed a resolution supporting boycotts, divestments and sanctions on Israel and affiliated companies. Among other things, the resolution calls for the UO Board of Trustees to divest from Jasper Ridge Partners and other companies on the “boycott list” like Sabra and HP.
ASUO President Chloé Webster is expected to meet today with President John Karl Scholz to discuss the university’s response to the protests. 
Daily Emerald reporters are on scene and will be providing live updates throughout the day.