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 3, the fifth day of the encampment.
Day five of the pro-Palestine encampment on the Memorial Quad was a wet one, with most of the students’ afternoon consumed with containing large amounts of rain water from flooding tents.
Organizers cleared space in the middle of the encampment to put up a large brown tarp on stakes providing shelter from the rain. Other students could be seen draining out their tents and installing tarps on top of and beneath their tents to protect from the heavy downpour. In the later afternoon, some students could be seen with buckets siphoning water off of flooded sidewalks and grass.
The rain did not discourage the student demonstrators, however, as the encampment remained steady at around 140 tents on Friday evening.
The encampment’s negotiations team met at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. with UO administrators, including Dean of Students Marcus Langford. In the former meeting, UO Students for Justice in Palestine co-president Salem Khoury said that the parties discussed academic amnesty for students involved in the coalition, among other topics. Khoury did not indicate that any conditions were agreed upon.
Spokespersons for the university have declined to comment on the substance of either meeting. Khoury said a statement from the coalition on the negotiations would likely be made tomorrow morning.
Angela Seydel, a UO spokesperson, indicated that UOPD officers would not — for now — be called to the site of the encampment, continuing the pattern of the past five days.
“UOPD continues their regular patrols of campus, but that is subject to change based on events,” Seydel said in an email statement to the Emerald. The statement also confirms that the university added concrete barricades east of the encampment next to Tykeson Hall this morning, to “provide extra measures for their safety and the safety of others.”
Participants held various activities throughout the evening including a Shabbat service and a Ma’ariv/Maghrib prayer service.
Negotiations between student demonstrators and the university are expected to resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. Rainy conditions will continue overnight and are expected through Tuesday.Read the day’s live updates below.
Updated 9:35 p.m.
Approximately 140 tents remain on the Memorial Quad as events at the encampment wrap up for the evening.
Daily Emerald reporters are off the scene for the evening and will resume live coverage tomorrow morning.
Updated 8:36 p.m.
The encampment began its Shabbat dinner, a service honoring the Jewish day of rest. The service began around 7:30 p.m. and approximately 40 people huddled under a tent amidst a heavy downpour to participate.
After an afternoon of heavy rain, many of the sidewalks and some tents across the encampment have begun to flood. Members of the encampment have begun to place additional tarps and cardboards on top of and beneath their tents to protect themselves from the rain.
The Associated Students of the University of Oregon announced on social media that they have created an “alternate layout” for next week’s scheduled ASUO Spring Street Faire. According to an ASUO Instagram story post, the revised layout will allow for “both events to occur simultaneously.”
This comes after days of uncertainty regarding the encampment’s potential scheduling conflict with the street faire, which typically takes place on and in front of the Memorial Quad.
ASUO Secretary of Engagement Cash Kowalski, a coordinator for the street faire, said that ASUO has been coordinating a “contingency plan” since they heard about plans for the encampment last week. Representatives from ASUO met with student leaders of the encampment on Wednesday at 4 p.m. to discuss, according to Kowalski.
Kowalski said the faire will move vendors that had been planned for the space to other areas along 13th Avenue, including the walkway in front of the Lillis Business Complex.
“We’re communicating with them [the encampment] throughout the street faire,” Kowalski said. “They communicated directly with us that they still wanted the street faire to take place next week.”
Two security officers will be present for the street faire to prevent theft. Kowalski said that ASUO has been coordinating with the encampment to ensure their activities are limited to the street.
The ASUO Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday night supporting students’ right to free speech and condemning any use of force by law enforcement agencies.
Heavy rain is expected throughout the night into Saturday morning, where the UO Coalition for Palestine’s negotiation team will continue negotiations with UO administration at 10 a.m.
Updated 5:36 p.m.
Student negotiators for the encampment have concluded their meeting with university officials, according to SJP co-president Salem Khoury. The next meeting will allegedly take place at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Khoury said.
“University officials and students participating in the encampment met twice today,” UO spokesperson Angela Seydel said in an email statement to the Emerald. “We are respecting the negotiation participants and process and are not commenting on the content of those meetings.”
Seydel also indicated that UOPD officers would not be called to the site of the encampment at this time.
“UOPD continues their regular patrols of campus, but that is subject to change based on events,” Seydel said.
The statement also confirms that the university added concrete barricades to the end of Johnson next to Tykeson Hall this morning. “This was done to provide extra measures for their safety and the safety of others.”
Khoury also declined to comment on the details of the meetings with university officials and said a statement would be released by the coalition by tomorrow morning.
Updated 4:53 p.m.
Four cement barricades have been added to east of the encampment adjacent to Tykeson Hall. Students in the encampment were unaware of the barricades when asked by the Daily Emerald.
Students are using buckets to bail water out of the sidewalks and grass flooding the camp.
The Emerald has reached out to the university for comment.
[Correction: This update previously said that the barricades had been added to the east side of the encampment. The barricades are actually located east of the encampment.]
Updated 3:37 p.m.
Tents are taking on additional water. More tarps are being added to the camp and students are sliding cardboard under tents to keep them dry.
Rainy conditions are expected through this coming Tuesday in Eugene.
Updated 2:33 p.m.
Rain is coming down heavily at the encampment. Most demonstrators have taken shelter under or inside their tents, which have taken a decent amount of water. Tarps and cardboard have been delivered to help with the amount of downpour.
According to Salem Khoury, co-president of UO Students for Justice in Palestine, a 2:30 p.m. meeting is taking place between the coalition negotiators and UO administration.
Ahead of the meeting, Khoury said they hope to restructure how the 11.am. meeting went. Khoury said coalition negotiators hope to open conversation up into discussing their demands to UO regarding divestments.
Khoury said that the UO negotiation team “need[s] to implement more people in their structure of negotiations that can actually talk about our demands for divestment.”
“They need to understand that we are not here to cause a ruckus on campus,” Khoury said. “To treat us as such is extremely disrespectful and is undermining the beliefs and values of students on campus who are upset and directly affected by this.”
Discussed at the 11 a.m. meeting was academic amnesty for students involved in the coalition, as well as the coalition’s negotiations team making UO administrators that those in the team are not leaders for the coalition. Khoury did not say that any conditions were agreed upon.
Khoury said the current meeting is to discuss the coalition’s demands, as well as whether UOPD will be involved with the encampment. Khoury said that administrators were “insistent on” implementing more “safety” via police.
“That entails reiterating what we talked about as far as not wanting police enforcement and making sure the university is enforcing protection and ensuring the safety of student protestors and everyone involved,” Khoury said.
The university has not commented on the substance of these meetings.
Updated 1:40 p.m.
UO spokesperson Molly Blancett has confirmed that discussions are still ongoing between the university and student demonstrators.
“Discussions continue between students and representatives of the institution,” Blancett said in an email statement. “We will provide any updates when it is appropriate to do so.”
Updated 12:30 p.m.
Border lines have extended closer to Knight Library. There are currently 133 tents in the encampment and conditions are relatively calm at the moment.
At around 12:24 p.m., the negotiating meeting between university administrators and the encampment negotiating team concluded. According to a student demonstrator and media liaison going by Cedar Deodora, there will be a second meeting today at an unconfirmed time. The negotiations team is currently discussing the previous meeting.
The Emerald has reached out to the university for comment on the meeting.
According to Deodora, negotiations are an “ongoing process” and the negotiations team’s stance remains unchanged from their previous letter to President Scholz.
Updated 11:04 a.m.
A student demonstrator and media liaison going by Cedar Deodora said that conditions were relatively calm in the encampment overnight, aside from occasional inebriated people passing by or making noise outside of the camp.
Deodora said they were told the Knight Library’s early closure was for student safety and to protect campus from outside community members.
The encampment’s negotiating team is now meeting with university administrators, with no clear estimate as to when they will conclude.
“It could take 45 minutes, it could take hours,” Deodora said.
Updated 9:25 a.m.
UO spokesperson Angela Seydel has confirmed that the second meeting with student negotiators is happening today. No additional details were provided.
Updated 8:22 a.m.
Student negotiators are expected to meet with university officials today at 11 a.m. as the UO pro-Palestine encampment marks its fifth day on the Memorial Quad. The Daily Emerald has not received comment from the university about the meetings.
Emerald reporters will be on scene throughout the day providing live updates. Check back here for the latest.
Demonstrators listen to a talk by UO sociology professor John Bellamy Foster in front of the encampment on May 2, 2024. This is the fourth day of the growing pro-Palestine encampment demonstration, which has spread farther across the UO Memorial Quad; the protest is one of many across college campuses nationwide. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
