A May Day rally at the encampment site was held on Wednesday, which marks the first rally since establishing at the Knight Library quad. (Lehman-Winters/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.
[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated that the “May Day” Rally is located at the Knight Library lawn. This is not the case. The encampment is located at the Memorial Quad, where the Knight Library is nearby.]
A “May Day” rally at the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment site at the University of Oregon took place May 1 on the Memorial Quad. A planned walkout was scheduled for noon, and well over 300 people were in attendance for the rally. Outside observers consistently went in and out of the scene.
The rally began at approximately 12:57 p.m. and concluded at around 2:16 p.m. Many UO students and workers’ unions attended the rally, which largely focused on the May Day celebration and pro-Palestine speeches and chants.
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, is a holiday each year on May 1 to celebrate workers’ rights, and the rally opened with individuals weaving large strands of garland around a pole, each color holding a significant representation of their message.
Many UO students and workers attended the rally, urging the university to meet their demands regarding the Israel-Hamas war and the workers’ ongoing struggles with the university.
“I think May Day is a really really special opportunity to very clearly tie the struggle of workers internationally together with the current struggle that we’re centering for Gaza right now,” UO student and CJL student campaign coordinator Valentine Bentz said.
Speeches and chants rallied around the unity of the workers along with many pro-Palestine statements throughout. A schedule is posted each day at the front of the encampment which include different activities, teach-ins and speakers coming in.
“A part of keeping energy up and keeping morale up and reminding people why we’re here is rallying and all that, so we definitely have more things planned,” Salem Younes, rally organizer and member of UO Students for Justice in Palestine, said. “We’re gonna be here until admin listens to us.”
Follow the Daily Emerald’s live coverage of UO’s pro-Palestine encampment.
