Good morning! It’s Tuesday, May 14.

Pro-Palestine student protesters at UO have set up an encampment on the north end of the Memorial Quad since April 29 at 7 a.m. The protesters, a group of student organizations calling themselves the UO Coalition for Palestine, have a list of various demands for the university, including divestment from Israel and various defense companies. You can find a full list of their demands here.

Today is day 16 of the encampment. Yesterday, as demonstrators entered their third week on the Memorial Quad, it was unclear how negotiations with the university would progress. Negotiations have not occurred since May 9. On May 10, encampment representatives requested a public negotiations session, which the university declined to engage with citing “agreed-upon ground rules.” 

UO spokesperson Eric Howald said that “the door remains open” for student negotiators to meet with university officials. Tea Bland, a media liaison for the encampment, said that “we’re waiting for the university to reach out to resume negotiations for now so they can meet with us in good faith.” The parties did not meet yesterday.

University of Oregon Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine sent a letter to President Scholz, touching on points that UOFSJP feels President John Karl Scholz has handled incorrectly in regard to the encampment and the Israel-Hamas war.

“Generally, ever since October, your remarks miss the fact that Israel is currently committing genocide against the Palestinian people, as has been established by over 400 leading genocide and Holocaust scholars along with UN human rights experts,” the letter reads.

The letter accuses Scholz of misrepresenting the encampment’s goals in public statements, criticizes his declared policy of “institutional neutrality,” and states the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement is effective.

It was an otherwise quiet day at the encampment. A “camp clean-up” took place at 10 a.m., followed later in the day by other events including “BDS 101” and a Zoom call with leaders of another pro-Palestine encampment at San Francisco State University.

Thus far, events at the encampment have remained largely peaceful, and police have not been called to the scene.

The Daily Emerald is providing special coverage on its website and social media platforms, including live updates from reporters on the scene. You can find all of our encampment coverage here. Read on for our coverage and the rest of our featured stories.  

Evan Reynolds

Editor-in-Chief