Student activists in Oregon have joined dozens of colleges across the nation is setting up pro-Palestinian encampments in recent days.
Protesters at Portland State University (PSU) and the University of Oregon (UO) cite a list of demands, including boycotting Israel and divesting from weapons manufacturers and companies with ties to Israel.
The protests at PSU quickly got out of hand, with activists barricading themselves in the library while students at UO began a peaceful rally.
In a letter to President Ann Cudd, PSU students demanded that the university cut ties with Boeing. Though Boeing is most widely known for its airplanes, it is also one of the largest defense companies in the world.
PSU has no investments in Boeing but accepts philanthropic gifts from the company, Ms. Cudd explained in a campus-wide letter posted April 26 on the PSU website.
The company donated $150,000 this year to name a classroom. It also provides $28,000 per year for scholarships, according to the school newspaper, the PSU Vanguard.
In her letter, however, Ms. Cudd announced that PSU would “pause” its relationship with Boeing, explaining that she had been motivated by “the passion with which these demands are being repeatedly expressed by some in our community.”
PSU is among the first universities to distance itself from a major weapons manufacturer as a result of recent protests.
Quick Escalation
For Occupy PSU, which is helping to coordinate the encampment, the Boeing pause is not enough.“While PSU does not put finances into Boeing, they take their money and give them a platform for predatory recruitment,” the group wrote on an April 27 Instagram post.
Boeing is a major employer of PSU alumni.
“We will not stop until demands are met. No more blood money!”
The group called for “Material. Direct. Immediate action.”
On the evening of April 29, a group of 50 to 75 student protesters broke into the PSU library and barricaded themselves in.
Later that evening, Ms. Cudd requested the help of Portland police.
At an 11:00 p.m. press conference, she, along with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Bob Day, and Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, addressed the media.
The four leaders agreed that the library occupation was a matter of criminal behavior and no longer about free speech.
“Universities are set up with the understanding that people go there to explore the competition of ideas, and that’s a noble purpose,” Mr. Wheeler said. “But when people engage in criminal destruction and acts of violence, that is no longer the debate of ideas. And that is no longer peaceful protest. That is criminal activity.”
They called on students to voluntarily vacate the building.
“If you’re in the library right now, it would be a good time to leave and go home and continue this conversation in a civil manner,” said Mr. Schmidt. He added that his office would be ready to prosecute those who do not comply.
“I expect that felony charges could be filed,” Mr. Schmidt continued. These could include burglary and felony criminal mischief along with other potential misdemeanors, he added.
“PSU stands by its commitment to our community and to free speech and free expression,” said Ms. Cudd. “However, we cannot support criminal activity.”
Officials urged the protesters to leave and resolve the matter peacefully but did not give a timeline before police would go in.
On April 30 at 6:00 a.m., PSU closed its campus.
“The 11 o’clock news conference last night was the deadline,” said PSU’s Board Chair Ben Berry following a board meeting. “Anyone who’s in the building are considered trespassing. We’ve not talked about anything like amnesty. The goal is really to get the people out of the building.”
A Different Story in Eugene
Meanwhile, an encampment sprang up at the University of Oregon in Eugene around 8:00 a.m. on April 29.In a press release posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, organizers with the University of Oregon Palestine Coalition shared their demands that the university boycott and divest from “the state of Israel, Israeli companies, and any weapons or surveillance manufacturing.”
In addition, they insist that the university “affirm the safety of Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, and Arab students” and faculty who speak out about the conflict in Gaza.
Organizers posted “community guidelines” for the encampment on Instagram. These include ensuring that members will not engage with “Zionist counter protesters or provocateurs.”
The guidelines also discourage community members who are not affiliated with the university from entering the encampment.
On the morning of April 30, the UO camp was peaceful.
“There hasn’t been any riotous behavior,” a media liaison for the encampment who asked to be identified as “Tea” told The Epoch Times. “We’re here to support a ceasefire and help the Palestinian people who are facing genocide.”
The group displayed signs reading “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), that phrase has “long been used by the anti-Israel terrorist organizations such as Hamas and others who seek Israel’s destruction through violent means.”
Tea also acknowledged that the group chants about the Intifada.
“When we chant ‘globalize the Intifada’ and revolution, we are about standing against oppression,” said Tea. “We mean a peaceful revolution.”
But on April 30, the White House condemned the use of the term “intifada,” the Arabic word for uprising or rebellion as the Biden administration sought to push back against “antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric” as a part of college protests.
Andrew Bates, a White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement that President Joe Biden “condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days.”
“I don’t really believe we agree on that statement,” said Tea.
She went on to explain that the protesters’ goals.
“We want the university to divest from companies like Lockheed Martin,” she said.
Lockheed Martin supplies Israel with F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, Hellfire missiles, and other weaponry used in the conflict.
In an alert to community members on April 29, the University of Oregon administration said it supported the right to free speech, but would be watchful for any student conduct code violations or losses of business opportunity.
“As we have seen over the last week, universities across the nation who have taken a hard stance, including calling in law enforcement as an early response, have seen an escalation in violence, including harm to bystanders and students alike,” the letter said.
“In keeping with our longstanding protocols, university representatives have been in communication with those participating, outlining relevant institutional policies and advising them of an existing reservation for that space later this week.”
The University of Oregon has its own police department that may be called upon to engage in scenarios where illegal activities take place or if there are immediate, specific, and targeted threats to physical safety.
