Northwestern University students continue pro-Palestinian protest with encampment on Deering Meadow
EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza remain camped out at Northwestern's Deering Meadow Friday. They say they are calling on Northwestern to stop investing in Israel.
Northwestern student Aniekan Odong said they plan on staying, "Until our demands get met, as simple as that."
It's been just over 24 hours since students, staff and community members started occupying the space, calling on the university to stop supporting Israel.
Odong is a Northwestern junior, studying political science.
"It's important because people are dying and Northwestern is complicit with their investment and we need them to stop it," Odong said. "The people are on the right side of history. It means that there is humanity, there's empathy and there's people who want to see suffering end."
Protesters could be seen yelling into a megaphone and holding signs. The encampment includes dozens of tents, generators for power, a medical area, and plenty of food and water. All violates rules Northwestern amended.
The university said it "offered to let the demonstrators continue to peacefully assemble if they comply with Northwestern policies including removing tents and ceasing the use of bullhorns and speakers" but that "The offer was declined."
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Odong said this group of students wants an end to the violence in Gaza and disclosure and divestment of any Northwestern University funds to the Israeli state.
But Rabbi DoV Klein of Evanston Chabad said the demonstration is a major transgression.
"This is our home," he said. "And you feel like you've been violated in your own home."
He said students should be held accountable if they are in violation of university codes of conduct, and that Jewish students have come to him expressing their discomfort.
"It was frightful. It was horrifying. It was scary," he said. "If they're violating university policies, those students who are doing that have to be held accountable."
"This encampment is not about making the community better," Klein added. "It's about shouting at each other and it's about shutting down. Putting up walls of separation."
Officials at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie said some college-bound students are now rethinking campus visits and applying to certain schools.
"It used to be that they would choose the university that was best suited for what they were interested in studying," said Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky, dean of Ida Crown. "But now they also have to choose the university that is safe for them to express their Jewishness."
The protest at Northwestern is riding a wave of other demonstrations happening on college campuses across the country, including a protest at University of Chicago Friday afternoon.
At least 30 people were arrested on Ohio State's campus overnight as students called for peace in Gaza.
"I think this is a tense moment for the entire Northwestern community because this protest is on a different kind of scale than what we have seen," Michael Simon, Northwestern Hillel executive director, said.
Simon works just a block away from the encampment. He said while the protest is peaceful now, he's concerned it could take a turn.
"We do what we're doing all year long, which is to be here for our students," Simon said. " I think especially now if any student is concerned about the atmosphere on campus knows they have a place to come, someone to talk to."
A Northwestern University spokesperson released the following statement after 11 p.m. on Thursday:
"Today, members of our community, along with individuals unaffiliated with Northwestern, set up an encampment on Deering Meadow, in violation of University policy. Throughout the day, University officials spoke with the demonstrators, including a two-hour meeting with senior administrators this evening, to convey that while we strongly support free expression, the safety of all members of our community cannot and will not be compromised, nor can their expression disrupt the learning environment or University operations. The University offered to let the demonstrators continue to peacefully assemble if they comply with Northwestern policies, including removing tents and ceasing the use of bullhorns and speakers. The offer was declined. The University will move forward with other options to protect the safety of the community and the continued operations of the Evanston campus."
At this point, there has not been a large police presence around the demonstrators, but it's unclear how the protest could end.
