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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, May 2, 2024
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3 CAMPUS/Context
4 OPINION/Demonstration History
VIDEO/Agreement
As NU reaches agreement, other universities see mixed results
The encampment agreement is a “remarkable achievement,” columnist Martha Biondi writes
Hear from organizers about the agreement
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Encampment agreement brings tensions down on campus amid division
Seven members of Advisory Committee on Antisemitism step down
By SAMANTA HABASHY
By JACOB WENDLER
AGREEMENT REACHED
daily senior staffer @habashysam
Five days after student demonstrators started a pro-Palestinian encampment on Deering Meadow, Northwestern Divestment Coalition representatives and University officials reached an agreement Monday. In the agreement, the University promised additional support for Muslim, Middle Eastern North African and Palestinian students and faculty — in addition to more transparency about its investments — in exchange for the removal of all but one of the tents on the lawn and the removal of non-NU-affiliated individuals from events. Organizers will continue to demonstrate on the Meadow through June 1, as outlined in the agreement. “This agreement was forged by the hard work of students and faculty working closely with members of the administration to help ensure that the violence and escalation we have seen elsewhere does not happen here at Northwestern,” University President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Vice President for Student Affairs Susan Davis said in a Monday message to the NU community. While some hailed the agreement as a historic win for student activists, negotiators on both sides of the bargaining table have attracted criticism for offering concessions to reach a compromise.
» See REACTION, page 6
daily senior staffer @jacob_wendler
Jacob Wendler/The Daily Northwestern
Per the agreement, just one “Medical Tent” — consisting of several connected white canopy tents — remains on Deering Meadow as of Thursday morning.
Seven members of the President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate stepped down from the committee Wednesday, effective immediately. A letter addressed to University President Michael Schill cited Schill’s decision not to consult the committee on the agreement reached Monday between administrators and the organizers of the pro-Palestinian encampment on Deering Meadow. “It is essential that the University develop appropriate and timely recommendations to address and prevent antisemitism and hate,” the members wrote in the letter obtained by The Daily. “However, in light of the University leadership’s decision not to utilize the committee for its stated purpose, we can no longer continue to serve in this role.” In the agreement, Northwestern committed to reestablish the now inactive Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility and answer questions from “internal stakeholders” about the University’s financial holdings. It also agreed to “provide and renovate a house for MENA/Muslim students” on campus and allow demonstrations to continue protests on Deering Meadow through June 1. In exchange, demonstrators agreed to take down all tents except one and only use approved devices to project or amplify sound.
» See COMMITTEE, page 6
Students strike, rally at The Rock Three plaintiffs Pro-Palestinian demonstrators push for divestment on May Day By JERRY WU
daily senior staffer @jerrwu
Demonstrators staged a May Day strike Wednesday, calling on students and teachers to abstain from attending class and show solidarity with Palestine and divestment efforts. Around 9 a.m., about 50 students gathered at The Rock to rally while handing out fliers to oncoming passersby that read “No grades. No class. No finals. Strike for Gaza on May 1.” Others painted The Rock with an image of the Palestinian flag, and the crowd chanted phrases including “From the River to the Sea, we will all be free” and “When Palestine is under attack, when Columbia is under attack, leave your class and don’t go back.” The strike comes after an agreement reached on Monday between the Northwestern Divestment Coalition and the University to deescalate the five-day encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Deering Meadow. It also follows the resignation of seven
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members of the President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate. Demonstrators held daylong informal programming, from singing and learning Yiddish resistance songs to culminating in a no-tent “sleepover” on Deering Meadow. During the midday gathering, protesters sang a song featuring the lyrics “occupy Northwestern, we shall not be moved.” University representatives later arrived on scene and handed out letters notifying demonstrators they were in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct. The letter, from the Office of Community Standards, explained that students failed to comply with the requests or instructions of a University official or emergency personnel and were in violation of the Interim Policy for Student Demonstrations. Some NU Jewish students have described experiencing mixed feelings, including discomfort and safety concerns, during the deescalated demonstration. University spokesperson Eliza Larson told The Daily in a statement that some faculty
sue Northwestern Breach of contract suit cites “dystopic cesspool of hate” By NICOLE MARKUS and JACOB WENDLER
daily senior staffers @nicolejmarkus / @jacob_wendler
Sonya Dymova/The Daily Northwestern
University representatives arrived at The Rock to hand out letters to demonstrators that said they were in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct.
members were also notified that holding class at any protests, proposing alternate assignments or canceling classes can be exclusionary or discriminatory. Those actions could justify a grade appeal or a complaint to
the Office of Civil Rights, the message added. The spokesperson also pointed to the interim demonstration policy that reads “on
» See MAY DAY, page 6
Three plaintiffs brought a breach of contract lawsuit against Northwestern Wednesday, citing a “dystopic cesspool of hate” present at the proPalestinian encampment on Deering Meadow. The lawsuit — brought by two graduate students and one first-year undergraduate student at NU — alleges that NU breached a “modest core promise” to students when it opted to allow the encampment to continue throughout the weekend despite demonstration policies stating such encampments are prohibited. “Northwestern’s refusal to enforce its own policies is thus a breach of contract, in addition to being a total embarrassment to the broader Northwestern community,”
the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit, filed in the Cook County Circuit Court, alleges the University allowed the encampment to become “increasingly hostile to Jews” and that “the encampment featured open support for Hamas.” The plaintiffs seek class certification for Jewish students at NU who did not participate in the encampment. It cited images of the proPalestinian encampment on Deering Meadow and an image of an individual wearing a hoodie that depicted Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida, alleging the individual “barked at passersby demanding they state whether they speak Hebrew.” It also included photos of signs at the encampment, one depicting a Star of David with a red slash through it and another showing University President Michael Schill donning devil horns, an antisemitic trope that harkens back to medieval-era “blood libel”
» See LAWSUIT, page 6
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