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Wednesday, April 30, 2025

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NU reflects on pro-Palestinian encampment that changed student activism

Illustration by Lily Ogburn

Casey He/The Daily Northwestern

By NINETH KANIESKI KOSO and ISAIAH STEINBERG

daily senior staffers @ninethkk / @isaiahsteinberg

In a makeshift tent city pitched on the lawn of Deering Meadow, Weinberg senior and member of Northwestern’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace Paz Baum found something she hadn’t seen on campus up until that point: a

community that welcomed every aspect of her Jewish identity, including her anti-Zionist beliefs. Others viewed the watershed five-day protest differently. Medill junior and former Wildcats for Israel President Madeleine Stern and NU Hillel Executive Director Michael Simon, worried about the encampment’s effect on Jewish students. Over the course of the week, they became increasingly

concerned with what they viewed as antisemitic speech at the encampment. NU’s 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment lasted from Thursday, April 25 until Monday, April 29 and was one of the first encampments across the country to end with an agreement. Policy changes during the encampment, direct negotiations with University leadership and a written agreement including concessions on both

The Deering Meadow Agreement, a year later

University has taken steps toward implementation By NINETH KANIESKI KOSO

daily senior staffer @ninethkk

About this time last year, Northwestern administrators and student demonstrators reached an agreement to end the pro-Palestinian encampment on Deering Meadow under several conditions. This agreement included terms about the removal of the encampment, disclosure of NU’s holdings and additional support for Jewish, Muslim and Middle Eastern and

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North African students. When testifying before the House Committee on Education and Workforce last May, University President Michael Schill said he planned to follow the conditions of the agreement. Since then, the University has taken steps toward implementing each of the stipulations. Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility The University agreed to reestablish the ACIR in the fall with

student, faculty and staff members. However, the ACIR was not fully reconstituted until Winter Quarter, holding its first meeting since reestablishment in February. The ACIR advises the Board of Trustees on investment concerns stemming from the university community. The committee currently consists of seven members who are faculty, staff, students and alumni. NU Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Amy Falls serves ex officio.

» See AGREEMENT, page 11

sides made NU’s encampment stand out from those at other universities. “I think the encampment was a really beautiful example of so many different members of the Northwestern student body and the larger community coming together for a common cause and a common goal that we believe in,” Baum said. “Ultimately we were able to have a peaceful resolution with the University and this agreement.”

NU’s new policies restrict protests Pro-Palestinian protesters demanded two things last year: disclosure of the University’s investments and divestment from institutions that allegedly supported Palestinian oppression. The eventual agreement reestablished the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility; committed the University

to answering questions about endowment investments; established a temporary space for MENA and Muslim students; and promised to support visiting Palestinian students and faculty. Baum said she was disappointed by the lack of divestment, but that she appreciated the increased disclosure. “I do believe that it’s really important to have that

» See REFLECTIONS, page 11

Councilmembers sworn in to Evanston City Council

Three newcomers join six incumbents, mayor and clerk By CASEY HE

daily senior staffer @caseeey_he

Members of Evanston’s 82nd City Council were inaugurated Monday, beginning a four-year term that is slated to shape key city initiatives like Envision Evanston 2045 and the future home of city operations — issues that emerged as major flashpoints leading up to April 1’s municipal election. Three newcomers, Alds.

Shawn Iles (3rd), Parielle Davis (7th) and Matt Rodgers (8th), now join the reelected Mayor Daniel Biss, City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza and incumbent councilmembers at the dais. Reflecting on the oaths of office he had previously taken, Biss, who fended off a challenge from Jeff Boarini to secure a second term, said he is ready to work for all of Evanston. “It is a magical thing because it’s a transformation of the complex messages sent by a whole community of thousands of

people into the ability to move an agenda on behalf of those people,” Biss said. “And it’s a sacred thing, and it’s this thing that I take incredibly seriously.” The ceremony marked the first time City Council has seen new faces since 2022, when Biss appointed Alds. Krissie Harris (2nd) and Juan Geracaris (9th) to the council following their predecessors’ resignations. The next year, both of them ran and won in special elections for a

» See COUNCIL, page 11