Auraria Campus: Pro-Palestine protests have cost $290K
DENVER (KDVR) — An Auraria Campus spokesperson said pro-Palestine protesters have cost the campus a total of $290,000, although specifics about that figure have not been released.
Devra Ashby, director of marketing and communications for the Auraria Campus, spoke via Zoom about the “occupation inside the CU Denver Bursar’s Office” on May 13 and provided photos of the aftermath.
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Photos show papers on the floor, alongside some office items, and a calendar with the words “Free Palestine” scrawled over the whole month.
“Now let’s be clear,” Ashby said on Zoom. “Several acts of trespassing and interference are not examples of peaceful protests. We will not tolerate chronic intimidation, campus chaos and business disruptions.”
Ashby said that there have been 80 arrests made since the encampment was established on April 25. She said arrest records compared to “actively enrolled student records show that out of the 80 arrests to date … only 16 are actively enrolled students, and three are staff/faculty members.”
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Later, the Auraria Campus provided more details on the arrests. Of the 80 arrests, 16 were actively enrolled students, 41 were “non-students,” and 20 were “not actively enrolled students/alumni.”
Ashby also said via email that the protest has “cost the campus an estimated $290k in damages, canceled community events, and other relevant costs to address the encampment.” The campus did not provide a detailed breakdown of the cost categories.
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“One of the major community effects of the escalation of the protesters’ tactics is that the perception of our campus is it’s not safe,” Ashby said. “So, for example, thousands of middle school students were supposed to be on campus today for a girl’s STEM event, but it was canceled due to safety concerns.”
The marketing and communications director also said the encampment drew the homeless community into the area, and that the encampment has grown to nearly “the capacity of the quad from a square-footage perspective, and has begun to spill over into some adjacent grassy areas at an updated count.”
Ashby also said health and safety concerns continue for Auraria Campus officials. On May 14, Ashby said, “Human waste on or around the quad has been observed.” On May 6, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment said they had not assessed the encampment’s conditions.
FOX31 reached out on social media to the Denver chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, which has been organizing the protests, for comment on the Auraria Campus’ statements. This story will be updated if information is received.
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