DePaul students, administration reach stalemate in encampment negotiations
CHICAGO - DePaul University administrators and student protesters have reached a stalemate.
The DePaul Divestment Coalition met with university administrators this week. The university responded to several of the coalition's demands, offering some conditional solutions for some of them.
The coalition asked the university to divest from institutions and businesses that support Israel and for amnesty for student protesters and supporting faculty.
University President Robert Manuel released a statement Saturday night with an update on their negotiations.
"We believe students with the divestment coalition initiated the encampment with sincere intentions to peacefully protest. However, the responses to the encampment have inadvertently created public safety issues that put our community at risk," Manuel said in the statement.
In a letter from DePaul to the Divestment Coalition, the university indicated that they initially wanted the encampment to be disassembled by noon on Sunday. Since the coalition has not accepted the university's terms, it is unclear where the current timeline stands.
The coalition began their encampment at the Lincoln Park campus quad on April 30. The group issued a list of demands to the university. The university responded to each of their demands with an email to the school community on Monday, May 6. See the complete response HERE.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
