Pro-Palestine protesters meet with Auraria Campus leaders as encampment continues
DENVER (KDVR) — On the sixth day of the pro-Palestinian protest at the Auraria Campus in Denver, students told FOX31 that one of their demands was met, even as the campus restricted building access.
Dozens of tents remained at the protest site on Tuesday, with many protesters there since Thursday. Things were mostly quiet besides a 2 p.m. rally after a morning meeting with two campus leaders.
“Steps are happening but very slowly, and we’re not being heard in the way we want to,” one student said.
‘We have demands and we want them met’
The meeting was one of the students’ top demands and included Michelle Marks, the University of Colorado Denver chancellor; Janine Davidson, Metropolitan State University of Denver president; and Colleen Walker, Auraria Higher Education Center CEO.
“It’s a lot of discussion and not a lot of action, and we have demands and we want them met,” the student said.
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Protesters want the universities to condemn what they call genocidal actions in Gaza. They are also asking for more transparency about where their tuition money is being spent.
“We want our money, our tuition, we want our education to not be going to a genocide and not going to Israel,” the student said.
“There’s a lot of things they’re keeping from us, and we pay tuition to be here — really expensive tuition to be here — and we don’t even know where our money is going,” said Kit, a student at Community College of Denver, which also shares the campus.
Auraria Campus statement: Seeking ‘amicable path forward’
FOX31 reached out to Auraria Campus and the universities there.
They released a joint statement that said leaders “met for more than an hour with the leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society to listen to the group’s perspectives and try to achieve an amicable path forward.”
They said that during the meeting, they reiterated to students that their demands are largely outside their authority.
According to the statement, the campus supports community members’ free speech and peaceful assembly, but the tents violate campus policy. But protesters say they will not budge until a resolution is met.
“I’ve been out here since it started Thursday, and I plan to be out there every day until they start meeting us realistically,” Kit said.
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Campus leaders say if the tents are removed, they will provide sunshades to the protesters and provide a different protest space on campus.
Meanwhile, the campus on Monday restricted some access to the university, making the library inaccessible to anyone without a key card.
“Most of the buildings on campus are only accessible by key card by students, staff, and faculty. As of April 29 (yesterday), and out of an abundance of caution and safety for everyone on campus, the library is now only accessible by key card,” reads a statement from the campus.
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