Pro-Palestinian encampment goes up at Oregon State University as students make demands
Oregon State University students erected a pro-Palestinian encampment early Wednesday morning, making demands of campus administrators in Corvallis and following in the footsteps of similar encampment-style protests seen at universities across the U.S.
According to posts on social media, several OSU student groups banded together to form "The People's University for Palestine" and set up at OSU's Memorial Union Quad at the center of campus. By Wednesday afternoon, there were about 20 tents and 100 people gathered at the encampment.
"This is a great act of protest and resistance," said Sophie Bottum Musa, a junior at OSU and member of a group called OSU Students United for Palestinian Rights. "It's resisting much more than just Israel itself as a genocidal entity, but also authoritarianism, fascism, white supremacy, all of these things, imperialism, that are all interconnected."
The encampment follows similar actions by protesters on college campuses across the country, including at the University of Oregon, where an encampment first established on April 29 had grown to over 150 tents as of this week.
Organizers of the OSU encampment provided via Instagram a list of demands directed at school administrators:
Disclosure of financial investments.
Divestment from all corporations that promote Israel's military campaign in Gaza, including Sabra Hummus, HP and Pepsi.
Boycott of business contracts with firms connected to Israel.
Academic amnesty for students and employees who are participating.
A statement from OSU "condemning Israel's ongoing genocidal aggression on Palestine and call for a permanent ceasefire."
"We have a lot of the same demands a lot of other schools have, which is disclose, divest, and academic boycott, basically any way to cut ties with Israeli institutions," Bottum Musa said, mentioning that all the SUPER and Students for Justice in Palestine groups across Oregon are connected. "I've actually talked to the UO (coalition) and visited their encampment a couple times ... They're doing good work, so (they're) really the blueprint for us."
As a Palestinian American, Bottum Musa said this cause is a "lifelong struggle."
Reportedly, more than 35,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after a Hamas attack that killed almost 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. Almost 500,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah in recent days.
Student groups participating in the OSU encampment include SUPER, Mid-Valley Jews for Peace, Young Democratic Socialists of America Corvallis and OSU Grads for Palestine. These student groups called for a walkout of classes and asked students and employees to join the encampment.
"We stand hand in hand with our peers across the nation in our struggle against suppression, so that Palestine will be free," an Instagram post by SUPER stated.
OSU statements
OSU created a webpage with information about the encampment, suggesting it would be regularly updated. The webpage has several sections, including frequently asked questions, resources and statements attributed to the administration.
According to the webpage, OSU is monitoring the demonstrations, prioritizing on-campus safety and students' ability to pursue their education.
The webpage states that OSU leaders plan to continue meeting with student groups who have organized the encampment "to engage with their concerns and communicate our policies." OSU leaders have met with organizers "several" times previously.
Bottum Musa said these meetings have been unsuccessful so far, but the coalition is scheduled to meet with OSU leaders later this week. She added that the students submitted their divestment demands to the OSU Board of Trustees two weeks ago and haven't heard back.
Bottum Musa said they have been made aware of potential disciplinary actions, with OSU leaders alluding to Student Code of Conduct charges, citations, or criminal charges.
OSU stated that the encampment violates university policy.
"Oregon State University affirms the right of students to peacefully make their voices heard, and university leadership is engaged to understand their concerns," stated Rob Odom, vice president of University Relations and Marketing. "This protest encampment violates OSU policy, and we have communicated that it’s not permitted. We are following established practices designed to ensure accountability, provide safety and security for protestors and all others on our campuses and support the free expression rights of OSU community members while maintaining university operations."
For those who want to voice their concerns or report feeling unsafe, students can contact deanofstudents@oregonstate.edu and employees can contact employee.relations@oregonstate.edu. For safety-specific concerns, call 541-737-3010 for non-emergency issues or 541-737-7000 for an active crime.
This story will be updated.
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pro-Palestinian encampment goes up at Oregon State University
