SJP UIUC shares statement on protest negotiations, lists demands

On April 26th, SJP UIUC along with members of other organizations, students, community members, and faculty responded to National SJP’s call to action by setting up our Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Within the first hour of our peaceful encampment, UIUC admin and campus police told us we must take down our tents. We began doing so; however, campus police were unsatisfied with the rate at which we moved. A protester tried to engage in respectful discourse but was told by an officer that raising questions was not within their First Amendment right. It was clear that the course of action that followed was made before any conversation with protestors. While police pushed through protesters and began taking tents, which included our personal items, a fellow peaceful protestor was arrested.

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After enduring heavy rain without tents, protestors began rebuilding their encampment following their Friday prayer. To prevent the police’s confiscation of tents and personal belongings, protestors formed a human chain around the tents. At this point, what went from solely the presence of UIPD, rapidly expanded to five police departments. The intention behind this inflation of police presence became clear following the police’s attempt at forceful entry through the protestors. This attempt was unsuccessful. Beyond the expansion of their presence, the police also carried pepper spray, riot gear, tear gas, batons, and loaded weapons, some of which were found on the ground following the forceful entry through student protestors.

In the following hours, protesters continued to protect the encampment while the police stood ready to break through and seize the tents. The conditions of this stand-off were inhumane; not only did protestors have limited access to food and water, but they were also experiencing the fatigue that followed the intense physical confrontation with the police. Beyond this, the weather conditions were extremely poor, with most protestors wearing soaking clothes. It was clear that the police planned a standoff with hopes of the poor conditions causing our support to waver, yet we remained strong. In a desperate attempt to prioritize the well-being of the protesters while also upholding the demands of the encampment, representatives began negotiating with a stubborn administration at 7:16 p.m. Quickly following the start of this ‘negotiation,’ representatives realized this was merely a facade. This was Chancellor Jones and Tim Killeen’s attempt at saving their reputations at the expense of the hundreds of protestors. They were not willing to meet any of our demands.

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The conditions quickly put the health and well-being of hundreds of protesters, including those in solidarity, at risk. As if those concerns were insufficient, the phrase ‘make a decision or face mass arrest’ became standard. After three hours of brutal negotiations, the representatives were given five minutes before police were given the command to begin arresting at will. Our priorities shifted as we decided to move camp with the goal of preserving the safety of those present and the movement.

The University believes that it can push us out to the edge of campus and silence our voices. Although we may feel discomfort throughout this time of protest, we know this discomfort is not an ounce of what Palestinians on the ground, especially Gazans, endure around the clock. We must continue to mobilize and continue to speak out against injustice. We truly believe that we cannot do that at the proposed location of Spurlock and have decided to mobilize at the Foellinger side of the quad. We urge everyone to stand with us and to demand the administration fulfills our demands:

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We made clear to demonstrators from the start of their event that as long as they didn’t erect structures or violate any university policies or criminal laws, they would be allowed to gather. When they erected tents and tables, a Student Affairs staff member instructed them to remove the tents. After almost two hours, they had not removed the tents, so staff instructed them that if the tents and tables were not removed in 30 minutes, staff would remove them and any contents – and all of the removed items would be taken to the waste transfer station. After waiting 40 minutes, university staff then began removing the tents and tables that had not been taken down.

Later in the day, the group erected more tents and tables and again refused requests to remove them. At that point, UI Police attempted to clear a path for university staff to remove the tents and tables. The officers involved were wearing their normal uniforms and gear. The demonstrators locked arms and used wooden shields, umbrellas and items set up to trip officers to prevent the removal. Although several officers were assaulted in the process, they chose not to deploy any enforcement tools at their disposal. Our officers then made the decision to de-escalate the situation and stepped back to reduce the risk of injury to themselves or the demonstrators.

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All of our actions and efforts have been and will continue to be focused on keeping our campus community safe and providing our students the best possible educational experience. The university and the campus-related groups that made demands already had a meeting scheduled for early next week to discuss those items.

Robin Kaler, University of Illinois spokesperson