What we can learn from 4 schools that have reached agreements with Gaza protesters
As the latest wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at U.S. colleges stretches into a third week, some campuses are seeing rising tensions while others have gone relatively quiet.
Administrations at several schools have reached agreements with student protesters, pledging to take certain steps in exchange for the dismantling of protesters' encampments as graduation approaches.
Protesters' demands vary by school, though they generally call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, disclosures of institutional investments and divestment from companies with ties to Israel or that otherwise profit from its military operation in Gaza.
Northwestern and Brown were the first schools to announce agreements last week, followed quickly by others including Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Riverside.
Some administrations, like those at Columbia University and UCLA, ultimately called in police to forcibly take down student encampments. But others managed to clear their lawns of tents without police intervention — through negotiations with student organizers.
"We thought the best way to sustainably deescalate the situation was to actually talk with our students," Northwestern President Michael Schill told WBUR's Here and Now. "We have a good sustainable agreement which provides a number of things that the students wanted and that we wanted to do."
Northwestern's agreement, for instance, permits peaceful demonstrations — though no tents — through the end of classes on June.
