CLEVELAND, Ohio — It is another day of protests on college campuses across the nation as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. Those campuses include Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland where demonstrators are on day 2 of their encampment.
Monday Case Western administration allowed students and faculty to spend the night in the encampment, but by 7:30 a.m. they were required to remove their tents and at 8 a.m. visitors could come in.
After spending the night and protesting for two days, the demonstrators have gotten comfortable. The encampment now has spaces for food, art, first aid and more.
They and the university thus far have come to an agreement that as long as they abide by the rules they can stay.
“Right now, time, place and manner are being adhered to as long as this continues and in a manner that is congruent with what we feel is appropriate to protest, it can continue,” said Peter Whiting Case Western Reserves Interim Vice President for student affairs.
The protestors still want to see some type of progress from Case Western on their list of 6 demands which the following includes disclosing which companies the university invests in and divesting from those organizations that have ties to the Israeli government and military.
“We know for a fact that they have investments in companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. These are all corporations that are directly involved in proliferating weapons,” said Jad Oglesby the Vice President for Students for Justice in Palestine.
Because Case Western is a private university, its investments are not public and we could not verify those claims.
When News 5 asked the school if they knew what companies they invested in and if they have connections to Israel. A spokesperson responded, stating, “We won’t have anything for you on this one.”
Divestment is what students are chanting across the nation, but how would a university do that?
“The idea isn't simple and not taking away from those kinds of desires or intentions. Certainly, when I say that, but very often that process is very complex,” said Joshua Dobi with North Main Financial.
Joshua Dobi with North Main Financial told Scripps News the task is not easy and comes with complications like financial gifts.
“So often those kinds of gifts will come with some level of expectation that perhaps in this example, that that stock would be maintained by the university that they would continue to hold on to it and not sell it and divesting,” said Dobi.
That is just one aspect, many universities also have endowments, which are donated funds invested in bonds, stocks and other things.
“Then you get into say endowments for particular or professorships or other employees that are in endowed positions, which especially at some of our larger universities,” said Dobi.
The students say they know it can’t happen overnight, but they want transparency and for the administration to at least attempt to meet their requests.
“Just taking steps forward to understand students, I think is a great first step forward and in developing a better campus environment for everyone,” said Oglesby.
Case Western says the students are allowed to spend the night again Tuesday if they adhere to the same regulations as the night before.
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