CLEVELAND — For a fourth day, students and others held their ground at the oval outside of Kelvin Smith Library at Case Western Reserve University. Thursday evening, in a letter to the campus community, the CWRU president said the protest is “no longer approved.”
Rumors swirled Thursday morning about law enforcement shutting down the encampment, tents and signs, and the number of protesters has been steadily increasing throughout the week.
In a statement from a CWRU spokesperson to News 5, the university said, “The university has not enlisted any external law enforcement to assist in removing the encampment at KSL Oval.”
How did it start?
Student organizers set up camp on KSL Oval Monday morning. A short time after the demonstrators erected tents, campus police attempted to disband the gathering and detained about 20 individuals. They were released after identifying themselves to officers.
The University later agreed to allow the protests to continue, under the condition that non-students leave the premises overnight and tents be removed by 7:30 a.m. the following day. Those rules have since been relaxed by administrators.
The CWRU group is among numerous pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses throughout the country in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Many are calling on their institutions to stop doing business with any entity that may benefit Israel.
Tensions have risen at many of the protest events, and some have culminated with law enforcement using force to clear encampments. President Joe Biden addressed both the protests and violence Tuesday morning.
What are their demands?
CWRU protesters have drafted the following list of demands, displayed throughout the encampment:
- Amnesty for all students and faculty disciplined for advocating for Palestinian liberation
- Disclose CWRU's investments
- Divest all of CWRU's finances from the companies that profit from Israel, including implementing Resolution 31-15.
- Retract remarks made against Resolution 31-15, statements in support of the Israeli government and accusations of anti-semitism towards the student body.
- Call for a permanent ceasefire and end of the occupation of Palestine.
- Cut ties with all contracted agreements and projects involving Israeli academic institutions, including but not limited to study-abroad partnerships with Israeli universities.
Student organizers told News 5 they wanted to negotiate their demands directly with university president Eric Kaler.
“All I’d like to see is a concerted effort, progress, a positive stride forward,” said student leader Jad Kamhawi Oglesby. “If you look at later today demands 4 and 5 - all that can be fixed with an email.”
What does the university say?
In a letter to students Tuesday, CWRU president Eric Kaler said the following:
To the University Community,
I write today with an update on the protest at the Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) Oval and adjustments we are making to campus operations.
At Case Western Reserve, we support the free exchange of ideas and viewpoints in accordance with university policies. We also believe that constructive dialogue –and the meaningful action that can result from it– should never involve harassment, incitement, or behavior that threatens and is intimidating to our community.
On Monday morning, a group of individuals began protesting on KSL Oval. At the time, we made the university community – including the protesters – aware of specific guidelines for their action on private property, which included limitations on time (8 a.m.-8 p.m.), place (defined space in front of Kelvin Smith Library) and manner (ensuring their actions do not interfere with university operations, including setting up encampments on campus property and the use of disruptive sound).
Recognizing our students’ right to protest and as a gesture of trust with the protest’s student leaders, on Monday evening, we made an exception to these rules. As we attempted to gather more information and assess safety concerns in a quickly evolving situation, we allowed protesters who were current students, faculty and staff (verified by showing CWRU IDs and obtaining a wristband) to remain at the site overnight and to set up tents for the evening. Any individual without a CWRU ID was asked to leave campus at 8 p.m. but was permitted to return Tuesday morning, at which point tents needed to be removed. This decision was thought reasonable when we knew that the overnight protesters were current students, faculty and staff. Protesters continued to receive protection from Case Western Reserve University police.
It was our expectation that such guidelines would again be followed Tuesday and beyond. However, Tuesday evening, the protesters broke the temporary revised guidelines described above, and they have allowed third parties not currently affiliated with CWRU to remain. Some protesters have disrupted university operations and access to university spaces such that some students, faculty and staff feel threatened.
As a result, the protest on the KSL Oval is no longer approved. The protesters’ continued presence and occupation is considered trespassing and is a violation of university policies. Students, faculty or staff who break such policies will be held accountable through the respective conduct process. These actions may also result in prosecution of protesters for criminal trespass and other crimes, whether or not they are affiliated with CWRU. In addition, protesters will be accountable for any anti-Semitic or other intimidating or harassing speech. The university will not engage with protesters about their demands until the protesters leave the KSL Oval and the CWRU community members have completed the conduct process.
As always, the safety of our campus community is our highest priority. As we continue to assess the protest, we are making the following adjustments to campus operations:Faculty, staff and students seeking to avoid the KSL Oval are encouraged to take alternate routes through campus.
- Beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, all campus buildings will require a CWRU ID to enter.
- Two buildings in the direct vicinity of the protest site – Tinkham Veale University and Thwing Center – will be closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily beginning Friday, May 3.
- To accommodate the closure of these buildings, additional quiet study space will be available:
- Leutner Commons’ Division of Student Affairs room and Lower-Level Fireside Lounge will be open 24/7, beginning Friday.
- In Fribley Commons, Elephant Step Inn’s late-night seating area and second-floor lounges will have 24/7 access beginning Friday.
- The Biomedical Research Building cafeteria will remain open until midnight.
- Shuttles will be available throughout the week, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., to transport to and from Samson Pavilion. As always, Safe Ride is available until 3 a.m. each night.
We continue to support the rights of our students, faculty and staff to protest and express their ideas when they are in accord with university policy, and we have applied these interim measures to enhance the safety of our campus community.
Sincerely,
Eric W. Kaler
President
Case Western Reserve University
The university issued the following statement to News 5 Thursday evening:
At Case Western Reserve, we support the free exchange of ideas and viewpoints in accordance with university policies. However, after organizers of the protest on university private property broke the temporary guidelines originally agreed upon, including permitting third parties not currently affiliated with CWRU to remain on campus outside of predetermined hours, this protest is no longer approved.
The protesters’ continued presence and occupation is considered trespassing and is a violation of university policies. Students, faculty or staff who break such policies will be held accountable through the respective conduct process. These actions may also result in prosecution of protestors for criminal trespass and other crimes, whether or not they are affiliated with CWRU.
As always, the safety of our campus community is our highest priority. As we continue to assess the protest, we are making adjustments to campus operations, including requiring a CWRU ID to enter any campus building.
We continue to support the rights of our students, faculty and staff to protest and express their ideas when they are in accord with university policy. But constructive dialogue—and the meaningful action that can result from it—should never involve harassment, incitement, or behavior that threatens and is intimidating to our community.
How long will they be there?
The demonstrators have pledged to remain in their encampment until their demands are met or they can have assurances from the president himself.
“We’re not only not going to leave, but students here on campus are going to feel disgruntled and aren’t going to necessarily feel supported at Case. I really, really plead with the president of our university, Eric Kaler, to please come out and see what’s going on here, make an appearance,” said Kamhawi Oglesby.
