2 Universities Have Now Reached Deals With Pro-Palestine Protesters To End Encampments

Northwestern University in Illinois and Brown University in Rhode Island both reached a deal with pro-Palestine protesters this week to end their occupation of campus grounds.

College and universities across the U.S. have been flooded with student demonstrations in the past several weeks against Israel’s attacks on Gaza, in some cases pressing their schools to divest from companies linked to Israel. Many of the demonstrators, including those at Columbia University, have set up encampments on campus that have been met with police force, arrests and school suspensions.

On Monday, Northwestern officials appeared to be the first to reach a deal with antiwar demonstrators, following five days of protests and encampments on Deering Meadow, the Daily Northwestern reported.

As part of a bargain made by NU and the Northwestern Divestment Coalition, a group helping to organize the protests and encampment, the university agreed to permit protests and pro-Palestine gatherings through the final day of spring classes on June 1. The school has also agreed to disclose its investments in businesses with Israeli ties.

In exchange, the NDC has agreed to leave just one aid tent on the lawn. University officials also stressed that students shouldn’t be punished for demonstrating by non-campus actors like employers.

″[The university] will advise employers not to rescind job offers for students engaging in speech protected by the First Amendment,” a university statement obtained by the Daily Northwestern said.

In a statement, the Northwestern Divestment Coalition celebrated the victory.

“For the first time, a university administration has committed to full disclosure of its holdings and investments in specific companies, including those