Ignoring university officials, pro-Palestinian protesters set up roughly 40 tents over the weekend at the Auraria Campus in Denver, saying they are prepared to "defend" the encampment until their demands — notably divestment from companies that operate in Israel— are met.
Police officers arrested dozens of protesters on Friday, a day after hundreds occupied the Auraria Campus, which is shared by the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver. Authorities had also cleared several tents that went up near the Tivoli building.
On Sunday, the tents were back— and there are more of them.
"Our plan is to defend the encampment and keep our numbers up, and just keep going that way,"said Khalid Hamu, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society, whose Facebook page prominently says, "Free Palestine."
The protest — and the arrests on Friday — were the latest in what has been a wave of pro-Palestinian rallies on campuses across the United States in the last several days and increasing worries by Jewish students for their physical safety.
For now, university officials have no plans to send in the police again to dismantle the tents and arrest protesters, according to a campus spokesperson.
"This could change in the future. But for now, they are holding,"said Devra Ashby, a spokesperson for the Auraria Higher Education Center.
Ashby said campus officials and the Auraria Campus police are "actively observing and assessing the ongoing demonstration and encampment on the Tivoli Quad."
"The Auraria Campus has always respected the freedom of speech in our community and will continue to do so. We also need to put safety first for everyone involved and will work to maintain the health and safety on our campus," Ashby added.
The university officials' decision to arrest the protesters on Friday but allow the encampment to continue over the weekend followed similar scenes across several college campuses in the country. At Columbia University in New York, the police also tried to dismantle the encampment several days ago and arrested some 100 people. On Friday, the protesters at Columbia said they had reached an impasse with administrators and they intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met.
In Denver, dozens of protesters sat outside the Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus on Sunday. They also set up a bigger tent for a "food drive."
“I don't know ... why they haven't come in today or yesterday,"Hamu, the student organizer, told The Denver Gazette, referring to the police. "But our current plan is to just keep defending the encampment as long as we can. And if there is ever a scenario where we are unable to do that, we will be responding accordingly.”
In addition to divestment, the protesters also demanded that the University of Colorado end its study abroad programs to Israel and refuse grants or funding from corporations that contract with the U.S. military. They also want the university to "write and publish a statement condemning the genocidal actions of Israel."
In a statement defending its actions on Friday, the Auraria Higher Education Center noted a campus policy that prohibits camping on the premises. Campus authorities also suggested that “national disruptors” had infiltrated the protest.
“We fully support the right of students to assemble peacefully,” Auraria Campus officials said in a statement. “Still, it's essential to note that Auraria Campus policy prohibits camping on the premises because of health, safety, and security considerations.”
An Auraria Higher Education Center reminder online also warned students that assemblies are prohibited in campus buildings.
“Persons refusing to vacate premises upon request are subject to immediate suspension of activities and arrest under applicable municipal and state laws,” the Auraria Campus Police Department statement said.
Scott Levin, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region, earlier said the Auraria Campus has been a hub for political activism against Israel for years.
“I think the encampments are likely to get worse before this gets better,” Levin said.
The pro-Palestinian rallies unfolding on colleges campuses across the U.S., Levin said, are “frightening to Jews.”
A recent survey of college students by the Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International found — prior to Oct. 7 — that some 67% of Jewish students felt physically safe on campus. After Oct. 7, that dropped to 46%.
Jews hear a clear demand for Israel’s annihilation in the chant: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The river is the Jordan and the sea is the Mediterranean, between which lie Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Activists, however, say it’s a call for peace and equality after 75 years of an Israeli statehood and military rule over millions of Palestinians. Students at the rally had confirmed they're protesting in solidarity with protesters on campuses across the nation.
In an open letter to university presidents on Friday, the ACLU warned that schools should not single out students with a particular viewpoint nor censor, discipline or disproportionately punish them.
Police — the ACLU argued — should only be employed as a last resort.
“Inviting armed police into a campus protest environment, even a volatile one, can create unacceptable risks for all students and staff,” the ACLU said.
“University officials must also be cognizant of the history of law enforcement using inappropriate and excessive force on communities of color, including Black, Brown, and immigrant students. Moreover, arresting peaceful protestors is also likely to escalate, not calm, the tensions on campus — as events of the past week have made abundantly clear.”
On Friday, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston went to the Auraria Campus in an attempt to persuade the protesters to voluntarily dismantle their tents.
"We are here to try to make sure we can help you all exercise your right to protest peacefully," he said. To do that, the mayor said, the campus must be able to continue to operate.
Johnston was interrupted several times.
Denver’s Democratic mayor tells illegal Palestinian tent city occupiers that they have 30 minutes to tear down their illegal tents or they will be arrestedProtesters call him a “fascist”Amazing pic.twitter.com/sazVFTPm8Y
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) April 27, 2024
"Do you support genocide?" the protesters asked the mayor.
"I'm going to talk for 60 seconds and I'll walk. If you want to listen, you can. If not, that's your choice," Johnston replied.
Johnston told the protesters that erecting the tents violates campus policy, and that if they took them down within the next 30 minutes, they could continue to protest, adding, "We have no desire to make arrests."
"It's more of the same. Our demands are not being met," one protester told Johnston, who replied, "I have no capacity to meet any of your demands."
As Johnston walked away, one of the protesters yelled, "You (expletive) fascist."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
