Organizers of pro-Palestinian protests said they would continue at the University of Minnesota Wednesday evening, despite Interim U President Jeff Ettinger’s attempts to broker a deal with the group earlier in the day.
Shortly before 5 p.m. a coalition of student groups who have been organizing protests on the Twin Cities campus posted on social media asking “all friendly forces” to join them on the U’s Northrop Mall, where an encampment was entering its third day.
This is the second straight week of protests on the campus and others nationwide, and the second encampment at the U. University police arrested nine people last week after it said their tents violated a U policy prohibiting encampments, but protesters set up again earlier this week.
In an email after the meeting, Ettinger and four other U administrators thanked protest leaders for “the productive and respectful conversation today.” They said U regents had agreed to give protesters a chance to address the board during its meeting next week.
“As discussed in the meeting, we have a shared understanding that the encampment will be disassembled and removed by 5 p.m. today, and that there will be no organized disruptions at final exams and commencements,” the U administrators said. “We appreciate your willingness to engage with us and reflect the perspectives of your organizations, but also seek opportunities to move forward.”
They wrote that they committed to having another meeting in late May or early June.
But in a social media post Wednesday afternoon, protest organizers wrote that they “have no intention of clearing our encampment by 5 pm today, let alone any time soon.”
By 6 p.m., the encampment had grown to about 30 tents, and there were no signs of a police presence. People gathered at the protest site were kicking soccer balls, sitting on tarps or grabbing plates of pasta from a designated food area.
