Students demand negotiations, unite in pro-Palestinian ‘blockades’ – The Daily Barometer

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Vice President for University Relations and Marketing Rob Odom.

At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, student protesters chained themselves in front of the Kerr Administration Building, demanding that Oregon State University administrators cooperate in attempted negotiations.

Student protesters could be heard chanting: “reveal, get rid of, we will not stop, we will not rest.”

The protest was organized by Students United for Equal Palestinian Rights, who organized an encampment at the Memorial Union plaza, which has now been moved to the Valley Library plaza.

“We will not leave until we have a solid starting point for negotiations. If necessary, we will be here all night,” said SUPER’s press liaison, who declined to give his name for security reasons.

In a post on Instagram, SUPER said it believed the protest, which it called a “lockdown”, was necessary to let administrators know they were still fighting for their demands.

“Just because the school year is coming to an end doesn’t mean they can push US AND OUR EXPECTATIONS aside. Escalating to this level requires courage and decisiveness. We are extremely grateful to our demonstrators for their courage and dedication in mobilizing administrators to END THEIR PARTICIPATION IN GENOCIDE.” The post said.

In an email response to the demonstration, Rob Odom, vice president for university relations and marketing, said administrators “do not believe this is a meaningful invitation to productive conversation.”

“Through your conduct, including your continued and escalating violations of university policy, law and social norms – as well as your public statements that you will not terminate your activities until all of your demands are met – you have expressed no interest in working with us,” the response reads. .

The statement did not specify what policies and laws the university considers the protesters violated.

In response, Odom referenced a list of actions proposed by the university in response to the OSU Palestine Solidarity Coalition and called on protesters to “rejoin the university community in support of these actions.”

“Your public statements show that unilateral acceptance of your demands is enough; University decisions are made through shared governance, dialogue and consensus building,” the statement said. “You seem determined to maintain a course of action focused on ‘winning’ by escalating your course of action.”

An email released in response to the OSU Department of Public Safety protest states that anyone wanting to get to Kerr should go through the south entrance. Persons entering will be asked to provide identification and reason for entry.

Campus Editor Wes Flow contributed to this article.