The Daily Northwestern - April 29, 2024

“WE WILL NOT MOVE”

Five days in, pro-Palestinian demonstrators remain staunch in demands for

divestment from Israel as encampment continues on Deering Meadow

By THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN STAFF the daily northwestern

@theDailyNU

For five days, Deering Meadow has been a site of chants, songs, traditional dances, art, prayers, shared food and drinks, and speakers as students call for Northwestern to divest

the demands outlined in a People’s Resolution circulated on April 22. The resolution, authored by NU’s chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine and Educators for Justice in Palestine, has more than 2,700 signatures as of Monday morning.

Since organizers first set up the encampment Thursday morning, professors, community members, families and Chicago-area residents have visited the site to show their

University — have set up similar encampments and faced violent encounters with police.

The nationwide encampments come as Israel’s military action in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials. Israel’s ground and air offensive follows the militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel which killed about 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli officials.

» See ENCAMPMENT, page 2

Negotiations between the organizers and administration began Thursday. By Friday evening, an organizer came back to the encampment saying “(negotiations) went amazingly.”

“We’re getting our freaking demands met,” another organizer announced.

Negotiations continued throughout the rest wof the weekend, although it remains unclear how close parties may be to a potential agreement or what proposals remain on the table.

“We remain in active discussions with the demonstrators to ensure the safety of members of the Northwestern community while also providing a space for free expression,” University spokesperson Jon Yates told The Daily Friday afternoon. As of Sunday evening, no finalized agreements had been reached, according to Yates.

Since its first day, the encampment has grown from a cluster of tents into a self-sustaining complex that includes medical, art and technology tents, as well as food and supply storage. Saturday afternoon, organizers began marking borders and makeshift roads within the encampment using spray paint to designate pathways for transport. The encampment is now consolidated in the southwest corner of the Meadow after reaching its largest physical presence Friday evening.

A GoFundMe organized by NU Aid dedicated to supporting the NU Divestment Coalition has raised $12,053 as of Monday morning. Organizers are no longer accepting donations, according to the website, but community members continue to provide meals to demonstrators.

Demonstrators have largely complied with requests from administration to observe Evanston’s noise ordinance — which prohibits “yelling and shouting” from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. — and to avoid pitching new tents.

Organizers have been communicating some requests from administrators to the entire encampment, emphasizing the importance of not compromising progress made in negotiations.

Despite a Thursday morning standoff with University Police, the demonstration has endured, with more than 80 tents pitched as of Monday evening.

Shortly after demonstrators set up the encampment, police arrived on the scene and threatened to issue criminal citations if demonstrators did not take down their tents. Officers charged toward protesters and pushed and

grabbed faculty members, who linked arms and stood between them and the protesting students.

Demonstrators designated risk levels based on their personal vulnerability, with those willing to take on the highest level of risk — “red” protesters — preparing to be the first ones arrested in the event of police escalation. “Green” demonstrators, on the other end of the spectrum, included international students and others who felt they could not risk arrest or suspension.

At 9:21 a.m. Thursday, University President Michael Schill sent a campus-wide email announcing an interim addendum to the University’s demonstration policy, effective immediately. The updated policy banned students from putting up unauthorized tents on University property and enacted new regulations on noise and chalking.

“The goal of this addendum is to balance the right to peacefully demonstrate with our goal to protect our community, to avoid disruptions to instruction and to ensure University operations can continue unabated,” Schill wrote in the email.

Notably, Schill’s email also claimed that tents had been taken down — despite the fact that several remained standing at the time of the message — and that citations had been issued. As of Sunday evening, no citations have been issued.

The protesters remained arms-locked around the encampment and chanted throughout the morning, as University Police officers pulled back. The number of protesters grew to about 200 by noon. The last NUPD vehicle left Deering Meadow shortly after noon, eliciting cheers from the demonstrators.

Eden Melles, a third-year political science Ph.D. student and spokesperson for the NU Divestment Coalition, criticized NUPD’s lack of consistency and communication about future steps officers may take.

“It’s really difficult for us to even know how to comply respectfully and legally,” Melles said.

The first night at the encampment began with a scheduled rally, which at its peak saw more than 1,000 demonstrators. Shortly after 9 p.m., an organizer told demonstrators that police were expected to arrive within two hours.

The organizers asked non-students to form a barrier around the students. The demonstrators continued to chant until around 10 p.m. when organizers said they didn’t believe the police would arrive at the meadow that night.

But at around 10:40 p.m., the University said in a school-wide email that it had negotiated with the demonstrators and offered to allow

them to continue protesting after “removing tents and ceasing the use of bullhorns and speakers.” The demonstrators declined the offer, the statement said.

“The University will move forward with other options to protect the safety of the community and the continued operations of the Evanston campus,” the email said.

The second day came with rain, strong winds and increased counterprotester presence. Demonstrators awoke around 5 a.m. expecting University Police to return to the lawn and make arrests or issue citations, but the anticipated 6 a.m. deadline passed without police presence.

Friday evening programming included a Shabbat service led by members of JVP NU, a performance by members of the dance and rhythm group Boomshaka and an open mic hosted by poetry collective Eye to Eye.

At the open mic, Nicole Lombardi — a demonstrator from Oak Park — read a letter expressing support for the encampment on behalf of Black alumni who participated in the 1968 Bursar’s Office Takeover.

One demonstrator read “If I Must Die,” a poem by Palestinian writer Refaat Alareer, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip in December 2023, while Chicago-based performer and civil rights organizer Djana Youssef read three poems and shared their parents’ experience under Israeli occupation in Lebanon.

Since the encampment began, several speakers have visited, rallying and praying for Palestine, including a nurse who volunteered in Gaza, Imam Omar Suleiman, Palestinian-American activist Rami Nashashibi, and Profs. Wendy Pearlman and Steven Thrasher.

Several student groups also moved previously scheduled events to accommodate the encampment. The Muslim-cultural Students Association moved its spring speaker event with Imam Adeyinka Mendes from 555 Clark St. to Deering Meadow Thursday evening, and the Middle Eastern North African Student Association moved its annual Arab Expressions programming to the encampment Saturday night.

Additionally, some professors canceled classes in response to the encampment or moved their classes to the site on Deering Meadow.

Counterprotesters, most of whom have not been students, have periodically shown up at Deering Meadow with Israeli and American flags.

On Sunday morning, University Police set up bike racks on the northeast corner of Deering Meadow to act as barricades for a pre-planned

pro-Israel counter-demonstration. About a dozen pro-Israel counterprotesters, none of whom appeared to be students, gathered at the north end of the Deering plaza to chant “bring them home,” in reference to the more than 100 Israeli hostages currently being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Despite being asked by University Police officers to stay off Deering Meadow for safety, the group of counterprotesters moved to the grass after growing to a crowd of about 150 people. Encampment demonstrators formed a human chain, linking arms to prevent counterprotesters from moving into the tent area.

Several police officers arrived at the scene — including NUPD Chief of Police Bruce Lewis — to stand in between divestment demonstrators and pro-Israel counterprotesters. Along with encampment protest marshals, the officers attempted to keep counterprotesters and divestment demonstrators separate. Lewis declined to comment on the intervention.

A little more than an hour after they arrived, pro-Israel counterprotesters began to back out of Deering Meadow at the request of University Police officers.

The same day, Jewish Voice for Peace NU released a statement condemning the counterprotest.

Weinberg junior Paz Baum, JVP NU’s treasurer, said while she disagreed with the counterdemonstration’s message, she respected their right to make their voices heard.

“I respect everyone’s right to protest and express their opinion as a Jewish student,” Baum told The Daily. “I feel perfectly safe in this encampment. Jewish students are some of the core organizers here, and I have felt nothing but love and respect for my religion and my culture.”

Sunday evening, demonstrators heard from U.S. Palestinian Community Network member Nick Sous, Northwestern Community Ensemble, and Tammy Abughnaim and Chandra Hassan, two doctors who spent time treating victims in Gaza.

Demonstrators retreated into their tents around 1 a.m. as it began to rain.

With the protest entering its fifth day and bargaining ongoing, demonstrators remain hopeful.

“Hope is probably the most invaluable thing you can give a human,” one organizer said. “It’s something that can’t be materially treated. It’s something that’s inspired, and once it is inspired, it cannot be shut down. And so the hope is generating this community and it is keeping it alive.”

Jewish students express mixed reactions to encampment

By SAMANTHA POWERS and PAVAN ACHARYA daily senior staffers @sqpowers04 / @pavanmacharya

As the pro-Palestine encampment on Deering Meadow enters its fifth day, the protest has spurred mixed responses from Northwestern’s more than 2,000 Jewish undergraduate and graduate students.

Some students have critiqued the demonstration and called certain conduct taking place within it antisemitic and anti-Israel. But other Jewish community members have expressed support for the protest.

NU’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace has co-led the encampment with NU Students for Justice in Palestine and the University’s chapter of Educators for Justice in Palestine.

Jewish students supportive of the encampment have been highly critical of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. More than 34,000 people in Gaza have been killed during the military campaign, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel’s ground and air offensive follows the militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli officials.

To Weinberg junior Paz Baum, JVP NU’s treasurer, Judaism is about resistance to oppression. She led a seder at the encampment with two other JVP members on Thursday evening for Jewish students observing Passover.

“Passover is a story of a group of enslaved Jewish people in Egypt rising up against their oppressors,” Baum said. “That to me is exactly what we’re doing here at Northwestern. We’re supporting the Palestinian people, an oppressed population, to liberate themselves against what I see as an oppressive government.”

Medill senior and JVP member Maddie Southwell said the encampment has also helped her strengthen her ties to her Jewish faith.

“This is a space where I think everyone — whether they’re Jewish, Muslim, atheist or Christian — has made me feel incredibly welcome and safe sharing my religious beliefs and practicing my faith,” Southwell said.

Growing up, Southwell said she attended a conservative Hebrew temple in her hometown in New York.

Given her conservative religious background, Southwell said she understands how difficult it can be to confront long-standing beliefs about Israel’s connection to Judaism.

However, some Jewish students have expressed concerns with some rhetoric coming out of the demonstration.

“There’s a lot of antisemitism out there, and the scary part about now is it feels like more people are supporting it than ever,” said Medill sophomore Leo Necheles. “As a Jewish person, it just feels very isolating.”

Necheles also said he felt that some of the Jewish ceremonies at the encampment have seemed performative. He said he observed one of the two Passover Seders held at the encampment but found it “inauthentic,” noting that it occurred on the fourth night of Passover when seders typically happen on the first two nights.

Weinberg junior and NU Hillel President Sari Eisen said she believes protesters have crossed a line into being “threatening” to Jewish students.

She said she has heard of at least two instances in which Jewish students were physically or emotionally harmed by demonstrators. One example Eisen gave was a Jewish student journalist’s camera being swatted down by a demonstrator in the encampment.

She also referred to the demonstrators’ calls on the University to divest from Israel as “problematic.” Divestment was one of three demands laid out in the Northwestern People’s Resolution circulated by JVP, EJP and SJP last week, which is now guiding negotiations between encampment organizers and University administrators.

At Wednesday’s Associated Student Government Senate meeting, NU Hillel’s senator was one of two senators to vote against a resolution to sign onto the resolution.

“You’re asking Jewish students to cut their ties to (Israel),” Eisen said. “That feels really targeted and makes for an unsafe environment.”

Eisen said that, while she believes some chants by demonstrators cross a line, others do not. She supports chants like “Free Palestine” that call for a liberated Palestinian state. Medill sophomore and former Daily staffer Madeleine Stern, president of Wildcats for Israel, said she thinks students on all sides of the conflict should foster dialogue to find common ground.

“I mourn for every life that’s lost. I really want the hostages to come home, and I really want the war to end,” Stern said. “I think that’s how a lot of people are feeling.”

While she supports the protection of

students’ civil liberties, Stern said some aspects of the protest are upsetting to her and that demonstrators’ calls for divestment and disaffiliation from Israel are “incredibly hurtful” to many in NU’s Jewish community.

After the encampment began Thursday morning, about 50 members of Hillel and NU Chabad came together on Friday to sing Hebrew songs of peace.

Many Jewish students have called out some posters and signage located in and around the encampment as antisemitic.

This past weekend, some Jewish students shared an Instagram post from the account Jewish on Campus that condemned a sign found near the encampment depicting a Star of David with a red line crossing through it. Another sign depicted University President Michael Schill with devil horns, a historically antisemitic trope that harkens back to medieval-era “blood libel” accusations against Jewish people. Northwestern Facilities also painted over a spray-painted message reading “Death 2 Israel,” which was displayed on the Jacobs Center just north of the encampment Saturday night. Encampment organizers have said the message was not affiliated with anyone from the protest.

Baum said these displays are not representative of the beliefs of those in the encampment. JVP is working to educate demonstrators about the current and past history of antisemitic tropes, she added.

“We condemn all forms of hate speech,” Baum said. “We are holding our internal community accountable for instances of antisemitism.”

Second-year political science Ph.D. student Molly Schiffer has attended the encampment intermittently since Thursday. When counterprotesters on Sunday held up signs with the faces of hostages held by Hamas, she said she felt some understanding for the counterprotesters and their demands.

Schiffer said supporting the return of hostages and an end to the war and violence in Gaza is “critical” to why she chose to stay at the encampment. She said the multicultural, multireligious nature of the demonstration has enriched her experience as a Jewish student.

“I’ve felt more community as a Jewish student at this encampment than I have in other Jewish designated spaces on campus,” she said.

Jacob Wendler contributed reporting.

samanthapowers2026@u.northwestern.edu pavanacharya2025@u.northwestern.edu

Nicole Markus/The Daily Northwestern

About 50 members of NU Hillel and Chabad came together on Friday to sing Hebrew songs of peace.

Palestinian-American activist shares message of unity

By JACOB WENDLER daily senior staffer @jacob_wendler

Palestinian-American activist Rami Nashashibi shared a message of unity with a sizable crowd on Deering Meadow Saturday evening as demonstrators prepared to spend their third night in the “Northwestern Liberation Zone.”

Nashashibi, the founder of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, has advocated for South Side residents in his advocacy work for decades.

Saturday night, he urged demonstrators to practice love in their activism for Palestinians.

“I ask and I plead with each of you to be attentive to — as they say in the hip hop generation — ‘keep your third eye open,’” Nashashibi said. “Because if there’s any one of you that hears anyone articulate anything inconsistent with the larger message of love and liberation,

shut that s—t down.”

Mensur, 70, said he appreciated Nashashibi’s “universal message to all people around the world.

“He spoke about a very democratic, liberal world,” said Mensur, whose daughter recently graduated from Northwestern. “It’s the speech we have to hear to unite the people, not divide them.”

Nashashibi emphasized themes of JewishPalestinian solidarity during his speech, noting the poignance of Passover, which ends Tuesday night.

Members of Jewish Voice for Peace hosted a Passover Seder on Deering Meadow Thursday evening.

“During this time of Passover that our brave Jewish brothers and sisters have come and have celebrated Passover Seders among us, we have been reminded of what the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reminded us when he went into Medina and he found the Jewish community of Passover.”

According to Nashashibi, Muhammad insisted on fasting with the Jews of Medina “because we are all brothers and sisters — not just our Jewish brothers and sisters right now during Passover.”

After his speech, Nashashibi and three peers led the crowd in freestyle song with themes of Palestinian liberation, backed by drumming.

“We are all thousands, we are millions, we are all Palestinians,” demonstrators sang along with pride.

Joey, a student at NU who said he slept on the Meadow Thursday and Friday night, said he fowund the performance “beautiful.” The “harmony of all members of the community” resonated with him, he said.

“I thought it was powerful, especially to hear from a Palestinian,” said Reza, a sophomore at Lake Forest High School who had been at the encampment for about nine hours. “It was a good way to bring everyone together — an impromptu concert in a universal language — and it felt like it really brought the community

together.”

Nashashibi — whose mother was present at Deering Meadow Saturday night — said anyone who has visited the West Bank or Gaza will know “that the Palestinians are the most hospitable people,” relaying stories from his grandfather about how Palestinians took in Jewish Polish refugees during the Holocaust. He said he would be back next Sunday with reconstructionist Rabbi Brant Rosen — the founder of anti-Zionist synagogue Tzedek Chicago and former rabbi at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston — who is currently on the border of Israel and Gaza.

“Right now, that rabbi — during Passover — is on the border with other Jewish Americans and Jewish citizens from inside Israel and across the world challenging the Israeli government, trying to break the blockade from the inside, and they are putting their lives on the line,” he said.

Jacob Wendler/The Daily Northwestern Around 50 organizers began pitching tents and setting up the encampment at 7 a.m. Thursday.

Sonya Dymova/The Daily Northwestern

Less than an hour after organizers set up the encampment, University police were on scene. They threatened arrests and citations if tents did not come down and forcibly removed some. However, no arrests or citations were made. At around the same time, University President Michael Schill enacted an interim addendum to NU’s demonstration policy that placed additional limits on student demonstrations.

Casey He/The Daily Northwestern The encampment reached its peak attendance Thursday night, with over 1,000 demonstrators in attendance. Organizers said they expected police to arrive imminently and make arrests, but they never did.

Sonya Dymova/The Daily Northwestern

William Tong/The Daily Northwestern

William Tong/The Daily Northwestern

Arab Expressions showcases MENA culture, music

By SAMANTA HABASHY daily senior staffer @habashysam

The Middle Eastern North African Student Association held its annual Arab Expressions programming Saturday night in the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment on Deering Meadow.

In its third year, Arab Expressions is a dynamic cultural showcase that aims to bring together students from different MENA backgrounds through authentic Arab cuisine and a variety of live performances, like poetry reading and singing.

“Arab Expressions is an annual event that the MENA student organization puts on that gives an opportunity for students to showcase a part of their culture that you might not be able to see through classes or through events,” one student who helped organize the event said.

MENA originally planned to host Arab Expressions in Scott Hall, but the MENA Board voted Friday to move the event to the encampment.

One organizer said that, by moving to the encampment, they “were able to bring the food that we were catering here and able to feed a lot more people.”

The pro-Palestine encampment started Thursday morning on Deering Meadow and has continued into its third day. Organizers from Northwestern Divestment Coalition estimated that over a thousand students, faculty members and community members came out to support the protest at its peak Thursday night.

The coalition’s demands — outlined in the NU People’s Resolution circulated Monday — are that the University protect civil liberties, disclose its investments and divest from Israeliaffiliated institutions.

“We all agree that art is the highest form of resistance, and this is a huge resistance movement that impacts every Arab on campus,” a student of MENA descent said about the location change. “We thought that it was only right to do it here in front of the people who can’t make it because they’re here protesting, and we wanted to show them essentially what they’re

fighting for.”

Event organizers announced that they hope NU will expand to more study abroad programs in the Middle East and North Africa, specifically at the American University in Cairo and in Palestine.

“Northwestern has study abroad programs in Israel, and they have denied a request for a program in Palestine,” one organizer said.

The event kicked off with a performer singing an Arabic song as observers moved toward the stage.

Hundreds from the surrounding protest were present at the performances, clapping and singing along.

“Arab Expressions is about celebrating MENA culture and history,” one student said. “But ingrained into that history — due to the oppression that we face from Western powers, due to the struggle that our people have been through — resistance is in our blood.”

The student said it was beautiful that the

event was held at the encampment as they were able to celebrate their culture with Arabs and non-Arabs from the area.

Another student who has been protesting described the protest as “peaceful,” unlike some encampments across other college campuses, and added that “the end goal is divestment and disclosure of transparency.”

Arab Expressions is a culmination of programming happening throughout Arab Heritage Month, celebrated in April. Previous events have included a henna workshop, Arab Movie Night and a calligraphy workshop.

Chicago resident Abdullah Bashiti is of Palestinian origin. He performed an open-mic reading of the poem “On this Land” by Mahmoud Darwish.

“When I heard about this event Northwestern is hosting, it’s something that I have to do,” Bashiti said. “This poem represents a North Star for every Palestinian growing up, and this is one of the holy testaments in Palestinian

literature — this is the mantle that we carry as Palestinians.”

He said that, while the poem is short, it’s very meaningful.

Throughout the evening, singers performed Egyptian songs, a violinist played a rendition of the Arabic song “Sparrow (Asfour),” and other poems were read aloud.

“It is a really emotional time, and (Arab Expressions) was empowering because seeing my culture on Deering Meadow is something that I’ve never imagined,” an organizer said.

Arab Expressions is meant to show that the MENA Student Association is a safe space not only for MENA students but for anyone who loves and respects MENA culture, a student said.

“We do believe that resistance and solidarity are a form of expression,” the organizer said. “Especially as the Arab nations, it’s about supporting what’s happening in Gaza right now.” samantahabashy2026@u.northwestern.edu

Samanta Habashy/The Daily Northwestern

A performer sings to the crowd during Arab Expressions.

Nicole Markus/The Daily Northwestern

Zareen, 4. Her parents are both NU alumni and live in Lake Forest.

Casey He/The Daily Northwestern

Nicole Markus/The Daily Northwestern

Casey He/The Daily Northwestern

Casey He/The Daily Northwestern

Interim addendum sparks free speech concerns

By AVANI KALRA daily senior staffer @avanidkalra

Shortly after students set up an encampment on Deering Meadow Thursday morning, Northwestern enacted an interim addendum to its demonstration policy.

In an email, University President Michael Schill told the NU community the addendum’s goal was to “balance the right to peacefully demonstrate with our goal to protect our community,” adding “temporary changes” to protest provisions.

Under the addendum, demonstrations at The Rock may not occur until after 3 p.m. Installation of tents, the lighting of University buildings, and attaching flyers and postings to trees, benches, campus buildings’ painted exteriors and campus sideways are all prohibited, among other provisions.

The interim changes come as debates about free speech heighten on college campuses across the country with students organizing demonstrations and encampments in support of Palestine and in opposition to universities’ financial ties to Israel.

Previous demonstrations at Northwestern hosted by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine included the lighting of Deering Library and writing on sidewalks and the steps of University buildings.

“In Evanston, we have seen peaceful protests that have interfered with classes in nearby buildings, as well as chalkings, flyers, banners and chants that many have found hateful, intimidating, offensive and difficult to avoid,” Schill wrote in an email announcing the change.

A professed commitment to free speech has been central to Schill’s tenure at NU. He announced an Advisory Committee on Free Expression and Institutional Speech in February and repeatedly reiterated his free-speech values in interviews with The Daily.

Schill addresses University of Oregon protesters

In 2017, Schill penned an editorial in The New York Times after a group of UO student protesters blocked him from delivering a stateof-the-university speech as president.

The group protested rising tuition and the perceived corporatization of public higher education, Schill said in the op-ed. While he wrote

and the right of faculty members to exercise free speech,” he wrote.

While Schill acknowledged students were deeply offended and affronted by the professor’s costume and its “strong connotations of racism,” he said he was “torn” on the issue. He once again reiterated his belief in freedom of speech as the core value of any university.

Schill said in the message he believed there are cases in which speech or conduct should be limited in cases of great harm.

”

While I have tossed and turned for nights over the fact that the university found that a professor’s expressive conduct constituted harassment, I think the reaction of those commentators is overly dramatic and not supported by anything that took place in this case.

- MICHAEL SCHILL

“Imagine a required class in which a professor repeatedly uses the ‘N’ word for no apparent reason except to elicit a reaction. Could African American students forced to sit through this class have a claim of harassment? I think so,” he wrote. “Similarly, imagine a class in which a professor makes repeated, sexually explicit remarks to a student or students for no educational purpose.”

But, Schill said, free speech should be “maximally protected.” This professor dressed in blackface in her own home, to which she invited students. She told investigators she didn’t intend to act in a racist manner, according to Schill’s letter.

“While I have tossed and turned for nights over the fact that the university found that a professor’s expressive conduct constituted harassment, I think the reaction of those commentators is overly dramatic and not supported by anything that took place in this case,” Schill wrote in his message.

appeared on the fence near Deering Meadow with the phrase written over 42 copies of the opinion piece.

Groups around campus engaged in fierce debate about the action, with some calling it an example of antisemitism and others arguing the phrase is a call for Palestinian liberation.

At the time, Schill said he did not want to make a judgment about whether “From the River to the Sea” is antisemitic. Instead, he chose to reiterate the importance of free speech.

“A university is built upon the idea that people should be free to express their views on both academic and political matters without fear of retribution,” Schill wrote in a Nov. 18, 2022, message to the community. “It is only through reasoned debate that we have a chance to develop understanding and pursue knowledge and truth.”

Later, when the militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Schill said he would not release a statement communicating a University position.

While he said he was sickened and repulsed by Hamas’ actions, Schill said he did not want to impose on faculty, students and staff who might have their own beliefs.

“We are a University which celebrates free expression, diversity of people and diversity of viewpoints,” he wrote. “This is essential to our role in society.”

Schill once again communicated his commitment to the “Chicago Principles,” a set of guiding principles for freedom of speech created at UChicago.

“This reticence to speak out publicly as President Michael Schill will sometimes please and often infuriate members of our community,” he said in the message. “But I believe it is the right approach.”

Schill reiterated his commitment to free speech while also encouraging respectful language in two additional emails sent out in October.

”

We are a University which celebrates free expression, diversity of people and diversity of viewpoints.

- MICHAEL SCHILL

freedom of expression and Northwestern’s values.

Still, some have raised concerns that Schill’s interim addendum — released hours after students began setting up an encampment on Deering Meadow — may stifle freedom of expression and demonstration on campus.

In a letter obtained by The Daily, the NU chapter of the American Association of University Professors’ executive committee called the provision a “dramatic escalation in repression of speech and the academic environment.”

“We condemn the egregious infractions of norms of academic freedom and shared governance that Northwestern’s administration has recently enacted,” the authors wrote.

The letter was signed by the chapter’s president, Spanish and Portuguese Prof. Jorge Coronado, its vice president, communication Prof. Kyle Henry, and its secretary, political science Prof. Jacqueline Stevens. It was sent to the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost and the Board of Trustees on Friday, according to NU-AAUP leadership.

The letter also calls on Schill to consult key

”

We condemn the egregious infractions of norms of academic freedom and shared governance that

Northwestern’s administration has recently enacted.

- NU-AAUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

stakeholders before making significant alterations to the University’s policies surrounding free speech. It alleges Schill did not consult the Advisory Committee on Free Expression and Institutional Speech, which he convened in February, or the full Faculty Senate before announcing the policy.

According to chemistry Prof. Regan Thomson, Faculty Senate president, Schill and University Provost Kathleen Hagerty consulted with the Senate’s executive committee — which includes the current and former president as well as the president-elect — and the chairs of standing committees on the addendum.

- UO STUDENT PROTESTERS ”

He said he does not believe in speech that constitutes harassment, he said freedom of speech is essential at a University.

If they want to talk, they could reach out and talk to us without requiring we plead guilty.

On Nov. 13, 2023, Schill sent another mes

Several members of the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate — which Schill announced in November — also said they were

NU’s investments a mystery despite calls for disclosure

By DAILY NORTHWESTERN STAFF the daily northwestern

For organizers of the ongoing encampment on Deering Meadow, a primary demand is for the University to disclose its investments and divest from companies that supply arms to Israel.

Northwestern’s endowment, which stood at $13.7 billion at the end of Fiscal Year 2023, makes it one of the wealthiest universities in the nation. Returns on invested endowment money account for a significant portion of the University’s operating budget.

Yet, like most other American higher education institutions, NU does not disclose what it’s invested in.

This has long been a point of concern for student activists. For decades, NU community members have demanded divestment as part of protests against a range of issues, such as South African apartheid and the fossil fuel industry’s contributions to climate change.

Now, students, faculty and community members are calling on the University to “divest from war and apartheid,” according to the NU People’s Resolution circulated by NU’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and Educators for Justice in Palestine. Organizers said Thursday that they will remain on Deering Meadow until the University

responds to the three main demands laid out in this statement, one of which is divestment from Israel-affiliated institutions.

With pressure for divestment mounting, here’s what we know about NU’s policy on investments.

Third parties manage investments under trustee guidance

Members of the University’s Investment Office, as well as members of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees, are in charge of determining what companies the University invests in. The members of this committee are not listed on the University’s website.

According to NU’s most recent financial report, the Investment Office analyzes current market conditions to determine which investments are most likely to be profitable for the University. Like other universities, NU uses its return on investments to supplement its revenue.

In 2023, $481 million in investment returns went into the University’s operating budget, comprising 15.8% of the budget.

NU also commits considerable financial resources toward sustaining its Investment Office. A 2023 NU Graduate Workers analysis estimated that NU spends $100 million annually on investment management.

And, as of 2022, three of the University’s ten

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the grid so each ROW, COLUMN and 3-by-3 BOX (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9.

highest-paid employees were from the Investment Office, according to the same NUGW report.

Over the past few years, the Investment Office has released two statements from the Board of Trustees. In 2019, a statement on “investment responsibility” detailed how the office balances “ethical, political and social concerns” with its financial goals.

According to this statement, “the Investment Office selects qualified third-party investment managers who then make, hold, and subsequently sell specific investments on behalf of the Endowment.”

A second statement, released June 2022, outlined policies on investing in fossil fuels, stating that the University would “divest as possible” from energy companies identified as having “poor practices” in fossil fuel emission reduction.

“Any constraints on investment activities have the potential to reduce long-term returns. As such, the Board remains committed to the principle of enacting only those policies which it believes are both urgently important and highly likely to result in real as opposed to symbolic change,” the June 2022 statement reads.

Board of Trustees maintains “impartiality” for investments

Several members of the Board of Trustees are either current or former employees of companies and organizations that have pledged aid or sold arms to Israel, including Blackstone, Boeing and General Dynamics.

Though none of these board members have outwardly stated their position on the current war in Gaza, the board’s past and present ties to Israel have sparked concern among some students that the University may be investing in defense contractors.

“The Northwestern administration chooses to hide its direct and managed investments, failing its own commitments to transparency and accountability,” community activists from NU SJP, JVP and EJP wrote in the NU People’s Resolution. “Students, faculty, staff, and other stewards of the university’s success ask that our tuition, labor, care, and trust not be misused to enrich institutions and companies that support and maintain apartheid, occupation, and the oppression of the Palestinian people.”

In its 2019 and 2022 statements on investment policy, the Board of Trustees maintained that it does not take political or ideological considerations into account when making investment decisions.

“The University, as an impartial institution, does not generally take positions on specific political or social issues,” the 2019 statement

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reads. “Similarly, the Trustees do not believe the Endowment should be used as a tool to further specific political or social positions or agendas. The Trustees believe the principal role of the Endowment is to provide the financial support the University requires to carry out its mission now and in the future.”

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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Jacob Wendler/The Daily Northwestern

It was the spring of 1970 — a history of protests at NU

It was the Spring of 1970; The War in Vietnam was in full force and U.S. troops were going into Cambodia. American college students went full bore into protest mode, and four students at Kent State (as well as students at Jackson State) were murdered by National Guard Troops.

NU went on strike, the iron fence around the campus was turned into a barricade and Sheridan Road was closed to traffic, in my memory, for something like a week. No police action, and the involvement of the National Guard was never necessitated.

I was there, often spoke, and eventually got arrested for an event that can be described as illegal and adventurous. I was prominent in Students for a Democratic Society, the radical student organization that helped build that protest. I was where I was supposed to be, doing what I was supposed to be doing.

Two years earlier, Black students had sat in at the Bursar’s Office demanding equal rights on campus and no police were called in. The

An Open Letter from 158 Faculty — We support peaceful protest

To Mr. Peter Barris, chair, and other lifetime members of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees, We, the undersigned tenured Northwestern

The Black 100 stand in solidarity with protesting students at encampment

Over 50 years ago, we members of the Black 100 engaged in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. While our action was non-violent, it was intentionally disruptive to the affairs of the University to force them to address the racism experienced by the Black students of Northwestern.

Let’s talk about antisemitism at the Deering Encampment

Dear Editor,

Despite attempts to normalize the rampant antisemitism spouted by the protestors on Deering Meadow, the reality is their entreaties ARE antisemitic. Let me explain why:

Chanting “intifada, intifada, love live the intifada” is antisemitic. As the only safe homeland for Jews in the world, this expression denies the Jewish people a right to a homeland that they have lived in for over 2,000 years. They are not colonizers. They are native. They are not solely white Europeans.

Almost half of Israelis are people of color evicted from countries like Iran, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Jews make up less than 1% of the world’s population. “Israel must go” is a statement that the Jewish homeland must go. That is an antisemitic statement, not a political one.

On the other hand, chanting Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu must go is NOT antisemitic. In fact, many American Jews agree with that, especially since Mr. Netanyahu’s attempt to undermine the Israeli Supreme Court.

Here is the difference between the two:

end of the sit-in was negotiated by the thenDean of Students and the Black Students. Both of these events figure prominently in the official history of NU and Eva Jefferson Paterson,who participated in the sit-in, was president of ASG in 1970 and is now a heralded alum.

A few years after that, during the height of the anti-apartheid movement, NU Students built a shanty town on Rebecca Crown Center and no one was arrested. The police were only called once it was moved to the driveway blocking access to the Crown garage.

Today, we have something that threatens this tradition. Students created a tent city on Deering Meadow, long the locus of protest. A public space — home of Dillo Day before it was called Dillo. Demonstrations, concerts, Naval ROTC marching drills, studying, dating and whatever else. A public space not directly near a classroom.

Today was different. The University introduced a new behavioral code after the fact, and they held the students responsible for obeying this previously unknown code. In the name of safety, the interim addendum specified that non-University approved events are limited to one tent, which can only be located at The

Rock for guarding purposes. (Yes, one — I guess they are not thinking of a 200 person wedding reception tent).

I watched while police removed some tents and even got close to a struggle with faculty who put themselves in the middle of officers and students. I saw no disruption on the part of the students, and while I did not agree with all the positions and slogans etc., I felt they were peacefully demonstrating their free speech and political activism rights — if not their obligations.

As thrilled as I was, and am, to see political commitment, I am depressed by the intimidation employed by these new sets of rules. I hope the administration takes a peak at the history of Coxey’s Army in 1894 to see a tent city at work.

Some will say many Jewish students feel threatened by those who advocate for a Palestinian victory. For complicated reasons, I would prefer all advocates of Palestinian statehood alter the slogans to grow the movement and make fewer people nervous that they have to choose between Palestine and Israel. I didn’t see that intention on the Meadow today or on campus. People of all races, religions, gender and gender preferences were in solidarity.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

faculty of different backgrounds and political viewpoints, come together to support students’ rights to protest peacefully. We believe NU faces a historic opportunity to be a national model for responding to student dissent in thoughtful and peaceful ways. We are proud of our students for demonstrating discipline, creativity and camaraderie as they act on their principles and work to make a better world. We are also proud of our university leadership for its commitment to listen rather than presume, discuss rather than

confront and act with patience rather than with haste.

This moment is a critical test of NU’s guiding principles of transforming society, championing diversity, encouraging debate, strengthening our community and caring about one another. We appreciate your willingness to approach this moment with proper restraint, even though you have complex cultural, personal and financial ties to this set of issues and challenges.

The past three days have witnessed an

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Today you demonstrate for the rights of all students, for academic freedom and for freedom of expression and we stand in solidarity with you.

Today you demonstrate to support the human rights of all people, whether Muslim, Jewish or Christian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. We stand in solidarity with you.

Today you demonstrate to bring attention to your University community and the world that the International Court of Justice has said Israel is plausibly committing events that could amount to genocide in Gaza while

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The former is antisemitic. The latter is political. By the way, there appears to be not one student protest saying Bibi must go. Some say Israel must go.

Chanting “from the river to the sea” is antisemitic, calling for the elimination of Jews and Israel from the Middle East. The elimination of Jews was stated in the Hamas original charter from the late 1980s.

In 2017, Hamas modified its charter to say it means the elimination of Israel. As I discussed above, this is also antisemitic. Instead of “we need a two-state solution,” which many American Jews support, they say “eliminate Israel” (and implicitly Jews).

Further exacerbating the problem: It seems that most of these protesters have no idea what they are saying and its meaning. They have no idea which river or which sea.

On the other hand, if the protestors said, “we need a two-state solution,” that is not antisemitic. And, as I state above, many Jews support that.

Finally, one more comment about “from the river to the sea.” I have a lot of experience in Diversity and Inclusion. Before I retired, I spent part of two years helping to implement D&I at one of the largest businesses in the world. A basic tenet of D&I is that it doesn’t matter what you intend when you say something. What matters is how others perceive it.

In other words, just like I can’t tell African Americans what racism is, non-Jews

However, sometimes the rhetoric is easily misunderstood. I offer this in solidarity, not hostility — and I do so willing to debate this stance at any time.

There are now multiple issues: Gaza, antisemitism and free speech.

Negotiating these is fraught with danger. I seek an independent Palestine, a safe Israel, an end to both terrorism and the abuse of Gaza, the maintenance of robust political debate and free speech on American college campuses. I like and respect President Schill. We have spoken — he even came to my class, and I bear him no ill will. But sanctioning policies which diminish the robustness I described above is not good for this or any other campus.

We cannot fix Gaza or antisemitism or terrorism, but we can make our campus more like the ideals we espouse.

Jeff Rice (WCAS ’72) is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science and African Studies. He can be contacted at j-rice2@northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

extraordinary process of negotiations involving administration, students and faculty. If allowed to continue on their due course, these conversations have the potential to be remarkably positive for all members of the NU community and set an example for universities and colleges across the country.

Together, we are embodying the best of Northwestern’s mission as an institution of higher learning.

— 158 Northwestern Faculty

exposing the role of your country and even your University in aiding and abetting this crime of crimes.

We stand in solidarity with you. Be strong and go in peace. We are with you.

Signed,

Millicent Fauntleroy (Medill ’70, MA ’71); Harvette Nelson (’71); Loester Lewis (WCAS ’71, MA ’72, MBA ’89); Adrianne Hayward (Medill ’71, MS ’72); Wayne Watson (SESP ’69, MA ’70, Ph.D. ’72); Widmon Butler

cannot tell Jews what antisemitism is. “From the river to the sea” is an expression founded by an organization, Hamas, that the U.S., the European Union and other Western countries call a terrorist organization.

The origins of “from the river to the sea” are antisemitic. Its continued use is antisemitic. Basic principles of D&I tell us that if you say something that others think is antisemitic — you don’t say it.

Can you imagine if someone were using the KKK symbol and saying, “Well, we don’t mean it to be a hate symbol. We think it means love and peace.” Do you really believe any college campus would tolerate that?

Experience at universities has shown they won’t tolerate language like this. There are repercussions.

And, similarly, they should not tolerate this language in reference to Jews and Israel.

Thank you,

Brad Smith (McCormick ’81)

Brad Smith is a McCormick alum. He can be contacted at bradleysmith4641@comcast. net. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

(WCAS ’70); Maxine Mitchell (WCAS ’71); Eleanor Steele Stewart (WCAS ’69); John Trimble (McCormick ’71); Leslie Harris (WCAS ’70); Joanne Williams (Communication ’71); Victor Goode (WCAS ’70); Daphne Maxwell Reid (WCAS ’70); Juaquita Jackson (’70); Jim Pitts (WCAS ’65, MA ’68, Ph.D. ’71); Sharon Pitts; Kimya Moyo (SESP ’69); Joyce Wade (SESP ’70); Dee Wilson (WCAS ’70); John Higginson (Medill ’70); Eva Jefferson Paterson (WCAS ’71); Marianne Jackson (WCAS ’70); Debra Avant Bell-Hill (SESP ’71, MA ’72 ); Audrey Hinton (WCAS ’69); Herman Cage (WCAS ’69, MBA ’73); Jocklyn Smith (WCAS ’71)

The Daily Northwestern Volume 146, Issue 6

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