Breaking: Oregon Duck Make Surprise Move To Sign 96.4 Million QB…..
The Daily Emerald is providing live coverage of the pro-Palestine encampments on the University of Oregon campus. Check this article for live updates.
Editor-in-Chief Evan Reynolds, Socials Editor Alicia Santiago, News Editor Tristin Hoffman, Associate News Editors Mathias Lehman-Winters and Alisa Dougherty, and news reporters Ysabella Sosa, Tarek Anthony, Hanna Kalan, Stephanie Hensley, Reilly Norgren and Jasmine Saboorian contributed to this reporting.
An announcement was made that tents would be relocated to make space for the prayer session with the Muslim Students Association at 8 p.m. tonight. Members began rearranging tents around 5:30 p.m. and are now gathered for dinner and arts and crafts activities in the Memorial Quad.
A member of Ducks 4 Israel, Sam Rhodes, said Ducks 4 Israel would not be issuing a statement at this time and that no UO administrator or UOPD members had been in contact with the organization regarding the encampment.
Updated April 29, 4:04 p.m.
As the encampment approaches its first evening on campus, some student organizers said they were in it for the long haul.
“We’re gonna be here until we can talk to [UO] administration and get our demands met,” a UO student and organizer going by Cedar Deodora said.
Deodora indicated that organizers were splitting responsibilities, including food distribution and “community support.” The encampment is also accepting donations, including tents, tarps and hand warmers, to distribute to protesters.
Organizers said the encampment is not expected to be particularly loud or active overnight. Deodora said that many of the students involved had been up since early Monday, and would want to sleep.
“We’re a pretty chill group,” Deodora said. “We’re trying to make this sustainable for everyone. It’s not a big party, it’s a community.”
Tea Bland, a UO second-year student, said many students wouldn’t be fazed by the weather overnight.
“Most of us are willing to be here rain or shine,” Bland said.
Updated April 29, 3:20 p.m.
University of Oregon officials commented on the encampment for the first time in a 3:03 p.m. email sent to “UO community members.”
“We uphold the constitutional right to free speech and peaceful dissent,” the email read. “At the same time, we also uphold the right for all of our students to receive their education, to participate in and attend classes, and to do so safely and without intimidation.”
The statement from Kris Winter, UO’s interim vice president for student life, and André Le Duc, UO vice president and chief resilience officer, seemed to indicate that police would not be called immediately. Instead, the email said that university officials had been in contact with protest organizers and advised them of “relevant institutional policies.”
“As we have seen over the last week, universities across the nation who have taken a hard stance — including calling in law enforcement as an early response — have seen an escalation in violence, including harm to bystanders and students alike,” the email read.
The email also cautioned against participation from non-student demonstrators, and said the university would monitor “any disruption to [its] educational or business operations.”
As of 3:20 p.m., attendance at the encampment was remaining consistent, with roughly 25 tents laid out across the Memorial Quad.
A UO spokesperson declined to comment further.
Updated April 29, 2:49 p.m.
According to Carolyn Roderique, a media liaison for the encampments, there are volunteer legal observers, affiliated with the National Lawyers Guild, present at the encampment, wearing green hats.
“They are here in case there is any attempt to falsely arrest or falsely imprison someone under any sort of false pretenses,” Roderique said.
Updated April 29, 2:07 p.m.
UO Dean of Students Marcus Langford, and the Director of Operations for Safety and Risk Services Krista Dillon arrived at the encampments around 1:10 p.m. and met with leaders of the encampments.
