Brown Divest Joins Global Encampment Movement
The Gaza Solidarity Encampment begins on the morning of April 24 outside of University Hall where the President’s Office is located. Image courtesy of the Brown Divest Coalition Instagram.
Hundreds of community members showed out during rallies and other events held during the encampment. Image courtesy of the Brown Divest Coalition Instagram.
Following the National Students for Justice in Palestine’s call to establish Popular Universities across the nation in demand of divestment, 80 students began an encampment on the Main Green on April 24. In addition to divestment, the encampers demanded that Brown University drop the charges against the 41 students from the Brown Divest Coalition. Multiple rallies and art builds were held throughout the encampment to highlight the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Land Back movement, and efforts of previous protests on campus. Students and community members also heard from professors and former Rhode Island Senator Cynthia Mendes, among other notable guest speakers. Encampers also received an outpouring of support from the community who continued to donate food, tents, sleeping bags, and other necessities as the number of those encamping grew to over 100.
As the encampment continued, however, the administration tried to silence the movement. Officers from the Department of Public Safety routinely conducted ID swipes of the encampers and anyone on the Main Green showing support, and failure to comply constituted a “violation of policy,” according to Provost Francis Doyle. Consequently, disciplinary letters were sent to approximately 130 students that warned of probation and the possibility of harsher action if the more student conduct violations were determined during the encampment.
As Commencement at Brown neared, students drew attention to the Israeli occupation’s acts of scholasticide in Gaza. Image courtesy of Brown Divest Coalition Instagram.
Messages calling for a free Palestine and divestment were projected onto Sayles Hall, located directly across from the encampment. Image courtesy of the Brown Divest Coalition Instagram.
In spite of these attempts to repress the movement, the encampment had successes in reaching their demands. The Brown University Community Council (BUCC), an “advisory body made up of current undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees and administrators,” voted in favor of allowing students to present the case for divestment in front of the Brown Corporation and dropping the charges against the BDC 41. While the BUCC resolutions are non-binding, it clearly demonstrated the support the divest movement had, which was especially bolstering during a year of heightened repression of free speech.
Another success occurred six days into the encampment on April 30 when a group of representatives came to an agreement with the administration that allowed for students from the Brown Divest Coalition to present the case for divestment during the May Corporation meeting, followed by a vote in October, in exchange for the encampment coming to an end. This agreement met the demands that had first been put forth during the sit-in by Jews for Ceasefire Now and marked a step forward in the movement and ultimately a free Palestine.