OXFORD, Ohio — After 48 hours of protesting in front of Roudebush Hall at Miami University, student supporters of Palestine voted to end their encampment to avoid punitive actions from the university on Saturday.
The encampment, which began at 6:30 p.m. on May 2, was led by two student organizations: Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA). The student presence fluctuated throughout the day from a dozen protestors to more than 30.
At 4 p.m., Dean of Students BaShaun Smith informed the protestors that SJP and YDSA would be summarily suspended as student organizations if the encampment did not disperse by 9 p.m. Saturday. Smith did not accept questions from the protestors or share details on what the consequences for individual students who continue to participate in the encampment might be.
Just after 6 p.m., student organizers Maysa Constandinidis and Darek Sanabria Valderrama led a meeting with the members of the encampment to decide whether to remain past the university’s deadline. The group decided by a wide margin to disperse and focus their energy on other forms of protest and advocacy for the rest of the semester.
Miami’s last day of finals is on May 17.
“We have built a community,” Constandinidis said after the vote. “... We are ready to keep going and keep fighting. They think this is the end, but genuinely, this is just the beginning.”
During the encampment discussion, members suggested staging future marches and protests. Multiple members described the encampment as a success despite its ending because it made the pro-Palestine community more visible on Miami’s campus.
“Yes, we are going through a war. Yes, my people are being murdered,” said Constandinidis, who is Palestinian. “Of course that’s important, but we are resilient. We are powerful. We have a culture that is so beautiful … and I want people to see that we are human beings.”
Rabbi Yossi Greenberg, who leads Chabad at Miami, said he’s talked to Jewish students who have felt frustrated by the encampment in the past couple of days, but it has been peaceful. Greenberg said students have the First Amendment right to protest as long as others feel safe.
Miami’s activism has been calmer than protests at other campuses like Columbia University and UCLA, Greenberg said.
“And I hope it stays that way," he said. "It’s the nature of Miami; real love and honor. I wish there was more dialogue … but I’m hoping that the semester will finish strong and that this summer, we’ll do a lot of healing.”
When Miami’s encampment began on Thursday evening, administrators told the protestors that they had to take their tents down in the morning to comply with university policy on camping. After Friday at 6 a.m., the encampment continued without physical structures and complied with university policy, according to a statement from university communications.
The protestors’ primary goal was for the university administration to disclose its investments in companies that do business with Israel, and to divest from those companies. Constandinidis said the university has agreed to meet on Monday to discuss how the university’s investments work, but that officials told her they can’t generate a specific list of investments.
On Friday, Smith declined to confirm information regarding a meeting to discuss divestments. A university spokesperson did not respond to questions about Miami’s investments on Friday.
This story originally appeared on journal-news.com.
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