Read more at: https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article288254270.html#storylink=cpy Evergreen signs agreement with students to move toward divesting from companies profiting in Gaza BY SHAUNA SOWERSBY UPDATED MAY 03, 2024 10:23 AM Representatives with the Evergreen State College in Olympia and students with the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment reached an agreement Tuesday to address several policy areas. STEVE BLOOM [email protected] Officials at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and students with the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment reached an agreement in which the public college will work toward divesting from “companies that profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.” https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/evergreen-state-to-explore-israel-divestment-after-deal-with-students/ Evergreen State to explore Israel divestment after deal with students May 2, 2024 at 4:56 pm
1 of 4 | Protesters at The Evergreen State College in Olympia reached a deal with administrators that includes the school publicly calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and exploring divestment from companies that... (Courtesy of the Cooper Point Journal)More Skip Ad By Catalina Gaitán Seattle Times staff reporter Protesters at The Evergreen State College in Olympia agreed to remove their week-old encampment Tuesday night after striking a deal with administrators that includes the school publicly calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and exploring divestment from companies that profit from “the occupation of Palestinian territories.” Three school administrators and four members of the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment signed a memorandum of understanding at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday after five hours of negotiating inside Evans Hall. As part of the deal, protesters agreed to remove their encampment by 5 p.m. Wednesday or face sanctions by the university. The encampment was cleared by that deadline, said college spokesperson Farra Hayes.
The agreement made Evergreen the latest in a small group of colleges including Brown and Northwestern to see a deal between student protesters and school administrators, as students and faculty members stage similar encampments on other U.S. campuses including at the University of Washington. Protests calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory have also recently popped up at other Washington schools such as Gonzaga University in Spokane. At UCLA, Columbia University and other schools, students and faculty members have been arrested and had their encampments raided by police. Evergreen school administrators will review whether to change any study abroad programs or investments as a result of the memorandum, Hayes said. The encampment appeared on April 23 at the campus’s Red Square after some students left classes and staged a rally. Several students met with school administrators later that day and presented their first list of demands in writing the next day, Hayes said. Both sides continued negotiating until convening for the final time Tuesday under the supervision of three Evergreen faculty members. “Having it remain peaceful and not escalate like we’re seeing elsewhere — we’re full of a lot of gratitude for students who were willing to engage that way,” Hayes said. “It’s really a testament to our academic approach, that if you sit down and you talk, you can find solutions.” Alex Marshall, a third-year student at Evergreen who was one of the four students to sign the four-page memorandum, agreed. “In the weeklong period that the encampment was up, no student was arrested, no student was harassed by police and no student has been written up with policy violations,” Marshall said. “We’re incredibly happy that everyone is safe and that we were able to get through this process without our students having to face police violence.” The students’ final list of demands was crafted throughout the week by reaching a consensus during meetings at the encampment, Marshall said. The memorandum includes creating four “disappearing task forces” with three students and two faculty members each. One committee will look at the school to revise its investment policies to consider divesting from companies that “profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.” A second committee will create a policy for refusing grant funding tied to “illegal occupation abroad” or that limit free speech or oppress minorities, according to the memorandum. The two committees will make policy recommendations by fall 2024, after which the college will consider implementing them no later than spring 2026.
Read more at: https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article288254270.html#storylink=cpy Evergreen signs agreement with students to move toward divesting from companies profiting in Gaza BY SHAUNA SOWERSBY UPDATED MAY 03, 2024 10:23 AM Representatives with the Evergreen State College in Olympia and students with the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment reached an agreement Tuesday to address several policy areas. STEVE BLOOM [email protected] Officials at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and students with the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment reached an agreement in which the public college will work toward divesting from “companies that profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.”
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/evergreen-state-to-explore-israel-divestment-after-deal-with-students/
Evergreen State to explore Israel divestment after deal with students May 2, 2024 at 4:56 pm
1 of 4 | Protesters at The Evergreen State College in Olympia reached a deal with administrators that includes the school publicly calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and exploring divestment from companies that... (Courtesy of the Cooper Point Journal)More Skip Ad By Catalina Gaitán Seattle Times staff reporter Protesters at The Evergreen State College in Olympia agreed to remove their week-old encampment Tuesday night after striking a deal with administrators that includes the school publicly calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and exploring divestment from companies that profit from “the occupation of Palestinian territories.” Three school administrators and four members of the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment signed a memorandum of understanding at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday after five hours of negotiating inside Evans Hall. As part of the deal, protesters agreed to remove their encampment by 5 p.m. Wednesday or face sanctions by the university. The encampment was cleared by that deadline, said college spokesperson Farra Hayes.
The agreement made Evergreen the latest in a small group of colleges including Brown and Northwestern to see a deal between student protesters and school administrators, as students and faculty members stage similar encampments on other U.S. campuses including at the University of Washington. Protests calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory have also recently popped up at other Washington schools such as Gonzaga University in Spokane. At UCLA, Columbia University and other schools, students and faculty members have been arrested and had their encampments raided by police. Evergreen school administrators will review whether to change any study abroad programs or investments as a result of the memorandum, Hayes said. The encampment appeared on April 23 at the campus’s Red Square after some students left classes and staged a rally. Several students met with school administrators later that day and presented their first list of demands in writing the next day, Hayes said. Both sides continued negotiating until convening for the final time Tuesday under the supervision of three Evergreen faculty members. “Having it remain peaceful and not escalate like we’re seeing elsewhere — we’re full of a lot of gratitude for students who were willing to engage that way,” Hayes said. “It’s really a testament to our academic approach, that if you sit down and you talk, you can find solutions.” Alex Marshall, a third-year student at Evergreen who was one of the four students to sign the four-page memorandum, agreed. “In the weeklong period that the encampment was up, no student was arrested, no student was harassed by police and no student has been written up with policy violations,” Marshall said. “We’re incredibly happy that everyone is safe and that we were able to get through this process without our students having to face police violence.” The students’ final list of demands was crafted throughout the week by reaching a consensus during meetings at the encampment, Marshall said. The memorandum includes creating four “disappearing task forces” with three students and two faculty members each. One committee will look at the school to revise its investment policies to consider divesting from companies that “profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.” A second committee will create a policy for refusing grant funding tied to “illegal occupation abroad” or that limit free speech or oppress minorities, according to the memorandum. The two committees will make policy recommendations by fall 2024, after which the college will consider implementing them no later than spring 2026.