Protesters at the University of Minnesota pack up after reaching an agreement with the interim president

MINNEAPOLIS – Protesters in a pro-Palestinian encampment that has occupied part of the University of Minnesota campus since Tuesday have been contained following a tentative agreement with the university administration Thursday.

Jeff Ettinger, the interim president of the United States, sent an email to all students, faculty and staff stating that an agreement had been reached with student protest organizers to end the encampment on Thursday morning.

The 13 buildings near Northrop Mall that were closed this week have reopened after the encampment was cleared. The coalition has agreed not to disrupt the final and commencement ceremonies. Students started taking down tents around 9 a.m

The student group had six demands:

• Divest from groups like Honeywell and General Dynamics
• Academic divestment from Israeli universities
• Transparency about university investments
• Statement in support of Palestinian students
• Declaration in support of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination
• Amnesty for arrested students

Leaders of the pro-Palestinian coalition met Ettinger on Wednesday, where they made it clear they would not rest until all six of their demands were met. The original meeting, which was supposed to last 30 minutes, lasted more than 90 minutes, and the groups met two more times afterward, Ettinger said.

“We regret that these meetings did not take place sooner and are committed to meeting regularly in the future to continue to discuss the concerns of this coalition,” Ettinger said. “While there is still more work to be done and discussions are still planned with other student groups affected by the painful situation in Palestine, I am encouraged by today’s progress.”

In a letter to faculty and students, Ettinger wrote that coalition representatives will have the opportunity to address the Board of Regents at its May 10 meeting to discuss the divestiture of certain businesses. Public disclosure of university investments would be available on May 7.

Ettinger also said the administration has encouraged university police not to arrest or charge anyone for camp activities in recent days, and will not take disciplinary action against students or employees for participating in the camp. Police have not made any arrests on campus since nine people were arrested April 22nd.

“Obviously some people are saying, ‘If we leave and they take it back, we’ll come back and recamp,’” protester Angelica Torres said.

He also added that the government would meet with Jewish students on Thursday, which they have done indicated that he felt unsafe on campus amid images and messages on campus they said glorify terrorism.

Campus protests across the country

Wednesday’s demonstrations at the U were spirited, but far more peaceful than what was seen other parts of the US in recent days. On Thursday morning, police began dismantling an encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied police orders. Bee Columbia University in New York Tuesday eveningOfficers used bangs to disorient protesters gathered in Hamilton Hall.

The nationwide movement began in Columbia on April 17 to protest the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, a local health ministry said. Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

President Joe Biden speaks Thursday morning about the protests on college campuses before heading to events in North Carolina. The White House has previously condemned violence and anti-Semitic rhetoric at some protests, while saying students have the right to protest peacefully.