The University of Chicago has reduced the presence of the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) on the main quad as a part of preconditions for negotiations with encampment organizers, according to UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP).
In a statement to the Maroon this morning, the group wrote, “UCUP demanded UCPD off the quad as a precondition for negotiating. [The] administration has only partially complied with this agreement by an apparent reduction of UCPD on and around the quad at certain times.”
For most of Saturday evening, there was no consistent UCPD presence on the quad, 57th Street, or 58th Street, with at most one officer intermittently present. University safety ambassadors from Allied Security continued to maintain a robust presence in the area.
In a statement released late Sunday afternoon, the University said it had not agreed to reduce UCPD’s presence on the quad.
“UCPD presence on the Quad has fluctuated based on needs and circumstances and at no point did we reduce – or agree to reduce – the security presence based on negotiations,” the statement said.
The lack of a consistent UCPD presence has been a departure from the state of the quad since the encampment began on Monday. Throughout the week, officers have responded to a number of situations on the quad, including numerous confrontations between counterprotesters, the encampment, and University staff.
UCUP, the student group leading the encampment, has been meeting with University administrators since at least Wednesday, with both sides confirming on Saturday evening that negotiations were ongoing.
When asked whether the reduced UCPD presence was a result of a request from encampment organizers, the University referred the Maroon to its Saturday evening statement that read, “This is an update regarding ending the encampment. Substantive discussions between the University and protesters are ongoing.” In a written statement to the Maroon, Maroons for Israel expressed concern about the reduced police presence, saying “President Alivisatos’s decision to decrease UCPD presence reflects a concerning disregard for student safety. Aside from the disruptions to learning and suppression of free speech that the President acknowledged on Friday, in the past week the encampment has led to a surge in agitation, vandalism, and physical and verbal assaults. Maroons for Israel calls on the President to end the encampment before protestors escalate further.”
Editor’s note, May 6, 12:17 a.m.: This article has been updated to include a statement from the University.
Editor’s note, May 6, 4:52 p.m.: The headline of this article has been adjusted to better reflect the second statement released by the University, which was released following the publication of this article.
NJP / May 6, 2024 at 9:49 am
Your headline is misleading. The groups have issued conflicting statements about whether presence was reduced as a condition of negotiation or just due to monitoring based on current need.
StrongMindedJew / May 5, 2024 at 8:31 pm
Just evict these squatters, by force if necessary. Don’t give the antisemite protesters anything.
ScavHunt Mom / May 5, 2024 at 11:30 pm
Is that how you think the 54th anniversary of Kent State should be celebrated?
UIUC Rocket Scientist / May 6, 2024 at 11:12 am
Please educate yourself about the Kent State massacre before you compare it to what is going on here.
The National Guard were deployed to the campus because of rioting similar to the May 2020 rioting here in Chicago that included an attempt to burn down the ROTC building on campus.
The protestors threw rocks at the guardsmen which was unfortunately common when the NG was called to Vietnam War protests.
The NG fired on and killed students who were obeying orders to leave the area as well as those who were attacking the NG.
Google “Kent State Shootings” and read the wiki.
Bob Michaelson / May 11, 2024 at 11:05 am
Oooh – throwing rocks at guardsman – obviously an offense that requires a death sentence. The guardsmen deliberately targeted students, some of whom just happened to be walking past (one going to ROTC, in fact) and murdered four of them. Maybe you should learn a bit about Kent State, and Jackson State, and SCState.
And btw, protesting the Vietnam War was the right thing to do, just as protesting Junior Bush’s War was, and the IDF’s terrorism in Gaza and the occupied West Bank is.
Commenter / May 6, 2024 at 11:20 am
So you agree that it is wrong to take land by force and that force is a justified means of removing them?
StrongMindedJew / May 6, 2024 at 2:35 pm
Yes, I do agree, though right and wrong don’t mean much. From my perspective, you are in the wrong, but you may feel otherwise.
In any case, that facade of caring for human rights on display by these idiot protesters is not hiding the fact that they wish to enable a genocide of the Jewish population of Israel (“liberation by any means necessary”). In contrast to the Gazans, Jews have been through an actual genocide in the recent past, and we will fight and drive to the ground any antisemite that tries to enact another genocide against us. The existence of Israel as a Jewish state is a cornerstone of this policy.
Don’t like it? Get in line bud.
Observer / May 5, 2024 at 4:44 pm
Negotiating with terrorists. Shameful. I am enraged that they entertain these lunatics.
Interested Observer / May 5, 2024 at 2:30 pm
“UCUP demanded UCPD off the quad as a precondition for negotiating.” “Demanding” something to start negotiating is not really negotiating is it? Rather, it comes off as petulant. How ironic that the protesters claim the administration is negotiating in “bad faith”.
Sal / May 5, 2024 at 3:52 pm
It is perfectly reasonable and expected to demand pre-conditions in a negotiation process. It’s not “petulant”, thats bargaining. Admin is negotiating in bad faith becauee they refuse to meet any demands, deflect, redirect, or try to create non-sequiter concessions. E.g. At the beginning, admim only agreed to a 1-hour discussion with no promises of concrete action on the condition that the encampment is cleared and all further encampment activities suspended. Another example was when admin offered a “public forum” on divestment to end the encampment, still with no promise of concrete action. In short, admin is not truly seeking to meet demands of the encampment, they are only seeking to delay or deny any sort of resolution while simultaneously trying to strip any bargaining power from UCUP. Imagine if an employer promised a public forum on a potential wage increase for a company, and in return the union had to disband completely. UCUP is trying to maintain bargaining power. Thats not “petulant”, it’s being cognizant of the power dynamics at play