Dozens of tents now occupy Northwestern as student demonstrators at the university have become the latest to set up a tent encampment. Friday, April 26, marked the second day of the pro-Palestinian encampment, which represents their demand that Northwestern divest financially from Israel.
Following similar actions taken by students at Columbia University, New York University and University of Southern California, Northwestern students, faculty alumni and other community organizers set up tents at Evanston’s Deering Meadow.
The demands are clear — as explained by Eden, a third-year political science doctoral student and encampment organizer, who asked that her last name not be disclosed because many students fear retaliation from Northwestern administration.
The demonstrations drew students from other Chicago-area universities, some traveling to Evanston to participate. They included DePaul junior Fiona Reed.
“This is how you can express your voice,” Reed said. “This is how you can demonstrate. You can be up there and screaming. You can pitch a tent. You can sit and watch.”
Besides divesting from Israel, Eden and nearly 100 other protestors on the meadow are calling upon Northwestern to protect freedom of speech, civil rights and be transparent with their investments moving forward.
Many campers arrived to set up the encampment as early as 7 a.m. Thursday, April 25, and stayed overnight in tents. They said they were undeterred by automatic sprinklers that went off early Friday morning or cooler temperatures.
As of Friday afternoon, the encampment had grown, with nearly 130 tents scattering the meadow, hosting ample food and drink resource tents, coffee stations, tents dedicated to art and henna tattoos, a stage with speakers and even a bathroom tent.
Some Northwestern professors conducted class sessions among the encampment, out of support for the protestors.
For Eden, the atmosphere was “perhaps the greatest sense of community (I’ve) felt since being at Northwestern,” as protestors shared coffee and bagels in the early morning.
Tensions emerged as soon as the first tents were set up Thursday, according to a junior studying social policy and global health at Northwestern, who has been granted anonymity, also fearing retaliation.
“Fifteen minutes into setting up the camp yesterday, we already had campus police come and said we had 15 minutes to take down the tents and if we didn’t, they’d start issuing citations,” the student said.
Students had planned to start setting up the camp next week but began sooner because “time was of the essence, the time was now,” the undergraduate student said.
The initial clashes between the protestors, campus administrators and police led to threats of suspension, citations and even arrest. However, this has yet to be seen officially.
“The police presence (Thursday) was really anxiety-inducing for some people. It’s never fun to see police,” said Eden, the doctoral student.
Since then, demonstrators have reported little police presence.
“I can actually speak for a lot of students when I say that we weren’t scared of getting arrested … we’re actually more so scared of the suspension aspect of it,” the student said.
But, the student emphasized that the fear that she and fellow demonstrators may face “is not even a 10th of the fear that the people of Palestine have,” which motivates them to stay firm in their demonstrations.
On Thursday, Northwestern President Michael Schill released a statement, enacting an “interim addendum” to the Northwestern student code of conduct, which “makes temporary changes to how protestors can engage on … our campus.”
The interim addendum now governs “chalkings, tents, and other provisions,” according to Schill’s statement.
No immediate repercussions have been seen yet for students who violate the new addendum. Students say it’s hard to predict what will happen, but tensions remain high between protestors and the Northwestern administration.
This provision has not dampened the encampment’s mobilization, with Eden saying that “people are prepared to stay here as long as it takes unless they are physically removed.”
Northwestern Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus, has also released a series of statements on Instagram, supporting President Schill’s decisions and condemning the encampment.
Northwestern Hillel’s social media post said the encampment is “reflecting a disturbing and quickly escalating trend of antisemitic rhetoric.”
But for some, such as Michal Eskayo, a Harold Washington College ESL and speech professor, comparing “anti-Israel” rhetoric with “antisemitic” rhetoric is a dangerous comparison.
Eskayo’s father was born and raised in Israel, and she spent many years visiting her large family, who still lives there.
“To be anti-Israel is not to be antisemitic, that’s such an easy way out of this discussion,” Eskayo said. “Then the door is closed, and you don’t have to talk about dropping bombs … on Gaza.”
Eskayo came to Northwestern Friday morning, displaying an “Israelis for Palestine” sign to the wide range of Chicago media stations that lined Sheridan Road along the gates of Deering Meadow.
“I often want to make sure there is more than one Jewish voice,” Eskayo said, referring to her presence at Northwestern and her rhetoric with her students at Harold Washington College, a community college in the Chicago area.
The encampments, which are being created at universities throughout the country daily, are reminiscent of the protests and uprising on college campuses during the Vietnam War.
To Reed, college campuses have always been an environment for this type of demonstration.
A child riding on the shoulders of a man waves a keffiyeh to the Palestinian flag at the Northwestern University encampment on Friday, April 26, 2024. The sign on the fence read “All Eyes on Gaza” along Sheridan Road by the encampment, where hundreds of signs in support of the protest were on display.
A student approaches the approximately 130 tents set up during the first two days of the Northwestern University encampment at Deering Meadow on Friday, April 26, 2024. Despite warnings of citations by police on Thursday morning if tents were not taken down, many protesters spent the night in the tents and continued to occupy them Friday.
A tent promoting unification sits inside the Northwestern University encampment on Friday, April 26, 2024, at Deering Meadow. Many of the tents were decorated with signs, paintings and flags showing support for the protest.
A group of five student protesters, who all requested to be kept anonymous, rattled tambourines and banged on empty water jugs alongside Sheridan Road on Friday, April 26, 2024, outside the Northwestern University encampment at Deering Meadow in Evanston. The protesters called attention to drivers on the busy street, some of which honked in support as they passed.
“Universities have always been important and have always been places where free speech is expected to proliferate. That’s where the big ideas come from,” Reed said.
As students continue to occupy Deering Meadow concretely, handmade signs line the fences on Sheridan Road from a station where supporters are encouraged to make their own.
A group of students stood alongside the road, clothed in keffiyehs, banging makeshift drums made of plastic water gallons which garnered loud support from passing traffic due to their “honk for Palestine” cardboard sign.
For many, the goals of those in the encampment and outside supporters remain clear.
“I am not pro or against anybody. I am just pro-human rights, pro-civil rights and no occupation,” Eskayo said.
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