The president of Brown University has issued a new timeline for potential Israel divestment amid pressure from pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Major university campuses across the country including Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, Columbia University in New York, and the University of Southern California (USC) have been interrupted by protests in recent days as Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Palestinian-occupied Gaza has raged on. There have also been counter-protests from pro-Israel activists.
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On October 7, 2023, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Roughly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and about 250 hostages were taken by Hamas. Some hostages were released during a temporary cease-fire late last year while, according to Israeli authorities, Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 hostages, including the remains of about 30 people.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military operation has killed over 34,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gazan health authorities. Health officials in the region do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their death tolls.
USC has already canceled its main graduation ceremony planned for May 10 due to “new safety measures” amid the protests, and while Columbia intends to have commencement as planned on May 15, students shared concerns that the celebration will be canceled due to the protests.
Amid a tense climate between college administrations and campus protesters, Brown University has seemingly found some common ground.
Brown President Christina H. Paxson shared a timeline for potential Israel divestment as part of a newly reached agreement between the administration and student protesters.
End of the Encampment
In a campuswide letter on Tuesday, Paxson said that the university will “see a peaceful end to the unauthorized encampment” that students set up on April 24.
Paxson said that the encampment would end Tuesday at 5 p.m. after university administration reached an agreement with student leaders of the Brown Divest Coalition.
Within the agreement, students also agreed to “refrain from further actions that would violate the Code of Student Conduct through the end of this academic year, including through Commencement and Reunion Weekend,” according to Paxson’s letter.
Israel Divestment
Paxson said that a group of five students will be invited to meet with a group of five members of the Corporation of Brown University in May.
“The meeting responds to the students’ interest to be heard on the issue of ‘divestment from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territory,’ which was a core demand of their protest action,” the university president said.
However, Paxson did note that Israel divestment will not be on the business agenda for the Corporation of Brown University’s May meeting, which is separate from its gathering with the five students, and there will not be a vote on it at that time.
Paxson said that she will ask the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM) to give her a recommendation on Israel divestment by September 30, which will be brought to the Corporation of Brown University for a vote during its October meeting.
“I have committed to bring the matter of divestment to the Corporation, regardless of ACURM’s recommendation,” Paxson said. “I feel strongly that a vote in October, either for or against divestment, will bring clarity to an issue that is of long-standing interest to many members of our community.”
Newsweek reached out to Brown via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.