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347

‘Huge win’: Brown University protesters reach an agreement to dismantle encampment (forward.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

29 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This article describes the little-reported on success that Brown University had in disbanding student protest... by conceding to let activists present a case for divestment at an upcoming hearing before the university's investment board.

There's a lot of interesting considerations. The university did not agree to drop charges against forty students for rule violations, but the charged students themselves voted to accept the agreement under the belief that the overall offer was worth their own sacrifices.

Overall, I personally think this shows the irresponsibly unreported fact that negotiation with a protest IS an option that can serve the interests of both sides far better than state violence.

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[–] [email protected] 108 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (5 children)

The university did not agree to drop charges against forty students for rule violations, but the charged students themselves voted to accept the agreement under the belief that the overall offer was worth their own sacrifices.

Not including amnesty as a prerequisite is wildly irresponsible. What leverage do they have now? The board can simply say "no", and send the cops in to arrest anyone who tries to restart the protest.

This isn't negotiating, this is the students unilaterally giving up everything in exchange for... The ability to ask again, but quietly and in a circumstances where there is no consequences for saying no?

[–] [email protected] 47 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Then they'll have a situation no better than Columbia. The deal is we won't protest if you divest. If either party reneges on that deal we go back to where we were before the deal. That's the consequence of saying "no".

[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

They will vote on the divestment in October. By then all of gaza will have been starved or bombed.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

100%. That said, if divestment happened today, withholding Brown’s share wouldn’t be enough to get Netanyahu to stop bombarding Gaza. This is about principle, trust, and politics more so than ongoing support at this point.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Its true that the witholding of a couple bucks coming from brown university wouldnt do anything directly by itself. However it would still be a big political statement that would make for a decent political wakeup call, if coupled with dozens of other universities and entities doing the same.

So while this one protest by itself is not a huge loss, what it stands for is peoples willingness to watch people die, doing nothing until after its too late.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I would amend that to say that this is about the future and eventual end of the occupation. I think it's more material than you describe, but it's a slow process.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The occupation will end when Hamas is defeated. Both the US and Israel has made that clear

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

What are you talking about? The occupation includes the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It predated Hamas, and continues -- brutally -- in regions in which Hamas doesn't operate.

While the war in Gaza draws attention, folks in the West Bank have had homes firebombed with children inside and watched lynch mobs run whole towns off their land with military escorts. And that doesn't even get into how Palestinian citizens of Israel are treated inside Israel. They're legal citizens, but live with curtailed rights under a literal second-class of citizenship in a police state. They get disappeared, raped, and killed in prisons without charges over social media posts criticizing the government. What the hell does that have to do with Hamas?

We need to acknowledge that all these people are living under a military apartheid system, and demand negotiations for the formation of a democratic one-state solution. We already live in a one-state reality, just without civil rights for half the population.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

The school's deal is that the board will say no to the students and then the school will be prepared to put down any further protests without issue.

If the school intended to meet the students demands and divest, they wouldn't need to charge 40 of them and get time to prepare to silence a future protest since there wouldn't be a future protest.

The school's ceasefire requirements are as serious as Israel's "you give up the hostages and disarm, then we maaay consider not resuming the genocide after 2 weeks" peace offers

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If the Palestinians show anything, no justice, no peace comes to mind. Say Brown does this assuming the fire is still there, people won't stay silent for long. If a party chooses the path of the authoritarian they need to carry a pretty big stick. And even then, as Israel keeps showing, it doesn't work.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Also, if you follow some links in the article, Israeli divestment has been an big, ongoing movement at Brown. This isn't a flash in the pan. It's a big step forward along what has already been a long and brutal road.

It's not going away. And I truly believe that these students will win.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 months ago

Yeah this was a pretty weak outcome. Im not sure they were enough of a crowd to keep the camp up for much longer and against police, but the result is basically worthless :/

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

They just need to be sure to let them know that this is a 10 day cease-protest trial period and that after that 10 days is up they will be moving the protest to the front lawns of the board of trustees.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Agreed. This was a copout.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Well, this is Brown we're talking about. The students probably got too high and just accepted whatever deal was thrown at them without thinking about it.

[–] [email protected] 65 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Lol I know how this goes. Boards of Trustees give zero fucks what students think about anything, they just need them to shut up right now.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago (2 children)

That's a concern I share, but I think I'm the immediate moment, the activists have forced the university to break down a very significant barrier: their demands are legitimized by this. It becomes harder for other schools to justify a crackdown. And if this gets repeated, we move on to the next chapter of this story: university hearings across the country.

The goal is to change what is possible and put pressure on Israel and it's material bankers. A large number of hearings does that. Crackdowns don't really hurt the war effort or the profits of the military industrial tech complex.

It's going to require a lot more pressure, but if this is not winning this particular battle, I'm not sure what that looks like.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Their demands aren't legitimized, only deferred.

I've been through exactly this situation when my university refused to negotitate with unionized faculty and drove the faculty to go on strike. The students tried to hold the board accountable for the absolute shitstorm they unleashed by 10+ years of gross mismanagement leading to this strike, but they had them get off the picket line and instead present their demands and concerns at a board meeting- where the board then ignored everything students said, told them "this isn't your place to be speaking", kicked them out, and went on for the last 4 additional years doing whatever the fuck they want.

Trust me, this tells other colleges nothing more than "let them talk so they shut up and get off the news". That's all any of them want. Board of Trustees are there to enrich themselves and do not exist to serve students.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Fordham also said they would allow the students to make their case to the CFO and the Board of Trustees, and the students(correctly) refused to take it as the school still hasn't even called for a cease-fire. How can a plan to divest from Israel be taken seriously when they won't even call for an end to Israel's genocide?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago

rutgers too

see how easy it is if you just treat protesters as human beings and listen to them

[+] [email protected] -18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Idiots. You gave up literally all you're leverage for the chance to just speak to the board that merely advises the president on investments in 6 months time, when most people will have forgotten this and you won't have the nation-wide momentum? And you didn't even get charges dropped?

Absolutely fucking braindead. Like you just wasted ALL the effort of every student involved in this to do Absolutely nothing.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago (2 children)

You know, you're welcome to disagree on tactics, but I must ask you to show a bit of respect.

These protestors put themselves in danger. They made sacrifices for a cause you care about. Time may prove their tactics to have been in error, but they are not "braindead" "idiots" who accomplished "absolutely nothing".

They know their situation better than you. They put their bodies and futures on the table, and they alone get to decide what trades they want to make. You are welcome to your opinion on what tactics others should use, and you are welcome to make your choice about what to do when it's your ass on the front lines. But I don't think you have any business talking big shit about people who are out there carrying the heavy loads.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

I... I would love to see this as a compromise and start of mutual understanding, but the 6 month delay before the matter is even put through vote -if the case is even deemed "valid"- is nothing but lip service all the while the students protesting a pretty fucking obvious genocide are tagged and their most basic demanding action for consideration is criminalized, whatever the disciplinary action be.

To be in the very least open to compromise, the university would pardon the unapproved encampment considering it an urgent act in the face of mass human life loss. The consideration to even prosecute someone for demanding a reasonable hearing, which you accept, is blatant ill-will.

Besides, in these 6 months Israel would already be profiting a hell lot over new occupied land, sunning and tanning over dead bodies of thousands of children. This shit is even worse than the U.S. military setting up a damn prefabricated floating dock in 2 months.

Just a stick with carrot aroma, instead of the regular stick.

Even saying all that, hoping all the experience proves wrong this time and this sets off meaningful actions sooner or later.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

No, they don't deserve any respect for this. They are cowards, just like all the people that lost morale and broke when we were kettled at the BLM protest I attended in 2020. Nothing meaningful will come of this. They should have held out until meaningful action had already been achieved instead of agreeing to some dog and pony show in October with no amnesty for the protesters.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

i think they deserve more respect than some armchair general on a lemmy instance