RISD occupation ends after school president threatens expulsion. Here's what happened.
PROVIDENCE − Pro-Palestine students who took over a Rhode Island School of Design building ended their four-day occupation Thursday after President Crystal Williams threatened them with expulsion.
Their departure came after Williams sent RISD staff members to clear chairs and tables the students used to barricade themselves on the second floor, and then then issued an ultimatum to leave by 2:30 p.m.
Background on the protest
More than 20 students on Monday had taken over Washington Place, an administrative and academic building, and said they'd renamed it "Fathi Ghaben Place" for the prominent Palestinian artist who died in Gaza in February.
Members of RISD Students for Justice in Palestine, the occupiers demanded, among other things, that RISD condemn the "Israeli Occupation of Gaza as genocide" and that the school divest from companies that are "implicated in sustaining Israeli Apartheid."
Protests over the conflict in Gaza have broken out at many U.S. universities. After camping out on the campus green for a week, Brown University's pro-Palestine encampment agreed to clear out last week in exchange for the Brown Corporation voting on a divestment measure in October.
At RISD, Williams and Provost Touba Ghadessi met with the students from 8 p.m. Monday until 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, but the students said later that day they'd continue their occupation after rejecting Williams' proposals to end the occupation.
"(We) will not bend an inch," the students said in a message to Williams, citing the legacy of artist Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, RISD's first female of color graduate.
Williams acknowledged the important role artists have played in social movements, but said the students had no right to disrupt the educations of their fellow students.
"The occupation negatively impacts many students and breaches trust, goodwill and our collective commitment to education," she wrote in a message posted to the school's website.
"Regardless of one's views or the fortitude of one's beliefs, to impede the right of another to study, learn and pursue education at RISD is undefendable," she wrote.
What happened at RISD on Thursday
The protest at the building between North Main Street and the Providence River spilled outside, as people drew messages on the sidewalk, chanted, banged drums and spoke in support of the occupiers. Some brought them food.
Shortly before noon Thursday, the occupying students posted a live video to Instagram showing RISD workers removing chairs and tables from hallways and doorways.
The students seemed to think they were about to be forcefully removed. They gathered in a circle, held hands and chanted messages such as, "Fighting for Gaza, we shall not be moved."
But the workers were there only to clear the hallways and doorways because they had been blocked in violation of fire codes. Williams had informed the students of the issue.
"We are sending RISD facilities and maintenance staff to help you create a means of ingress and egress that is in compliance with Rhode Island state law," Williams wrote. "I implore you to work with them to achieve this outcome. We will not use this moment to otherwise enter the space."
"Let me reiterate, there is no circumstance where I want external law enforcement entities to engage with students who are peacefully protesting," she wrote. "However, we do need your cooperation."
The Instagram video showed the interior of a building in disarray. An image of Ghaben and many messages were painted on the walls.
"Listen to their screaming," read one.
"How many more martyrs?" read another sign.
The chanting students were circled around a red and black banner lying on the floor that read, "Disclose, Divest, Defend Gaza."
They were joined by a crowd outside who clapped, beat makeshift drums and chanted along with the protesters indoors.
It wasn't long before the protest wound down.
Vacate by 2:30 or face expulsion
Williams sent a message, saying the students "may vacate the space by 2:30 pm and undergo a restorative justice process" or face expulsion.
"If students vacate by 2:30 p.m. and the above restorative justice conditions are not met, students will be held accountable under the current conduct codes," she wrote.
"If students do not vacate the space by 2:30 p.m., we will proceed with expulsion from Rhode Island School of Design," Williams wrote.
The restorative justice process, she said, "is designed to be fair and just, ensuring that all parties are heard and respected."
"Students will be responsible for returning the space – including all furniture, walls, projects, bathrooms, etc. – to its original state by tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, meet with students and faculty whom their actions have immediately negatively impacted, listen to the impact of their actions and engage in respectful dialog, and reimburse those who have spent personal funds on no longer viable projects as a result of the occupation," Williams wrote.
The crowd outside the building thinned significantly Thursday afternoon.
A man who has addressed the students at many gatherings and identifies himself as Imam Nimer M. Ead told The Providence Journal he had spoken to leaders of the protest and that all of the protesters had left the building. Ead was standing outside the building and wearing a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
Williams confirmed at 3:35 p.m. that the students had vacated the building.
"Public Safety and Facilities staff members were in the building and ensured that everyone safely exited the building. Washington Place is now closed," she wrote.
"Our focus is now on enabling students with work in the building to retrieve it and then to conduct a restorative justice process to restore the space and address the harm that was done," she wrote.
Ead said the students told him their protest activity is not over.
With reports from Journal Staff Writer Mark Reynolds and Digital Editor Whitman Littlefield.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: War protest at RISD winds down peacefully
