RISD protesters demand divestment saying, 'We will not bend an inch'; vow stay in building

Jack Perry, Providence Journal

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island School of Design students who have taken over an administration building have told President Crystal Williams they will "not bend an inch" and will continue occupying the building until their demands over Palestine are met.

In response, RISD President Crystal Williams said she would stop advocating on the students' behalf to the RISD Board of Trustees until the students vacate the building and pledge not to disrupt commencement.

RISD Students for Justice in Palestine took over Washington Place, an administrative and academic building in downtown Providence, on Monday. They told Williams by email Tuesday afternoon that they plan to stay behind a second-floor "barricade of desks and chairs."

Students rally outside the Rhode Island School of Design building at 20 Washington Place on Monday afternoon, where classmates staged a sit-in and called on the school to divest from any business or organization that supports "sustaining Israeli Apartheid," among other demands.
Students rally outside the Rhode Island School of Design building at 20 Washington Place on Monday afternoon, where classmates staged a sit-in and called on the school to divest from any business or organization that supports "sustaining Israeli Apartheid," among other demands.

They thanked Williams and Provost Touba Ghadessi for meeting with them from 8 p.m. Monday until 1:30 a.m. Tuesday but voted against what they considered Williams' proposals to end the occupation.

"We have instead made the unanimous decision to proceed in a way that best aligns with our demands and manifesto," the students wrote. "We, the 22 occupiers, and representatives for RISD Student Justice in Palestine stand firm in our solidarity with Palestinian liberation and will continue to demand disclosure, divestment, the establishment of a student oversight committee and a condemnation of the genocide taking place in Gaza."

Citing the legacy of artist Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, RISD's first female of color graduate, the message signed off, "(We) will not bend an inch."

More: RISD students occupy building in pro-Palestinian protest. Here's what they demand.

What are the RISD protesters' demands?

The group has demanded that the school's administration meets the following conditions:

  • "Provides total fiscal transparency of RISD’s investment portfolio."

  • "Commits to a holistic divestment from companies, corporations and institutions that are implicated in sustaining Israeli Apartheid."

  • "Establishes a student oversight committee for future investments."

  • "Publicly condemns the Israeli Occupation of Gaza as a genocide."

Williams responded to the students Tuesday with a written address on the school's website, saying the occupiers were impeding the right of other students to pursue their education and calling their actions "undefendable."

She said the school was already in discussions with RISD Students for Justice in Palestine when "a subset of RSJP students preemptively decided to escalate and occupy an active academic space last night, impeding access to all students who use those classroom and studio spaces."

RISD President Crystal Williams met with the students from 8 p.m. Monday until 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
RISD President Crystal Williams met with the students from 8 p.m. Monday until 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

What are the next steps RISD is willing to take?

Williams acknowledged the important role artists have played in social movements, but said "The occupation negatively impacts many students and breaches trust, goodwill and our collective commitment to education."

"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.

In the Tuesday email, the occupiers "pre-emptively" rejected any offer from RISD, Williams contended. She said the school had not yet sent them a response after the Monday night discussion but was doing so through her statement on the school website.

"While I have been in conversation with members of RISD's Board of Trustees regarding RSJP demands, until RSJP students vacate academic spaces, no longer impede the rights of others, and agree not to disrupt Commencement, I will not continue to advocate for them to gain an audience with the Board of Trustees investment committee," Williams wrote.

"If RJSP students vacate academic spaces and agree to not disrupt Commencement, my discussions with the Board on their behalf will continue. I welcome them into a productive conversation about moving this potentiality forward," she wrote.

Williams's statement goes into detail on RISD's positions on the students' demands.

Williams and the occupiers expressed hope for future dialogue.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RISD protesters demand divestment vowing to stay in building

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