Z Williams, a representative from the Bread and Roses legal fund, watches as police stand between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrators on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Henry Larson/CU Independent)
More than a week after its establishment, pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the Auraria Campus encampment celebrated what they said were “concessions” under consideration by campus officials. They also faced off with a small group of pro-Israel counterprotesters that prompted several officers from at least four different law enforcement agencies to arrive at the quad.
The day’s events come after Denver Police Department Chief Ron Thomas said there was “no legal way” to remove protesters from the encampment if they remained peaceful. At a Citizen Oversight Panel meeting Friday morning, Thomas said Denver police refused a second request by the Auraria Campus to remove the tents on the Tivoli Quad.
About an hour into the encampment’s Friday rally, about a dozen pro-Israel demonstrators arrived. They walked several laps around the encampment while singing songs in Hebrew. Some of those counterprotesters shouted “There is no Palestine” or yelled through bullhorns at those in the camp.
Ori Grushka, a CU Boulder senior, walks with other pro-Israel counter protesters around the Auraria encampment on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Henry Larson/CU Independent)
Within minutes of counterprotesters arriving, officers from at least four separate law enforcement agencies descended on the scene. The 20-some officers wore patches from the Auraria Campus police, Colorado State Patrol, Denver police and the Colorado Rangers — an auxiliary police force in the state. It was the largest number of visible law enforcement near the encampment since 40 protesters were arrested on April 26.
The majority of pro-Israel protesters stayed for no more than half an hour before leaving the quad. Some people in the encampment followed them for a few hundred feet while the majority of pro-Palestinian protesters remained near the tents.
Ori Grushka, a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, was one of the counterprotesters. He called the encampment “narcissistic” activism.
“I think it’s pathetic beyond words,” he said.
That tense moment followed initial celebration by protesters, who celebrated a meeting held that morning with campus officials. Organizers said they had a meeting with CU Denver, Metropolitan State University and Auraria leaders who expressed willingness to make some concessions on Friday.
“We had some concessions made. The question is whether the university is going to stick to them. We were moving forward with a couple of collaborative processes,” an MSU student and Students for a Democratic Society organizer said. They declined to give the CU Independent their name.
Among the potential concessions, according to this organizer, were a meeting with CU’s Board of Regents and MSU’s trustees. Some form of joint statement by protesters and administrators, as well as financial disclosures by CU’s non-profit foundation, are on the table as well.
A spokesperson for the Auraria Campus did not confirm these details about the meeting but referred the CU Independent to a statement that said Auraria executives “met again” with student protesters to “maintain an open dialogue and find a peaceful path forward.”
On Thursday, protest organizers rejected an offer from campus leaders that included a $15,000 donation to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as an ongoing meeting with Auraria officials, in exchange for the removal of tents on the Tivoli Quad.
In a press conference Thursday evening, organizers called the offer an attempt to “buy out” the group. A donation to the Red Cross is not one of the protester’s demands.
“We remain open to dialogue to explore constructive solutions that address protester concerns within our control. We want to move forward together,” read a statement published by the Auraria Campus on the offer’s rejection.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Henry Larson at henry.larson@colorado.edu.
