Stanford caves to sit-in, will meet with students demanding school condemn, boycott Israel
Stanford University agreed to hold meetings with a group of pro-Palestine protesters who held a sit-in for 120 days.
Stanford University agreed to hold meetings with a group of pro-Palestine protesters who staged a sit-in on campus for 120 days, in exchange for a promise from the group to end their demonstration.
The group, Stanford Sit-in to Stop Genocide, posted a screenshot on Tuesday night of a letter from the school’s administration, which states that they will agree to hold meetings on the group’s demands if they end the sit-in on Friday at 8 p.m.
Stanford administrators also agreed to grant amnesty from law enforcement action and disciplinary action to the student group and protesters as long as they vacate the sit-in by Friday.
University administrators agreed to hold two one-hour discussions occurring before Thursday, which are meant to “understand” the group’s five demands. The demands include the provision of ‘dedicated resources’ to Palestinian students, that the university issue a statement condemning Israel, and that the school commit to joining the “Boycott, Divest from and Sanction” movement against Israel.
Stanford Sit-in to Stop Genocide has demanded that the university call for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” provide resources for Palestinian students on campus, identify how the university’s research and teaching environments are “biased against Palestinians,” commit to the boycott, divest, and sanction movement, and create 5 student seats on the Special Committee on Investment Responsibility.
In an Instagram post commenting on the letter from Stanford administrators, Stanford Sit-in to Stop Genocide wrote that it would “mobilize again” if “significant progress” isn’t made during the meetings.
”Should the President and Provost fail to make significant progress towards our demands, we will mobilize again, as we have done for 117 days without pause. Our ultimate commitment is not to the physical space of the Sit-in, but to the fight for Palestinian liberation,” the group wrote.
Initially, according to the Stanford Daily, administrators told sit-in organizers to cease overnight activities and invited some in the group to a meeting with Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez. The initial offer was conditioned on the premise that the sit-in stopped overnight camping on Feb. 8.
According to the report, the group didn’t cooperate and held an “emergency mobilization” at Stanford’s White Plaza, which drew hundreds of protesters.
Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO StandWithUs, a pro-Israel education organization, told Campus Reform that the protesters are showing their hypocrisy.
”The hypocrisy we are seeing from the pro-Hamas protesters is shocking, but unsurprising. As usual, they blame Israel for the crimes that Hamas is guilty of. They blame Israel for being dragged into the war of October 7th and defending itself against Hamas, an openly genocidal organization sworn to repeat massacres of Jews and whose charter calls for the elimination of Israel,” Rothstein said. “Protesters who collaborate with Hamas have conveniently forgotten that Hamas initiated this war by torturing and slaughtering over 1200 human beings on October 7th and kidnapped 250 people, dragging them into Gaza, where 134 still remain in captivity.”
”A ceasefire would allow Hamas to rearm and steal humanitarian aid from the Gazans. It should be clear to anyone paying attention, that Hamas’ tyrannical government in Gaza continues to harm both Palestinians and Israelis,” she added.
In a statement, Stanford University wrote that it is “pleased that students representing the Sit-In to Stop Genocide have agreed to end overnight camping by this Friday, Feb. 16.”
”The university has agreed to refrain from initiating law enforcement action and Office of Community Standards proceedings until after that time, in order to support an orderly end to overnight camping in White Plaza. The university also has agreed to two further meetings with representatives of the group to further hear its stated demands,” Stanford University wrote. “We understand and appreciate the passionately held beliefs of students who are engaged in advocacy on White Plaza. Stanford continues to firmly support the peaceful expression of divergent views by members of our community, and we will continue working to provide for the physical safety and well-being of all members of our community.”
