Northwestern, Brown University reach deals with student demonstrators to curb protests

EVANSTON, Ill. — Hundreds of student activists who pitched tents and camped on university lawns to protest Israel's military attacks in Gaza have begun to declare victory at select universities around the country after hammering out agreements with school administrators. 

Northwestern University became the first U.S. school to publicly announce a deal on Monday, which was followed by Brown University's announcement on Tuesday with student organizers to curb protest activity. The peaceful conclusion of the protests and the victorious stance of students come as encampments have become a flashpoint in the nationwide movement.

The scene was a significant contrast to those that have played out on other college campuses where tensions have only escalated. At Columbia University, students took over Hamilton Hall, barricading themselves inside. The White House condemned the surge in protests that seized and occupied university buildings, which included Cal Poly Humboldt in Northern California, where an occupation was broken up Tuesday.

Organizers hope the deals set a new precedent for protest encampments around the U.S. and show a way to find common ground without using force.

“What these students have done is truly, truly historical,” Summer Pappachen, a graduate student and organizer of the Northwestern encampment, told USA TODAY Tuesday amid cleanup of the lawn students held for days. “We have been able to achieve [our goals] while keeping students safe.”

See our map:From Harvard to UT Austin to USC, college protests over Gaza are spreading.

Northwestern: Deal represents 'sustainable and de-escalated path forward'

The concessions, according to a copy of the agreement published by Northwestern leadership, include:

• Disclosure of school investments to students who request information.
• Funding to support two visiting Palestinian faculty members for two years; full-ride scholarships for five Palestinian undergraduate students; and a commitment to fundraise for similar opportunities. 
• Immediate establishment of a temporary community house for Muslim, and Middle Eastern, and North African students and a promise to establish a permanent space. 

In exchange, students will only have one tent set up on the picturesque university lawn and will only use amplified sound devices with advanced permission from the school, according to the agreement. They also risk suspension if they don't follow the terms of the agreement.

The encampment began on April 25 with around 200 protesters and a dozen tents. After an early scuffle with police attempting to seize the tents, organizers posted pictures on social media of demonstrators linking arms to form a barricade and called for more support.

By nightfall, over 500 people were at the encampment and dozens of tents were pitched. Using blow horns and speakers, organizers chanted well into the night and gave instructions on what to do if police returned.

The university released a statement on Monday, saying the deal was forged by the collaboration of students and faculty working closely with school administrators to "help ensure that the violence and escalation we have seen elsewhere does not happen here at Northwestern."

"This agreement represents a sustainable and de-escalated path forward, and enhances the safety of all members of the Northwestern community while providing space for free expression that complies with University rules and policies," the statement added.

The long history of college protests.Do they make a difference?

Brown will vote on divestment

Brown University's pro-Palestine encampment agreed to clear out Tuesday in exchange for the Brown Corporation voting on a divestment measure in October. Dozens of students who camped out on the campus green for a week had called on the university to stop investing in an array of weapons manufacturers amid the Israel-Hamas War.

According to a copy of the agreement published by the university, the deal alsoincludes:

• Allows for a select group of students to meet with university officials to discuss its investments and possible divestment from the Israeli-held holdings.
• The concluding recommendation around divestment coming from that meeting will then be voted on by university officials.
• Anyone affiliated with the university can request it divest the Brown endowment from assets of specific companies.
• Guarantees students and others affiliated with the university who participated in the protest will not be subject to expulsion or suspension.

In exchange, students at the school will completely dismantle their encampment, according to the deal, and will not participate in any "unauthorized protest activity" until the end of the year.

The encampment went up last Wednesday, according to The Providence Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, and consisted close to 100 students in around two dozen tents. Student activists declared the outcome of negotiations a "victory" and "unprecedented" on social media.

In a statement, Brown University President Christina Paxson said that universities were "built to hold disagreement and grapple with competing views" and added that students agreed to "refrain from further actions that would violate Brown’s conduct code through the end of the academic year, which includes commencement and reunion weekend."

Brown said it will enforce disciplinary action against students involved in the encampment.

"The establishment of tents and other related activities have violated a range of policies, and while Brown will continue to follow its conduct processes related to unauthorized activities, University leaders agreed that ending the encampment will be viewed favorably in disciplinary proceedings," Paxson added.

Reaction to Northwestern agreement

As other schools have threatened students with suspension and arrested them by the score, Pappachen lauded Northwestern school administrators and Palestinian student negotiators for reaching an agreement. 

"This deal benefits Northwestern, as an institution and as a name. They’re already showing other universities what it means to contribute to a more peaceful world, what it means to be a moral and truthful university," she said. "They have an option now not to just build a reputation but build a new and beautiful one."

Among the critics of the deal, the American Jewish Committee said that the Northwestern agreement "clearly communicates that if your protest threatens with escalation or violence" adding that the school "succumbed to the demands of a mob."

Contributing: Charles Ventura, USA TODAY; Amy Russo, Providence Journal