Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampment at University of Oregon campus in Eugene

More than 100 University of Oregon students set up camp on the Eugene campus on Monday, with participants saying they wanted to support Palestinians under fire in Gaza and demanding action from university administrators.

The "UO Gaza Solidarity Encampment" follows similar encampments in dozens of other colleges across the country, including Columbia University, University of California Los Angeles, Arizona State University and Northeastern University.

As of April 25, more than 500 people have been arrested in college campus protests, according to a USA TODAY review of news reports.

"This is a place where we can harbor our goals within ourselves and also project them to the outlying public in a different and escalated way," said Salem Khoury, a freshman and president of UO Students for Justice in Palestine. "It's really important that we're here and doing this to be visible as well."

The "liberated zone," which was set up Monday morning, is an escalation following a list of demands requested of UO administration, which includes protections for vocal students and staff, divestment from companies that support Israel, and education on the history and current situation in Gaza.

Reportedly, over 34,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after a Hamas attack that killed almost 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.

Along with SJP, several UO student groups are leading the encampment, including Jewish Voices for Peace, Working Committee of Grads for Palestine and Young Democratic Socialists of America, making up the "UO Palestine Coalition."

"(The encampment) is not only obviously a rise in escalation of asserting our demands, asserting the divestment, but also it's a call to action," Khoury said.

While Khoury was open to speaking on the record with the media, many other students were not, saying they wanted to keep anonymity to avoid harassment.

"With this (encampment) and the rise of just everything that has been going on, it really brought me hope for a better future," Khoury said. "It restored a bit of my faith in humanity for me, which I very deeply and greatly lost."

What do University of Oregon students want?

The group prepared a list of demands from UO:

1. "Divest $2.8 billion that have been funneled into weapon manufacturing companies."
2. "Implement a Boycott, Divest and Sanctions campaign on campus."
3. "Affirm the safety and security of Palestinian, Jewish, Arab and Muslim members on campus."
4. "Condemn the genocide against Palestinians."
5. "Provide formal protections for students and staff to speak their support for Palestine."
6. "Provide education that exposes the true nature of Israel's occupation of Palestine."
7. "End all academic exchanges and relations with Israeli universities."

"What we're doing is standing up for what we just need, and what we deserve, and what the rest of the world deserves as well," Khoury said.

Originally, the coalition had set a two-week deadline to meet these demands, which would end on May 2. However, Khoury said that due to the lack of action from administration, the groups chose to escalate things by setting up the encampment.

Khoury said the last meeting with upper UO admin was in mid-April.

"We talked about our demands for hours and hours, and we got affirmation from them that they wanted to try working on at least helping us get more education and resources on campus," Khoury said. "No action or effort to meet with us or arrange that has happened since then."

On Monday, several faculty milled around the encampment, encouraging students. One professor cheered Khoury on as he rode by on a bicycle.

About the encampment on UO's campus

The liberated zone was set up on the Knight Library Lawn at 7 a.m. There were about 30 tents by 11 a.m. Students were encouraged to cover their faces with masks to avoid identifying themselves.

Signs that read "We stand with Gaza," "Jews for a free Palestine" and "From the river to the sea" were staked along the edges of the encampment. The encampment is also referred to as the "student intifada," which means resistance in Arabic.

The SJP Instagram page has further details about the encampment. At the front, there is an onboarding tent for newcomers.

On Monday morning, a group of community members marched toward and around the encampment, identifying at the "Ceasefire Choir," waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Free Palestine" and "From Palestine to Oregon, liberation will be won."

Khoury said there is no concrete timeline for how long the encampment will remain.

"We will occupy space, we will continue to be present on this campus until our voices are intermittently heard ... and our needs are met, and that's just it. We're not quitting. We're not giving up," Khoury said.

Statement from UO

In a statement posted Monday afternoon, UO stated that it supports free speech and peaceful dissent, but reminded students of the code of conduct, which outlines student expectations. UO stated all our students have the right to receive their education safely and without intimidation.

UO stated that university representatives "have been in communication with those participating," and advised the coalition of an "existing reservation" for the lawn later this week.

"As we have seen over the last week, universities across the nation who have taken a hard stance — including calling in law enforcement as an early response — have seen an escalation in violence, including harm to bystanders and students alike," UO stated. "Representatives from the Division of Student Life and Safety and Risk Services are committed to remaining engaged with the students with the goal of centering student safety."

UO stated it is monitoring the situation, particularly non-student demonstrators, "who may adversely affect or redirect this activity on our campus."

"We will continue to remind students participating in the encampment of relevant policies and possible repercussions based on violations of the Student Conduct Code and will be watchful for any disruption to educational or business operations of the university," UO stated.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr .

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampment at University of Oregon campus in Eugene