(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Chicago’s last pro-Palestinian encampment enters its ninth day on Wednesday at DePaul University. The students protesting say they’re there to stay.
There are more than 40 tents set up in the quad and security is tight.
Activists are using one voice and allowing the media to speak only through a liaison.
One organizer that spoke with WBBM Newsradio says he's had a meaningful impactful experience at the demonstration and that the world is watching.
Students plan to stay until the university acknowledges its involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.
On Wednesday afternoon, things were peaceful and quiet on campus. Students were reading and studying in the grass.
In the past week, other pro-Palestinian tent encampment have been broken up around Chicago.
A pro-Palestinian tent encampment was cleared by officers in riot gear at the University of Chicago on Tuesday after administrators who had initially adopted a permissive approach said the protesters had crossed a line. Hundreds of protesters had gathered for at least eight days until administrators warned them Friday to leave or face removal.
On Saturday, nearly 70 students were arrested at a pro-Palestinian encampment at the Art Institute of Chicago. After demonstrators barricaded and locked the gates to the garden, police said officers negotiated for a few hours with protesters to clear the area without arrest.
Last month, Northwestern struck a deal with protesters to remove a tent encampment from the on-campus Deering Meadow.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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