Students at The University Of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus are continuing to protest, this time at a new encampment site.
With the previous encampment outside Coffman Memorial Union now cleared, over a dozen tents are now pitched outside the Northrop Building on campus where students are rallying, for the University to divest from its ties to Israel.
WCCO's Taylor Rivera spoke to one student leader outside Northrop who wanted to remain anonymous.
"The reason that we are calling for divestment is because that's major ways that Israel is funded," the student explained. "That's one of the major ways they're able to create those weapons and the bombs that are then used to kill people in Gaza, Palestine, Pakistan, all those countries across the globe."
Currently, University of Minnesota policy does not allow for tents to be set up without a permit but students here say they don’t plan on leaving willingly.
The students WCCO spoke to are denying claims that their pro-Palestine demonstrations are "antisemitic".
"We have absolutely no hate towards any Jewish students," says the anonymous student. "There's Jewish students here right now wearing yamikas that have the colors of Palestine. You know, it's not about a religious issue. Zionism is an ideology that they're using. They're using Judaism as a way to kind of, to justify their occupation and the colonialism."
Interim U of M president Jeff Ettinger met with similar groups last fall, and in a message to the current protesters, said he would like to continue those conversations as the semester ends.