DENVER — University of Denver officials will erect a protective barrier around the pro-Palestinian encampment where dozens of students are protesting the Israel-Hamas war after demonstrators became targets of verbal and physical attack this week.
The encampment outside the university’s administrative building on Carnegie Green began earlier this month and has remained mostly peaceful, save for a few incidents in which university officials had to intervene.
One such incident occurred Tuesday night, where university officials witnessed what they described as alarming behavior where “verbal expressions of hate, physical harm, and vandalism” were targeted at students, faculty and staff within and outside the encampment.
“We are extremely grateful for the faculty, staff, and campus safety officers who worked late into the night to keep tempers down, protect safety, and defend free speech,” DU officials said in a news release Thursday, adding they were also grateful to those who used “peaceful means to navigate the situation.”
The confrontations happened on the day protesters defied a deadline to dismantle their encampment and leave the area as tensions between pro-Palestinian protesters and Jewish students continue to grow over what’s happening in Gaza.
Denver
Pro-Palestinian encampment remains on DU campus Wednesday
Following Tuesday’s events, DU officials said that to prioritize safety while holding firm to the university’s commitment to free expression, Chancellor Haefner and Provost Clark offered to put up a protective barrier as an additional safety measure – a measure protesters from DU for Palestine said would be effective “to increase their safety and reduce harm.”
Still, DU officials said this was a short-term measure “as we continue discussions with encampment participants."
