University of Vermont protest ends abruptly but peacefully
burlinGton, Vt. — the proPalestinian encampment on a small green adjacent to the student center at the university of Vermont disappeared this week almost as quickly as it appeared two weeks earlier, with little fanfare, and no arrests.
like universities including tufts and brown, the uVM protesters left under their own volition, without being ousted by police as they recently were on campuses including the university of Massachusetts at amherst, Mit in Cambridge, and northeastern university in boston.
the anticlimactic end mirrored what happened two days earlier at Vermont’s Middlebury College, where students voluntarily removed tents after negotiating an agreement with college administrators.
in burlington, protesters said they had no such agreement and instead dismantled their encampment as a “strategic decision,” according to a statement Wednesday by uVM Students for Justice in Palestine, an organizer of the protest.
“While the encampment served as an immensely useful tactical escalation, the time has now come for us to pivot our energy,” the statement said.
the protesters claimed victory on two key demands of the administration: to disclose some details about how it invests its $840 million endowment and to cancel this year’s commencement speaker.
uS ambassador to the united nations linda thomas-Greenfield had been scheduled to speak at spring commencement ceremonies, but protesters argued that thomasGreenfield was an inappropriate choice because she had voted against un resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
the administration apparently did not bend on the protesters’ other demands to divest from israeli businesses and those with links to israel, amnesty for student protesters who allegedly broke university rules, and to cut ties with israeli academic institutions.
the group described the university’s disclosure about investments as “limited,” and pledged to continue to pressure uVM for full disclosure.
“We have demonstrated that power lies with the people,” the group said.
While students took the encamp