In a letter sent to Case Western Reserve University faculty, staff and students on the seventh day of a campus protest, President Eric Kaler said he met with “elected undergraduate student leaders” over the weekend to talk about the ongoing pro-Palestinian encampment.
He thanked that group for their “constructive feedback, openness to discussion and advocacy for their peers,” per an email sent Monday.
Those students, though, aren’t affiliated with the encampment. A university spokesperson told Signal Cleveland the university will not identify what groups the students represent due to privacy concerns.
Jad Kamhawi Oglesby, vice president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said his group didn’t even know those talks were happening.
“It’s honestly just really annoying that he chose to consult a group of students that really have little to no actual investment or understanding of what is going on [at the encampment],” he told Signal Cleveland.
Case Western Reserve’s Kaler says no to divestment
The students Kaler met with, he wrote, told him their peers may not know about the history between the administration and the SJP group.
He highlighted several attempts at communication between the administration and SJP over the past few years. Plus, he said the group violated the university’s community standards several times during this academic year. SJP was placed on an interim suspension in February.
Reinstating that group is one of the protestors’ demands. And, like their peers nationwide, Case Western Reserve students’ other requests include asking the private university to divest any financial interests in Israel.
Kaler’s letter made it clear that won’t be happening.
“Divestment—a key component of the protesters’ demands—is and remains something the university will not do,” he said.
Kaler says Case Western Reserve “committed” to working with student leaders
Kaler added that the university “is committed to working with student leaders—but working together requires all parties to work in good faith.”
The president reiterated what he said late last week. He said that the university won’t engage in any discussion about protestors’ demands until the encampment is over.
Student protestors, meanwhile, aired their grievances in a letter to the board of trustees. Protestors shared that letter on their Instagram page Monday.
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