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Tables set up in front of Foellinger Auditorium on May 1 with food and water for demonstrators.
Tables set up in front of Foellinger Auditorium on May 1 with food and water for demonstrators.
Alyssa Shih
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Live coverage: Encampment remains on Main Quad to fourth day

More signs appeared in the encampment today.
May 1, 8:00 p.m.

Illinois Student Council President Rudy LaFave and Vice President Hunter Farnham released a joint Instagram statement with other ISC members around 8 p.m. this evening condemning the University’s response to the pro-Palestinian encampment on the quad.

“Peaceful protestors sometimes have to break certain rules, not out of disregard for authority but out of a deep commitment to justice and human rights,” the statement read. “If the lawfulness of tents on our quad is concerning to you, we urge you to consider the Israeli government’s blatant violations of international law.”

In the post, they included a guide from the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit human rights organization, on what to do if stopped by the police while protesting. 

They also included Students for Justice in Palestine’s four encampment demands for the University: divesting from organizations profiting off of or supporting Palestine’s occupation, disclosing all financial assets, cutting ties with Israeli institutions and offering student protestors amnesty. 

“We stand with our peers and call on the University to resume good-faith negotiations,” the post’s caption read. 

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More signs appeared in the encampment today. (Matt Stepp)
Demonstrators began chanting from the middle of the encampment during their "May Day Rally."
May 1, 6:27 p.m.
Demonstrators drum on buckets while chanting during the “May Day Rally” from the encampment. (Matt Stepp)

Starting at approximately 5:20 p.m. today, demonstrators gathered in the center of the encampment for a rally celebrating May Day, a day designated for the global commemoration of labor movements and airing political grievances.

Protest chants included “U of I you can’t hide, you are funding genocide” and “When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back.”

Recognizing occupation around the world, the crowd also chanted, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied” and “Occupation is a crime, from C-U to Palestine.”

A speaker for American Muslims for Palestine Chicago extended support to Illinois student protestors.

“We have all of you and our strength on our side and God willingly, we will be victorious,” the speaker said.

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The rally detailed the history of May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. 

May Day takes place yearly on May 1 in memory of the 1886 Haymarket Affair. 

Originally a peaceful protest to shorten the workday, the event at Haymarket Square resulted in a confrontation between protestors and the police. 

The event ended in the death of a protester and injury of several others. The following day, a bomb thrown by protestors killed seven officers and injured 60 attendees. 

The police retaliated by punishing eight men, many of whom were not present at the square on May 4. This event inflamed emerging left-wing movements of the time.

The rally speaker drew a parallel of militarized police abuse between the Haymarket Affair and the stand-off with protestors last Friday, calling them “the same struggle.”

“We stand here today because the struggle of the Palestinians is the struggle of the worker everywhere,” one speaker said. “Freedom from the occupation in the case of the Palestinian is freedom from the capitalist in the case of the worker.” 

 

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Demonstrators began chanting from the middle of the encampment during their “May Day Rally.” (Matt Stepp)
May 1, 2:54 p.m.

The Daily Illini spoke with Gus Wood, an assistant professor in the School of Labor & Employment Relations at the University, about the significance of May Day.

 

DI: Just a brief summarization of what you were talking about, sir.

Wood: Sure. So today is May Day, and May Day, of course, is what we call the real Labor Day because it’s in honor of the workers who were massacred by the Chicago Police at the Haymarket Square in Chicago. It’s a day that around the world, people recognize that workers are always fighting for their rights to humanity and the right to make decisions for how they live their lives. 

It’s a very special day across the world, and so I was speaking about the history of how that came about and how it was related to the recent suppression of protesting in different parts of not just the United States but across the world.

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DI: Is there anything else you would like to say on the subject matter that you maybe weren’t able to touch on in your speech, or just anything in general that you think The Daily Illini should hear from you?

Wood: Well, the first thing is I want to thank The Daily Illini for being out here and really just doing a great job covering such an important moment on our campus. When I was a graduate student here and was one of the presidents of the GEO (Graduate Employees’ Organization) Union, it was something that was kind of not expected. When we saw an injustice, we protested. We saw that there was a problem in the world or a problem on campus, we protested. We had the right to speak out. So it’s incredibly discouraging that this recent crackdown of protesting both here and across the world devalues not just the humanity of the students and others who are protesting, but it devalues our very mission as a university of higher learning where we’re supposed to embrace the things that our students are learning, the things that our students are exercising and understanding when they see injustice in the world. So we’re here to support our students, and we’re here to support their exercising of their rights.

 

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Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success, Inclusion and Belonging Jim Hintz discusses with demonstration organizers.
May 1, 1:24 p.m.

Associate Vice Chancellor Jim Hintz briefly visited the encampment at about 10:30 a.m. to speak with encampment organizers. The topic of this meeting is unknown. 

At approximately 12:40 p.m., Students for Justice in Palestine posted a report to Instagram restating the encampment’s mission.

“The UIUC encampment for Palestine is a popular university where community, learning, and social justice are deeply embraced and valued for all people,” the statement read. “We demand the University of Illinois, as the flagship of the University of Illinois System, invest in students and community rather than genocide.”

The statement, posted in partnership with the UIUC Young Democratic Socialists of America and the Palestinian Youth Movement, also condemned the University administration for failing to meet the demonstration’s demands.

“When students are eager to reach a divestment resolution, the administration’s refusal to negotiate in good faith stalls our goal to invest in our community rather than genocide,” the statement read. 

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“When we were pressured to remove our tents in exchange for an uncommitted discussion about divestment, (administrators) abruptly canceled Monday’s meeting, despite promising this meeting would not be canceled,” the statement added.

The post stated that organizers are frustrated, given that “over the last 6 months, we have done everything possible to hold the University accountable for their complicity in genocide.”

The Champaign Mayor’s Office and Rep. Nikki Budzinski could not be reached for comment. 

 

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Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success, Inclusion and Belonging Jim Hintz discusses with demonstration organizers. (Alyssa Shih)
Seniors continue to take senior pictures on the quad despite the encampment taking up space there.
May 1, 10:15 a.m.

Day four of the student encampment has started similarly to the previous three days and follows an uneventful night on the Main Quad. 

Since the protest in front of Alma Mater on Friday, interactions between the University administration and community demonstrators have relaxed. Protesters began placing tents on the south side of the Main Quad on Sunday afternoon near a sign that read “UIUC LIBERATION ZONE.”

Protesters were left undisturbed in the three days since they moved to the Main Quad and have seen minimal interactions with the police and other demonstrators. The number of tents in the encampment has more than doubled from roughly 20 to around 47. 

After repeated attempts fell through, negotiations are still at a standstill between the University administration and protesters. Protest groups, including the Students for Justice in Palestine, have repeatedly stated that the University is responsible for conversations not occurring. However, the University put out a statement on Sunday stating that protesters refused an offer for discussions.

At 8 a.m. today, SJP released a “UIUC Encampment for Palestine Report,” in which it discussed the protestors’ experiences and laid out its demands for the University administration.

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“We demand the University of Illinois System, invest in students and community rather than genocide,” the statement read. 

The report also stated that “The administration violated labor law by forcing building and service workers to suppress student speech, removing tents surrounded police.” 

Following the heated protests between police, protestors and Facilities & Services workers on Friday, the Campus Faculty Association, along with the Non-Tenure Faculty Union Coalition, released statements in which they condemned the University for sending building service workers into the protests.

“This attempt to force our amazing BSWs to participate in the suppression of a political action is woefully irresponsible and unacceptable in trampling on the human, civil, and labor rights of any individual on this campus,” the CFA’s statement read. 

 

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Seniors continue to take senior pictures on the quad despite the encampment taking up space there. (Anika Khandavalli)
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About the Contributor
Matt Stepp
Matt Stepp, Visual Director
Hey there! I’m Matt, I’m currently a sophomore majoring in Graphic Design, with a minor in media. I started here at the Daily Illini in the fall of 2023 as a staff photographer, and now serve as the Visual Director for the Daily Illini. I have always loved photography, you will probably see me around campus shooting sports and other events. I’m also an artist and love watercolor painting and illustration. If you’re a swimmer or enjoy the pool, you may see me at the ARC or CRCE working as a lifeguard as well, I’m never away from a pool for too long!
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