A group of students at the Rhode Island School of Design (
RISD)
barricaded themselves inside a campus building on Monday, May 7, into Tuesday,
demanding their school divest from Israel, according to
local reports and videos from the scene.Video posted by the group
RISD Students for Justice in Palestine (
SJP), which organized the protest, shows chairs piled up inside the building, with a video caption that says “barricades remain strong.”The protesters were given an 8 am deadline on Tuesday to leave the building, after meeting with the college president and provost for several hours, The Brown Daily Herald
reported. Students were still occupying the building on Tuesday morning, according to
local reports.
RISD SJP published their
aims and demands from the university on Instagram, which included “divestment from companies facilitating Israeli occupation and genocide in Palestine.”The protesters said they renamed the building “Fathi Ghaben Place” in honor of the Palestinian artist who died after being prevented from leaving Gaza to get medical treatment. Credit:
RISD SJP via Storyful