Northwestern, Brown protests end with student-school agreements

(NewsNation) — Northwestern and Brown Universities no longer have situations involving pro-Palestinian protesters after cutting deals with protest leaders.

Northwestern President Michael Schill and top administrators agreed to several protester demands, including full scholarships for some Palestinian students and guaranteed jobs for some Palestinian academics.

“The University will support visiting Palestinian faculty and students at risk,” a university statement reads. Northwestern has committed to fully funding five student scholarships and two faculty spots for the next two years.

By Tuesday, most of the protester encampment on the campus in the Chicago suburb of Evanston was gone.

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, cut its own deal with protesters.

Administrators there promised to hold a board vote in October on whether to end the school’s investments in companies linked to Israel. Before then, student leaders will meet with Brown administrators to lay out their arguments for divestment.

Brown also says students who took part in the protests won’t be punished.

Northwestern’s protests will continue through May, but students won’t be allowed to pitch tents except one for aid supplies. Protesters must also get school permission to use loudspeakers.

Organizers also agreed that nonstudents won’t be allowed to participate, and students who violate the terms of the agreement could face penalties, including suspension.

The deals drew quick criticism from Jewish groups. The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League Midwest say Northwestern “succumbed to the demands of a mob” and did little to make Jewish students on campus feel more secure.

ADL Midwest also called on Schill to resign as president of Northwestern over the “reprehensible and dangerous agreement” with protesters.