Negotiations with student protesters at Portland State University who occupied a campus library fell through early Wednesday, but about 50 people left the building on their own, the university's president said.
Between 50 and 75 protesters broke into the Branford Price Millar Library on Monday, Portland Police Chief Bob Day previously told.
Negotiators for the students occupying the building indicated they would sign an agreement to leave the building by 1:30 a.m. local time, president Ann Cudd said. She said she guaranteed the students would not be expelled or suspended and would not face criminal charges — in exchange, the students agreed to not violate codes of conduct. The president said she also agreed to meet with student leaders on May 17 to continue talks.
“I feverishly wish that the students in the library had signed on to our agreement, but, after their negotiators told us they had a deal, they apparently chose not to sign,” Cudd said. It doesn’t appear that there are many students left inside the building Wednesday.
Cudd said it is her understanding that some people inside the library are not students. Graffiti on the library building reads “Free Gaza” and “To Gaza with love.”
“Many of us have seen the vandalism to our library and while the cost of property damage cannot compare to the cost of human lives, this destructive protest is weighing heavy on our campus community who collectively pay for our facilities and expect and deserve to use them in a setting that is welcoming to all students,' the president said.
