Three New Jersey colleges have pro-divestment encampments after Rutgers-Newark joined the cause Wednesday.
A little after noon, students, professors and community members put up tents outside the Law School at Rutgers-Newark and joined their sister school in New Brunswick in demanding Rutgers divest from companies associating with Israel. Protesters at Princeton University have also called for their school to divest.
The Newark encampment featured many of the same demands as those of the New Brunswick encampment, with a few extra demands unique to Newark. They include offering free tuition and student debt relief for Newark residents and providing pro bono legal services to residents earning less than $50,000 per household.
“We’re also asking Rutgers to supply land and buildings for a community land trust that will provide public housing, something that has been an issue here in Newark, as Rutgers has been one of the drivers of downtown gentrification,” said Whit Strub, an associate professor of history at Rutgers-Newark. “We’re trying to combine those demands of social justice for Palestine, as well as social justice for Newark.”
Rutgers administrators say encampments are permitted as long as protesters remain nonviolent and do not interfere with university functions.
