Vanderbilt Divest Coalition dismantled its Palestine solidarity encampment on May 4, the official move-out date for non-graduating students. The encampment, which lasted 40 days, began as a sign of support for the 27 student protesters who occupied Kirkland Hall from March 26-27.
VDC protesters announced the conclusion of the encampment on May 3 via Instagram and said they intend to continue their protest and activism for Palestine in the fall.
“Because most students cannot stay on campus during the summer, and it will no longer be safe to continue, camp will be taken down on May 4,” the post reads. “But to the Vanderbilt administrators monitoring this page, know that this is only the beginning.”
Over the next few months, VDC said they plan to continue coalition-building efforts and strengthen existing relationships with organizations like Nashville’s Palestine Hurra Collective, with whom they organized a march across campus on May 1.
The university declined to comment on whether any negotiations have taken place between administration and the protesters and reaffirmed its stance of not adopting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions measures, “unless required by law.”
“Student Affairs reached out to the students at the encampment Friday morning, May 3, to understand their timeline for breaking down and removing the tents on Kirkland lawn,” a university representative said in an email to The Hustler. “We learned late Friday the students decided to break down the camp.”
Other university administrations have entered negotiations with their students’ pro-Palestine protesters, resulting in mutual agreements to end the encampments. Following five-day student sit-ins, the University of California Riverside promised to disclose its investments, and California State University Sacramento committed to divestment. Vanderbilt declined to comment on whether it has been monitoring other university administrations’ actions.
