A pro-Palestine demonstration on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland ended early Tuesday, less than two days after protesters marched to the Cathedral of Learning and erected a makeshift encampment on the lawn of the campus landmark.
Local officials said that the departure followed an hours-long discussion among encampment leaders, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. High-level members of their administrations also took part, but the city said Pitt officials were not involved in the talks.
At a late Tuesday press conference, Gainey said local officials “made it clear to [protesters] that this was not an endorsement of demands,” but an effort to disperse the camp before more violence could transpire.
Among the protesters demands were calls for Pitt to identify and end all investments tied to Israel.
“As the mayor of this city, I don’t have any influence over international relations,” Gainey said. “My role as mayor is to keep this city safe.”
Gainey and Innamorato stepped amid rising tensions between people at the encampment and University of Pittsburgh Police. Gainey said he wanted to prevent violence reported at campuses around the country from playing out in Pittsburgh.
“When we as leaders can play a role to …de-escalate situations in a way that everybody gets to go home, that's what we should do.”
Pittsburgh Police spokesperson Cara Cruz said city officers "helped the demonstrators move safely off of the property without incident" shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday. They made no arrests, she said. Pitt Police on Sunday arrested one person, who Pitt officials said, "is not affiliated with the university." That person is awaiting a hearing set for Monday on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and obstructing administration of law.
The encampment had been in place since around 6 p.m. Sunday night, when two marches through Oakland drew as many as 200 protesters to the Pitt campus.
A message released Sunday from an organization identifying itself as Pitt Divest from Apartheid said that reestablishing the encampment — about a month after an earlier encampment disbanded — was meant to “send a clear message to Chancellor Joan Gabel, Board of Trustees Chair Louis R. Cestello, Chief Investment Officer Jeffer Choudhry and the rest of senior administration and the board.”
The statement made a series of demands that included a call for university officials to disclose investments in companies or institutions that have supported Israel in its war with Hamas, and to divest any holdings tied to Israel. Another demand was for the school to terminate the Hillel Jewish Student Union in favor of a “non-Zionist” group “that in no way support[s] the ongoing genocide, occupation or apartheid in Palestine.”
The statement also called for disarming Pitt Police and other actions regarding the university police department, and it identified protesters as Pitt "students, faculty, staff and community members."
Innamorato said she and Gainey on Monday “met with individuals who identified themselves as students and instructors at Pitt. The people we spoke with were members of both the Jewish and Palestinian communities.”
Innamorato said while she “want[s] peace in Gaza,” her goal Monday was to keep the Oakland neighborhood safe.
“Last night we were able to keep the peace in Oakland, which is my primary responsibility as your county executive and as a leader of this county who strives to build a community where everyone feels safe and welcomed,” she said.
While city and county leaders did not disclose details of their conversations with organizers, city spokesperson Maria Montaño said officials explained "what was likely to happen in the wake of violence at the encampment, to enable protesters to make informed decisions."
The city noted that university officials were not part of Monday’s discussion, and local leaders made clear that they were not speaking on behalf of Pitt. The talks did not result in any action from the university.
In a statement, Pitt confirmed that "the mayor's office, in close coordination with University leadership" and other public-safety agencies, "led negotiations with protesters.
"The Cathedral of Learning lawn is now cleared, and the rest of the campus is open and under normal operations," the school said.
In an email Monday to faculty, staff and students Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel said protesters were responsible for incidents of vandalism to campus property and described them as “unaffiliated” with the school.
Gabel described several acts of vandalism she ascribed to the protesters, and said, “Now more than ever, we want to express our commitment to free expression and critical inquiry as core to our mission and key to a vibrant university environment. However, we have no illusions that the efforts of this group [Sunday] night are directed toward free expression.”
But on social media, organizers refuted Pitt’s statements and challenged Gabel to “provide evidence” of those claims.
“Our organization rejects antisemitism in all forms and remains committed in support of our Jewish comrades,” the statement read. “We are a movement of concerned students seeking the end of apartheid, occupation and genocide in Palestine.”
At Tuesday’s press conference, both Gainey and Innamorato broadly condemned what they called a rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Palestinian incidents reported over the last several weeks.
“We condemn anti-Semitic behavior in this city,” Gainey said. "We also condemn anti-Arab activity.”
Officers from the city, University of Pittsburgh and other police departments responded Sunday night to the demonstration, although Gainey on Monday said city officers were "deferring" to university police. Pitt has previously said its own police force was augmented by city, county, and state police agencies, as well as officers from Carnegie Mellon and Carlow universities.
The demonstration this week came about a month after an earlier protest in April that lasted through the week of Pitt's graduation observances. That protest began as a sit-in outside of the Cathedral of Learning before organizers agreed to move the encampment to the city-owned parklet between the Hillman Library and the Carnegie Museum complex.
Acknowledging that future demonstrations are likely, Gainey said he and Innamorato planned to meet with leadership from all local universities to discuss how best to manage on-campus demonstrations.
“We’re going to have a conversation about how we work together, to respond to certain situations, to make sure everybody goes home safe,” Gainey said.
