DENVER — All three schools within Denver’s Auraria Campus will be switching to remote learning in response to a growing encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who continue to call on university officials to break financial and academic ties with Israel over its war in Gaza.
In a message posted on their website, Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) officials said all campus buildings will be locked starting Friday at 6 p.m. “until further notice,” adding that all buildings on campus will be restricted to critical personnel and operations. Access to dorms will be badge access only.
Faculty and staff were advised to speak with their respective institutions for additional guidance.
Metro State University officials sent staff a message of their own, telling employees that MSU Denver would “operate in a limited capacity and under a heightened level of security over the weekend.” Officials asked that all employees take any personal belongings and materials they may need to “potentially work remotely next week.”
MSU officials did not explain why a heightened level of security was needed over the weekend, only stating, “At this point, it is necessary to temporarily shift to restricted building access as part of our effort to keep campus safe.”
CU Denver officials, in a statement to staff, said all on-campus events will be canceled over the weekend as well as next week. They also advised employees to take anything they might need to work remotely next week. Non-essential employees who require access to CU buildings were asked to contact security staff during business hours by email or phone at 303-556-5000. Officials said university officials would be contacting students who live in dorms as well as those participating in summer program with more details.
Both MSU and CU Denver officials said in their communications that people should avoid engaging with demonstrators in “any way that puts them or others at risk.” People who feel unsafe should call Auraria Campus Police at the number above or text-a-tip to 720-593-8477.
Pro-Palestinian protests have cost campus $290k, led to 80 arrests
Auraria Campus officials estimate the pro-Palestinian demonstration that began three weeks ago on the Tivoli Quad has cost the campus as much as $290,000. About 80 people have been issued citations for trespassing since the protests began on April 25, with half those leading to arrests.
Only 16 of the arrested are enrolled students at the campus, and three more are faculty or staff members, according to AHEC spokesperson Devra Ashley.
Ashley said the $290,000 price tag includes expenses like replacing grass on the quad, safety and officer support, state emergency resources, and events that had to be canceled over safety concerns. One such event was a middle school girls' STEM program scheduled for Thursday that would have brought thousands to the campus, she said.
Protests at the campus began as an encampment on Tivoli Quad on April 25. Demonstrators with the group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) gathered to demand that CU cut ties with Israel and fully disclose its financial investments amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Since then, SDS has included MSU Denver in its demands.
Similar protests unfolded at campuses nationwide in the same time frame.
Denver
DU students build encampment as pro-Palestinian protests continue
The Auraria encampment has grown to more than 100 tents and has spilled from the quad to surrounding areas, Ashley said in the Thursday briefing
The protests escalated this week, with the campus being put on lockdown twice as protesters entered campus buildings. On Monday, 10 protesters were cited for trespassing as a group entered the student commons building and trashed the CU Denver Bursar’s Office. On Tuesday, 12 more were cited as demonstrators set up tents inside the Tivoli Student Union.
“Several acts of trespassing and interference are not examples of peaceful protests,” Ashley said. “We will not tolerate chronic intimidation, campus chaos and business disruptions.”
Concern over “sanitary and hygiene issues” has grown among Auraria officials as the encampment has grown, Ashley added. She said the campus is in contact with law enforcement as well as city and state officials about its response.
Representatives of SDS have said they would end the Auraria protest if their demands were met.
The CU Board of Regents released a statement Thursday saying that while it supported the peaceful protests, it would not be making any policy changes.
