After Portland police arrested 12 protesters and forced dozens more to flee Portland State University’s Branford Price Millar Library Thursday morning, tensions continued with activists renewing attempts to access the building Thursday night. But even with university officials planning to reopen much of campus Friday morning to reestablish academic routines, life on campus was feeling far from normal.
In Thursday’s hourslong morning standoff, campus protesters shouted at officers from behind yellow caution tape at Portland’s South Park Blocks. Police forcibly pushed demonstrators, at times using what appeared to be pepper spray, to clear a path for bureau vehicles.
Reaction to Thursday’s police presence among Portland State’s students, faculty and staff show the differences of opinion at the downtown university. Some say they feel reenergized by protesters’ passionate plea to end the war in Gaza. Others feel it took university leadership too long to call in the Portland Police Bureau. Almost everyone in the campus community is fearful for student safety.
People help someone who got pepper-sprayed in the face at the Portland State University campus on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Portland police formed a perimeter early in the morning around the school's library to remove people protesting Israel's role in the war in Gaza.
Conrad Wilson / OPB
K, a Portland State student protester who spent time inside the library and did not want to share their real name out of fear of retaliation, was one of the dozen or so occupiers who fled the library Thursday morning. They said facing the police was scary but worth it because the protest has been effective in drawing the public’s attention.
“A protest isn’t always about getting people on our side immediately; it’s about bringing attention to something,” said K. “I know people who are ignoring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because they think it’s on the other side of the world, it’s not something I need to worry about.”
K said bullhorn messaging from the police stressed that no charges would be pressed against students who chose to leave the library in the morning. PSU President Ann Cudd had told people occupying the library that they would not face consequences if they left of their own accord. At a press conference after police entered the library, she said that offer was no longer on the table.
Several faculty members supportive of the student protesters came to campus Thursday morning. Many were concerned about the forcible measures taken against student protesters, chanting, “Hands off Palestine, hands off our students.”
PSU faculty link arms and chant as they watch law enforcement teams clear protesters from Portland State University’s Branford Price Millar Library, May 2, 2024. Demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza had occupied the library since Monday evening.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Kristin Hole, a professor in Portland State’s film department, said she felt morally obligated to protect students after hearing police had arrived on campus.
“I’m absolutely opposed to police presence on the university campus,” said Hole. “I think this is totally against the values of what a university should be. This is not a safe space for students right now.”
The American Federation of Teachers, Oregon, which represents adjunct faculty at Portland State, released a statement Thursday encouraging police restraint and nonviolence amid campus protests. The union also opposed any kind of university retaliation against student protesters, such as suspension or expulsion.
Other faculty members were relieved to see officers entering the library Thursday morning to end the occupation.
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A professor in PSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who wished to remain anonymous, said university leadership should have brought in law enforcement sooner. He said the police presence was necessitated by the student protesters refusing to leave.
“The rights of the students who committed damage [to the library] have been favored over those whose access to learning in the library have been suspended, whose tuition pays for the library,” said the Portland State professor.
Since Monday, protesters have vandalized the facade and walls of the library and damaged library furniture. Protesters said they intended to avoid damage to any books, but library staff have expressed concern about the condition of materials following the occupation.
The professor would like to see the university take a harder stance against student protesters who occupied the building.
“The horrors that have unfolded in Israel and in Gaza are absolutely tragic,” said the Portland State professor. “But that does not absolve the occupiers from their actions.”
A small crowd stands outside the occupied Branford Price Millar Library at Portland State University, April 30, 2024. Demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza had occupied the library since Monday evening.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Nearly all faculty who spoke with OPB were concerned about the disruption to students’ education in the wake of protests that started ramping up on campus a week ago. Portland State students are currently in midterms of the spring quarter.
But even with the disruption, some people in the campus community have been inspired by the student-led protests.
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A Portland State staff member who went by the name Richard said he still supports the students, despite the protests negatively impacting his work and the damage to school property.
“Protests need to be transgressive in order to get their point across,” Richard said.
“Because a protest that pleases everyone isn’t really a protest at all.”
