The San José State student encampment on the lawn in front of Clark Hall has entered its sixth day with no response from the university’s administration to the protesters’ demands.
Pro-Palestinian student organizations SJSU For Gaza and Student Justice for Palestine SJSU announced the first day of the encampment through an Instagram post on Monday.
The student protesters emailed the administration on Friday with a request for an open bargaining session surrounding their demands.
An open bargaining session is when all members involved in a particular negotiation are included and receive full transparency on the matter, according to a Dec. 17, 2018 article from the Graduate Workers of Columbia University.
This email was sent through an appointed liaison, Sang Hea Kil, a faculty member in the Justice Studies department.
Attached in the email are nine demands which are displayed in front of the camp and posted on a public Google document.
“The students are requesting an open bargaining session like the one the San Francisco State University president had with SFSU students,” the email stated.
SFSU’s President Lynn Mahoney met publicly with student protesters and on Tuesday announced the university’s commitment to divest from weapons manufacturers, according to a Golden Gate Express article published on the same day.
Students are calling for SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson to meet with protesters on the “concrete circle between the camp and the administration building,” according to the same email.
Michelle Smith McDonald, SJSU’s Senior Director of Media Relations, confirmed that Teniente-Matson and her cabinet received the protesters' email.
In an email sent by McDonald, Mari Fuentes-Martin, the interim vice president of Student Affairs, made a statement regarding the request.
“At SJSU, students come first,” the email said. “We are actively engaged with our students because it is the right thing to do, and we have been working to further with the goal of a successful resolution.”
As of publication, McDonald said the administration has not started negotiations with student protesters.
Sang Hea Kil said the administration still has not responded to the email requesting an open bargaining session.
“The students are disappointed in the campus administration's continued silence on their demands,” Kil said.
She said the campers are protesting in line with the “Popular University for Gaza” movement.
The Popular University for Gaza movement is a coordinated movement among students, faculty and staff dedicated to interrupting daily functions at different universities, according to an April 22 Instagram post from National Students Justice for Palestine.
National Students Justice for Palestine is a national organization that seeks to unify and empower student organizers to push forward demands for Palestinian liberation, according to the organization's website.
The goal of the movement is to create a climate that forces administrators to divest from Israeli entities, according to the same Instagram post.
Students Supporting Israel at SJSU and SJSU Jewish Student Union did not respond to the Spartan Daily’s requests for comment.
“I can assuredly tell you that there are no plans to decamp at this particular time because divestment hasn’t been achieved in any way shape or form,” Kil said.
The protesters are calling for the administration at SJSU to fully divest in companies, corporations and entities that have ties to Israel, according to the same Google document.
Divestment means selling all investments in a particular sector, according to a webpage from Cornell University.
“(Students) are hopeful that once more clear lines of communication are opened between the administration and the camp,” Kil said. “That open bargaining can happen soon.”
