UC Riverside reaches peaceful agreement with student encampment leaders

University of California, Riverside administration reached an agreement with leaders of the student encampment Friday, leading to a clearing of the occupied campus area by no later than midnight.

Administration said meetings had been productive and civil, with the focal point of the agreement being transparency of UC's investments and the forming of a task force to explore the possibility of UCR's endowment to be removed from the management of the UC Investments Office.

The sit-in at UCR began Monday, April 29, with demands that the university disclose its investments and funding and that it divest from companies and institutions "complicit in the Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide" of Palestinians.

The same message went out at other college campus protests and rallies in the state and across the Country.

In Southern California, pro-palestinian protestors took to UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego, USC, Pitzer College and at Cal State Long Beach.

Other campuses have not had such peaceful negotiations, as violence broke out at the UCLA encampment, where over 200 people were arrested on Thursday. At USC, 93 people were arrested Wednesday as police ordered the dismantling of the encampment.

In UCR's Friday's agreement letter, Chancellor Kim Wilcox thanked the campus community for navigating " the complexities of this week's events with patience, grace, and civility."

"This agreement does not change the realities of the war in Gaza, or the need to address antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bias and discrimination; however, I am grateful that we can have constructive and peaceful conversations on how to address these complex issues," Wilcox wrote.

UCR's full agreement terms are as follows:

• All currently public information on UC's investments will be posted to the UCR campus website. It will continue to be updated as the UC releases more information. The goal is to get full disclosure of the list of companies in the portfolio and the size of the investments.
• The UCR Administration agrees to form a task force that includes students appointed by ASUCR's Diversity Council and faculty appointed by the Academic Senate to explore the removal of UCR's endowment from the management of the UC Investments Office, and the investment of said endowment in a manner that will be financially and ethically sound for the university with consideration to the companies involved in arms manufacturing and delivery. The goal of this task force is to produce a report to present to the UCR Foundation Board of Trustees by the end of Winter Quarter 2025. The task force will be formed by the end of the Spring 2024 quarter.
• Commitment to bimonthly meetings with the AVC of Auxiliary Services and an ongoing review of Sabra Hummus consistent with existing product review processes until we can find a resolution.
• The School of Business has discontinued Global Programs in Oxford, USA, Cuba, Vietnam, Brazil, China, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.
• UCR will modify its approval process for all study abroad programs to ensure compliance with UC's Anti-Discriminatory Policies.