Encampment protesting war in Gaza near University of Pittsburgh enters 3rd day
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Protests over Israel's war in Gaza stretched into another day on college campuses across the nation, including at Schenley Plaza, near the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland.
About 100 people, including Pitt students, are in their third day of protests at Schenley Plaza. It's a growing encampment across the street from the Cathedral of Learning, where things began with a sit-in Tuesday morning.
The sit-in was organized by a group of students who are demanding the University of Pittsburgh divest from the Israeli government and any companies complicit in what they say are crimes of genocide. The protest has only grown in size since Tuesday when the crowd moved out of the Cathedral and into Schenley Plaza.
Philosopher and activist Cornel West spoke to the crowd on Thursday. West, who is running for president as an independent, is speaking Thursday night at the Hosanna House in the Hill District.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey's office says it supports everyone's right to peacefully assemble and there is no permit needed for the students to occupy this area. The city has been monitoring the protest and says so far there have been no reports of violence or evidence of hate speech.