University of Minnesota Interim President Jeff Ettinger met Wednesday with members of groups organizing pro-Palestinian protests on the U's Twin Cities campus.
This is the second straight week of protests on the campus and others nationwide, and the third day that a tent encampment — the second of its kind — has been set up on the grass near the U's Northrop auditorium.
Protests at the U have been led by a coalition of student groups that are calling on the school to, among other things, divest from companies with ties to Israel, ban some recruiters from campus and release a statement in support of Palestinian students.
The meeting, which had initially been scheduled for about a half-hour, lasted for nearly two hours and ended around noon. The university didn't immediately release specific details of the meeting but said Ettinger "relayed that it was a constructive meeting and that both groups involved have some things to bring back to their colleagues."
Ettinger is also working to schedule a meeting with Jewish student organizations on campus, though representatives for both the U and some of the groups said the time is still being worked out.
About a dozen buildings along Northrop Mall remained closed Wednesday, while others on the U's East Bank campus are accessible only to people with a university ID. Some faculty sent Ettinger a letter urging him to reconsider the closures, saying they feared they would have a chilling effect on free speech and upended the final days of the spring semester. Wednesday is listed as a study day for students, and final exams are set to begin Thursday.
The protests come at the end of the school year while the U is hosting several graduation ceremonies this week and next. The university has not announced any changes to those events.
