Student protestors establish ‘Auraria Gaza Solidarity Zone’ encampment on CU Denver’s Auraria Campus
Over the course of Friday, April 26, over 100 individuals gathered on the Tivoli Quad at the Auraria Campus in Denver to call upon the leadership of the University of Colorado Denver to divest campus resources away from Israeli companies and entities, as well defense contractors that are profiting from the war in Gaza, according to protestors.
Protestors began pitching tents and creating an encampment on Tivoli Quad at noon on Thursday, and remained there until early Friday afternoon, when law enforcement officers forcefully cleared the area. Soon after the initial encampment was cleared, protestors assembled again to make their resoluteness clear.
The divestment movement has gained traction on American campuses over the past weeks, with similar student protests taking place at Columbia University, The University of Texas at Austin and Emory University.
A University of Colorado Denver student named Sean, who did not disclose his last name, said students are motivated by the protests at college campuses across the country.
“I’m absolutely inspired by what’s going on at Columbia, and then UT and Emory, and across the country, but it’s nice to see it continuing to grow,” said Sean. “I was here the majority of the day yesterday, and we were sitting at around 100 people. There’s a lot more now.”
The Tivoli Quad rally was organized by Denver Students for a Democratic Society and the Colorado Palestine Coalition. Students from the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and Community College of Denver continued to organize at the “Auraria Gaza Solidarity Zone” throughout Friday afternoon, even after the quad was cleared by law enforcement. Approximately 40 protestors were arrested at around 12:30 p.m.
Multiple university safety alerts were sent out to CU Denver staff, faculty and students as the occupation of Tivoli Quad was broken up and subsequently reorganized over the course of the day.
Law enforcement returned to the scene at approximately 5:06 p.m. wearing tactical riot gear. Officers from the Auraria Campus Police, Colorado State Patrol and Denver Police Department lined up on the steps of the Tivoli Student Union, armed with non-lethal crowd-control weapons such as PepperBall pistols, tear gas launchers and zip-tie handcuffs.
A university wide alert announcing the closure of traffic into the Auraria Campus was sent at 5:07 p.m., just one minute after officers arrived at the encampment.
After the arrival of law enforcement, protestors moved to create a circle around the encampment, linking arms and chanting “all hail Palestine,” “disperse, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” and “we have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Auraria Campus Police Chief Jason Mellendor communicated to the protestors that they had 15 minutes to disperse at approximately 5:08 p.m., citing the Denver Code of Ordinances 38-115 municipal code. “You must disperse. If you fail to disperse, we will subject each and every one of you to arrest and prosecution. If you remain reasonable, necessary force may be used to remove you,” Mellendor said.
The protestors did not disperse upon Mellendor’s request, and there was no immediate action taken against them.
As the 15-minute dispersal warning elapsed at approximately 5:25 p.m., the protestors’ numbers had swelled to the largest yet — and they continued to occupy Tivoli Quad. At around 6 p.m., severe weather warnings were issued to the Denver Metro area, cautioning the possibility of quarter-sized hail in the next hour. Protestors made their intention to stay despite the weather clear.
“The rain is starting, and we’re staying,” an unidentified protestor said.
Police vehicles surrounded the area, barricading 11th St. from Auraria Parkway to Larimer Street. Numerous unmarked vans were present, as well as a Denver Sheriff’s department transport bus, where heavily armed officers were at the ready to move protestors who might be arrested.
Amelia Federico, a student at MSU Denver, reflected on the climate of the event, commenting on how she decided to come to the protest upon receiving emails warning to stay away from the area.
“On the other side of fear is freedom, and that’s what you have to work towards,” Federico said.
Though the demonstration was centered on Tivoli Quad, students in each of the five stories of the City Heights Residence Hall, a dorm overlooking the quad, quickly put together messages written on cardboard and in sticky notes to relay their support of the protestors.
A surprising turn of events occurred when Denver Mayor Mike Johnson arrived at the Auraria Campus at approximately 6:45 p.m., entering the Tivoli Student Union to speak to CU Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks about the ongoing civil demonstration. Mayor Johnson then appeared outside the Tivoli Student Union and addressed the protestors directly at approximately 7:30 p.m.
“We have no desire to make any arrests here, we welcome people to protest,” Johnson said. “If the tents can come down in the next 30 minutes… then you can protest peacefully.”
Almost immediately, the mayor was met with ire and disdain.
“It’s more of the same, our demands are not being met,” said an unidentified protestor to Johnson.
“I have no capacity to meet any of these demands,” the mayor rebutted before being whisked away by law enforcement.
Johnson spoke to the crowd for just under a minute — his voice and authority vastly overshadowed by the fervor of the demonstrators and the gravity of the demonstration.
At 9:00 p.m., the Auraria Higher Education Center released an updated statement concerning the protests.
“The Auraria Campus has always respected the freedom of speech in our community and will continue to do so. We also need to put safety first.”
As of Friday night, demonstrators remained on Tivoli Quad, still holding the “Auraria Gaza Solidarity Zone” despite a long and arduous day of organization and protest. However, the future of the movement is uncertain, as attempts by law enforcement to contain the demonstration and prevent the establishment of an encampment appeared to be unsuccessful.
Despite the illegality and uncertainty regarding the encampment, the protestors seemed to be in good spirits as the day’s events came to a close.
The Bold will publish updates to this ongoing story as they are received.
