RISD students end occupation of administration building

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The 23 Rhode Island School of Design students who barricaded themselves in an administrative building to demand divestment from Israel have ended their occupation.

A spokesperson for the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine organization said that the students decided to end the occupation after the school told them that the barricades in the building were a fire hazard and facilities personnel would need to remove them.

The occupying students removed one of the barricades themselves, and the spokesperson said that supportive students from outside the occupation entered the building after the barricades were removed to help the students leave.

RISD President Crystal Williams released a statement that said that students would have until 2:30 p.m. to leave the occupation and undergo a “restorative justice process,” which would include “returning the space to its original state by Friday.

If the students had not vacated, they would have faced expulsion.

The full letter from Williams can be read below:

Dear RISD Community,
I am writing briefly regarding the students on the second floor of 20 Washington Place. Facilities and maintenance staff have helped clear ingress and egress, and we thank the students for allowing us to ensure that we operate safely. Public Safety has been respectful and caring over the last several days, and we appreciate their dedication to students’ well-being.

There are two distinct issues in play at the moment. One is the protest regarding Gaza. One is the occupation of the second floor of Washington Place. This update regards the latter.

As I wrote on Tuesday evening, denying access to student work at Rhode Island School of Design, especially after multiple requests by the artists themselves, faculty, and staff, is contrary to our institutional values. The student work on the second floor, some of which was intended to be showcased at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair next weekend, has been jeopardized. Grant applications have been missed because the work to support the application is in the space; Finals work is in the space; Crit spaces have been inaccessible, impacting other students’ education, etc. Their occupation of the academic space and refusal to allow students and faculty to retrieve their work oppose our college’s mission and code of conduct.

Now, we are notifying students on the second floor of the following:

1. They may vacate the space by 2:30 pm and undergo a restorative justice process. This process is designed to be fair and just, ensuring that all parties are heard and respected. Students will be responsible for returning the space—including all furniture, walls, projects, bathrooms, etc.—to its original state by tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, meet with students and faculty whom their actions have immediately negatively impacted, listen to the impact of their actions and engage in respectful dialog, and reimburse those who have spent personal funds on no longer viable projects as a result of the occupation.

2. If students vacate by 2:30 p.m. and the above restorative justice conditions are not met, students will be held accountable under the current conduct codes.

3. If students do not vacate the space by 2:30 pm, we will proceed with expulsion from Rhode Island School of Design.

Lastly, I want to reiterate that peaceful protest, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are not just important; they are the bedrock of our art and design community. We respect and uphold these values. As long as they are peaceful and do not break conduct or civic codes, the individuals outside of 20 Washington Place are free to remain there as they have been for the past few days.

Sincerely,

Crystal Williams (she/her)
President

The student protestors reiterated their demands in a press release, which include:

1. Provide total fiscal transparency of RISD’s investment portfolio;

2. Commit to a holistic divestment from companies, corporations, and institutions that are implicated in sustaining Israeli Apartheid;

3. Establish a student oversight committee for future investments;

4. Publicly condemn the Israeli Occupation of Gaza as a genocide.