Agreement to end the encampment reached

Dear L&C community,

Thank you for your patience as we have worked to address a student encampment behind the Manor House. After several meetings between members of the administration and student representatives, we have reached an agreement to engage in the process described below. It is also posted online.

In broad terms, the students have agreed to remove the encampment. That process has already begun. L&C has agreed to form an Investments Discussion Group made up of staff and faculty representatives, as well as L&C students, including those representing the group that formed the encampment. The goal of the Investments Discussion Group is to explore concerns regarding Lewis & Clark’s endowment. The group will provide interested L&C students with the opportunity to propose their recommendations to the Board of Trustees. This process may result in multiple proposals from student participants. We are also open to facilitating a process for other students who might seek to learn more or be heard regarding these issues or any others.

The escalating violence and devastation in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon is heartbreaking and disturbing to so many of us. The educational mission of our institution compels us to offer space for a wide variety of viewpoints on this and other challenging topics. It is my obligation as the president to ensure the campus community remains one that allows for respectful disagreement and free expression, while also ensuring a safe educational environment. The tensions on our campus, and campuses across the country, on this issue have made this a particularly challenging balance to strike. I am grateful that we were able to reach this resolution through conversation and dialogue, a path that aligns with our institutional values, with who we are and who we want to be.

I must be clear: the encampment was in violation of our policies and I cannot condone that action of the students who engaged in it. I am also heartened by the steps our students are taking to avoid further escalation. It is my hope that the Investments Discussion Group created by this agreement will offer the campus community a constructive way forward.

I want to acknowledge that there remain many differing viewpoints on this pressing and complex global issue among our community members. I also want to acknowledge that while the encampment is being removed, protest activity may continue to be difficult for some members of our community to encounter. If you are in need of support, you can access services through this Student Support Services page. As a reminder, if you have immediate safety concerns, or an emergency, please contact Campus Safety at (503) 768-7777.

Robin H. Holmes-Sullivan

President

September 27, 2024

As directed by President Robin Holmes-Sullivan, Lewis & Clark College (L&C) and the Students for Justice in Palestine of Palatine Hill (SJPPH) have reached the following agreements:

1. SJPPH will disband the encampment which was established on Monday, September 23, 2024 by 5 p.m. on Friday, September 27, 2024.

2. Prior to full decampment, but after removal of the encampment’s tents and personal belongings as well as the removal of several pieces of the perimeter as a sign of good faith, L&C will share these agreements by email and on the school website with students, faculty and staff of the undergraduate, graduate, and law campuses. The email will include the link to the agreement on the school’s website. After the agreement is shared by email, the barricade surrounding the encampment will be removed.

3. Following decampment as provided in this agreement, the Investments Discussion Group meetings will begin.

The group will include L&C student representatives from SJPPH, as well as other L&C students.

The SJPPH student representatives’ intention is to achieve “disclosure of the College’s endowment and divestment from the State of Israel” “prioritizing arms manufacturers.” The College is providing students, including the SJPPH students, a process to propose their recommendations to the Board of Trustees. This process may also result in multiple proposals from other L&C student participants.

Following submission of proposal(s) to the Board of Trustees and review of those proposals, an email will be sent out by L&C to the students, faculty and staff of the undergraduate, graduate and law campuses that includes a report on the work of the Investment Discussion Group, including the investment information provided to the Investment Discussion Group, student proposals, and the Board’s response. The school website will also be updated to include this information.

A. The goal of the Investments Discussion Group is to explore concerns regarding the College’s endowment. Doing so will involve:

• • • Disclosure: Provide information about how the college’s endowment is invested.
    • Stakeholder engagement and education: Discuss the endowment, investments, and any factors that could impact and/or prevent disclosure and divestment. Also, discuss options regarding responsible institutional investing, investment screens, decisions, and options within the context of the College’s endowment. These options will be transparent to the members of the Investment Discussions Group.
    • Ongoing Communication: Foster open dialogue between students, staff, faculty, and administration on ethical investment practices.
    • Conduit for Information: Provide a mechanism for sharing information, recommendations, etc. with the President and Board of Trustees.
    • Allow a Pathway for Proposals to the Board of Trustees: Following the meetings of the group, L&C will allow the student members of the group to prepare a proposal to the Board of Trustees regarding additional disclosure and/or divestment. Such a proposal will be provided to members of the Board of Trustees.

B. The first meetings of the group will be as follows:

Mon. September 30 - 4 pm

Wed. October 2 - 4:30 pm

Thurs. October 3 - 3 or 4pm

Tues. October 8 - 3:30 or 4pm

C. New dates and times can be established and existing dates and times may be revised.

D. For those students participating in the Investments Discussion Group, should their attendance at these meetings overlap with class time, the Dean of CAS will support their missing class(es) to participate in scheduled meetings. Identifying information would not be revealed beyond what is necessary to facilitate excused absences.

E. Members (up to 16):

Students (4-8)

Faculty representatives (1-2)

Janet Bixby, Associate Dean of the Graduate School & Director of Community Dialogues

Evette Castillo Clark, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students

Andrea Dooley, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations

Jessica Carron, Assistant Dean of Students

Bruce Suttmeier, Dean of College of Arts and Science

Danielle Torres, Dean of Equity and Inclusion

4. Following decampment as provided in this agreement, a meeting of the Investments Discussion Group with the President and Board Chair, and potentially additional trustees, to discuss the goals of the group (and the goals of individual members of the group) will take place early next week.

5. A meeting of the Investments Discussion Group with the President andBoard Chair, and potentially additional trustees, at which the student members of the group will have an opportunity to formally present proposal(s) related to disclosure and divestment of the L&C endowment, will occur by October 31, 2024 if the student members of the group are ready to do so.

6. Following decampment, L&C will not pursue disciplinary proceedings against students who are involved in the Investments Discussion Group whose identities are verified and revealed, if revealed. This includes amnesty for any known violations of College policies, including violations of the Protest & Demonstration Policy, Theft Policy, Property Damage Policy, and Directives Policy. This does not apply to any future actions, or to any later-discovered other policy violations that caused significant harm or disruption to our community, or if the encampment is not disbanded as provided in this agreement. While we will not be extending a broader amnesty to all protesting students at the current encampment, L&C will not be seeking out the identity of any unknown protestors to pursue further disciplinary action.

7.Protest and demonstration activities can continue, without an overnight encampment, consistent with College policies. The College’s concerns about safety and security preclude an ongoing encampment.