UC Berkeley protesters take down tents, New Mexico activists defiant

Students at the University of California, Berkeley, demanding the school divest from companies doing business in Israel have begun removing their campus protest encampment as activist leaders hold discussions with university administrators.

In a letter sent Tuesday evening, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ tells the demonstrators she agrees “to support a comprehensive and rigorous examination of our investments and our socially responsible investment strategy.”

Meanwhile, at the University of New Mexico, a deadline set by school president Garnett Stokes for an encampment along a busy stretch of the Albuquerque campus to be dismantled by 5 p.m. Tuesday has passed with no discernable action.

Visited the University of New Mexico's Gaza Solidarity Encampment today. They occupied the Student Union Building last night, but it was evicted with 16 arrests. The encampment was ongoing. pic.twitter.com/hmtj1ACvQg

— Matt Peterson (@mattpetersonnyc) May 1, 2024

Student activists had reacted to the threat by reinforcing their encampment in hopes of thwarting its demise.

Stokes says those who do not comply will be subject to “institutional enforcement.”