from Friday's statement From the university president:
We are asking all students, staff, and faculty in writing to avoid the area near Wright Street and Greene Street in front of the Illini Union until further notice. Demonstrations have been taking place in the area since early this morning, with illegal and unacceptable acts being carried out by some people. Despite our efforts throughout the day to fully inform participants of the policies and rules they needed to follow in order to continue their activities, participants refused to abide by them.
This afternoon, as university police officers attempted to escort university staff into the area to remove encampment buildings in violation of university regulations, members of a protest group blocked their access and physically assaulted them. I resisted it. This included the use of pieces of wood and other physical tools and objects to push back officers. Our officers made the decision to de-escalate the situation and stepped back to reduce the risk of injury to themselves or the protesters.
This situation has escalated beyond peaceful expression of opinion. Anyone who fails to comply with an expulsion order may be subject to penalties, including arrest, if in violation of criminal law, and the student may be subject to immediate suspension.
We will continue our efforts to persuade the demonstrators to cease their activities and voluntarily disperse, and we hope that they will make that choice.
We have worked extremely hard over the past few months to ensure that everyone in our community can gather in public spaces and express themselves freely and safely. Our entire community feels sadness, empathy and compassion for the tremendous loss of innocent life that we have all witnessed.
Our communities are not responsible for this conflict, and no matter how much we want to, we have no power to end this devastating war. We are now focused on what we can do to keep our entire campus and community as safe as possible during these difficult times.
We are currently asking people to avoid the area.
And from the president statement 3 and a half hours later:
I am writing to inform you that we have reached a peaceful resolution to end the demonstrations outside the Illini Union.
Demonstrators will immediately evacuate their camp and leave the area. We agreed to allow them to temporarily relocate their activities to a public access green space on the west side of Gregory Avenue and north of Oregon Street. We reached this compromise to avoid physical confrontations that could put both protesters and police officers at risk. This attendance will be permitted through the conclusion of a meeting with some event organizers that was already scheduled for Monday afternoon.
This location will minimize disruption to campus operations. Demonstrators limit their activities to strictly defined areas. It would also be possible to maintain wider separation between demonstrators and academic activities on Monday.
We trust our participants to honor their agreements with us in the interest of public safety. We reach a clear understanding with participants that if their activities create new safety risks or violate state or local laws, we will take immediate steps to disband the group. Did.
I understand that this resolution will likely irritate members of our community who have strong opinions on both sides of this issue. I have made this decision after careful and lengthy consultation with the police department, university authorities, and local authorities. We believe this path has provided the safest path for all involved, minimizing ongoing disruption to students, faculty and staff as we prepare for the final weeks of the semester.
Thanks to Joe Lehman for pointing this out.See also this WCIA Article (Bradley Zimmerman & Heather Robinson).