For 13 days last semester, pro-Palestine supporters set up encampments — first at Alma Mater, then on the Main Quad — to demand the University cut ties with companies profiting from the war in Gaza.

These protesters are not alone. Student bodies at over 100 colleges in 30 states around the country have pressured their administration to be held accountable for their investments as well as partnerships with Israel.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched a surprise invasion of southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and abducting 250. In Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign and invasion of Gaza, the military has killed 36,000 Palestinians,  with over 1.7 million internally displaced, and the enclave is also facing a severe food and humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations. 

In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza. Eight months into the war, the International Criminal Court now seeks arrest warrants for war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leadership. 

On April 28, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University published a list of demands on their Instagram. They asked the administration to divest from corporations profiting from the occupation of Palestine, cease collaborations with corporations involved in the oppression of Palestinians and publicly disclose all of its financial assets.

So, what do these calls for divestment mean and what would potential divestment look like? 

The University is well endowed 

The University has two large pools of money: the University of Illinois System and the University of Illinois Foundation. 

University of Illinois System

The first, the University of Illinois System, holds $4.9 billion in assets as of fiscal year 2023. This $4.9 billion is split into the Operating Pool and the Endowment Pool. The Operating Pool — composed of revenue from tuition, state funding and grants — makes up $3.72 billion, and the Endowment Pool — worth $1.07 billion — comes from private gifts and donations. 

UIS is managed by a board of trustees, who set investment policies and appoint members to oversee committees such as the audit, budget, finance and facilities committees. The UIS is a public body, and information about the UIS’s portfolio was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. 

University of Illinois Foundation 

The second pool, the University of Illinois Foundation, serves as the fundraising and private gift-receiving organization of the University. In 2023, UIF had an endowment worth $2.73 billion. However, unlike UIS, the UIF is not a public body under the FOIA and the exact contents of the organization’s investments are unknown. 

Institutional ties to the war in Gaza and Israel

Money Out

The UIS portfolio held $21.3 million in assets tied to companies involved in the war in Gaza and Israel in fiscal year 2023. These assets consisted of investments in the following companies. 

• $20.3 million in BAE Systems PLC., Boeing Co., Northrup Grumman Co., Caterpillar Inc. and Lockheed Martin Co. These companies are present on the Action Center for Corporate Accountability’s divestment list of publicly traded companies that “enable or facilitate human rights violations or violations of international law” in Gaza. 

• $443,000 in State of Israel securities in the form of a corporate bond and an international government bond. 

• $643,000 in Expedia Group, linked to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in a 2020 report by the United Nations. 

Much of the UIS’s money is placed in the hands of third parties. These external managers, known as asset management companies, set and manage their own investment funds. 

Most notably, UIS invested a total of approximately $387 million in two funds managed by BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager. These two funds were the ACS US ESG Insights Equity Fund, in which the UIS invested $228 million, and the ACS World ESG Insights Equity Fund, which holds the other $159 million. 

According to BlackRock’s website, the engine manufacturer GE Aerospace represents 1.56% of total holdings in the US EGS Insights Fund and 1.42% of total holdings in the World ESG Insights Fund. 

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $684 million contract to GE Aerospace, the legal successor to General Electric, to manufacture helicopter engines for the U.S. Navy and Israeli military in 2023. 

Thus, the 2023 UIS portfolio holds at least an additional $5.8 million, related to war in Gaza, managed by BlackRock. Combined, there is a sum of $27.2 million in University investments linked to the war in Gaza and Israel in FY 23. This number is a lower bound and excludes any investments in the UIF portfolio. 

Money In 

University connections to some of the previously mentioned companies also extend beyond institutional investments by UIS. Several of these companies support the University through donations, projects and academic programs. 

According to their website, the Grainger College of Engineering’s industry partners include Boeing, Caterpillar and RTX Co. (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Co.). In 2023, Boeing — one of the world’s largest defense contractors — pledged $300,000 over the next three years in support of the Center for Sustainable Aviation at the University. 

Caterpillar, which has supplied armored bulldozers to Israel for decades, operates a satellite office based out of Research Park. Last November, the Champaign-Urbana chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a student and worker demonstration at the Caterpillar office in support of Palestine. 

What calls for “divestment” really mean

Given the complexities behind University investments and multilateral links to companies involved in the war, what does divestment mean — both as an idea and a realistic course of action?

In itself, divestment is the act of selling off shares and stopping future investments in specific companies or a sector.

“Basically, you’re selling the current holdings you have, you’re restricting new investments … and you’re doing it in a manner that continues to meet your fund’s investment return targets,” said Dan Cohn, energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. 

Reasons for divesting can vary, but it is often to achieve a political, social or ethical goal. Alternatively, it can be for purely financial reasons. For example, Cohn said the movement to divest from the fossil fuel industry uses not only a moral argument against climate change but also an economic one. 

“The fossil fuel sector is no longer producing the kinds of financial returns for investment portfolios that it once did, and when you take a serious look at its future, the future looks pretty limited,” Cohn said. “We see divestment as being a practical way to limit endowment losses from fossil fuels.” 

Illinois Rep. Abdulnasser Rashid, the first Palestinian-American elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, pointed out that divestment is very targeted, citing Lockheed Martin as one instance. 

“One example is a university’s endowment investing in Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer which is very much aware that Israel is using … its weapons to commit war crimes — yet it’s still supplying Israel with those weapons,” Rashid said. “A divestment call says that the University’s endowments should not be investing in Lockheed Martin and it is as straightforward as that.” 

Divestment from the war in Gaza is primarily based on ethical grounds — supporters say the University has a moral impetus to cease financially supporting companies complicit in genocide.

On May 10, Students for Justice in Palestine and Faculty for Justice in Palestine released a joint statement in which they argued this idea. According to the statement “The U of I System puts millions of dollars into the Israeli war machine and refuses to acknowledge it. The U of I System must be held accountable for its complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine.” 

Yet, divestment is not as clear-cut in execution.

Challenges to divestment 

The Board of Trustees, in charge of the UIS portfolio, is a fiduciary body and is responsible for the system as a whole, per their website. Thus, calls for divestment can conflict with the financial interests of the University. 

“Divestment by its nature undermines the diversity of investments,” said University College of Law Professor Lesley Wexler over email. “With the nature of modern investments, it often means selling not just stock in a single company, but getting out of a fund that incorporates hundreds of companies — only some of which might be ones that students wish to divest from.” 

George Taylor, sophomore in FAA, is a member of Students for Environmental Concerns and a pro-Palestinian supporter who acknowledged these difficulties. He compared the two ongoing divestment movements at the University. 

“With the fight to divest from fossil fuels, there are very specific companies … we could identify and then pose alternatives to,” Taylor said. “But with the war effort, we can divest from all the small companies that we want … but we’ll still be giving money to Blackrock, and Blackrock is gonna give money back to those (companies).”

Divestment from the war in Gaza also faces legal challenges. 

Known as anti-boycott, divest and sanction laws, these policies aim to take action against boycotts of Israel. Illinois’ anti-BDS law, the first of its kind passed in 2015, applies to the state pension system. 

“The Illinois retirement system must sell (redeem, divest or withdraw) all direct holdings of companies identified by the Illinois Investment Policy Board and it may not acquire securities of restricted companies,” Wexler said. “In other words, the Illinois pension system can’t invest in companies that are engaged in boycott activities towards Israel.”

Anti-BDS laws also vary from state to state. For example, in Ohio,  Revised Code Section 9.76 prevents state agencies from contracting with companies that divest from Israel. Therefore, per the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State University legally cannot divest from Israel. 

However, these financial and legal challenges have not impeded schools around the country from divesting.

Other schools have divested, and so has UI (in the past) 

Several other universities have agreed to take steps towards potential divestment, typically in return for student encampments shutting down. 

On April 30, Brown University became one of the first major universities to come to an agreement with protestors, with the Office of the President releasing a statement that declared Brown would act in two ways. First, the university would hear students’ concerns about divestment at a corporate meeting in May. Second, and more significantly, the Office of the President asked the school’s Advisory Committee on University Resources Management to write a divestment recommendation to be put to a vote in October. 

“The students and administration agreed that I will ask the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM) to provide me with a recommendation on the matter of divestment by September 30, 2024, and this will be brought to the Corporation for a vote at the October 2024 Corporation meeting,” the statement said. 

Similarly, the University of Minnesota agreed to hear students at a board meeting and make their investments more transparent — again in return for their encampment closing. The Evergreen State College in Washington declared they would explore potential divestment by creating a committee of students and faculty tasked with reviewing investment policies. 

Union Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Columbia University in New York, became the first school to adopt a divestment plan when, on May 9, the Board of Trustees endorsed policies by Union’s investment committees that directly target investments in Israel. 

According to a statement by Union, the policies include “revising the section of our investment policy statement section pertaining to responsible investing to include an overt reference to the Israel-Palestine hostilities, in addition to current robust policies regarding fossil fuels, military weapons, private prisons, etc.”

The policies also target Union’s externally managed investment, with Union “directing our investment managers to exclude those companies from the portfolios managed on behalf of Union.”

While there have been discussions between protestors and the University of Illinois administration last semester, they have not reached any agreements to divest. But the University of Illinois has divested in the past. 

In the 1980s, there was a large push for divestment from companies profiting from apartheid in South Africa. Protesters built a shantytown on the Main Quad, staged mock riots and sent out postcards calling for the release of South African political prisoners. 

In 1987, after having defeated previous motions, the Board of Trustees agreed to divest, however, the move was largely viewed as symbolic, as the total divested was just $3.3 million.

What then, would divestment actually accomplish? 

In this context, Rashid said he believes divesting even a small amount of money can snowball into a much larger effect.   

“Three million here and 10 million there and 100 million here — it will add up and will have an impact economically and financially on the companies that are being divested from such that they change their policies and no longer supply Israeli weapons,” Rashid said. 

Rashid added students and grassroots movements calling for divestment make a tangible difference beyond the finances. 

“They’re educating so many people about what’s happening and what has been happening to Palestinians for decades, and that itself is a major victory (to help) change the hearts and minds of generations of people,” Rashid said. 

Institutional divestment also sends a signal to the rest of the market in general, Cohn noted.

“There’s people who say when you (divest), institutional investors are basically telling the rest of the market this company is not that creditworthy, and I think that’s true,” Cohn said.

Looking ahead

Beyond the University’s financial priorities and potential legal issues, creating a comprehensive divestment policy plan is not a simple task.

“It requires some due diligence to make a specific plan and it requires some deliberation about that plan to make sure it’s done right,” Cohn said, speaking broadly on divestment.

Still, if the University plans to divest — as many hope it will — it will have examples from other major universities and its own history of divestment as reference. 

For now, Rashid, who visited the encampment at the University with fellow Illinois Rep. Carol Ammons, emphasized the need for transparency and dialogue between protestors and University administration. 

“I encourage the students, faculty, administrators and trustees at the University to work together in good faith to make sure that the investment of the University … are in line with their values,” Rashid said. “There should be real engagement by those who are in decision-making positions with the students and the faculty who are asking for divestment.” 

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The Scratching Post, a cat and board game café, is set to open in Champaign in Fall 2024. The cat lounge will be nearly 1,000 square feet and will also serve as a foster home for over 30 cats. 

Rebecca Minick, manager of The Scratching Post, said the inspiration for creating The Scratching Post came from The Catcade, a cat lounge, rescue and arcade hybrid located in Chicago.

“It’s a really new business model to the U.S. that hasn’t really been perfected yet,” Minick said via email. “I knew I didn’t want to do anything quite like anything I’d seen yet.”

The café will separate the lounge from the board game section, installing separate HVAC systems for each side. Access to the lounge area will be available through reservations, allowing visitors to rotate through three different cat rooms. 

The Scratching Post will be partnering with CATsNAP, a rescue in Champaign, to provide The Scratching Post with foster cats. The cats at the café will also be available for adoption should customers develop a bond with them, according to The Scratching Post’s website. 

The cats will all be required to meet a list of health requirements prior to coming to the lounge. The café also plans to have daily wellness checks for the cats and cleaning schedules to ensure the area is sanitized. 

The Scratching Post has a Kickstarter campaign running through Jan. 2, 2025, where people can contribute to building the café and getting rewards. 

Luna Takahashi, senior in LAS, said it was her first time hearing the news about the café.

“This is my first time hearing about it, and I think that’s like something new and fun,” Takahashi said. “I’m sad that I’m leaving.”

Angelica Ordonez, junior in FAA, said she heard about the café from a Reddit post. Ordonez herself has a cat on campus and said she thinks other students would benefit from interactions with animals if unable to have their own. 

“Not enough people have enough time to dedicate to a pet … if someone wanted to be able to interact with a pet or go and calm down to spend time with animals, a cat café would be really cool, because they would be able to do that without having to risk (grades),” Ordonez said.

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At noon, Illinois State Representatives Bob Morgan, Daniel Didech and Tracy Katz Muhl gave a press conference at the north side of the Main Quad to express solidarity for Jewish students at the University. 

The Daily Illini spoke with Daniel Didech, representative for the 59th District, about his views on University administration, the encampment and the role of First Amendment rights in protests.

**This interview has been edited for length and clarity.** 

DI: What was the reason for you coming down to Champaign-Urbana? 

Didech: We are here today to show support for really the entire University community, but specifically the Jewish community that, not just in Illinois, but across the country, has been alarmed by the rise in some of the uncontrollable campus demonstrations.

So we’re here to lend our voices to the University administration and the faculty and the students to express our beliefs that we can respect the First Amendment rights of all students to make their voices heard. But, at the same time, everybody has to follow the University policies, and there should be consequences for people who don’t follow the University policies.

DI: You met with the administration earlier before your press conference, can you tell me a little bit about what you talked about?

Didech: We, myself as a legislator and the entire Jewish caucus, have a relationship with the administration that we consider a partnership. We’ve met with them at least half a dozen times over the past few years to talk about the rise of antisemitism on campus and what they can do and how we can be partners in addressing that. It’s the same thing we talked about today. 

How can we continue to allow Universities to be a place where people can speak their minds and persuade people and have their voices heard, but without turning it into an environment where Jewish students and their parents feel like it’s not safe for them to be on campus. 

That is the continuing conversation that we are involved in with the University administration today.

DI: At the press conference, students representatives of Jews from Palestine are here holding signs. Can you give me a statement about that?

Didech: They absolutely have the right, just like anybody else, to make their voices heard and to advocate for a cause that’s important to them. But, we have to make sure that everybody has those rights, right?

You know, some of the problems we’ve seen on other campuses with these permanent encampments is they monopolize the public forums — you’re only allowed to express your views if they fall within what that group believes is the correct view. I think we need to avoid it here at the University of Illinois.

It is absolutely legitimate. I think this is the right place for people who feel that way about an international conflict to express their views, but people who feel a different way should have the same right to express their views as well. Or even if they don’t want to express their views, they should be able to do what they need to do without a constant stream of disruption.

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Jews for Palestine released a statement expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian people and discussed their experience at the encampment.

“We believe the core of our tradition as Jews is the sacredness of life … As Jews, we reject the disingenuous conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism,” the statement said. “To critique the Jewish ethno-nationalist state is to condemn all forms of supremacy and hierarchy.” 

Within the encampment, Jews for Palestine said they have spent the past week building an alternative Jewish perspective “grounded in principles of solidarity, liberation and tikkun olam (repairing the world).” 

They disputed claims that the liberation zone exists to intimidate Jewish students by providing examples of community within the encampment. 

“Within the UIUC Liberation Zone we celebrated Passover, observed Shabbat, prayed alongside our Muslim siblings and felt uplifted by our fellow students and community members,” the statement said. 

“Claims that the UIUC Liberation Zone exists to intimidate or instill fear in Jewish students are not reflective of the experiences of Jewish students within the encampment,” the statement said. 

Jews for Palestine also spoke out against Zionism and advocated for the self-determination of all oppressed groups. 

“Zionism perpetuates a dangerous myth that Jewish safety is tied to the establishment of a Jewish state in historic Palestine,” the statement said. “We must oppose all attempts to justify Israel’s abusive and discriminatory treatment of Palestinians.” 

The statement ended by echoing the protester’s demands that the University divests from companies profiting from the war in Gaza, disclose all investments and offer amnesty to protesters. 

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The Daily Illini spoke with a media representative from the encampment for updates. 

**This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The individual has elected to remain anonymous for safety reasons.**

DI: Can you tell me what happened last night?

Student representative: There was an altercation with some counterprotesters, and the counterprotesters then called the police. We were a little freaked out that the police thought it was going to be related to the encampment, and they were not whatsoever. We were worried the police were going to come and raid us. We got a little spooked, but everything was resolved. They had no correlation to us, so we’re all good.

DI: Was there any sort of physical alterations?

Student representative: I think it was more just like a shout. The counterprotesters were trying to instigate something, and then they found the right guy to push up against that would give them a response.

DI: You guys have been meeting with Vice Chancellor Jim Hintz a lot these past two to three days. Can you tell me how those conversations are going?

Student representative: Yeah, we’ve just been in negotiations. He’s kind of the messenger to get through to the chancellor. We tell Hintz our demand, he goes back, (administration) responds and he comes back.

DI: Could you give me a glimpse into what your demands look like?

Student representative: Yeah, we have them posted on social media. We want complete divestment, to cut off all ties with anything related to Israel and we want amnesty for all students. We want disclosure. This is a public university, and you can easily search out where the investments go, but it is so confusing. You need the Freedom of Information Act to get into more specifics, and then when you’re there, it’s just so much editing. You would need a whole divestment research team to fully understand everything; even then, it’s still confusing because we have a lot of investments in Black Rock, but Black Rock itself does its own investments with the money. So it’s indirectly probably going to Israel, but we can’t access that as much because Black Rock controls it.

DI: Are there any negotiations or offers from their end that you guys would be willing to abide by or something you would be willing to agree with and step down from? 

Student representative: I feel like when that time comes, I will probably have an answer, but as of right now, we are going to continue strong with the encampment and with our goal of divestment.

DI: Can you tell me about the speaker that was here today?

Student representative: There are always those weird speakers who come and tell everyone they’re all going to hell. One lady on the quad would come and have a big sign that said, “You’re going to hell if you’re a homo or a female.” It was literally just like that. He saw there was a big group of people there, and he took it upon himself to walk back and forth and yell stuff. They’re really hard to get rid of because this is a public university, and technically, he can be here. He was just a random person. 

DI: Can you tell me how you guys feel about a state representative coming to support?

Student representative: That was really nice. I know State Representative Abdulnasser Rashid has always been very supportive. We actually brought him down last semester to talk about Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions in Illinois, so he’s always been a great support. I’m very grateful. State Representative Carol Ammons has also been a huge support. I know she’s been talking to the president and is on our side, protecting student protesters and working on any amnesty for us because we’re expressing our First Amendment rights. So yeah, it was very heartwarming. It was nice to see that we truly have the support of so many people. We have faculty, RSO and grad student support. It feels like everyone on this campus is supporting us, and I hope the admin is starting to realize that. Are they going to burn bridges with all the faculty and the facilities and services people to protect a foreign entity and continue bombing kids in Palestine? It’s nice to see and know that we have the full support of the community.

DI: Now that today is the first official day of finals, have you seen any dropping in numbers?

Student representative: Not really. I think a lot of people come during our teach-ins, so I always anticipate the numbers to come in during that time. If any of us need to study, we go somewhere safe to study, but it’s still close to the encampment. So, in case anything happens, we’re on call to come back.

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The Daily Illini spoke with State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid, who was present at the encampment this afternoon. Rashid is the first Palestinian-American to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives and represents the 21st District, which covers part of the Chicagoland area. State Representative Carol Ammons, whose district includes the University, was also present at the scene. 

**This interview has been edited for length and clarity.**

DI: Can you tell us why you​​’re here today?

Rashid: I’m here to support the students in their peaceful protest against the genocide that is unfolding in Gaza and supporting their calls for universities to divest their funds from supporting Israel’s war crimes. I’m here to thank them and let them know that they’ve inspired me and so many other people across the country.

DI: Are you planning to meet with the student organizers, or have you already met with them?

Rashid: I’ve been talking to student organizers for some time now — here and on campuses throughout Illinois — to make sure that their rights are protected, to connect them with legal organizations and to make sure that they are respected in this work. And so I’ll continue that engagement.

DI: Do you have any plans on meeting with the administration of the University, or have you already met with them?

Rashid: I’ve put in phone calls to administrators at various universities, the U of I and the UI system and to fellow elected officials who represent these universities.

DI: Do you have any plans to write a statement to release publicly at all about the situation?

Rashid: Well, I’ve been speaking publicly, but essentially my statement is that I stand with the students who are peacefully protesting to stop billions of dollars of American funding to Israel, including through their university endowments; that is something that we should all be fighting for.

This is the type of protest that is part of the American DNA; the type of protest that we saw in the civil rights movement and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and that Americans should resonate with. 

DI: You said that you support the freedom of their protest and allow them to speak freely. There have been counterprotests as well from Jewish students and Jewish organizations on campus. Can you talk a little bit about that and how you feel about that situation?

Rashid: Well, I was just talking to Jewish students who are here protesting the genocide and protesting their universities’ endowments supporting Israel’s war crimes. So many Jewish students across the country are standing up, and not just students; Jewish Voices for Peace and others that are critical of what Israel is doing and that want the United States to stop providing funds for these war crimes.

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Democratic Sen. Paul Faraci of Illinois has spoken with the Champaign Police Department, the University, the City of Urbana and the City of Champaign “about the need to protect the peaceful demonstration of free speech while ensuring university procedures are being followed,” per a statement from Faraci. 

In the statement, Faraci also emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of the University community and first responders when free speech occurs.

“Our nation is built on the idea of allowing for differences of opinion and I value fostering an environment where diverse voices can be heard without fear,” Faraci said in the statement. 

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A group of Jewish students and leaders on campus gathered at the Alma Mater statue for a display of Jewish pride around 2 p.m. this afternoon. 

In an email from Jewish student leadership on April 29, they wrote to Chancellor Jones, “speaking for a large community of students who sit, fearful to leave their homes, attend class, and speak out about the open antisemitism that has plagued our campus these past days.”

The statement said the protest “has not appeared out of coincidence during a time of great celebration among (Jewish people),” in reference to Passover. 

“Make no mistake, this protest is not solely about the situation in Gaza but rather serves to instill fear into our community, in hopes that we will stay silent and to make us pariahs on campus,” the statement said. 

The email, which includes signatures from the President of Hillel Ben Shapiro, President of Chabad Ellie Scott and presidents of various Jewish fraternities and sororities on campus, implored the university to enforce campus policy and put an end to the encampments. 

“We call on the University to uphold their policies, hold those who violate them accountable, and remove the encampments at the heart of our campus, the main quad, as soon as possible,” the statement added. 

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The Daily Illini spoke with a student counter-protester named Sean who was standing near the encampment holding an Israeli flag. 

**This update contains an interview with a source who has elected to be identified by first name only. The source has elected to remain partially anonymous for safety reasons.**

According to Sean, he did not have a strong desire for activism prior. However, he disagreed with the establishment of encampments, which he says violates University policy. 

“There’s rules on protests … things you’re allowed to do, things you’re not allowed to do at the University,” Sean said. “No matter what stance you take in conflicts. I don’t believe that … (you can) overall cause disruptions to the University community.” 

Sean added he thinks the protest goes beyond the pro-Palestinian stance, which he has no problem with directly supporting. 

“They’re going beyond calling for ceasefires and things of that nature and directly supporting Hamas’ call for days of protests. They respond to that,” Sean said. “They celebrated the October 7 attack after it occurred, (and) organized an event calling the people in that attack glorious martyrs.”

Sean said he believes he cannot support the encampment because protesters have not condemned Hamas. 

“The evidence is pretty clear that (protesters) do not wish to see or acknowledge that Hamas is and has been a terrorist organization,” the student said. “It’s just something that I cannot support and I cannot stand by.”

Sean said he thinks the protesters are “openly advocating for the destruction of the Jewish state” and “praising people who have called for the extermination of Jewish people.”

Sean said he was standing in front of the encampment with an Israeli flag to communicate his disagreements with the basis of the protest. 

“So, in the time I’m having between classes and finals preparation, I want to kind of come out here and (let) … people know that not everybody is with these people,” Sean said. 

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**This update contains an anonymous interview with an organizer of the protest. The organizer is unidentified due to safety concerns.**

The second day of encampment on the south side of the Main Quad has brought strategic success for protesters seeking divestment, according to an organizer. The organizer said in spite of their continued calls for divestment, the negotiation meeting between organizers and University administration that was previously slated for Monday afternoon has been canceled.

The encampment was first established early Friday morning at the north side of the Main Quad in front of the Alma Mater. The original encampment was torn down following police intervention and pressure from the University administration. After unsuccessful negotiations with Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success Jim Hintz, organizers resolved to reject an offer to reorganize at the Spurlock Museum. On Sunday, the protest reorganized on the south end of the Main Quad.

“We’ve made it very clear to administration that camps, and specifically tents, will not be taken down until we are sure that they are beginning the process of divestment,” the organizer said. “I think one thing they made very clear yesterday was that their demand for a meeting was that we take down the camps, but we decided we will not be taking down the camps until negotiation happens in person with the president and the chancellor.”

Sunday was viewed as a strategic success for the encampment by involved groups, according to the organizer.

“We were able to keep our tents up,” the organizer said. “We had a bunch of people sleeping here, and in general, I viewed it as a win.”

The organizer explained that the encampment was expecting an intervention early Monday morning, but nothing occurred.

“We were expecting something at 6 a.m., but nothing happened,” the organizer said. “We’re still up and running, and we have … faculty doing educational workshops for the encampment participants.”

According to the organizer, the University has refused to schedule a meeting due to the continued encampment.

“They decided that there will also be no meeting on Monday, which we find very, very unfair for those in the Act Now (for Palestine) group,” the organizer explained. “They have made a point not to come to the encampment.”

The organizer said the protest does not call for immediate and complete divestment from the aforementioned weapons manufacturers, but rather a long-term written strategy that outlines a concrete plan.

“The goal is to ensure that the process begins,” they said. “We know the University can’t just divest tomorrow, but we need in writing that steps will be taken to ensure divestment and complete divestment.”

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**This interview has been edited for length and clarity.** 

The Daily Illini: You guys have been out here for a few hours. Is there a reason why the tents are coming up now?

Spokesperson for SJP: Yeah, so we were avoiding police confrontation. We wanted to put up our tents. We’re making a statement. We don’t want to leave until divestment. The admins can try to, you know, trick us into bogus deals but we’re not stupid. We know what they’re doing. So, we decided to come back out today, come back even stronger with more resources. The decision of us putting the tents up a little later was just because we were waiting out depletions in some sense. We felt like their presence was near. We waited it out until we had the most people while, you know, a good ratio of the people while also knowing that the police were not there.

DI: What difference do the tents typically make?

Spokesperson for SJP: The encampment is meant to be like a sit-in to some extent. So we don’t leave. We sleep. There also is a representation of the genocide in Gaza right now. They’ve been moved to this new refugee camp called Rafah, and they’re all evacuated from their homes because their homes were either bombed or they were displaced. And now over, I don’t know the exact number, but hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are forced to live in tents in Rafah. It’s been like this for the past countless months, and they can’t leave, so we want to show our solidarity with them.

DI: Vice Chancellor Jim Hintz has been coming around with the megaphone, telling protesters that it’s fine for them to protest. But when they set up tents, that’s when it does violate policy. Do you have a response to that, and have there been negotiations with the administration? 

Spokesperson for SJP: Yeah. So there’s been some negotiations, but what I will say is that the place that we were told to relocate, to our condition, was that there was zero police presence. When we arrived there today, we noticed that there was a police surveillance camera that also grabbed information off of your phones. When we tried to have a conversation with Jim Hintz about it, he acted like he didn’t know what was going on. We know that the administration does not have our safety in mind or they don’t care about what we want. 

DI: How long do you anticipate this encampment lasting?

Spokesperson for SJP: We’re not leaving again. We’re not leaving until the administration meets our demands. They can keep on taking away their tents, they can do whatever they want. We’re gonna come back stronger every single time. We’re bringing more tents, and we’re not leaving until we get a divestment.

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**This has been edited for clarity.**

The Daily Illini: Why did nothing happen yesterday and why today?

Protestor: Yesterday, the admin immediately deployed all forms of police. They sent UIPD, Champaign County, Urbana, Mohamet and Parkland College police here. They forced Facilities & Services to remove all our stuff even when they didn’t want to, they did not feel comfortable, and they thought we were allowed to be there. Campus Faculty Association released a statement, they said they fully condemned the University’s actions of trying to remove us. We have a lot of faculty here to support us — they felt like what the police did was so disgusting over some tents.

DI: Are you referring to yesterday at Spurlock or Friday at Alma Mater?

Protestor: On Friday, at Alma Mater. No one went to Spurlock.

DI: Why is that? Do you know?

Protestor: The University Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine will be putting out a statement with a lot more detail which will give you a lot more detail as to why we are sticking around here.

DI: You guys are meeting with the administration tomorrow at 5 p.m.?

Protestor: Some student organizers are meeting tomorrow to talk about divestment. I don’t know if you guys know this, but this University puts hundreds of millions of dollars into murdering children. They use our tuition money and they lie about it, and when we ask them and confront them, “Why are you funding this genocide? Why are you funding an illegal occupation?” These settlers tell us, “No, we are not in control of it. The University of Illinois Foundation is,” and “No, BOT is.” The BOT is comprised of admin Chancellor Robert Jones and President Tim Killeen. They’re just so wishy-washy, so back-and-forth, and we’re tired of it.

It has been almost eight months of an ongoing genocide that has been broadcasted in 4k. There is nothing that the admin can say, or any Zionist can say, that shows that the University shouldn’t stop funding this genocide. It’s completely disgusting and we are fed up with it.

DI: How long do you plan on staying out today?

Protestor: As long as we need to.

DI: Is there a reason behind the location change from Alma Mater to the Main Quad?

Protestor: Yes, for expansion. If we need to expand, it is much safer to be here. Usually, they threaten us with mass arrests and tear gassing, so we are hoping this area will keep us protesters safe because, clearly, the admin does not care about us. It was Tim Killeen who was pushing to mass arrest us right away. We have no support from the admin, they can lie and say that they care about our students, but police were assaulting other student protesters. We have it on video, we care about one another. I hope it shows you that there are a lot of messed up issues within UIPD, they need to be defunded. Our main point is divestment and to keep all eyes on Gaza because Israel is trying to invade. Over a million people have been displaced, like 1.3 million displaced Palestinians, and we need to protect them.

DI: There’s a charter bus out there, did people bus in?

Protestor: Chicago allies, many came out. Minimum of 50, possibly more. There are a lot of people mobilizing, like ISU. The bigger the crowd, the safer we are.

DI: On Friday, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Jim Hintz, negotiated with some protestors. Could you give us insight on that?

Protestor: It was not a negotiation, it was more of a, “You have to either leave and disperse, or we will mass arrest everyone and spray tear gas.” As negotiators, we wanted to do what we felt was most safe for all the protestors, which was to disperse and reconvene with a stronger newer plan. So yeah, they can say we agreed it was negotiations we have countless times when admin has gone back on their word when they have blatantly lied to us. They sent out three Massmails about the Palestinians, about the genocide — they tell us they’re pointless, they’re useless, it doesn’t matter. I would like to add that during the negotiations, the chancellor sent out a Massmail, purposely endangering the students. So it was not a negotiation. It was more like them commanding us to do stuff. It was pouring heavy rain. We still have 100 to 200 people out there ready to stand for this.

This has been going on for far too long. It’s disgusting. We are all complicit. We need to speak up right now. If not now, then when? I think it’s very important for you to realize Israel is getting away with this. What are they going to do next? The whole world is at risk right now. If designers stay, if they are allowed to do what they have done to the Palestinians, especially in Gaza for the past eight months, and no one has said anything, no one has lifted a finger, what are they going to do to the rest of the world? Who’s going to stop them?

DI: We did speak with the vice president for Illini Students Supporting Israel, and also the rabbi. One of the things they mentioned was the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” which they believe to be anti-Semitic. Could you speak on that?

Protestor: The chant has been used for the past 75 years. It means from the Dead Sea to the river, Palestine will be free. This means Palestinians can rightfully return to their homes, can walk freely through Palestine without checkpoints, they aren’t detained for the dumbest things that aren’t shown in broad daylight. They aren’t kidnapped, and their homes aren’t raided. There allowed to go pray at the mosque without getting beaten.

I’m Palestinian, my grandparents were kicked out in 1948 during the catastrophe, and I have not been able to return. It is because of the of the laws that Israel has. And even if you have done things properly, they still can detain you and prevent you from entering Palestine. Just the freedom of people being able to freely move throughout their own homelands is not anti-Semitic. Recently, they have been trying to spew anti-Semitism because people have realized that the anti-Semitism argument is so false. There are so many Jews here, we are going to hold Shabbat prayer here today. There are so many Jews in support of Palestine and a free Palestine. 

DI: Do you know what time the Shabbat prayer will be held here?

Protestor: I’m not 100% sure, there is a committee that is organizing all the plans and agenda for the day.

DI: Do you plan on putting up structures once again, like in front of Alma Mater, or are you going to stay away from that? 

Protestor: That is to be determined.

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DI: Could you give me your name and your affiliation?

Omer: My name is Omer, and I am currently a senior on campus in the Gies College of Business. I am vice president of Illini Students Supporting Israel, and I am an active member of the Jewish community both through Hillel and Chabad.

DI: Could you speak on why you are here today?

Omer: I’m here to see what’s happening. I heard there was an encampment this morning, and I was absolutely scared sh–less. I came here to check and see what was going on and I’ve been coming back in bits since to see what’s been happening and I heard there was a rally going to happen. So I wanted to come here and make sure that Jewish students were safe on this campus.

DI: That kind of segues into my next question. So you are vice president for Illini Students Supporting Israel. Could you speak a bit more about that organization, maybe reactions from Jewish students and also the campus community to this organization?

Omer: So I think I can speak on the Jewish community. I don’t want to speak for any other communities on campus, but I know that Jewish students are not only scared, we are terrified. We are horrified. They are currently chanting for all Zionists to leave and they have gone beyond targeting just Israel, as they so call themselves, and have started attacking and targeting Jewish students on this campus. I know that we’ve seen how this can get very out of hand at other campuses. We saw a Yale student get stabbed in the eye. We saw instances on other campuses where this has gotten violent and extreme, and as a leader, I thought it was important to come make sure that the rest of the Jewish community was safe. So I’m here to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand and that Jewish students can also feel safe here because (the) campus is also their home.

DI: What do you think can be done to both protect the safety of Jewish students, but also allow others to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest?

Omer: I 100% think that everyone has the right to protest and we’re not here to shut down this protest. I also believe in supporting the Palestinians and I believe in making sure that they get access to food and water because it’s not fair what’s happening to them. I think the way to go about it though is what’s important here. You cannot go about calling for genocide. They are here chanting for “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” which was recently passed in a bill in Congress that says that that is an antisemitic trope and that it calls for the genocide of Jews and it should not be used. It simply goes to show that they are anti-Jews. They’re not anti-Israel. It’s gone past that. They are not pro-Palestinian, they’re anti-Israel and anti-Jewish and it’s spread to a much larger problem.

I think it’s just important to make sure the way you do this. You’re not supposed to have tents like this when they had a permit to protest on Green Street. I’m happy that they had the ability to do that. They did it the right way. This is not that. They did not get the proper procedures to do this, and they did not do it properly. They are currently here preparing to wait out the police and have to fight with the police. If you’re in that type of situation, then you’re not in the right. You should be doing this legally. I think everyone has a right to protest, it’s just simply about doing it in the right way and not calling for the extermination of Jews. If you want to help Palestinians, say that. Advocate for that. Show ways that I can do that and I can help them.

Do not say that all Zionists should leave this campus and that all Zionists are not welcome here. Do not call for the extermination of Jews because that will not help the Palestinians. Do not call for the extermination of Jews because that will not help the Palestinians. A does not lead to B. If you’re going to chant here and if you’re going to protest, make it something useful. Make it something progressive and something that will actually lead to real progressive change.

Omer: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” They’ve chanted it multiple times today. It has been recorded in their own lives. They changed it at the protests that happened a couple of days ago on Wednesday as well. So it is a very well-known whistled trope.

DI: What has been done by the University or by the Chabad to protect the interests of Jewish students?

Omer: Starting with the University, they are trying to get involved and help us. They are trying to make sure that they’re able to still protest and use their First Amendment right while still keeping students safe. I know that this type of situation is really difficult for the University. I know that it’s hard to not take a side, not to take an extreme, and we see the hard work they do. I’ve met with many admin over my four years here talking about ways to better help Jewish students, and I know that they are really trying. Chabad and Hillel can only do so much. They are not student organizations, they are in organizations that are worldwide. They don’t have a specific affiliation here with campus, and as much as they try, the only thing they can really do is create a safe space for us. And it’s hard when we don’t really feel safe on campus.

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The Daily Illini spoke with a student member of the University Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The student has elected not to be identified by name for safety concerns.

This has been edited for clarity. 

The Daily Illini: Can you guys talk about what you are doing here today?

Student member of SJP: Today we are showing our solidarity with the people of Gaza and the people of Palestine that had been occupied for the past 76 years. And we’re doing this through a solidarity cam. Yeah, so we call it the liberation zone.

DI: This morning, the police came to the encampments, could you talk about that?

Student: Yeah, we set up the camps at 5 a.m., and immediately we were met with a lot of pressure from the school and police to take it down. They were very unclear about the rules and regulations surrounding camp and putting up camps. And even when I tried to raise questions about it, I was immediately met with a short temper with anger. They were being extremely, extremely rude, and even when I tried to just to say I’m practicing my first amendment right, I was met with the response on behalf of a police saying that it is not my first amendment right to ask questions. Immediately after that they began getting violent with protesters. We are not being violent at all. 

We decided that we are not leaving because the school is complicit in the genocide and occupation of the Palestinian people. And we will not allow that to happen. We’re not going to watch this go by. 

DI: Could you speak on that and what you guys plan to do if the police come in?

Student: Yeah, so the police have made it very firm and very clear that they do not want us to be doing this. I think that it shows just how much power we have and how much power we told our students. And our response to this is that we’re not leaving. We have three clear demands, the main one being divestment from scientists, weapon manufacturers and institutions, and we are not going anywhere until we are met with that demand. We are not leaving; they can take our tents. 

We’re coming back. They can arrest our people but we will just grow more. There is a meeting scheduled with the administration on Monday at 5 p.m.

So a different group of pro-Palestinian organizers here on campus, organized a protest or mass mobilization to pressure the school into meeting one of three demands, which was somewhat met on behalf of the school, through giving a meeting with the chancellor.

So that’s kind of unrelated to what we’re doing now. We’re more pressuring for divestment. That is more of a negotiation with administration on meeting the demands that they pressured, but we are in full support of them. Anyone that shows support for the Palestinian people is one of us. 

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North Korean defector and author Yeonmi Park spoke to a packed room at the Illini Union on Thursday night. Park was invited by the University’s Turning Point USA chapter, an organization that advocates for conservative ideals.

According to Ian Chang, president of Turning Point USA at UIUC and junior in LAS, Park’s story is a good middle-ground to promote the club because she is more of a human rights activist than a political figure. 

“What’s important is that Yeonmi’s story is really precious because we do not really have that many people like Yeonmi doing her job,” Chang said. “And as an Asian-American myself, I think having a face like Yeonmi representing us is great.”

Park began her talk by recounting her childhood in North Korea, living under the leadership of the late Kim Jong Il. Under Kim’s dictatorship, Park discussed living under despotism, the struggle to find food and the Kim family’s cult of personality. 

“There are millions of people dying from starvation … You know what Kim Jong Il said? ‘It’s easy to do socialism when there are less of them, so let them die,’” Park said. “That’s why in North Korea, starvation became a tool for the government to control the people. That’s why I was starving.” 

Park added that North Koreans know little about the outside world, including concepts and media that are commonplace around the globe. One of the first movies she watched, “Titanic,” was from a smuggled DVD.

“North Korea is not (only a) place that lacks food, electricity, information, it also lacks a lot of words,” Park said. “The concept of love does not exist. We are not allowed to love anything else other than the dictator … When I was watching “Titanic,” I couldn’t believe it — why is this guy dying for a woman?” 

Park harrowingly escaped to China in 2007 at 13, leaving behind the harsh living conditions she experienced in North Korea. At the time, the concept of freedom was unknown to her.

After escaping to China, Park was sold into sex slavery by traffickers. However, thanks to the help of Christian missionaries, she was reunited with her mother and they were granted asylum and citizenship in South Korea. 

Park moved to New York in 2014 to work on her memoir, “In Order to Live,” and attend Columbia University. There, she said the rhetoric of her professors encouraged students to challenge capitalism and the status quo. 

“I couldn’t believe it, what a nation that gives opportunity to a person like me, a former sex slave … What an amazing tolerant system they have,” Park said. “But when I got to Columbia, not even into my classes, at the orientation, my professors were asking me to stay angry. Stay outraged because America is evil.” 

“(My professors) said the only solution to all of these problems is that we have to tear down the Constitution,” Park said. “We have to dismantle (the) American system and we have to rebuild the American system in the name of equity.” 

Park cited one discussion with her privileged classmates at Columbia, where her peers pointed out the inequality between billionaires and homeless people as a result of capitalism. 

“In North Korea, if you decide not to do anything, you live and you chill on the street? You know what happens? They’re going to capture you. They’re going to beat you,” Park said. “The fact that people have a right to be homeless, just on the street by themselves, is a sign of tolerance and (a) sign of freedom.”

Park ended her presentation by emphasizing the need to focus on human rights and thanked the audience for their attendance. 

“Why are we not speaking for the voiceless of this world? People like North Koreans, sex slaves in China,” Park said. “I’m grateful that you took your time to come here and gave me this platform to share my personal story.”

During the Q&A session that followed, one attendee asked Park the validity of her story. According to a 2023 Washington Post investigation, there are many inconsistencies in Park’s narrative and scholars have disputed some of her claims about North Korea. 

Akshat Mehrotra, junior in Engineering, said he attended Park’s talk because he had seen her podcasts before and was interested in what she had to say. 

“I’ve watched a lot of podcasts before and she seemed like a very relevant individual on all of the podcasts, like the Joe Rogan podcast,” Mehrotra said. 

Mehrotra, an international student from India, agreed with Park’s perspective on the freedoms in America. 

“The things she said about freedom in America, I do see that,” Mehrotra said. “I spent 18 years of my life in India … You can’t say the stuff that we say here.” 

Dash Kamriani Beard, junior in Engineering, also attended the talk and said he did not know it would have political themes.

“I thought it would be interesting just hearing a North Korean person talking about their experience. I didn’t really know anything going into the talk,” Beard said. “I learned it was a Turning Point USA talk pretty quickly.”

Beard said he thought Park drew false equivalence between North Korea and the United States, and that her underlying message had a political narrative to sell. 

“I think it sounds like she was trying to sell something,” Beard said. “She was throwing a lot of false equivalencies in what she was saying. She was talking about how people in America are criticizing (the discrimination) we have in this country. She was like, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad compared to other things.’”

“You can want people in North Korea not to suffer while also wanting people to not be racist here and have affordable healthcare, those aren’t mutually exclusive,” Beard added. 

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This afternoon, Campus Recreation unveiled an outdoor Fitness Court Studio, located at the corner of Gregory and Oak. The grand opening featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony and demonstrations with fitness ambassadors and guest speakers. 

The fitness courts, the first of its kind at an institution of higher education, include solar-powered tables, an area for workout classes and equipment for calisthenics and bodyweight movements. 

The fitness courts were made possible by a grant from the National Fitness Campaign and Blue Cross Blue Shield, said Associate Director of Assessment and Student Wellness for Campus Recreation Alanna Harris.

According to the Campus Recreations website, the areas were created with “people aged 14 and over and with all abilities in mind (and) the workouts are adaptable for all fitness levels, allowing participants to move at their own pace.”

“The fitness court affords people the opportunity to do resistance training outside  … there’s lots of benefits to resistance exercise but also to being active in the outdoors,” Harris said. 

If students are unsure about what exercises to do, the National Fitness Campaign offers an app that demonstrates exercises and workouts, said Harris. 

So far, the feedback from the Campus Recreation fitness team and students on the marketing team have been extremely positive, Harris added. 

“I was so excited when the students were like, ‘This is so cool, I haven’t seen anything like this.’ And they started playing, which is exciting,” Harris said. “Today’s the first day that will be officially open, so we will see access to the masses here today.”

Mallika Chowdhary, recent graduate of the University, said she regularly goes to the ARC and likes the concept of having an outdoor fitness area, which she also saw in Miami. 

“I saw that in Miami, people working out just beside the beach and it’s really nice during summers,” Chowdhary said. “The best part is doing all the exercises with bodyweight, so I feel it’s going be interesting with the app coming in and everything.”

Chowdhary also said that she intends to use the space, especially during periods of nice weather. 

“I would definitely be out in the sun … I will surely come here,” Chowdhary said. 

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Lillian Prendergast, freshman in Applied Health Sciences and member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, discussed what she and her mom, Gina Prendergast, did over the weekend. Pi Phi hosted numerous events for moms this weekend, including bouquet making, a performance by the acapella group The Other Guys and permanent jewelry making. 

“(We were) hanging around doing stuff with the sorority, and then going to places on campus,” Lillian Prendergast said. “Then we’re probably going to go to an Illini softball game.” 

“She was a high school and travel softball player,” Gina Prendergast added. “We enjoy going to softball games.”

Gina Prendergast is an alum of the University and recalls her experience with Moms Weekend as a student. 

“I was in another sorority and we had Moms Weekend and my mom came from the Chicago area,” Gina Prendergast said.  “We did the same things — the sorority had a luncheon or different things for mom. I have fond memories.” 

Dean Patterson, assistant manager for the Illini Union Bookstore, observed Moms Weekend is a popular shopping weekend. 

“The moms tend to do a little more shopping for their children,” Patterson said. “Dads Weekend seems to be: take (them) to a football game, take them out to eat, give them $100 and go home. But moms tend to go shopping together. So it’s always fun to see.” 

Patterson added Moms Weekend is low-pressure and fun compared to other days when the bookstore is popular, such as back-to-school shopping. 

Although the bookstore usually carries merchandise directed at parents, the selection of mom-specific items increases during Moms Weekend. 

“We tend to have more variety around this time of year,” Patterson said. “We probably won’t restock once we’ve listed what we have.”

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Students hoping to hear from Monica Lewinsky formed a line wrapping throughout the Union on Monday night. Invited by the Illini Union Board, Lewinsky spoke on cyberbullying, shame and humiliation in the online space. 

Lewinsky was thrust into the public eye when she was a White House intern during the Clinton administration due to her relationship with the then-president. She is currently a Vanity Fair contributor, public speaker and anti-bullying activist. 

“In 1998, after having been swept up in this improbable romance, I was then swept up into the eye of a political, legal and media maelstrom like we’ve never seen before,” Lewinsky said. 

The media landscape at the time was rapidly changing due to the growing influence of the internet.

“Thanks to the Gulf War and the OJ trial, we were now acclimated to this idea of 24-hour news,” Lewinsky said. “But the internet meant … that news not only (came) from everywhere but it then could be transmitted everywhere too.”

As a result, Lewinsky came under a level of public scrutiny that was previously unknown. 

“I went to bed one night, a private person … and I awakened the next morning known by almost the entire world,” Lewinsky said. “I was patient zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale instantaneously.” 

Lewinsky became a target for news outlets, talk shows and “virtual stone throwers.” 

“When this happened to me 26 years ago, there was no name for it,” Lewinsky said. “Now we call it cyberbullying, slut shaming and online harassment.” 

In 2014, Lewinsky broke her self-imposed exile in Vanity Fair, hoping to reclaim her narrative and incite change after more than a decade of silence. 

Lewinsky cited 18-year-old Tyler Clementi’s 2010 suicide as placing her experience in a broader context. Clementi, a Rutgers student at the time, was non-consensually filmed kissing another man and publicly shamed on social media. 

“For nearly three decades now, we’ve slowly been sowing the seeds of shame and public humiliation in our cultural soil, both on and offline,” Lewinsky said. “So if you think about gossip websites, paparazzi, reality programming, politics, news outlets and sometimes even hackers, they all traffic in shame.”

This behavior, Lewinsky added, has created a “culture of humiliation” where cyberbullying, trolling and online harassment occur frequently. 

Riya Patel, junior in Gies, who attended the talk, said Lewinsky’s topic could be particularly relevant in a university setting. 

“If you were to see harassment on social media, it would get more blown out of proportion, especially with college students who are more likely to be immature about certain things,” Patel said.

Nora Duffy, junior in LAS, agreed with Patel and included how Lewinsky’s discussion of mental health pertains to the younger generation. 

“A big part of her talk was humiliation and mental health and her struggles with mental health. I think that college students are a very big target for that,” Duffy said. “She was at a very similar age group to us.”

Lewinsky said it is time for an “intervention on the internet and in our culture.” This shift, she said, begins with the simple act of returning to values of compassion and empathy. 

“Because online, we’ve got a compassion deficit, or an empathy crisis,” Lewinsky said. “I’ve seen some very dark days in my life, and it was empathy and compassion from my family, friends, professionals and sometimes even strangers, which helped save me.” 

Lewinsky cited one instance when someone wrote an obnoxious comment about her. After looking at his profile, one of her followers discovered that he had recently lost his wife. 

“(The follower) tweeted out some expression of compassion towards him … I followed suit, and this man ended up apologizing,” Lewinsky said. 

“It kind of just shows if we all give each other a little bit more compassion, then there’s only positive things that can come out of that,” Duffy said about Lewinsky’s anecdote. 

While Lewinsky acknowledged technology can connect people in unimaginable ways, she believes that individuals must recognize their responsibility with freedom of speech. 

“We can all together make a society where the sometimes distancing effect of technology doesn’t impact and take away our humanity,” Lewinsky said. “We need to communicate online with compassion, consume news with compassion and also click with compassion.” 

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Engineering Open House, the largest student-run STEM fair in the Midwest, was held at the University on April 5-6, drawing large crowds of guests of all ages to campus. 

EOH is run by the Engineering Council, providing support to engineering RSOs and hosts a variety of events, including the Engineering Outreach Bureau and E-week. 

“We attract 50,000 visitors from all over Illinois,” said Paymon Sadat, senior in Engineering and co-director of EOH. “We have around 200 students that exhibit over 20 different special events, including robotics competitions, car demos (and) rocket launchers.”

Additional events included a startup showcase pitch competition, design competitions, keynote speakers and panels for prospective students, Sadat added.

Ken Wooldridge, Urbana resident and University employee, attended EOH with his 11-year-old granddaughter and her elementary school. 

“It’s a great event,” Wooldridge said. “Especially for … younger students that have aspirations of doing something like this in the future.”

Erin Kinkle and Thomas Kennedy, engineers and University alumni, exhibited for John Deere. The company is one of many corporate sponsors of EOH, among Caterpillar, Abbot, Hendrick House and more. 

“We’re showcasing sprayer nozzles that can be individually controlled to precisely apply chemicals such as herbicide and fertilizer,” Kinkle said. “It’s foundational to our spraying technology, which uses AI and vision systems to identify weeds in a field.”

“We’re passionate about inspiring the next generation to both come to University of Illinois, but also to eventually come work for John Deere as well,” Kennedy added. “STEM is one of our passions, both as individuals and as a company.” 

James and Brandon Haran have attended EOH since Brandon was five years old. Haran graduated from the University in 1997 from Grainger.

“We’ve been coming down every year for EOH (to) see what’s new and check out what has changed over the years, “ Haran said. 

Brandon said his favorite parts about the tradition include the cotton candy, cement crusher and physics experiments. This fall, he will attend the University as a freshman in Engineering. 

According to Rohini Ramesh, senior in Engineering and co-director of EOH, one of the event’s main goals is to promote engineering and impact the lives of attendees. In her role as co-director, Ramesh said she has evolved as a leader. 

“I think a lot of the times when we do things in leadership positions, we don’t realize the impact that it might have on others,” Ramesh said. “EOH has really taught me every decision or action that we make is going to affect a position on our committee or somebody out there.”

Sadat cited the EOH team for their hard work in making the event so successful. This year, the EOH committee funded five underprivileged schools to attend EOH. 

“I really hope that in the future, this effort to have even more students come down and learn about engineering continues,” Ramesh said. 

jessiew4@dailyillini.com

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