PORTLAND, Ore. — On Tuesday, an unknown number of students and outside protesters remained barricaded inside Portland State University's campus library, expressing that they do not have plans to leave or stand down until their demands are met.
Among demands from students at PSU, the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators want the university to cut ties with Boeing, due to the company's reported connections to Israeli military. This follows a broader call for an end to the violence in Gaza, and an immediate ceasefire.
Protests of the Israel-Hamas war reminded older activists of past student movements — like the one that took place on the PSU campus in 1970. Hundreds of students took over the campus and park blocks, protesting the Vietnam War, along with the killing of four Kent State University students by the Ohio National Guard.
"On May 4, the Kent State students were shot: 13 wounded, four dead," recalled Doug Weiskopf, one of the student activists. "And that's when everything exploded on 450 campuses in America. And we joined with the national student strike and shut down Portland State for a week."
Then came the clash, between the Portland Tactical Police squad and peaceful student protesters. More than 30 students were hospitalized, injured by the officers. Up to this point, Weiskopf said, their tactics were clear.
"We told the kids, don't insult people as they walk by, and if they argue with you, just stay cool and don't do anything," he said. "Don't do any spray painting or breaking windows. When this is over, we want to be able to say that — that we've conducted ourselves with honor and decency."
Their actions were commemorated two years ago by the university, with the unveiling of a plaque only one block from the the current demonstration.
"The dean of students got up on the podium with us and said that they had admired our activism and what we had done and that, you know, it turned out that everything we had said back in the day had pretty much been right," Weiskopf said. "And the kids today, they may be right about the Middle East and Gaza and and the way the Palestinians have been treated, but they're smothering their message."
Weiskopf said he fears reports of vandalism and anti-Semitism at campuses nationwide can undermine the goals and messages of the demonstrators. Photos taken Wednesday show damage inside the PSU library, including shattered panes of glass, graffiti and the use of tables and chairs as makeshift barricades throughout the building.
"What it takes is organization and discipline, you know, and a commitment to principled protest, principled nonviolent protest," he said, "Stay disciplined. Stay cool, stay nonviolent. Stay organized."