What our reporters saw during the counter-protest

Over the past week, 14 East reporters have covered DePaul’s Divestment Coalition encampment of DePaul University’s Quad. The coalition, which is made up of eight different student organizations, has occupied the Quad since April 30. These students have made a list of demands that they say must be met by the university for them to leave the space they have laid claim to, including disclosing investments and divesting from Israel and declaring the Israel-Gaza conflict a genocide. DePaul has responded to these demands in a public statement. Organizers have said this response does not adequately meet their demands, and students have remained with their tents pitched and hammocks hung. 

The crowd outside of the northeast Fullerton entrance. Photo by Varun Khushalani

Context 

This is one of many protests that have taken place in Chicago over the last six months of international turmoil. Hamas, the political power that controls Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 Israelis and taking around 240 people hostage. It is unclear how many hostages are alive and remain in Gaza. Since October 7, the Israeli military has conducted large-scale military action like raids and airstrikes. More than 34,500 people have been killed in Gaza, including more than 13,000 children, according to Palestinian health officials. The United Nations says “hundreds of thousands” more could die if Israel goes forward with a planned invasion of the city of Rafah. Rafah, which has acted as the last evacuation place for citizens, holds more than 100,000 Palestinians. They have now been ordered to evacuate to Muwasi, a declared safe zone by Israel. The United Nations says that this area, which is more of a makeshift tented camp, is not ready to hold that many refugees. 

The Night Before

On May 4, 14 East reporters pitched their tent for overnight coverage. We wanted to get an understanding of what the students who had been living there were truly experiencing. We did not want to miss any component of what was happening in the community. We saw students waiting in line for free dinner, homework stretched across the lawn as students in tents tried to finish midterms, and political conversation happening in every corner.  Through witnessing late-night conversations, prayers and midnight rallies, 14 East got a new perspective that many publications would have missed after they left at nightfall. 

14 East’s Media Tent set up in front of the library. Photo by Hailey Bosek

Student line up for dinner time. All of the resources for camps are donated. Photo by Hailey Bosek

10:00 a.m.

 The next morning, the sixth day of the encampment, a rally was held by the Chicago Jewish Alliance. Originally advertised to take place on the Quad, the location moved to Fullerton Avenue and Halsted Street, in front of DePaul’s Holtschneider Performance Center. So, we packed up our portable chargers and headed to the rally.

Josh Weiner, one of the co-founders of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, made it clear to 14 East reporters that the intention of their rally was to show solidarity for the pro-Israel side. 

“If you look at anything we put out to promote this, we have been very clear we don’t mean to provoke [the encampment protesters]. We want to have a peaceful rally today,”  Weiner said. 

14 East reporters spent some of the morning with these protesters, most of whom held a Jewish identity. We spoke with protesters who had kidnapped family members and those who wanted to feel connected to the community they belonged to. I turned to one of my reporters and told them I didn’t think they were going to leave this area. About five minutes later, we turned to see cop cars rushing down Fullerton Avenue. That sprint down that road had never felt longer. 

11:00 a.m.

At 11:03 a.m., 14 East reporters arrived at the northeast Fullerton entrance of DePaul’s Quad. The serene morning environment we left had turned into chaos. This seemed like an entirely different rally than the one we had just left. We tried to center ourselves in the chaos. I went up to three middle-aged women in the crowd. 

“I graduated at DePaul, this is just sickening to see what they are saying,” said one of the counter-protesters. “We are anti-violence! We are peaceful, we are not the ones yelling like them, we are just standing with our flags.” 

It was hard to hear them over the commotion. The most prominent noise was the loudspeaker coming from the northeast entrance of the Quad. Phrases like “Free, Free Palestine!” and “Disclose, Divest, we will not stop, we will not rest!” were amplified even louder by the DePaul students who stood on top of and clung to the black gates surrounding the Quad. These gates, onced decorated with hundreds of protest art pieces but had now been ripped off, served as another barrier between the two groups. Any attempts at conversation quickly would turn into screaming. Others attempted no conversation and stuck to inflammatory remarks. One specific pro-Israel counter-protester shouted through a microphone from the start of the clash to the end inflammatory phrases like “Islam is trash.” Many of the complaints from counter-protesters were demanding the encampment protesters take off their masks.

One pro-Palestinian protester came from behind and ripped an Israeli flag off a pole. A small fight broke out but was quickly broken up by other protesters. Some counter-protesters had paint splatters over themselves. They claimed that protesters had thrown paint from behind the gates at them.

11:45 a.m.

At this point, a heavy police presence was growing. The group of counter-protesters expanded, with more people coming from the same direction as the planned Chicago Jewish Alliance rally. CPD created a shoulder-to-shoulder line that separated the counter-protesters, who crowded the entrance and the streets, and the encampment, whose participants continued chanting. As the police separated the two sides, DPU alerts were being sent to urge people to remain indoors and avoid the area. Behind the police line, the students stood linked in arms, forming a protective circle around the Quad.

Protesters stood linked in arms around the quad. The chanting persisted on . Photo by Hailey Bosek

The rest of the students linked arms to protect alternative entrances. The CPD would block anyone from entering the Quad, but it didn’t stop anyone from shouting. There were very few pro-Israeli counter-protesters who managed to find their way to the encampment, and a small percentage of pro-Palestinian protesters who found themselves in front of the guarded and gated Quad. Through the bars of the gate, I spoke to a mother of a DePaul student who chose to only disclose her first name. Alejandra has been coming to the encampment for the last couple of days to show support.

“I am afraid for their safety to be honest,” said Alejandra. She had been to the Northwestern encampment as well. “There were a lot of adult counter-protesters instigating fights with the students.” She says that she doesn’t believe there are any peaceful intentions from the counter-protesters. 

Based on what 14 East reporters saw, the majority of the counter-protesters were adults with a few children. Most pro-Palestinian protesters were students, with a small number of parents and other adults. 

12:00 p.m.

The shouting brought some community members and students to see what was happening. Hailey Zoeller lives in DePaul’s University Hall building. She said she had to take the long way around as she stood across the street at Milito’s gas station. 

“I feel for the people out here, and I feel for the school — so I feel kinda caught,” said Zoeller, “I do think the school needs to have a better conversation with the students, and not just push them to the side and wait for them to be over.” 

14 East reporters continued to report on the scene. In the crowd, Vice President of Student Affairs Gene Zdziarski and Associate Vice President for Faculty and Staff Engagement Mark Laboe were spotted in the street. Laboe said he could not comment, while Zdziarski told reporters to stand on the sidewalk. 

Counter-protesters yelled at the encampment protesters linked in a line and clinging to the fence. The encampment protests continued chanting slogans. We found ourselves on the curb in front of the main entrance to the Quad. A pro-Palestinian protester sat with encampment medics and CPD. We asked the medic and some bystanders what had happened. We have no video evidence, but the protester had bandages around his eye and limped over to a stretcher before being wheeled away.

A protestor is taken to the ambulance on a stretcher. Photo by Hailey Bosek

It was around this time that CPD told the press, who previously had been allowed behind the police on the sidewalk, that the sidewalk was no longer public. They told us we had to choose to be in the street or in the Quad. 

Later, I saw another pro-Palestinian protester being taken to an ambulance. 

Inside the Quad, protesters stood linked in a chain. They are lead by their phrase “We keep eachother safe.” Photo by Varun Khushalani

1:30 p.m. 

The counter-protesters started to disperse at 1:30 p.m. 14 East reporters were in the Quad at this time. No arrests were made. After 24 hours at the encampment, 14 East reporters went home for the day.

Additional reporting also by  Alexanda Murphy, Jana Simovic, and Varun Khushalani 

Header by Varun Khushalani