OLYMPIA, Wash. — As Israel begins military operations in Rafah, several students are continuing to occupy the University of Washington's campus by peacefully protesting in encampments.
Tasbeet, who preferred not to share her last name, said their demands are that "UW materially and academically divests from all ties from Israeli companies and academic programs, cutting ties with Boeing and protecting Muslim and pro-Palestinian students on campus.”
UW leadership has declined to sever a partnership with Boeing, but while UW students have reached a stalemate with campus leaders, another nearby college is quickly gaining attention for coming to an agreement with its student protestors.
At The Evergreen State College in Olympia last Tuesday, an agreement was reached between protesters and college administrators after days of discussions and five hours of negotiations.
"We went back and forth over the language until we got to a position that we could both live with. And we signed almost 11 o'clock at night," said Dr. Dexter Gordon, executive vice president for The Evergreen State College.
Gordon said the goal of the negotiations was to set up a process. They decided to establish four task forces designed to meet student interests, which included added oversight over the college's investments and divestments.
"The students also asked for transparency. So the college will provide information," said Gordon.
The resulting Memorandum of Understanding led protestors to back down.
"They, as part of our negotiations, indicated that they themselves would take the tents down," said Gordon.
The encampments have not returned since.
But the situation at The Evergreen State College is more than just a little different than at the University of Washington, where Boeing, for example, has donated more than $100 million since 1917.
KING 5 inquired about Evergreen's relationship with Boeing, and a college spokesperson said they are not aware of any relationship with the company.
At UW, just a couple of years ago, the company gave $10 million toward a new interdisciplinary engineering building.
In an email to protestors, rejecting their demands, UW President Ana Mari Cauce wrote, "Boeing’s support for the UW in time, talent and funding cannot be replaced by other endowment sources, nor would we choose to sever our relationship if they could be."
But protesters at UW told KING 5 they will not give up.
"Until those demands are met, we won’t be leaving, but we are still very much in support of a ceasefire and hope those can happen as well," said Tasbeet.