‘Loud and clear’: SSU president says he’s open to talking with pro-Palestinian student protesters

The pro-Palestinian encampment at Sonoma State University has been up for six days. In that time, President Mike Lee had addressed its presence in emails, and demonstrators mentioned that they wanted to speak with him, but neither had met face-to-face.

On Thursday, Lee walked into the encampment on Person Lawn.

It was a wholly different atmosphere than seen at some campuses across the nation, where police have broken up camps and students have been suspended or arrested.

“I went to go in and make sure that they are safe and healthy,” Lee told a Press Democrat reporter Thursday. “I also let them know that their message is very, very loud and clear. I heard it. We have heard it.”

Students pitched the first tents Friday night, following the lead of similar encampments at college campuses across the nation. Those protests called for their respective school administrations to, in part, disclose finances and divest from entities that profit from and support the occupation of Palestinian territories.

The SSU group specifically demanded the school recognize Palestinian identity in academics, as with other ethnic and racial groups; agree to an academic boycott that would shut down study-abroad programs linked to Israel; and call for a permanent and immediate cease-fire.

Groups leaders said they plan on staying on the lawn until those demands are met.

Albert Levine, 21, a member of SSU Students for Justice in Palestine, said he and others were excited to see Lee in the encampment Thursday.

“Mike Lee showing up to our camp today for the first time is an amazing first step,” Levine said, adding that for the first few days it felt like the group was talking with a “concrete wall.”

Lee walked by the students at least once Monday and did not stop to talk.

The exchange pushed those in the encampment to strive for an official meet with Lee to discuss the demands.

“We want to actually ask questions back and forth to hear where he stands,” Levine said.

“We don’t want there to be time to mediate a response to defend the capital of this institution,” he added, referring to why the group did not send information over email. “We want there to be humanity in this.”

Lee said Thursday he has seen the demands listed at the encampment and on social media, though he has not received an official list. He said he is willing to sit with students to talk about them.

During an interview with The Press Democrat, he did not identify each of the demands individually but said some of them, specifically divesting, may be harder to achieve. SSU, he explained, is one of 23 California State University system campuses, meaning the question would need to be dealt with at a higher level.

Also, universities often invest their money in mutual funds, and citing particular investments may be complicated.

“There’s a practical reason (as to) whether or not that’s achievable, given our situation,” Lee said.

Levine said he understands it may be a difficult situation to address. But, he said, he wants to know if his tuition money is contributing to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

“We need transparency and Mike Lee can be the start of that for the CSU system,” he said.

However, these challenges Lee brought up are precisely why Levine said he and other organizers want to meet with Lee face-to-face.

Lee said he hopes they can reach a resolution soon — in time for students who are on track to graduate, to take exams and finish their spring classes. Instruction ends May 10 and the semester ends May 24.

“We would love to continue our education once we know it is not funding the genocide of Palestinians,” Levine said.

Keeping it peaceful

Those occupying the encampment have been following the rules, Lee said.

“As long as they stay that way and they are doing their peaceful demonstration, that is their freedom of speech and we will allow that to continue,” he said.

SSU Police Chief Nader Oweis said police have not needed to intervene at any point. He checks with the encampment once every day.

The exchanges have been “cordial, respectful and educational,” he said.

Lee said he does not plan on giving the students a deadline to pack up their encampment, like officials did at Columbia University earlier this week.

Lee said he would not comment on some of the actions other universities have taken relating to on-campus encampments, such as suspending or expelling students or calling in law enforcement.

“It’s very unfair to try to judge what happened on other campuses and decisions made because we are not in their circumstance and we don’t know all of the details,” he said.

However, he said, at SSU, calling law enforcement would be a “very, very, very, very last resort.”

“I really sincerely hope that we never have to use that to resolve the situation,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.