Northwestern agrees to students' 'clear set of demands', both sides negotiating in good faith

For five days, the shouts of student protesters and supporters rang out from Northwestern University’s Deering Meadow as they joined demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war unfolding on college campuses nationwide. But the meadow on the suburban Chicago campus fell silent hours after student organizers and the school announced an agreement late Monday to curb protest activity in return for the reestablishment of an advisory committee on university investments and other commitments. By quickly defusing the protests in Evanston and avoiding the longer standoffs that happened on other campuses, the agreement at Northwestern offered an example of successful negotiations between anti-war demonstrators and administrators. Brown University announced a similar deal. Still, the arrangement drew dissent from both sides. Protesters condemned the Northwestern agreement as a failure to stick to students' original demands while some supporters of Israel said the deal represented “cowardly” capitulation to protesters. As Northwestern swiftly reaches a deal with student protesters, and a way forward, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by The Daily Northwestern's Editor in Chief Jacob Wendler.