23 Rhode Island School of Design students hold a sit-in in the school building

A group of 23 pro-Palestinian Rhode Island School of Design students and one University of Rhode Island student have sequestered themselves in RISD’s Prov-Wash building. The students are calling on their school to be transparent about its investments, and to divest from companies with ties to Israel. As of 11 p.m. Monday, students from the group were meeting with the university’s president, Crystal Williams.

Sadie Lewis is a Jewish freshman who is part of the group of students who have locked themselves in a room facing Washington Street. She said in a phone interview she’s feeling scared that she may be facing arrest.

“I’m super nervous. Yeah, really, really nervous but really hopeful. I hope we can all divest and be united in that,” she said.

Lewis added that there have been no altercations between the students and the RISD Department of Public Safety personnel, who the students are cordoning off from the room they have occupied by forming a human chain, according to Lewis, as well as the group’s livestream.

Luca Antonio Colannino, the president and spokesperson for the group that is putting on the protest, the RISD chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, said Israel’s assault on the city of Rafah, where hundreds-of-thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, was a catalyst for this action.

“We’re also here in solidarity with all encampments, sit-ins, occupations across universities across the country,” said Colannino, who joined the group as a freshman and is now a senior.

Colannino was supporting the students occupying the building from the outside, along with dozens of other protesters, including several from the Brown University encampment that concluded peacefully last week.

Students For Justice in Palestine at RISD have four main demands, according to a press release they sent to media:

“The sit-in protesters refuse to leave the Providence Washington building, Prov-Wash, until RISD President Crystal Williams:

1. Provides total fiscal transparency of RISD’s investment portfolio;

2. Commits to a holistic divestment from companies, corporations, and institutions that are implicated in sustaining Israeli Apartheid;

3. Establishes a student oversight committee for future investments;

4. Publicly condemns the Israeli Occupation of Gaza as a genocide.”

As of 11 p.m. Monday, there was a significant RISD Department of Public Safety presence around the building, although the agency is not accredited and cannot make arrests. A handful of Providence Police officers had been on and off the scene for several hours.

When reached for comment, Jaime Marland, a spokesperson for RISD, said in an email: “We have and continue to affirm our students’ right to freedom of expression, freedom of speech, and peaceful assembly. RISD condemns violence and injustice, and we decry antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of hate. The wellbeing of all of our students has been and remains our top priority, and we continue to support all members of our community.”

In a message to students on May 3, Williams said the school’s $4.42 million endowment was already responsibly invested due to a policy called “environmental, social, and governance,” or ESG, the school adheres to in its financial practices.

“Our investment portfolio is overwhelmingly aligned with our stated values and the concerns shared with us by RSJP [RISD Students for Justice in Palestine]. RISD is simply in a very different investment position than many other institutions nationwide where students are protesting. As we look toward the future, we will continue to abide by the ESG policy,” Williams said.

The Public’s Radio in Rhode Island and WBUR have a partnership in which the news organizations collaborate and share stories. This story was originally published by The Public's Radio.