The pro-Palestinian demonstrations on Case Western Reserve’s campus remained peaceful last week, even as university officials declared Thursday that the student encampment is illegal and began to place possible restrictions on campus visitors. 

But university officials have been making contingency plans for handling a violent protest. Those plans include talking to the City of Cleveland for possible support from Cleveland police, a spokeswoman for City Hall told Signal Cleveland. 

“CWRU reached out to explore and discuss planning in advance but did not expressly request assistance,” Marie Zickefoose said, adding that the university has its own police department and jurisdiction, as detailed in an agreement with the city. (You can read Case Western Reserve’s agreement with the City of Cleveland below.)

Cleveland police, however, “would not need any type of invitation or preapproval to respond to violence/criminal activity on campus,” Zickefoose said. 

“The City and CDP are committed to upholding and protecting 1st Amendment rights and have encouraged CWRU leadership to do the same,” she said. “At the same time, we urge individuals to demonstrate peacefully. We condemn all forms of violence, and the Cleveland Division of Police stands ready to offer support should it occur.”

Case Western Reserve University President Eric Kaler sent an email to the university community late Thursday afternoon saying the university’s encampment is no longer approved and the campus buildings near the protest site would be closed beginning at 6 p.m. But the university police have allowed the demonstration to continue and did not appear to stop non-student visitors from participating in the demonstration or joining the encampment. Over the weekend, demonstrators expanded the footprint of its encampment beyond the oval in front of the university’s library.