RMPJC Stands in Solidarity With The Auraria Encampment

The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center stands in full support and solidarity with the brave students and community members in Colorado and nationwide, who are organizing encampments to protest Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, backed by U.S. financial and institutional support. 

For over a week, students and community members in Denver have staged an encampment at the CU Denver Auraria Campus to draw attention to the institution’s complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.

This encampment is part of a growing number of encampments, inspired by the student campus protests that began at Columbia University on April 17th and have since erupted into a global solidarity movement. 

While the students and activists at the encampment have remained entirely peaceful and nonviolent, they have been met with brutal police violence and arrests. Students were violently slammed to the ground by Denver police and 44 people were arrested.

We condemn this brutality and call on Denver’s mayor and the Denver police department to work to remediate the harm that has been done to the community. Police violence does not make anyone safer, but instead fosters a climate of fear and hostility.

We are at a pivotal moment in history -- the world is watching the protests erupting on campuses across the country, harkening back to anti-Vietnam War protests, Civil Rights protests, and countless other liberation movements throughout history.

We encourage you to join this historic movement in solidarity. 

What you can do: 

Attend the encampment!

There is power in numbers, and we need as many community members as possible to show up in solidarity with the encampment! Join the student encampment at Tivoli Quad on CU Denver's Auraria Campus at 1000 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80204. Bring camping gear if you are able to camp overnight, otherwise you are welcome to join the encampment at any time that you are available.

Call on Denver's elected leaders to protect students and community members participating in the encampment!

Call and email the Denver Mayor, Denver City Council, Denver Higher Education Center, telling them to protect students and keep police away from the encampment.

Call and email the CU Denver and Metro State University Trustees and Administration, telling them to protect the students' right to protest, keep student activists safe, and engage the student's demands in good faith.

You can find all their contact information in the infographic below!

Donate to support the encampment!

Financial donations go towards needed supplies for the encampment and legal support for arrestees. Click here to make a financial donation!

Donations of goods and services are also incredibly helpful! Check Telegram: @CPCactions for up-to date information on supplies and services that are currently needed.

Offer your time, talents, and skills!

If you are an artist, musician, performer, or have any skills or talents to share, you are invited to come bring joy, beauty and creativity to the camp!

Spread the word!

Talk to your friends and family about the importance of the encampments and encourage them to join in solidarity!

Please see the following announcement from our friends at the Colorado Palestine Coalition, to see how you can best support the Gaza Solidarity Encampment: