Portland State University will pause any connection it has to aircraft manufacturer Boeing, after students and faculty expressed concerns about the company.

The school has no investments in Boeing, but does accept philanthropic gifts, university president Ann Cudd said. For months, students and faculty have been demanding that the school sever any ties with the company, due to its weapons manufacturing divisions and its ties to Israel.

This week, PSU students sent a letter to Cudd repeating calls for the break from Boeing due to the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters across the country have similarly urged businesses, governments and universities to cut ties with Boeing due to the war.

In a March press conference, Cudd said Boeing had invested $150,000 in the school to name a classroom and provides around $28,000 a year for scholarships, according to PSU’s Vanguard newspaper. At that time, Cudd said the university had no plans to change its relationship with Boeing.

Cudd said in a statement Friday that the school was shifting its approach to Boeing due to “the passion with which these demands are being repeatedly expressed” by members of the PSU community. But, she said, it’s not a permanent action.

PSU is planning to hold a moderated forum in May that includes students and faculty. Cudd said she will participate in that event.

A small group of pro-Palestinian protesters, some of whom were holding anti-Boeing signs, set up tents and barricades on Portland State University’s South Park Blocks on Thursday night.

Similar protests have been happening on campuses across the country.

Portland police said they informed members of the group that the park was closed, and that structures are not allowed there. Police and social media accounts indicate a few dozen people had gathered.

Officers were called in from all three Portland precincts to address the group.

After several hours, police removed the protesters and structures from the area. Police say there were no arrests.

Police warned in a statement Friday morning that anybody occupying a closed park, engaging in violent activity, or destroying property could be arrested.

In her statement, Cudd addressed concerns about how the school responds to individuals engaged in protests. She said nobody involved in any protest has been sanctioned for the content of their message.

But, she added, the school draws a line between protecting free speech and “activities including discrimination, harassment, intimidation, property damage and assault.”

Demonstrators had planned to hold a protest on the PSU campus Monday, but it was not immediately clear if the university’s pause on relations to Boeing would change those plans.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2024/04/26/portland-state-university-pauses-boeing-connections/