Tivoli Student Union Tent Occupation on May 14, 2024
At about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, protesters entered the Tivoli Student Union on the Auraria Campus. They set up tents inside the building, yelling chants, screaming in officers’ faces, and pinning officers between two groups of escalating protesters, further disrupting Campus operations.
Due to safety concerns, staff and businesses within the Tivioli were forced to close down and vacate the building.
After about thirty minutes, protestors escalated the situation. Auraria Campus leaders and ACPD officers secured the area and warned the protestors that they would be cited for trespassing if they did not leave. Some left peacefully; however, 12 people were issued a summons for trespassing and interference. A campus lockdown was issued at about 4:50 p.m. to secure the area and to assess the situation. The lockdown was lifted at 6:20 p.m., and the campus resumed normal operations, except for the Tivoli Student Union, which remained closed for the evening.
We continue to balance the legal right to free speech with the need to keep our community safe and the campus focused on teaching and learning.
This is the fifth example of these incidents resulting in safety concerns in the last week, where protest behavior has escalated beyond peaceful protest and continues to present operational challenges and disruptions.