Robert Barker/University Photography

President Hunter Rawlings shakes the hand of Fabian Canas '07, one of the student protesters, following the signing of the agreement regarding the West Campus parking lot at Redbud Woods.

Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings and protesters fighting a proposed West Campus parking lot in the Redbud Woods reached a truce Monday, July 18, 72 hours after a chain-link fence was erected around the two-acre site.

The agreement, signed by Rawlings and the protesters shortly after 3 p.m., would allow the university to proceed with the construction of a 176-space parking lot on the site, grant amnesty to all signers of the agreement who have been cited for trespassing, and puts in place several initiatives related to parking and sustainability, including several measures requested by the Redbud Woods Working Group, a coalition of students and community members.

"I think that the agreement is good for everyone concerned," Rawlings said as he stood alongside Danny Pearlstein '05, a graduate student and member of the Redbud Group. "I know that there are those that don't agree with it, and I understand that."

Rawlings also expressed his appreciation of the Redbud supporters' dedication and work put into both their cause and the negotiations.

Said Pearlstein, "I do it because I love Cornell. We all love the community here."

Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan H. Murphy and Dean of Students Kent Hubbell visited the nine-acre woods on West Campus throughout the weekend and three more times on Monday to meet with the Redbud group to discuss details of the accord and for the final signing.

Many people on the site over the weekend, including faculty members and Cornell University Police, said protesters' safety was the main concern.

"Our sense is that we've basically agreed to clean up and not have them carry us out," Pearlstein said.

"My assessment is we are acting in good faith, and no one wants to break the deal," Hubbell said.

The agreement states that if protesters left the site by 8 p.m. Monday and construction proceeded without further incident, trespassing violations would be forgiven. The administration also agreed to talk to Ithaca Police about dismissing charges pending from the protesters' April sit-in demonstration in the Cornell president's office in Day Hall.

In addition, the university promised to provide more free transit passes to new students and initiate continuing studies of sustainability issues related specifically to environmental impact, parking demand and abatement. These measures would involve a Student Assembly referendum, a faculty advisory committee, neighborhood groups, Tompkins County and the city of Ithaca.

Meanwhile, faculty, community members and others opposed to the administration's decision to proceed with construction vowed to keep fighting. More than 300 Cornell faculty members have shown their support for the Redbud cause.

A statement read on behalf of the Redbud Woods Faculty Working Group said: "This morning, in the face of evident intent on the part of Cornell University to use overwhelming coercive force, Cornell students and Ithaca community members occupying Redbud Woods have signed a constructive agreement with the administration which includes the promise to vacate the site voluntarily."

The statement said the faculty group supports "the conditional amnesty from disciplinary and legal charges brought by the university which has been guaranteed in the agreement."

If the protests continue, they will be held outside of the fence. The lawn in front of von Cramm Hall, next to Redbud Woods, is the designated protest area.