Earlier this year, police closed a tent camp at the university and called on Israel to withdraw its investments.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at graduation ceremony in Michigan
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested during the University of Michigan’s graduation ceremony, waving flags and chanting.
A university official said police arrested four pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan on Wednesday after a group attempted to disrupt a university event.
During a Festifall event on Wednesday afternoon, some anti-Israel protesters showed up at the Diag and began demonstrating. The group of about 50 protesters were asked to disperse, Colleen Mastony, assistant vice president for public affairs, told the Free Press. None of the four arrested were students, Mastony said.
“For over an hour they were given multiple warnings, making it clear that they were blocking pedestrian traffic and violating university rules,” she said in a statement. “Most eventually dispersed, although some refused to leave, and as a result four people were arrested. None of those arrested were students. Three were not affiliated with the university and the fourth is a temporary worker.”
The protests and arrests are the latest conflict at Michigan’s largest university linked to the war between Israel and Gaza that has left thousands dead. In April, protesters set up a tent camp and demanded that the university divest from Israel. In May, police shut down the camp, tore down the tents and made some arrests.
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The university struggles to strike a balance between freedom of expression and the right of students and teachers to study and work.
“Protests are welcome at the University of Michigan as long as those protests do not violate the rights of others, disrupt university operations, or threaten community safety,” Mastony said. “The university has made it clear that we will enforce our policies regarding protests and expressive activities and that we will hold individuals accountable for their actions to ensure safe and inclusive enforcement for all.”
A campus activist group called the Tahrir Coalition had previously announced that it was planning a die-in demonstration at 2:30 p.m. on Diag to raise awareness of the deaths in Gaza.
“We will not celebrate the start of school because UM invests in and funds genocide,” the group said in an Instagram post. “We are united in our demand for complete divestment.”
Contact Niraj Warikoo: [email protected] or X @nwarikoo
