Police clear UM student group's pro-Palestinian encampment. Several arrests made
Ann Arbor — University of Michigan police cleared an encampment of pro-Palestinian student groups on campus early Tuesday morning, ending a month-long presence on the university's Diag over what university officials said were fire safety concerns.
Officials for the university's Public Safety Department said its police officers began clearing the encampment just before 6 a.m. Tuesday. Students at the university created the encampment on the Diag in April to demand the school divest itself from Israeli firms and companies contributing to Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
"Officers issued three verbal warnings over a 15-minute period, asking the approximately 50 people who were in the encampment to leave voluntarily before being subject to arrest," said Melissa Overton, a spokeswoman for the university's Public Safety and Security Division and its deputy chief of police, in a statement. "In recent days, encampment participants have also received numerous outreach attempts from UM administrators and DPSS leadership, asking them to leave."
"The encampment posed safety risks, both to participants and the community at large, and its presence was in violation of policies and regulations," Overton said. "Its removal was important to help maintain the safety and security of the UM campus community."
Salma Hamamy, president of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, said taking down the physical encampment means nothing for the movement.
"The movement lies within the people," Hamamy said. "The movement is about Palestinian liberation and being free from an apartheid regime and a genocide. ... The movement lives in our hearts, not within tents."
Cora Galpern, a UM social work graduate student from Denver, was among the students who were dispersed by police. She criticized the police's tactics and defended the pro-Palestinian encampment.
Police gave protesters 10 minutes to disperse, then lined up in riot gear, with batons and pepper spray, pushing people to the ground, said Galpern, who is a member of Jewish Voices for Peace at UM. Nearly everyone got hit with pepper spray, she said, including her.
“I couldn’t see or breathe,” said Galpern, who has been camping every night in the Diag area since it set up last month.
Four people were arrested, three of whom are students, she said, a number that UM spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen confirmed. Two people were taken to the hospital because of pepper spray, Galpern said.
“Right now, our main focus is figuring out how we can support the people who are currently being held in jail," said Galpern, as demonstrators later massed at the Washtenaw County Jail in Ann Arbor.
"It was really scary and really sad. But I'm also incredibly proud of everyone who was there," she said. "I think that all of the members of the encampment really acted in full form and came together to protect and support one another and show how strong the community we've built over this past month is."
Drums sounded in the parking lot of the county jail into Tuesday afternoon as dozens of protesters carried Palestinian flags, wore Palestinian scarves and chanted, “One, two, three, four open up the prison door. Five, six, seven, eight, Gaza we will liberate.”
The four arrested demonstrators were released from the jail around 1:20 p.m. Tuesday. It was unclear what charges they faced. Protesters began leaving the parking lot around 2 p.m. with plans to reconvene later.
Michael Mueller, a UM graduate student studying math, called the university's actions "terrible."
"Unfortunately, they were not unexpected given the university's response to the divestment movement," said Mueller. "But it's unconscionable that the university would react this way to a nonviolent protest trying to stop the university from funding a genocide. But we also know that whatever violence happened here, which is egregious, is a fraction of what is happening in Palestine."
The Israeli government has argued that its citizens have been the target of a genocide after Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 250 people. The Israeli military has killed over 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Hamas, a majority of whom are women and children. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 25.
Talks about a cease-fire and a return of hostages remain stalled.
'UM is not a campground'
In an early Tuesday statement, UM President Santa Ono blamed fire concerns for the school's decision to remove the encampment after four weeks.
"Ensuring that the campus is safe — for students, faculty, employees, university visitors, and protestors — is a paramount concern, which is why the university has provided 24-hour security for the encampment over the past four weeks," Ono said. "Following a May 17 inspection by the university fire marshal, who determined that were a fire to occur, a catastrophic loss of life was likely, the fire marshal and Student Life leaders asked camp occupants to remove external camp barriers, refrain from overloading power sources, and stop using open flames.
"The protesters refused to comply with these requests. That forced the university to take action and this morning, we removed the encampment."
Student demonstrators reacted to Ono's statement on social media.
"Is this violence not 'catastrophic' enough for you to act @SantaJOno? You would rather unleash violence on your own students? Add this to your next email," according to a post by the TAHRIR Coalition, a student-led coalition that advocates for the university's divestment in Israel and includes more than 80 student organizations.
Gasper also rejected the president's statement, saying the fire marshal didn't speak to anyone at the encampment.
“They are trying to win this narrative war by just not telling you the truth and using their reach to reach as many people as possible and that's why it's so important for us to continue building community and correct the record," she said.
The protesters' disregard for safety directives was only the latest in a series of violations of rules for the Diag, Ono said in his message. Among the examples he cited were the disruption of the Honors Convocation and repeated disruptions of classes in academic buildings and study in university libraries; the demonstrators' replacement of Diag bricks with concrete and painting over the Block M; the May 3 protest outside the university's Museum of Art that he said descended into violence; and the May 15 protests held at the homes of several members of the UM Board of Regents.
UM Board of Regents Chair Sarah Hubbard backed Ono's action, saying university officials have asked leaders of the encampment to leave many times, but they chose to stay. Those at the encampment brought in plywood and chicken wire, seemingly in an attempt to fortify their camp, she said. That signaled an escalation, she said.
With thunderstorms in recent days and the electricity that the university provided to the students to use, the fire marshal also expressed concerns about safety, Hubbard said. All of these things, along with the protesters visiting the homes of regents last week, including Hubbard's, led UM to decide to disperse the encampment, she said.
"We have supported their rights to free speech," Hubbard said. "But school's out. It's time to move on. UM is not a campground."
Others weigh in
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer weighed in on the move Tuesday morning when questioned by reporters at an unrelated Capitol event in Lansing.
Whitmer told reporters that her office has had ongoing dialogues with the leaders of all of the state’s universities. Officials with the University of Michigan asked that Michigan State Police personnel be involved at the "perimeter" for Tuesday morning’s actions, she said.
“I think it’s really important to recognize there are so many people in our Arab American community and our Muslim community and our Palestinian community and our Jewish community that are hurting,” Whitmer said. “My job here at the state level is to make sure that people are safe, that we … of course, recognize that everyone has a free speech right but we also have to recognize that every person should be able to feel safe in their community.”
At least one Jewish campus group welcomed Ono's action.
"Taking down the encampment today demonstrated the university’s willingness to enforce its policies," said Robbi Davey Rosen, CEO of the University of Michigan Hillel. "It is unfortunate that hateful signs and banners remained up at the center of campus since Passover. Michigan Hillel will continue to tirelessly advocate for Jewish students and cultivate a safe and joyful space for the Jewish community on campus."
Ann Arbor police said they were not involved in the encampment's removal.
"On the morning of May 21, 2024, the Ann Arbor Police Department responded to North University and Church after being requested by the University of Michigan Police Department to assist with traffic control around campus," The Ann Ann department said in a Tuesday statement. "The AAPD was not involved with the clearing of protesters on the University of Michigan campus and made no arrests connected to the protest."
Ono said in his statement that students will be welcome to protest at the university, as they always have "so long as those protests don’t violate the rights of others and are consistent with university policies meant to ensure the safety of our community. To be clear, there is no place for violence or intimidation at the University of Michigan. Such behavior will not be tolerated, and individuals will be held accountable."
Protesters have accused the regents and other university officials of lacking empathy for the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who have called for cutting off university endowment investment that might benefit Israel.
Concerning Israeli and military companies, the university's indirect exposure is less than 0.04% of the endowment's market value, or less than $7 million, UM spokeswoman Colleen Mastony has said.
"If the university has invested in that particular venture fund, the university, along with all the other investors in that venture fund, would be considered an 'indirect' investor in those 50 companies," Mastony said last month. "UM selects fund managers based on their overall strategy but does not actively direct or influence the managers' specific company investments. This passive investment approach is typical for institutional investors in private funds."
Staff Writer Craig Mauger contributed.