Police broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Michigan campus early Tuesday morning after school officials determined it had become a threat to campus safety.
"Following a May 17 inspection by the university fire marshal, who determined that if a fire were to occur, a catastrophic loss of life was likely, and subsequent refusal by camp occupants to remove fire hazards, the university this morning removed the encampment on the Diag, an area that serves as our main quad," university spokesperson Colleen Mastony said.
The encampment was set up on April 22 with the organizers demanding that the school divest from companies with financial ties to Israel. At the time, Mastony told the Michigan Daily: "Students are able to engage in peaceful protest in many places on campus and, at the same time, the University has a responsibility to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning and academic success."
Tuesday's dismantling was not only about the potential fire hazard but also the disregard for campus directives.
"The disregard for safety directives was the latest in a series of troubling events centered on the encampment. Individuals will continue to be welcome to protest as they always have at the University of Michigan, so long as those protests do not infringe on the rights of others, endanger our community, violate the law or disrupt university operations," Mastony said.
Michigan is one several universities to be investigated by the Committee on House Education and the Workforce. On April 30, committee Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent a letter requesting documentation regarding the college's response to antisemitism on campus.
Foxx also has requested that a representative from the school appear at a May 23 hearing titled "Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos."
Last week, some pro-Palestinian demonstrators placed fake body bags adorned with fake blood in the yard of at least one University of Michigan Board of Regents member, CBS News in Detroit reported.
TAHRIR Coalition, a collective of student groups that organized the protest, pushed back against the school's moves and called out the president and a board member in a posting on X: "This morning @SantaJOno @JordanAckerMI @RegentHubbard used 'student safety' as their reasoning to clear our encampment built in the name of 35,000+ Palestinian martyrs. Students have been hospitalized and arrested, a true sign of how much @UMich cares about student safety."
Massive protests this spring have paralyzed dozens of college campuses. Since April 18, more than 3,000 people have been arrested on over 50 college and universities campuses. More than 400 colleges have had some form of demonstration on campus.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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