Wayne State University resumed in-person classes starting Friday at 6 a.m., after the removal of a student encampment protesting Israel's war in Gaza. The move comes after the school moved to remote learning for three days, citing safety concerns.
The encampment saw students and community activists protesting Israel’s war in Gaza and calling on the University to divest from companies linked to Israel’s war effort. The encampment was cleared on Thursday by campus police with 12 people arrested.
University spokesperson Matt Lockwood confirmed that six of those arrestees were students, and they had been released without charges. He also said there was “no discussion” of potential sanctions or punishments from the school to students who protested.
Jenna Sukkar said she was one of the 12 arrested. Sukkar is a board member of the Wayne State Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. She helped organize the encampment.
Sukkar said she was recording the clearing of the encampment when cops threw her on the ground. “They literally put ropes around my wrist. As I'm going down, as I am on the floor, I am yelling: ‘I am not resisting, I am not resisting.’ I just kept repeating it over and over again.”
Sukkar said she was issued a trespassing citation. “Which is insane to me because I am a student at Wayne State University, I was on school grounds. Where I was arrested and slammed on the floor is a path that I literally take to classes," she said.
Lockwood said the school was ”definitely still interested” in talking to the protesters and having an open dialogue. However, he said protesters rejected the school on multiple occasions.
Sukkar said the school isn’t meeting with protestors on fair terms.“They would just come at a random time during the day sometimes. For example, there was one time they came around 3:04 p.m. They come on their terms when we sometimes don't even have all of our organizers there or all of the board,” she says. “We just want to meet on our terms, on terms that work with us.”
Sukkar said the protestors are still dedicated to getting the university to divest.
