The University of Michigan fired an employee last Friday for her alleged conduct at a protest in May 2024, when she was a student.
Zainab Hakim was one of hundreds of students who participated in an encampment at the Diag.
The demonstrators were urging the university to cut financial ties with Israel, saying U of M investments were funding human rights abuses in Gaza. Israel has said it's acting in self defense, and the University of Michigan says its investment decisions are designed to be shielded from political pressures.
Hakim graduated from the university in May 2024 and started working as a program specialist in the International Institute at the university’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in October.
“When I got the job, I was really clear about my student organizing work and my participation in the U of M encampment,” Hakim said.
But on April 7 this year, the university suspended her employment, citing a police report from a protest at the university's Museum of Art on May 3, 2024.
A letter from Amy Grier, Associate Director Staff Human Resources, said Hakim “committed several violations” of a university policy banning violence on campus. But the letter doesn’t specify what she did at the protest that violated the policy.
When asked to clarify, the university declined to provide details, saying it does not comment on personnel matters.
Hakim said she was protesting peacefully and did not violate the policy.
“I had a microphone. I was chanting with it,” she said. “And then I was also just like part of the crowd.”
Hakim has not been arrested or charged with a crime. After placing her on suspension, the university fired Hakim on April 11. She is no longer eligible for re-hire at the university, according to the letter notifying her of her termination.
Madhumita Lahiri, Hakim’s supervisor, said Hakim was an “outstanding employee.”
“We were not consulted, nor was anyone else in the International Institute,” she said. “Zainab’s termination was a decision by university Human Resources.”
Neither Lahiri nor the institute’s director knew Hakim was being suspended, Hakim and her union representative said.
“This is like a huge procedural violation and it's a violation of my First Amendment rights,” Hakim said.
The Michigan chapter of the American Federation of Teachers said it has filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission.
Terrence Martin, the Michigan chapter’s president, said the case will give the university an opportunity to provide more details.
“We welcome an opportunity for the university to explain its merit, and, obviously, explain our stance on this as well,” he said.
The university will not bargain with Hakim about her termination, Hakim and her union representative said.
“Since [receiving the termination letter], I’ve had no further communication from U of M,” she said.
The union filed the complaint on her behalf for several reasons, said Martin.
“This is really a civil rights issue as much as it is a labor issue,” he said. “People have the right to protest and to protest peacefully and lawfully, and not be punished for it.”
The university’s decision contradicts what she learned when she was a student, Hakim said.
“It's pretty hypocritical that I was going to classes every day of undergrad that were about revolutions and about people who had done important things in the world,” she said. “And then you raise your voice even a little bit to speak out against a very plain injustice. And it's like, oh, sorry, you're fired.”
Editor's note: The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
