Update: Thursday, May 3, 2024, 10:24 p.m.
DETROIT (AP) — Police broke up an encampment of protesters calling for divestment from Israel at Wayne State University and arrested at least 12 people Thursday.
Police in riot gear removed fencing and broke down tents erected last week on green space near the undergraduate library at Wayne State University.
President Kimberly Andrews Espy cited health and safety concerns and disruptions to campus operations. Staff were encouraged to work remotely this week, and in-person summer classes were suspended.
“No individual or group is permitted to claim campus property for their own use and deny others access to that property,” Espy said.
The camp, she added, “created an environment of exclusion — one in which some members of our campus community felt unwelcome and unable to fully participate in campus life.”
Protest camps sprang up across the U.S. and in Europe as students demanded their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that they say support its war in Gaza. Organizers seek to amplify calls to end Israel’s war with Hamas, which they describe as a genocide against the Palestinians.
In Detroit, as the Wayne State camp was cleared, at least 12 people were arrested for trespassing or other offenses, including one for assaulting a police officer, spokesperson Matt Lockwood said.
The protesters chanted to police, “There’s no riot here, why are you in riot gear?”
The protesters have demanded that the school divest from weapons manufacturers supplying Israel, provide a full disclosure of investments and cease delegation trips to Israel.
Wayne State this week posted video of its efforts to invite protesters to private meetings with Espy and other officials if they would dismantle the camp. Lockwood said all of the university's efforts were rejected.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, visited the encampment site after it was broken up to offer support to the protesters.
Ali Hassan, who represents WSU Students for Justice in Palestine, told WXYZ-TV this week that he believed the university’s shift to remote learning means the administration is taking notice of the student protests.
“The reason that they went remote is because we have put pressure on them,” he said.
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on May 21 broke up a similar encampment after 30 days.
Original post: Thursday, May 3, 2024, 8:12 a.m.
Wayne State University police cleared a student protest encampment Thursday morning.
The protestors had demanded the university agree to divest from Israel, among other conditions.
According to a university news release, protestors were told to clear the area by campus police. The announcements began at 5:30 this morning.
University spokesperson Matt Lockwood confirmed the encampment was removed and said eight protestors were arrested after refusing to comply with a police order.
University officials say the encampment created multiple legal, health, and safety challenges that disrupted our operations and required it to shift to remote operations this week.
The group of protestors set up the encampment at Wayne State late last week. It came days after a similar camp at the University of Michigan was removed.
The university is on remote operations for the third straight day Thursday . Students will get information from their instructors about class arrangements. All on-campus events are canceled until further notice.
