A public university in East Lansing, Michigan recently arrested five anti-Israel demonstrators for protesting in an administrative building past closing hours.
On Friday, Michigan State University students were organizing a “sit-in” protest in favor of divesting from Israel during a board of trustees meeting scheduled for the next day.
”Once it got past 6 p.m. when the [Hannah Administration Building] does close, the police did issue out three warnings over the course of about 30 minutes that they needed to leave or there would be further action taken,” MSU Spokesperson Emily Guerrant reportedly said. “To my knowledge, everything was handled very peacefully and very calmly, and there was no violence.”
“The university respects their ability to protest and the rights to free speech,” Guerrant continued. “And as the president said many times since the summer, being able to express yourself and your opinions and beliefs in a safe way is certainly a priority to the university, but we have to balance that with safety.”
The protesters included members of a student group called the Hurriya Coalition.
The group’s Instagram account identifies the coalition as a “collective of 20+ organizations fighting for freedom & justice in Palestine at MSU.”
On Oct. 22, the coalition called upon students to “PACK THE BOARD ROOM” and “OCCUPY HANNAH ADMIN.”
”This Friday pack the board room for the last Trustee meeting before finals week. This is our last chance to directly confront those who have the power to divest this semester, so we need to show up and show out for divestment and a free Palestine.”
The group also wrote encouraged activists to “Bring a Keffiyeh” and “bring a friend.”
In comments made to The State News, one of the arrested student activists said, “We’re going to keep showing up, we’re going to keep showing out. We will not give up.”
[RELATED: Activists pressure MSU to change its policies on unionization, Israel investments]
The Hurriya Coalition was also behind organizing a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus in April in order to “demand divestment from Israel, weapons manufacturers, and those complicit in genocide.”
”Today we began our solidarity encampment in the People’s Park between wells hall and the international center,” the group wrote to Instagram on April 25. “Support us and join us to demand divestment and solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
