The University of Michigan has suspended multiple pro-Palestine student protesters from their campus jobs while administrators review the demonstrators’ activity from an anti-Israel protest.
Michigan’s Department of Human Resources notified four students and one graduate on April 7 in connection with a May 2024 pro-Palestine protest at the school’s Museum of Art, according to The Michigan Daily.
“During a private event, protesters interfered with law enforcement’s ability to provide invitees safe and secure entry and exit from the premises,” the letter reportedly stated.
“Despite law enforcement presence at the doors and around the building, and repeated instructions to refrain from obstructing their efforts, it appears that you did not comply and you interfered with law enforcement actions, including pushing back against law enforcement,” it continued.
One of the students reportedly said that he was “not surprised” that the university had suspended them from their on-campus job because the administration has been “consistently” opposed to “due process” for pro-Palestine demonstrators.
According to The Michigan Daily, more than 200 U-M students were involved in the May 2024 museum protest.
Michigan has had a vocal presence of anti-Israel demonstrators in recent times.
Shortly after the museum protest, for instance, students interrupted the 2024 spring commencement with Palestinian flags and anti-Israel chants. According to The Guardian, the activists’ chants included “Israel bombs, UMich pays,” “Divest from Israel now” and “Free Palestine.”
Last month, pro-Palestine demonstrators vandalized the house of the university’s provost with slogans like “Free Palestine,” “Divest,” “M Kills” and “No Honor in Genocide.”
Michigan Regents Vice Chair Mark Bernstein strongly condemned the vandalism as an “assault” on the university’s fundamental values. “We have failed as an educational institution when these criminal acts replace responsible advocacy,” he noted.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
