CLAYTON — At least a dozen people, including three students, were arrested Saturday morning after disrupting an event at Washington University to protest the college’s ties to Boeing. Those arrested were also barred from campus.
Shortly after a program for incoming students and their families began, people in the balcony of Graham Chapel unfurled a banner that read “Boeing arms genocide.” Others started chanting and moved to the stage to interrupt Anna Gonzalez, the vice chancellor of student affairs, as she was greeting the audience.
About a hundred people were also gathered outside the chapel, according to organizers, including a student group called and the Ƶ Palestine Solidarity Committee.
“The reason we targeted this admitted students event is because we want those students to understand what they are joining,” said Eden Naureckas, a sophomore who was outside. “This is a campus that cares about this issue.”
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Last month, the WU student union calling for the school to divest from Boeing because the defense contractor supplies weapons sold to Israel. The university partners with the company on an engineering program, and the Boeing Center, a research hub, is a part of the business school.
Over the past few months, colleges across the country have been embroiled in demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war, including a weekslong one at in Tennessee that also spotlighted Boeing.
On Saturday, the Graham Chapel event’s attendees were moved to a different location, while officers from the university and Clayton police responded to the protesters. Four demonstrators left, organizers said, and the rest were arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace. Julie Flory, a Washington University spokesperson, said 12 people were arrested; organizers claimed it was 16.
“It’s the biggest protest we’ve had so far,” said R.J. Lucas, a senior who was arrested. “This is a genocide. That’s why we are doing what we do.”
The university posted a on its website Saturday evening calling the protest “a blatant violation of our Demonstration and Disruptions Policy.”
“Some of the language that was used at the protest was offensive and hurtful to many attendees and other members of our community. ... Free speech comes with responsibility,” it continued.
The statement also said the university expects more protests in the coming weeks.