ST. LOUIS — More than 130 professors, staff and students signed an open letter Friday condemning Washington University’s “arbitrary and heavy-handed response†to recent campus protests against the war in Gaza.
At least a dozen people, including three students, were arrested April 13 after disrupting an event in Graham Chapel for newly admitted students to protest the college’s ties to military contractor Boeing. The protesters were then banned from campus. A week later, pro-Palestinian students who set up tents were threatened with trespassing charges by campus police, according to .
“No matter where one stands on the ongoing violence against Gaza or whether Boeing is a good associate for the university, one should be concerned that the attacks on freedom of speech and academic freedom have increased significantly in our country and on this campus,†reads the to administrators.
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Washington U. spokeswoman Julie Flory did not respond Friday to a request for comment.
An with 1,200 signatures calls for the student suspensions and charges to be dropped, saying, “The university’s disproportionate response to discipline student protestors, partaking in no violence whatsoever, is representative of the nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestine student activists.â€
Groups including Resist WashU and the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Palestine Solidarity Committee have planned an “emergency march for Palestine†on Saturday in Forest Park.
The clash follows dozens of arrests nationwide in ongoing campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war, from the Ivy League to Emory in Atlanta and the University of Texas.
The University of Southern California on Thursday canceled its main graduation ceremony May 10 following the arrest of more than 90 protesters. College officials are worried the ongoing protests could disrupt plans for other commencement ceremonies next month. Some universities called in police to break up the demonstrations, resulting in ugly scuffles and arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests as the final days of the semester ticked down.
Students protesting the war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling the conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.
The current wave of protests was inspired by events at Columbia University in New York, where police cleared an encampment and arrested more than 100 people last week, only for students to defiantly put up tents again, in an area where many are set to graduate in front of families in a few weeks.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the ability to embrace student voices and different perspectives was a hallmark of the nation’s growth but warned authorities wouldn’t tolerate hate, discrimination or threats of violence.
“We continue to follow reports about protests — including very alarming reports of antisemitism — on and around college campuses across the country,†he said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Originally posted at 4 p.m. Friday, April 26.