ST. LOUIS — Unlike the protest at Washington University over the weekend, a demonstration against the war in Gaza at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University Wednesday evening ended without arrests, a difference Mayor Tishaura O. Jones attributed to proactive communication from leaders at SLU and her administration.
“We were in contact with the (SLU) administration the entire time to set expectations for the protest, and I believe everybody met those expectations,†Jones told the Post-Dispatch Thursday morning.
The largely uneventful protest, save for an hourlong blockage of Grand Boulevard before the demonstration of about 300 people broke up around 9 p.m., was in sharp contrast to a similar-sized rally on Washington University’s Danforth Campus on Saturday.
Washington University said the Saturday protest was not peaceful and that three officers were injured during the arrests, including one who suffered a concussion and another a broken finger. Some groups and residents also took issue with protester chants, including the use of the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,†and “Long live the Intifada.†Both phrases are seen by some as calls for violence against Jews and Israelis.
But protesters at Washington U. said Saturday’s demonstration was completely peaceful and they were only occupying an open space before police began arresting them. They say over 20 protesters were injured during the arrests, including Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor Steve Tamari, who suffered several broken ribs and a broken hand.
Jones declined to wade in when asked about Washington University’s response to the pro-Palestinian protesters compared to SLU’s.
“Washington University had a different philosophy when it came to the protests than ºüÀêÊÓƵ University, that’s all I’m going to say,†she said.
Her office as well as SLU officials had signaled a more conciliatory approach to protesters before Wednesday’s gathering. Washington University has its own police department; the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Metropolitan Police Department serves SLU. Jones and the police department said Wednesday officers wouldn’t disrupt protests as long as they remained peaceful.
SLU President Fred Pestello also sent a letter to students and faculty warning leaders would not tolerate violence or threats but that the university would “embrace engagement with challenging ideas as a necessary — if sometimes uncomfortable — component of our mission to pursue truth.â€
In his first year as president, Pestello led SLU’s response to protesters who occupied the SLU campus in the wake of unrest from the Ferguson protests a decade ago. Protesters camped on SLU’s campus for nearly a week and left after SLU leadership agreed to do more to address poverty and racial inequity.
“As Dr. Pestello said, they have a history of peaceful protests and having difficult conversations,†Jones said Thursday.
Jones made her comments as she and other regional officials waited to board the inaugural Air Canada flight from ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport . The new daily flight is seasonal through October, but airport officials hope it can become permanent with enough demand.
Jones, ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page and regional economic development officials are traveling to Montreal for a five-day trade mission to develop ties with Canadian businesses and officials.
Page said officials have a “packed schedule†and are meeting with companies that have already expressed an interest in expanding in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region, often because they are in sectors where ºüÀêÊÓƵ has strengths, such as plant sciences and geospatial technology. A visit from ºüÀêÊÓƵ leaders is an important gesture to make those businesses comfortable expanding here, Page said.
“They need to know it’s going to be easy for them to get their work done, that the regulatory environment is going to be reasonable,†Page said in an interview.
The World Trade Center ºüÀêÊÓƵ, a division of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Economic Development Partnership, is sponsoring the trip.
The trade mission didn't cost taxpayers any money, according to receipts from the trip.
Protesters block North Grand Boulevard during a march through the campus of ºüÀêÊÓƵ University on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 to protest the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Police blocked traffic for about an hour as the protesters gave speeches in the road, chanted and prayed.Â
Aman Al-Zahrani stands on a bollard and chants with other protesters blocking North Grand Boulevard during a march through the campus of ºüÀêÊÓƵ University on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 to protest the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Police blocked traffic for about an hour as the protesters gave speeches in the road, chanted, and prayed.