WSU student encampment for Palestine
By Monica Isaac
In November of 2010, University students in Dublin descended upon the city center to protest bloated registration fees and cuts to essential school funds. Nearly 40,000 students participated nationally in the uprising which was organized by a coalition of various student unions from across Ireland. They occupied university buildings and public streets while being threatened, assaulted, and brutalized by local police (known as Garda). Their experience isn’t isolated in history. From the US anti-war and civil rights protests of the 60’s and 70’s to climate justice uprisings in the global south, to the Occupy movement of the early 2000’s student movements have long responded to societal and political crises with much needed vigor and leadership. And decade after decade, movement after movement, we have consistently witnessed repeated reprisals of repressive state violence to silence such forms of peaceful dissent to oppression. It is why, during those protests in Ireland, even though the aim was to pressure the University to do the right thing, a major chant raised by students was also “End Garda Brutality!”
It all seems like contradictory messaging from institutions which often appropriate the language of “free thought and assembly”, while dismissing it in practice. It’s a public space, until it’s conveniently not. It’s a space for critical thought, unless it threatens their endowments. It’s an institution of direct dialogue with the student body, unless it’s regarding accountability and transparency. It’s free speech, unless it’s about a Free Palestine.
Academic institutions, especially ones situated in a cultural city center, shape young people. Many are just leaving high school on a journey to discover their identity and academic passions. Arguably, for most college is a critical intellectual and ideological growth period. As a former student at Wayne State, I was challenged to confront my own perceived ideas about race and politics almost instantly during my first week on campus. I was 19 and brought into a conversation in the student union when someone asked me about Egyptian identity and its relationship to Africa. I couldn’t answer. Even worse, I was arrogant. I wasn’t able to hold myself in this conversation and I felt insulted at the mere idea of being challenged about something I felt so strongly about although I couldn’t identify why.
It took me nearly a decade to process the significance of that conversation, of that moment. That was university life. It was not meant to be packaged neatly and always agreeably. Expanding your mind to new possibilities requires political discourse and intellectual discomfort. That is how you get to growth and if you are fortunate enough to recognize its value, it’s also affirming. I was affirmed, not coddled, by a few professors who through thoughtful guidance introduced me to certain principles through conversation and offered me the mentorship needed to allow for critical thinking. I realized the potency of growth lives in not telling students what to say or believe, but listening to their expression and guiding that energy. I believed these to be principles protected under Wayne State’s mission: “We create and advance knowledge, prepare a diverse student body to thrive, and positively impact local and global communities.” However, after witnessing what has occurred over the last month, it is clear that the University’s administration has failed to uphold their stated values.
Following the national movement of student encampments for Palestine, Wayne State students, led by Students for Justice in Palestine, set up an encampment in the center of campus nearly two weeks ago. On Thursday, May 30th, Police invaded the encampment around 6am while young students were peacefully sleeping in their tents. Widely circulated videos show Detroit Police in riot gear, wielding batons, knocking on tents, aggressively destroying structures and community artwork, and demanding that students immediately vacate the space. A horrifying scene unfolded as young muslim women were stripped of their hijabs while being brutalized by the police, a direct violation of their religious rights. These tactics did not just seem overly aggressive, they also eerily mirror the inhumane practices of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinians and pro-Palestine supporters. This is not a coincidence.
In 2019, Wayne State’s Chief of Police, Anthony Holt, received training in Israel as part of a national delegation of police departments. The training included “situational awareness” and how to respond to “anti-semitic” activity. According to a piece in The Jewish News written by Holt, “Israel, as a nation, is top tier in terms of prevention and overall security. Other nations around the globe can learn from Israel’s law enforcement practices and overall preparedness of the citizens…” Currently, the IOF are responsible for roughly 40,000 brutal killings of Palestinians, though sources of information are incomplete and this number may potentially be higher. Over the last eight months, they’ve used various media platforms to diabolically display their atrocities. As a result their “law enforcement practices” have become widely seen and subsequently intensely criticized by the global community. They ransack homes and urinate on religious belongings, mock beheaded Palestinian babies, brag about sexual assault and desecrate graves, businesses and institutions. These inhumane practices dispensed by the IOF are rooted in the strategic Zionist project to effectively destroy Palestine. Are these the practices Chief Holt considers top tier? How do these practices work in relationship to a university who strives to prepare students to “positively impact local and global communities?”
The gross mishandling of the dismantling of the student encampment through the deployment of local police coupled with the silence from Wayne State’s Board of Governors and President Kimberly Andrews Espys itself speaks volumes. It proclaims loudly that there is a lack of any real interest in the voices and safety of the student body. When spokespeople from the encampment laid out clear and concise demands for the university including but not limited to financial transparency and divestment from Israeli military companies, they were ignored. When students agreed to a meeting, University officials became obstinate in the face of scheduling needs on behalf of the students and then went on to malign the peaceful nature of the encampment via a public university statement. If the President’s main objective was safety for all students, are student protestors not included in the narrative of safety? Why bring an entity to campus, who has demonstrated unmitigated and documented violence to protestors in the past, to brutalize and strip students of their campus and religious rights? Is brutalizing your own student body a part of a “thriving and diverse” university experience? Or is diversity an optical PR stunt for admissions pamphlets? Is WSU invested in the patina of diversity where Arab students are superficially seen but not deeply heard? We must also ask, again, why are American universities so beholden to the genocidal interests of foreign governments over that of their own student bodies?
Following the destruction of the encampment, students, faculty, and community members rallied and demanded the release of 11 students who were taken to a local detention center. After public pressure by over 100 community members, they were released Thursday evening to a massive show of cheers and support. Like Palestine, the more student protestors are met with pushback from institutions, the stronger the movement becomes. They remain unwavering in their pursuit for transparency and divestment, centered in the call for freedom for Palestine. From the River to the Sea!
Student demands are as follows:
- Wayne State University’s full divestment from companies that engage in war profiteering.
- Public disclosure of Wayne State University’s investment portfolio.
- The cessation of Wayne State police collaboration with Israel.
- The Publication Of A University Ceasefire Statement.
Sources linked:
Zionism Will Never Be a Solution to Antisemitism
Wayne State University stays remote for second day over Pro-Palestinian encampment impasse
