UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP) launched an encampment on the quad outside of Swift Hall at 10 a.m. last Monday, following in the steps of pro-Palestinian groups at numerous other universities that have set up encampments in recent weeks.
This article is being updated as the situation develops.
Coverage from days one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven of the encampment can be read on the Chicago Maroon.
May 6, 11:22 p.m.
Approximately 40 encampment members are gathered around the entrance of the encampment for a makeshift talent show. A microphone and lighting has been set up to create a small stage, and blankets have been spread across the ground. Members are performing songs and poetry.
It is a calm night at the encampment, particularly compared to the hubbub of Sunday night.
—Finn Hartnett, News Reporter
May 6, 10:34 p.m.
Starting at 9:15 p.m., approximately 40 encampment members gathered in a circle for the encampment’s “Songs for a Ceasefire” event, during which demonstrators participated in call-and-response songs.
— Eva McCord, Co-Editor-in-Chief
May 6, 9:28 p.m.
Student leaders in the Jewish and pro-Israel community requested a meeting with the Provost, the President, and the Dean of Students on Sunday afternoon and have yet to receive a reply, according to a source familiar with the matter.
— Maroon Staff
May 6, 9:01 p.m.
A petition titled “UChicago Must Remove the Encampment” has garnered over 2,000 signatures on Change.org. The petition was posted yesterday and calls on President Alivisatos to “order UCPD to remove the encampment.”
“Time is of the essence,” the petition continues. “Continued inaction and capitulation on Alivisatos’ part will encourage future protesters to adopt illegal techniques as means of coercion.”
— Zachary Leiter, Deputy Managing Editor
May 6, 6:56 p.m.
A letter signed by at least 250 UChicago faculty members and sent to UChicago President Paul Alivisatos and Provost Katherine Baicker calls on the University to protect free expression and avoid an escalation of tensions on campus by allowing the encampment to remain up until protesters and administration reach a “good faith” agreement.
“The suggestion that the encampment is substantially disrupting the normal life of the University across the campus is demonstrably untrue,” the letter reads. “Classes go on, debates continue, and, to date, there has been no violence by or on behalf of students participating in the encampment.”
The Maroon reported that during Friday’s counterprotest, a Ph.D student counterprotester was allegedly struck by a protester with a wooden shield.
The letter asks President Alivisatos and Provost Baicker to leave the encampment up as a testimony to the University’s values and commitment to free expression. “Disbanding the encampment means violating the principle of free expression on campus, and the public will understand it to be a violation of this principle,” the letter reads.
— Zachary Leiter, Deputy Managing Editor; Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, News Reporter
May 6, 6:15 p.m.
Around 5:30 p.m., UCPD officers turned away protesters attempting to bring a wagon full of wooden planks into the encampment. An officer told the Maroon that the University has ordered UCPD officers not to allow any more wood into the encampment. Another UCPD officer stopped a separate group of protesters, who were moving wood from a pile next to the encampment, into the encampment.
Protesters have been using wood along with wire and chain-link fencing to reinforce the border of the encampment over the past few days.
At 5:56 p.m., UCUP announced via their Telegram channel that UCPD is “getting serious” about preventing protesters from bringing in materials used to reinforce the encampment’s fencing.
According to UCUP, officers said they will ask protesters bringing materials into the encampment to show their student ID, which will then be shared with Deans-on-Call.
“UCPD threatens that anyone who doesn’t comply will be arrested and charged with trespassing,” the message reads. UCUP is asking protesters to refrain from bringing these materials into the encampment and to not share their IDs with UCPD.
— Zachary Leiter, Deputy Managing Editor; Emma Janssen, Deputy News Editor; Finn Hartnett, News Reporter, Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, News Reporter
May 6, 4:45 p.m.
Protesters have brought more wood to build a barricade on the encampment’s northern side. Some of the wood was sourced from Jessica Stockholder’s For Events art installation, which was exhibited in Hutchinson Courtyard through May 5.
— Zachary Leiter, Deputy Managing Editor
May 6, 1:35 p.m.
Unions representing faculty and staff at universities across the United States, including UChicago, released a statement today on X condemning “the use of violent force and disciplinary actions by university administrations against students and workers” protesting university connections with Israel and its role in the conflict in Gaza.
University of Chicago Faculty Forward (Affiliate of SEIU Local 73) is among the signatories of the statement, and UChicago GSU-UE Local 1103 agreed to add its signature. Card-signing members will be able to formally vote on the stance tomorrow.
“As unionized workers, we understand that the freedom to assemble and protest are foundational to democracy and to our ability as workers to collectively fight for meaningful changes in our workplaces and the world,” the statement reads. “We stand in solidarity with all of the students, graduate workers, faculty, and staff exercising their rights to free speech and protest. We call on all university administrations to live up to their values of academic freedom and to guarantee the right to freedom of speech, assembly, and protest on campuses.”
— Eva McCord, Co-Editor-in-Chief; Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, News Reporter
May 6, 1:15 p.m.
Early this morning, two Israeli flags were raised on the main quad. One of them is attached to a wooden pole on a lamppost, with a signboard under it reading that the University Student Centers approved Maroons for Israel’s installation. The other flag is hung on a lamppost where an Israeli flag was hanging until Saturday night, when the Maroon observed an individual on a bike tear the flag down.
— Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, News Reporter
May 6, 11:55 a.m.
UCUP has released their schedule of events for the day. It includes a rally at noon, “Political Data Tool Training” with the Invisible Institute at 4 p.m., several teach-ins, and a “Solidarity Performance Night” at 10 p.m.
— Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, News Reporter
May 6, 11:20 a.m.
Around 30 members of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) gathered on the steps of Levi Hall for their press conference at 9:30 a.m., with the intention of “[expressing] solidarity with… students who have spent the last week peacefully demonstrating in opposition to Israel’s genocide,” according to Callie Maidhof, FJP member and associate director of the Global Studies Program.
Throughout the press conference, faculty members called for University administration to allow the encampment to continue, to acknowledge the destruction of universities in Gaza, and to resume negotiating with encampment organizers.
Multiple faculty members emphasized that they would disapprove of the University using police force to end the encampment and that they would be willing to be arrested alongside students if necessary. Faculty also framed the encampment as an embodiment of free speech that the University should support.
During the press conference, one onlooker repeatedly interrupted faculty members as they spoke and began yelling questions during the Q and A session, which faculty ignored. At the end of the conference, faculty members reiterated their support for student protesters and their demands.
“Our complicity as a university needs to end, and we will do everything in our power to end it,” Alireza Doostdar, associate professor of Islamic Studies and the anthropology of religion, said.
A full story on the press conference will be posted on the Maroon’s website later today.
— Tiffany Li, Deputy News Editor
May 6, 10 a.m.
Since its launch last Monday, the encampment has been in place for 168 hours.
– Anushree Vashist, Managing Editor
May 6, 8:30 a.m
The main quad has been quiet this morning as some encampment participants start emerging from their tents.
University of Chicago Faculty for Justice in Palestine will be hosting its press conference at 9:30 a.m. at the updated location of the steps of Levi Hall, per its Monday morning press release.
“Faculty will speak on the need for universities across the U.S. to uphold principles of free expression, the role of police intervention in student actions, and the need for administrators, including those at the University of Chicago, to engage students in good-faith negotiation for demands on their institutions,” the media advisory reads.
– Anushree Vashist, Managing Editor
May 6, 6 a.m
After rumors spread about a police raid at 3 a.m., the rest of the night in the encampment was quiet. Local news media and University landscaping crews arrived to the quad at dawn.
— Kayla Rubenstein, Co-Editor-in-Chief; Eli Wizevich, Grey City Editor; Nikhil Jaiswal, Co-Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Tired Student / May 6, 2024 at 10:42 pm
How the protestors treat the hard working staff of UChicago tells you all you need to know. Facilities workers getting screamed at as they do their job removing an illegally placed flag. I’m sure the workers are dreading having to remove all the fencing/wood/barriers that have been placed. Where were those supplies stolen from again? Hopefully the protestors are already gone when the workers have to remove the barriers so they won’t be verbally assaulted by protestors again. And then the trash/feces/tents/food/used aids tests/dental dams. Surely the protestors will leave the quad in the same state as when they took over? Or will it be completely trashed for others to clean up?
AliveAwakeAlertAlumn / May 9, 2024 at 11:04 am
Hi Tired Student. I hope you got some rest! Maybe then you would have the energy to be more precise. Cops are a kind of “facility worker” under some strained definition, but they are not the only kind. They were, though, the only kind that was involved in whatever you mentioned. Most facility workers are not armed, and they would get fired for throwing students to the ground, as the cops did. As someone with many friends who participated in the encampment, I can ease your worries about trash, as they had extensive organization to deal with it. There were no “feces” on the quad. This was a rumor. This is obvious after a good night’s rest. If you are still upset and steadfast in what you expressed here, I would encourage you to go back to bed
Writer / May 6, 2024 at 8:11 pm
There is also another petition to remove the encampment and restore peace on campus which already has almost 2,000 signatures
Search change.org for “UChicago Must Remove the Encampment”
alum / May 6, 2024 at 8:50 pm
I don’t care what bots and people from upstate new york have to say tbh
Writer / May 6, 2024 at 10:13 pm
The petition was started by UChicago student(s)
Matt G (alum) / May 6, 2024 at 7:41 pm
“Disbanding the encampment means violating the principle of free expression on campus, and the public will understand it to be a violation of this principle.”
Every time one of these faculty mouthpieces speaks, everyone within earshot gets a a little bit dumber. Telling students they can’t build fortifications in a common area isn’t the same as muzzling their free speech.
That should be obvious to anyone with a functioning brain, yet time and time again we hear doctors of philosophy tell us otherwise. This kind of deliberate obfuscation— by persons whose directive should be intellectual honesty in the pursuit of truth— is the real threat to the university’s values.
There’s been a lot of ink spilled lately questioning the value of “elite” institutions like Chicago. FJP has been doing a wonderful job making the critics’ case for them, and it’s a shame.
SK / May 6, 2024 at 7:27 pm
You can tell who actually goes here and understands the encampment is not only peaceful but also a place of learning. Unfortunately there are too many comments by the same few people clogging up the feed, most of them boomer/gen x “alums”. Attacking concepts like “DEI”, implying that our diverse student body is somehow the problem. Straight out of Fox News. It’s embarrassing and completely out of touch with the vast majority of the current generation, our student body and faculty. Diversity is this university’s biggest strength.
student / May 6, 2024 at 8:51 pm
The DEI bit is pretty revealing. Does anyone actually talk about that in real life? I certainly have never heard it before.
Matt G (alum) / May 6, 2024 at 9:18 pm
Your ad hominem attacks might be valid if those opposing the camp did so based on their politics. But the issue most have isn’t that the protestors are left-wing; the issue is that they have resorted to coercive tactics in an attempt to win their argument through force rather than through reason and debate.
Since you brought up politics, what you should be asking yourself is this: if next quarter a few hundred Christian students seized the quad, built fortifications, shouted epithets at anyone who disagreed, and refused to leave until the university hospital system stopped providing reproductive care that they believe violated their Christian beliefs; would you support their right to do that?
If the answer is no, then you’re the one blinded by partisan politics. Not the “boomers” for whom you show so much contempt.
concerned parent / May 6, 2024 at 9:51 pm
oohh can I also do a hypothetical? what if next quarter a couple hundred, no thousand, no hundred thousand students came to an area and siezed it with force. lets say they brought with them an entire army even to build up fortifications to keep the other students who just wanted to go about their normally out. and then these settlers started yelling at those poor students from whom they took land to build their fortifaction. and then they shouted at them, arrested them, and killed them just because those students disagreed with them. and they did this until they agreed to more tents and fortifications. until they agreed they weren’t really students and actually belonged at a different school. would you still support their right to do that?
Matt G (alum) / May 6, 2024 at 11:23 pm
Hypotheticals are a useful tool for fleshing out a point, which is why we find them everywhere rational discussions take place–from classrooms to the chambers of the Supreme Court. However, as your example so aptly illustrates, not all hypotheticals are created equal. It does help if they actually have a point.
Since you’re just spewing silly non-sequiturs, I’ll assume you have no actual counter-argument to make and just leave it there. I hope you have a pleasant night.
TiffaBroad / May 6, 2024 at 10:27 pm
It’s disappointing that you conflate a diverse student body with “DEI” – at best, that’s lazy thinking, but my guess is it’s an intentional attempt to smear anyone who doesn’t think like you. DEI in its current iteration in universities (and tragically also in k-12) is anathema to diversity of thought and perspective, which is the ONLY diversity that makes an organization stronger. If conflating that with the DEI industrial complex is the mark of ” who actually goes here” then the U of C is already gone.
A / May 6, 2024 at 7:12 pm
Looked at that letter. About a total of 12 STEM and related faculty signed it out of probably over 300. Looks like the university is divided ideologically, as probably most universities are these days in a way we’ve never really seen before.
Exhausted Student / May 6, 2024 at 7:01 pm
I watched the protestors assault students with their wooden shields. The protestors now build a wooden fence and make noise at all hours of the night. Their supply list includes medical supplies only useful to a group preparing for violent struggle. How blind and partisan do these faculty members have to be to say it’s peaceful?
Another exhausted student / May 6, 2024 at 7:42 pm
Fellow student here, also exhausted. A lot of us are feeling this way, not just you. Hang in there, better days are coming.
Writer / May 6, 2024 at 8:25 pm
There is also this petition to remove the encampment and restore peace on campus which already has almost 2,000 signatures.
UChicago Must Remove the Encampment
freshman / May 6, 2024 at 8:49 pm
Right? I came here to study bizcon and be scared of the red line, not to see people on the quad. Where is the national guard?
Ploa / May 6, 2024 at 4:58 pm
Wondering if the students also demanded that their rich parents divest from their stocks and index funds.
student / May 6, 2024 at 6:16 pm
is there any particular reason you’re assuming that the students at hte encampment tend to have rich parents?
J / May 6, 2024 at 8:00 pm
What makes you assume that the student demonstrators are from rich families. I would bet that most are from the group that gets free tuition and housing, so their parents don’t care if they are protesting or getting an education.
Casandra / May 6, 2024 at 4:33 pm
Just a reminder- today is Holocaust Remembrance Day.
AParent / May 7, 2024 at 8:54 am
I wonder if and when the Palestinian people will also get their own official “Remembrance Day”?
UIUC Rocket Scientist / May 6, 2024 at 4:25 pm
The administration can end this without using the UCPD.
The erection of the fence without the permission of the university is the kind of trespass nuisance that can be abated by a court order.
The admin has already told them to leave, so no further eviction notice is required.
The UC can obtain a temporary restraining order to remove the fencing to restore the “status quo” while the eviction case is pending.
The notice and TRO can be served on UCUP leadership along with a summons to appear in court.
The Sheriff’s Office would be the ones to enforce the court order, not UCPD.
Alum / May 6, 2024 at 4:24 pm
The reason so many alums find this painful is that we remember a UChicago that was quirky, open for debate, geeky yet fun, open-minded, and above all – intellectual. Recent events seem to confirm what many of us have been suspecting already since the summer of BLM – that the university has gone down a hyper-ideological path where activism is put above scholarly pursuits, and radical chic leftist concepts (such as “equity”) trump the old skepticism and irony that had been the marks of the school. From a place that pioneered nuclear fission, we’ve become an HR department.
student / May 6, 2024 at 5:42 pm
Alum, your characterization of how UChicago used to be is honestly still pretty accurate based on the handful of years i’ve been here. Allow me to gently suggest to you that from afar, reading about the situation on the quad really doesn’t accurately convey how it is. Props to the Maroon for doing their best to capture a very complex development though.
I was there last night from midnight to 2am, and people were standing around having all kinds of interesting conversations. The more on the outside one is, the harder it is to notice the heterogeneity of the inside. Your comment at once resonates with me – i and people i know are put off by some of the same things you gripe about – but in doing so, your comment also at least somewhat calls into question its own accuracy. Anyway, no hate. Cheers!
real alum / May 6, 2024 at 8:41 pm
Back in my day before the woke DEI faculty made us wear masks everywhere and forced us to use 5G phones (ever wonder why fertility rates are so low?), two men of high intelligence could read Nietzsche and cruise around Kenwood waiting to prove our position as ubermensch in this world. oh how the times have changed
Vulpes / May 7, 2024 at 3:55 am
Dear Alum,
Bet you must be drinking tea and having fun and casual debates while seeing police beating up civil rights protestors in Birmingham and the military dropping napalms on Vietnamese civilians.
MJ23 / May 6, 2024 at 3:03 pm
Can I please ask the protestors to be quiet during the time that classes are occurring? The high noise level is distracting for students taking classes in buildings around the campus and is interfering with their education. As a first-generation immigrant, the only asset we have is our education. Just be aware of the harm you are doing to other students’ education. Please accommodate their desire to get a good education and drastically lower the noise level from 8 AM – 7 PM. Thank you in advance.
liason / May 6, 2024 at 8:53 pm
I’ve been in touch with the CEO of protesting and he countered with 10 AM to 6PM, but you have to stop posting on the maroon comments section
MJ23 / May 7, 2024 at 12:13 am
How about 9 AM to 6 PM and I will throw in two breakfast sandwiches from Medici? 🙂
The Portrait of Hanna Gray / May 6, 2024 at 1:52 pm
As a percentage, roughly how many of the protestors do we think will fall for a multi-level marketing scheme within the next five years?
Joe / May 6, 2024 at 1:10 pm
Alireza Doostdar, the guy who’s brother was convicted for spying for Iran while visiting him. No surprise there.
Just a Guy Paying Tuition / May 6, 2024 at 1:08 pm
We saved money for 20 years and worked very hard as a family to have our daughter call this morning and say “My dream school has turned into a nightmare.” Of course what is happening in Gaza is a nightmare too. A horrible nightmare that must stop. But bringing her education and sense of security on campus to a halt is counter productive. I am happy to debate the history of the region, and topics of institutional complicity and resistance till I am blue in the face. And will do so. But what what should REALLY be happening on the campus is dialogue – something the protestors have ruled out (Many instances of ‘don’t engage with Zionists or opponents’ posted in the camps and in media). Dialogue and protest yes. Disruption, barricades, shields and 2×4’s, flying the PLO Flag? This is no longer protest. It is pathetic cosplay at everyone else’s expense, the university hijacked. Hamas couldn’t have done a better job themselves.
Enough is enough.
I have lost patience and am quickly losing respect.
TiffaBroad / May 6, 2024 at 11:33 am
As an alum & parent of 2 high school students, I’ve been hoping to see a reason to encourage my kids to consider the U of C (none of that “UChicago” nonsense here). Watching the administration continue to indulge this virtue signaling cosplay, I have rapidly lost interest in investing my money – and more importantly, my children’s futures – in this failed enterprise. The business of the university is NOT changing international policy. Furthermore, didn’t these “conscientious” students consider the U of C’s investments before matriculation? Has there been a substantial change in investment policy since then?
Astute parents of promising high schoolers are looking for elite universities to respond reasonably & effectively to these petulant displays. We have also been looking for quality institutions that refuse to compromise academic rigor to appease corrupted DEI schemes. While the U of C has shown some promise in at least preserving access to a true classical education alongside some measure of DEI nonsense, the administration’s failed response to this “encampment” indicates they may have finally lost that battle.
Michael McKinsey / May 6, 2024 at 1:08 pm
“We have also been looking for quality institutions that refuse to compromise academic rigor to appease corrupted DEI schemes. ”
Lookit! Lookit! A wild sighting of a helicopter parent!
Womp womp.
Anon Faculty / May 6, 2024 at 1:12 pm
“Watching the administration continue to indulge this virtue signaling cosplay, I have rapidly lost interest in investing my money”
GOOD. If they’re half as insufferable as you seem they have no business on this campus. Let them be someone else’s problem. I pity them
TiffaBroad / May 6, 2024 at 10:34 pm
Insisting on academic rigor and an environment conducive to inquiry is offensive to you, “Faculty”?
Blue / May 7, 2024 at 2:35 am
Saying the camp is somehow not conducive to academic rigor and inquiry suggests a lack of critical thinking skills and perhaps a bad grade in sosc.
Second year in The College / May 6, 2024 at 1:15 pm
As a current student, I would be inclined to agree with everything you said. While I feel that I am better off here than I would be at Columbia or Berkeley, I find the university’s failure to replace the American flag on the main quad which was stolen last Thursday indicative some serious issues within administration.
Blala / May 6, 2024 at 4:33 pm
The flag hasn’t been replaced because they don’t want to call the police 10x per day to take down the Palestinian ones. It’s not a conspiracy or indication of a serious issue with the admin
UIUC Rocket Scientist / May 6, 2024 at 10:59 pm
The rope has been removed from the flagpole.
They can’t put the US flag up and the protestors can raise the PLO flag either.
anon / May 6, 2024 at 1:31 pm
no one calls it U of C
Parent / May 6, 2024 at 3:27 pm
Yeah the protests are misdirected, but you’re overreacting. My kid is a second year. He doesn’t know anyone involved in the protests and he wonders who exactly they are. 98% of the student body is carrying on with their daily lives. 2% are really loud, and maybe a little lost.
TiffaBroad / May 7, 2024 at 7:40 am
Misguided students and bad actors who exploit their folly may be found nearly everywhere. My chief concern is how the university responds. So far, it’s been disappointingly typical. The principles of the University of Chicago should set the institution apart, even in this situation. Sadly, that is not the case.
RG / May 6, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Sucks to suck, more room for better students ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Alum / May 6, 2024 at 4:31 pm
In the US, your best bet would be places like Hillsdale. There are a few more. If you can afford it, Singapore is free of this, as well as certain schools in Switzerland. Back in the US, a student in the physical sciences (not econ, but hard science) can probably still mentally insulate himself from the BLM-race-gender-DEI cult.
Blue / May 6, 2024 at 4:36 pm
Yeah, I don’t really want your kids here either if this is how you turned out.
AParent / May 6, 2024 at 11:20 am
UCPD serves the students and the community. Perhaps be a bit more judicious in how you present yourself via your banners and public statements. You are supposed to be the best and the brightest, living the “Life of the Mind”. While I strongly support the cause and admire your dedication to it, students, may I suggest you execute the effort thoughtfully, strategically, respectfully, staying laser-focused on the core issue and being mindful not to let your protest be used and/or coopted by outsiders seeking to advance their own personal agendas. Scale down the drama. I’m afraid it does not serve the cause and is possibly counterproductive.
Sorry for the lecture.
Stay safe, students.
AParent / May 6, 2024 at 1:11 pm
In UCUP schedule on Instagram this is the event scheduled for 4 pm today:
“Police Data Tool Training with Invisible Institute”
(“Massive Expansion of Police Misconduct Data Tool in Chicago”)
WHAT does this have to do with Palestine/Gaza?
bookish / May 6, 2024 at 11:17 am
I would urge everyone to read Jeremy Peter’s frontpage NYT piece of this morning. It parses the complex issues surrounding the application of the Chicago Principles to the ongoing protest/encampment. In particular, read the several hundred Comments that accompany the article, many from UofC alum, parents, current students and faculty. It is indicative of the kind of informed and civil debate that ought to be occurring on campus, but which cannot happen in the face of a coercive occupation.
On Campus / May 6, 2024 at 2:08 pm
As someone who teaches at UofC currently and has been actively following all of this from the start, I read that article too, and was pretty disappointed with it. Not entirely with the premise, which has to do with the bind the University admin apparently finds itself in with respect to its commitment to free speech (though more on that below). But with the persistent smugness and laziness of the author with respect to the students protesting, whom he repeatedly denigrates and belittles en route to making his purported point. Likewise, the comments thread on that piece, while not as deranged as this comments thread (chock-full of right-wing trolls and nastiness), seems indicative of a very thin slice of opinion dominated by cautious parents and older alums and those of their generation, many of whom don’t seem to understand, or want to understand, what’s at stake here.
I agree with you about the value of informed and civil debate, in the abstract… but it’s too easy for University of Chicago, the New York Times, and other institutions and actors whose position already sits in a space of power and chosen opaqueness to hide bad faith behind a veneer of apparent civility, in a moment of crisis they have chosen not to meet or take seriously enough. The Times article is useful insofar as it calls the University out for its specious commitment to free speech, even as it weighs a possible police raid on its own students and faculty speaking freely. But it’s devious too, tacitly framing the students’ encampment as something other than free or protected action (regardless of whether you like everything they say) and the University’s position as more measured, when in fact the University is the side, in the actual negotiations being had over the past few days, withholding relevant information, bargaining in bad faith, and verging on a flagrant departure from its own deepest principles.
I can say with some certainty, being on campus and listening to a lot of people — I am not sleeping in the encampment, but know students and colleagues who are, and also know students deeply skeptical of it and scared — that the overall mood amongst most of the people who teach here, and most of the student body that I encounter, is that students should be allowed to protest without threat of arrest or violence, whether or not everything said or done is agreed with. That is not exactly the mood expressed in the Times article. If you prefer not to take my word for it, that’s entirely fine… but it’s a mistake to take that article and the people who choose to write comments on it as representative, just as it’s a mistake to take some of the idiots in this comments thread as representative of anything at all…
Alum / May 6, 2024 at 4:37 pm
Hmm… You sound like the new crop of post-academic activists that now pass for teachers and professors. Let me guess, you research the “interplay between Marxian notions of the gendered and the oppressive whiteness of the so-called classical canon.”
Matt G / May 7, 2024 at 4:05 am
The university isn’t weighing a possible raid on its own faculty and students for speaking freely. It’s weighing a possible raid on its faculty and students who have unlawfully seized and occupied university grounds, stolen university property, vandalized university property, stolen and vandalized property belong to Maroons for Israel, violated quiet hours by holding rallies during classes, and shown a general disregard for the rights of those with whom they disagree.
Now, you may feel that UCUP has a right to do all of those things, and that is entirely your prerogative (in which case I’d ask you if *every* RSO on campus has the right to do these things whenever they feel aggrieved, but that’s a separate question). However, that doesn’t make those actions the same thing as “speaking freely.”
You’re a faculty member, which means you’re plenty smart enough to know that. It also means that your prime directive is supposed to be intellectual honesty in the pursuit of truth. The fact that you keep repeating this blatant falsehood is a stain on this once-great university.
AParent / May 6, 2024 at 2:26 pm
Interesting that you mention “coercive occupation” describing students exercising their right to free speech instead of recognizing that they are protesting the *real* coercive genocidal occupation of Palestinian land by Israel.
Blacks did not gain freedom from slavery by “civil debate”, Women did not gain equal rights by “civil debate”, South African apartheid did not end by “civil debate”, and so on and so forth
All types of civil discourse have not stopped as genocide, building of illegal settlements, or ongoing Israeli brutality against Palestinians (dating far before Oct 7th) so it’s now time to use civil disobedience and disruption. Applaud these students dedication and courage instead of telling them to “behave” in the face of injustice.
AParent / May 6, 2024 at 6:06 pm
*Not the same “AParent” as above. 🙂
bookish / May 6, 2024 at 7:04 pm
Wow. So much for civility! Sorry for responding so late to this reply, but I was immersed in nap time as an “older alum.” For the public record, Jeremy Peters is an award-winning journalist for over 20 years, covered three presidential campaigns, is an MSNBC contributor, etc. Draw your own opinion. If his liberal-journalistic credentials are not worthy of some modicum of respect, what hope is there for the rest of us “cautious parents” and “those of their generation”, i.e. enfeebled souls who seem “incapable of understanding what’s at stake here.” Dear cautious parents, observe who is teaching your children. We may as well all be turned into fertilizer to replenish the the urine-soaked grass on the central Quad a la “Soylent Green.” Sorry for the per-Internet literary reference.
We can agree about one thing, however. I will be on campus in nine days for my reunion and be free to draw my own conclusions. Stay out of my way when I am around. I am 6’2″, in reasonably good shape, over-educated and now thoroughly pissed off. Shanthih.
EightiesAlum / May 6, 2024 at 11:08 am
This nonsense has been going on for 168 hours.
An anti-abortion encampment or a pro-Israeli encampment would not have lasted 168 minutes.
It’s past time for a DEI policy.
D = Dismantle (the nasty, unsightly, dangerous camp)
E = Expel (students, faculty, and staff who have participated)
I = Incarcerate (non-University participants)
Lindi / May 6, 2024 at 2:48 pm
Dangerous camp? I have walked through the camp multiple times and have not felt threatened for a second. The attitude of this post is what is dangerous.
EightiesAlum / May 6, 2024 at 8:20 pm
Glad you were not hit in the head with a piece of wood.
recent alum / May 6, 2024 at 8:58 pm
Wow pal idk if you can complain about DEI when you were here when they let everyone and their dog in? They had a 68% acceptance rate in 1995 AFTER they tried to make things a bit harder. Yikes
Same as below / May 6, 2024 at 10:13 am
One last thing: local police are not the enemy of working class people. Local police ARE working class people, unlike the majority of students on this campus, and UCPD (and other security personnel) is diverse. Have some respect for the people you claim to support. Making broad claims like that against a swath of innocent/good people only hurts your cause. And alienating entire communities of people only creates more division.
Take down the walls around the encampment – since when has constructing walls been on the right side of history? Connection and dialogue – not force – is the only peaceful way to inspire change.
Vulpes / May 7, 2024 at 4:00 am
Say just remind me, who built the Gaza wall?
anonymous due to fear of being slandered on social media for having an opinion / May 6, 2024 at 9:54 am
Nobody thinks killing civilians during war is okay. Nobody.
The frustration I have with this encampment is that not a single student has given up their ultra-privileged opportunity to attend a prestigious university for the people of Gaza – despite their passion for the cause. This would be the most obvious and sure way to ensure their tuition dollars do not indirectly support the war against Hamas. It would also financially hurt the university. Without real sacrifice on their part, this looks like nothing more than moral grandstanding from a bunch of rich kids who want to feel morally superior and important.
The students at the encampment represent a small fraction of the larger community at this university. Despite the calls/flyers for revolution and a new world order (sigh) by some people at the encampment, we live in a democratic society. Thus, the university should not make any major changes without the support of the majority of people in our community. In my opinion, the only thing the university should offer to these students is a vote for change. And frankly, I do not think they’ll win it as their behavior and unwillingness to follow the rules is a huge turn-off for moderates (like myself).
I fear that the longer the echo-chamber within the encampment goes on, the more radical the behavior will become. Please break it up before we end up on the news like Columbia. Although, unfortunately, I suspect that is what they’re aiming for which will (ironically) only hurt their cause in the end.
Tanner C. / May 6, 2024 at 1:42 pm
I completely agree. If the student protestors are honest so aghast with the actions, investments, and avowed and well-known political neutrality of the school they so freely chose to attend, they should exercise their freedom to continue their education at a institution that more closely aligns with their beliefs. Likewise, the members of Faculty for Justice in Palestine are free to seek employment someplace that better supports their values. Better yet, Faculty for Justice in Palestine members could refuse all or part of their salaries, as these are paid by the investments they find so odorous.
I’m not holding my breathe for that though. This is “protest” is pure virtue-signaling and none of the students or faculty involved has the courage of their convictions to sacrifice for that in which they claim they believe.
university alumna / May 6, 2024 at 3:28 pm
For the record, the College Council passed a resolution recommending that the University divest from certain Israeli-associated companies in 2016. This vote was public and was preceded by hours of discussion and debate across two separate meetings. In 2021, the Undergraduate Student Government issued a statement that expressed support for a free Palestine and for the University’s participation in BDS. A vote subsequently took place in the College Council to retract this statement; it failed.
Students – properly elected by the broader community – have used what little power and authority the University offers to them and spoken clearly in favor of divestment for almost a decade.
I personally am able to take a position on an issue without considering proponents’ “behavior and unwillingness to follow the rules,” especially when attempts to follow established procedures have been met with resistance by the University. Are you more committed to order than justice?
Anon / May 6, 2024 at 6:52 pm
Surely if you think “students at the encampment represent a small fraction of the larger community at this university” then you can reach the conclusion that those students (many of whom, contrary to your belief, are not wealthy contributors to the university’s funds via tuition) would not meaningfully affect UChicago’s finances by pointlessly dropping out.
Imagine for even a moment that you felt strongly enough about the lives of others, of Palestinians, to risk political repression and arrest. Why would you do something as ineffective as dropping out?
Benjamin Schall / May 9, 2024 at 11:19 am
“In my opinion, the only thing the university should offer to these students is a vote for change.” This proposal was shot down by the university in the negotiations. From what I can tell, most of the campers would agree that there should be a vote.
We do not live in a democratic society. I want to. I supported the encampment because it would get us closer. I recommend you read this article about democracy and this campus: chronicle (dot) com/article/the-chicago-principles-are-undemocratic
UIUC Rocket Scientist / May 6, 2024 at 9:18 am
The University should start playing Reveille at 6 AM so the protestors can get back to work as early as most university personnel do.
When I was in UIUC, I had classes at 7 AM which meant a 6 AM rise time if I wanted breakfast at the dorm.
The protestors might feel a little less disruptive in the middle of the night if they have to maintain a worker’s schedule.
Since they are so into worker’s rights as we have heard lately, this won’t be a problem for them.
The folks who repair the Quad they are tearing up are already at work at 6 AM.
Citizen X / May 6, 2024 at 3:09 pm
And your point is?
Tired Alum / May 6, 2024 at 9:09 am
The cause of this hysteria? AIPAC’s ability to coerce politicians into shilling for Israel under the threat of either 1. stopping donations or 2. funding ruthless campaigns to smear anti-Israel politicians.
Pay no mind to the Zionist mouthpieces in the comments or elsewhere. They and racial minorities reside in a fictional reality wherein they continue to be subjugated by their oppressors of the past (who have since been eradicated). They are addicted to victimhood. They are incapable of reasoning without invoking their identity—explicitly or otherwise.
When UN member states vote overwhelmingly and repeatedly to condemn the atrocities in Gaza but the US dissents, one begins to recognize that they are being gaslit by the establishment into believing Israel is a sacred cash cow.
Congress makes no attempt to hide its submission to the pro-Israeli lobby. Did you hear? The House recently passed a bill protecting antisemitism against hate speech!
My tax dollars should not be funding the mass slaughter of Palestinians. If Israel wants to retaliate against Hamas, then it can do so independently. Keep Israel’s affairs out of American life.
This is lunacy. Fund education. Fund infrastructure. Anything but quasi-genocide under the guise that “DA ENDS JUSTEFY DA MEANZ.”
Do not forget the conflation of antisemitism with anti-Israel sentiments. Do not forget the vilification of certain races by woke grifters.
That said, clear the quad already. What’s taking so long? Aren’t finals nearing?
UIUC Rocket Scientist / May 6, 2024 at 9:25 am
I share your suggestion that the parties should fund education instead of genocide.
The dollars Hamas used to fund the 10/7 attack on Jews minding their own business could have been used to fund education, infrastructure or anything but weapons.
Instead, Hamas used money to build a terrorist infrastructure instead of feeding the Gaza population.
Joe / May 6, 2024 at 9:32 am
Wait, the zionists are addicted to victimhood? The palestinians have still not gotten over the 3 wars they started and lost.
And UN Member states??? When they criticize Iran, China, N. Korea or any despot run state, get back to me.
• 2023 UNGA Resolutions on Israel: 15
• 2023 UNGA Resolutions on Rest of the World: 7
In 2023, EU member states voted for one resolution each on the human rights situations in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar, Crimea, the U.S. for its embargo on Cuba, and Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Anon Student / May 6, 2024 at 9:56 am
Who’s being vilified? Who are these “woke grifters”? And what does this have to do with the University of Chicago?
Publius / May 6, 2024 at 8:56 am
The encampment is an embarrassment to the protesters and to the University. The protesters can’t make their case in an intellectual way and resort to this tantrum where they shout platitudes. The University allows the protesters to violate longstanding policies. None of the protester demands of the University will make any difference in the Middle East. It’s grandstanding and virtue signaling. I expect more from UChicago.
CitizenX / May 6, 2024 at 10:09 am
You definitely should expect more from UChicago. And a lot less. Seems you and I would disagree on which items to put in which basket. People have always protested and demonstrated. And, by the way, the POINT IS TO DISRUPT. These students have not destroyed anything other than your sense of order. They have not killed nothing other than perhaps your expectations. Good for them.