Pro-Palestine Protesters Disrupt Convocation Ceremonies, One Arrested in Confrontation with Police

More than 100 pro-Palestine students walked out during the University’s convocation ceremonies on June 1. After the walkout, police arrested one individual after physical altercations between police and protesters broke out at a closed intersection.

During the convocation ceremony on the main quad, students wearing keffiyehs and holding Palestinian flags stood with their backs to the stage. Some also held signs reading “UChicago Funds Genocide” and “Let Our Classmates Graduate.” After a few minutes, a large group of students walked out of the ceremony through the center aisle chanting “Let them graduate” and “Disclose, divest.”

The protest comes as five graduating students had their degrees withheld due to their participation in the pro-Palestine encampment last month. Four of the students were informed on May 24 that their degrees would be withheld pending disciplinary proceedings. A fifth student in the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities was notified on Friday, May 31.

Several faculty members, including mathematics professor Denis Hirschfeldt, who spoke to the Maroon in an interview, allege that the University violated its disciplinary rules by appointing an ad hoc faculty chair to the disciplinary committee overseeing encampment-related cases without first consulting existing members of the committee. Hirschfeldt claims the appointment of the ad hoc chair allowed the University to withhold degrees and circumvent the preexisting committee faculty chairs.

Convocation speaker John A. List, Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, placed a t-shirt reading “I [heart] UChicago 2024” on the podium before his convocation address, saying, “There’s my sign,” which was met with a mix of cheers and boos from the crowd.

At the same time, approximately 40 protesters gathered at the intersection of 57th Street and South University Avenue for a rally, which was first announced on UChicago United For Palestine’s (UCUP) Instagram on May 29.

“Graduation can’t go on as usual when it isn’t graduation for all of the class of 2024––and when there is NO graduation in Gaza,” the post read. The protesters at the intersection were joined by the group that walked out of convocation.

Around 10:25 a.m., University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) officers blocked off access to part of South University Avenue, instructing Allied Security officers not to let anyone through. Chicago Police Department (CPD) officers were also present. The street had already been closed to cars but UCPD officers previously allowed pedestrians to pass through.

Protesters gathered in the intersection at 57th Street and South University Avenue and formed a circle, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Brick by brick, wall by wall, apartheid has got to fall.” They then approached the UCPD barricades on South University Avenue, continuing their chants over megaphones.

Youssef Hasweh, one of the fourth-year students whose diploma is being withheld, spoke to the crowd of protesters.

“How is any parent supposed to feel when a university that was meant to protect their child and allow their child to learn has arrested him, criminalized him, brutalized him, fired him, and withheld his degree,” Hasweh said. “But the University has forgotten one thing: I’ve completed every credit hour. I was at graduation for five minutes, which means after today I am a UChicago alum. You can’t get rid of us that easily, Paul, and we will continue to fight until the University divests, discloses, and repairs.”

After Hasweh’s speech, protesters marched south on South Woodlawn Avenue. As they approached Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, where students were assembling for the Law School’s diploma and hooding ceremony, protesters chanted “Out of the tents and into the streets” towards the graduates.

Protesters continued their march across the south end of campus, gathering again at a police barrier at the intersection of 59th Street and South University Avenue.

As protesters gathered around the police barricade, protesters and police began wrestling over plastic barriers placed in the center of the street. UCPD officers lunged into the crowd to push protesters back and regain control of the barriers, with at least one officer using a baton.

Following the altercation between protesters and police officers, an unidentified individual was taken into custody by UCPD. A Maroon reporter witnessed an officer grabbing an individual who had been pointing and yelling at the police line by the arm from the group of protesters and pulling them behind police barricades, where they were wrestled to the ground by at least three officers, one of whom carried a baton. The individual was later placed in a UCPD car.

As they were arrested, protesters chanted “Shame on you” at the officers, who pushed protesters back from the barricades.

Several protesters also alleged that UCPD used pepper spray on them. A video jointly posted on Instagram by five organizations, including that of UCUP and SJP UChicago, shows a UCPD officer spraying a substance at protesters. In another video posted by UCUP on Instagram, individuals can be heard shouting “They sprayed us,” and calling for water.

In a statement to the Maroon, the University confirmed that one person was arrested.

“The University of Chicago is proud to celebrate its 538th Convocation ceremony today, welcoming thousands of graduates and their families to campus. A group of students walked out early in the ceremony. The program concluded without further incident. The University is fundamentally committed to upholding the rights of students to express a wide range of views,” the University said.

“At approximately 11:00 a.m., in an incident outside of the main Convocation ceremony, demonstrators at a protest on East 59th Street and South University Avenue attempted to access a closed street and break through a barrier erected by the University,” the University added. “A small number of protesters acted violently; one protester, who is unaffiliated with the University, was arrested. Charges are being sought for battery.”

The University did not comment on the allegations that UCPD used pepper spray on protesters.

The group of protesters moved from 59th Street and South University Avenue to a graduation stage in front of Ida Noyes Hall, where they chanted “I believe that we will win” for several minutes before dispersing in small groups.

Peter Maheras contributed reporting.

 

Correction, June 12, 11:15 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that all five students whose diplomas were withheld were informed on May 24. Four of the students were informed on May 24 that their degrees would be withheld pending disciplinary proceedings. A fifth student in the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities was notified on Friday, May 31.

Editor’s note, June 12, 11:15 p.m.: This article was updated to include a link to a video jointly posted on Instagram by five organizations, including UCUP and SJP UChicago, which shows a UCPD officer spraying a substance at protesters.