Police began dismantling a pro-Palestinian encampment at Wayne State University in Detroit on Thursday, following the school's decision to suspend in-person classes and encourage staff to work remotely to avoid potential disruptions caused by the protesters' presence.
Footage from television cameras captured campus police and Detroit police officers in riot gear removing fencing and dismantling tents that had been set up on green space near Wayne State’s undergraduate library. As the encampment was being cleared, protesters voiced their discontent by chanting, 'There’s no riot here, why are you in riot gear?' Some protesters later engaged in clashes with officers as they marched on the university's campus.
Similar protest camps have emerged in various locations in the U.S. and Europe, with students calling for their universities to sever ties with Israel and companies allegedly supporting its actions in Gaza. The organizers aim to draw attention to what they perceive as a humanitarian crisis in Gaza resulting from Israel's conflict with Hamas.
Wayne State, which has approximately 16,000 undergraduate students, faced demands from the protesters to divest from weapons manufacturers supplying Israel, disclose all investments, and halt delegation trips to Israel. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, visited the encampment to show her support for the protesters.
The university's decision to shift to remote learning was attributed to concerns over public safety, particularly regarding access to certain areas on campus. Despite repeated requests for the encampment to be removed, the organizers refused to comply, prompting the police intervention.
Ali Hassan, representing WSU Students for Justice in Palestine, suggested that the university's transition to remote operations was a response to the pressure exerted by the student protests. He stated, 'The reason that they went remote is because we have put pressure on them.'
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, located west of Detroit, disbanded a similar encampment on May 21 after it had been in place for 30 days.
