On Thursday, April 25, University of Connecticut students gathered at 5 p.m. outside Dove Tower in between the Recreation Center and School of Business to protest university relationships with weapons manufacturers Raytheon TX, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics.
The protest was organized by the newly formed UConn Divest organization. According to eyewitnesses and UConn Divest spokespeople at the protest, UConn Police detained two individuals, releasing one and arresting the other. UConn PD could not be reached to verify this report.
Mehak Shaikh, a UConn student, commented on the police action at the protest, equating it to a violation of civil rights.
“The police are preventing us from practicing our rights as citizens and as UConn students,” said Shaikh.
A UConn Divest spokesperson who did not want to be named concurred with Shaikh’s assessment.
“The police are trying to suppress student rights to freedom of speech by breaking through students,” the anonymous said. “We’re literally just assembling. We all pay tuition, we all deserve to be here and they’re trying to break our assembly apart. We’ve seen this across the country.”
UConn professors stood around the circle of students that the police tried to break up.
“We asked them to stay away, we told them to stay away,” history professor Melanie Newport said, while the police attempted to break into the circle of protesters. “We’re trying to negotiate, the professors are trying to negotiate.”
UConn Divest spokesperson Muhammad Elsabbal stated that the protestors would be defiant in the face of police and would not leave until divestment and disclosure was achieved.
“We’re not dispersing until our demands are met. We read them out,” said Elsabbal. “They are to divest and disclose, to sever all ties with Israeli institutions and to not repress any Palestinian or pro-Palestinian students.”
Masks were passed out and organizers told students that water and snacks were available. They were brought into the circle while the protest was ongoing.
“We have students that are willing to volunteer and help out,” said Elsabbal.
Temperatures were expected to drop below freezing Thursday night and several students wrapped themselves in blankets. Students brought sleeping bags and roll mats into the circle as the protest continued.
At 6:26 p.m. an organizer entered the middle of the crowd and yelled, “we are not leaving until our demands are met … feel free to sit down and rest.”
As of 9:48 p.m. students have continued their protest at Dove Tower and have promised to stay until demands are met.
The headline is misleading. There is no genocide taking place in Gaza. Genocide has a specific meaning, which meaning describes the actions of Hamas and PIJ inside Israel on October 7, 2023.
keep it up young people, this class of 93 grad is proud of you!
This really does not make that much sense given a few basic facts.
1) The aid to Israel and connections to the defense industry is nothing new. So why didn’t you go to another school then?
2) Yes anyone can be outraged at the deaths of the those involved…but where were you when saddam gave money for them to perform suicide bombings? O wait you weren’t alive then. What about Black september in the 70s? What about lebanon in the 80’s? So then hamas not only attacks but kidnaps people and you say nothing of that?
3) Gaza is poor yes it’s been poor for generations. When Israel took it over in 1967 they didn’t give it back to Egypt in the 70’s. Why not? Because Egypt didn’t want it back.
4) No other country wants to take them in. Why? Because they use it for a launching pad for attacks which leads to other problems (see hezbollah for starters)
5) There already was a functioning secular socialist led government of them under Al Fatah. But yet when hamas took over you said nothing, not one word.
Seriously if you studied things instead of googling some blog you’d know more about this.