Approximately 300 protesters joined the University of Connecticut’s Students for Justice in Palestine at a solidarity demonstration on the evening of May 1 on Fairfield Way.
Protesters echoed their demands for UConn’s divestment from defense industries and weapons manufacturers, voicing dissent towards university actions amid the April 30 arrest of 25 current and former students.
Some arrested at the encampment were present at the protest, though they were not able to comment pending the ongoing court cases.
Student activists began their march outside of the Student Union, holding chants and speeches as the crowd’s numbers grew. Outside of the School of Business, protestors raised a keffiyeh-adorned puppet created by a team from the puppetry department depicting a symbolic barren tree.
“The tree shows the natural cycle of social growth, and the lack of leaves shows that the tree is not being nourished,” puppetry major Sol Ramirez said.
Protestors gradually moved towards Homer Babbidge Library, where UConn Police began to form a perimeter around the mass of students. The demonstration halted in front of Gulley Hall, home to the Office of the President, Provost and Board of Trustees.
Police officers were observed holding zip-ties in preparation for the potential detainment of protestors, a sight not unfamiliar to many attending the demonstration.
Recent arrests have sparked an uproar from the campus community, with many citing the dismantling of Students for Justice and Palestine’s central encampment beneath Dove Tower as a cause for continued protest. In reference to the actions of university police, one anonymous SJP spokesperson commented, “People are angry, and that has incentivized many to join.”
Muneeb Syed, the president of the Muslim Student Association, viewed the arrests as a rights violation.
“The students arrested believe in what their message is and the university cracking down on them is clearly a violation of their first amendment rights,” Syed said.
In an email from university administration, President Radenka Maric, Provost Anne D’Alleva and Vice President for Student Life and Enrollment Nathan Fuerst defended their decision to disperse the initial encampment.
“The group assembled was repeatedly given notice and reasonable opportunities to comply with the specified policies and practices, which do not conflict with rights to free speech and expression,” the email read.
Students have criticized UConn for previously allowing tents outside of university sporting events, raising the question of selective policy enforcement. Gaza-solidarity protesters have been charged with criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct for the use of unauthorized tents and amplified speakers.
“It’s clearly an example of selective enforcement, and we think the university and the administration is actively looking to suppress pro-Palestinian voices on campus,” Syed said.
University spokesperson Stephanie Reitz responded to allegations of selective enforcement.
“There is no right to erect a tent or establish an encampment on campus,” Reitz said. “The University has at times permitted students to use tents on campus during short-term and clearly delimited occasions –– for example, to camp out overnight for one night to secure student basketball tickets. The University is not choosing to allow tents at protest activities that are large, open-ended, and include non-university participants.”
Of the 25 protestors arrested Tuesday, 24 were current UConn students and one was a former student.
The May 1 march was the first publicized event subsequent to the closure of UConn Divest’s central encampment, but organizers have confirmed it will not be the last. Echoing the call of a handheld megaphone, protestors joined in the chant, “We’ll be back.” As of publication, the combined death toll of the Israel-Palestine War is over 34,000 in Gaza and nearly 1,200 in Israel.
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