A group of around 10 students from the University of Connecticut’s UNCHAIN protested the school’s relationship with Lockheed Martin at Dove Tower on Friday.
Members of the organization agreed to speak with The Daily Campus on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation from the University. The Instagram page describes UNCHAIN as an “anti-imperialist student group at UConn focused on education and action.”
The protest was advertised on Instagram with the name “Lockout Lockheed” and came two days after a “Remembrance for the Martyrs” event honoring the lives lost in Gaza. UCHAIN collaborated with other student activist groups, like Jewish Voice for Peace UConn and UConn Students for Justice in Palestine for the protest.
One spokesperson for the event, who asked to be referred to as a concerned UConn citizen, said that UNCHAIN is looking to have a stronger presence on campus this academic year.
“There wasn’t enough action because a lot of people were concerned about crackdowns following the encampments because we saw a large amount of police activity on campus during that, and a large crackdown from the University,” the concerned UConn citizen said. “There’s still a lot of demand on campus for that sort of action, and I think we’re realizing that we still have the potential to do those sort of large actions.”
UConn policies that were considered crackdowns by protestors include revisions made to the Outdoor Amplified and Projected Sound Policy in 2024. The change was made less than 24 hours after a protest by The Divest Coalition at UConn and restricted the use of megaphones, microphones and speakers during certain hours, according to WFSB.
Protesters at Dove Tower complied with the policy by taking turns projecting their own voices when chanting about UConn’s ties with Israel and weapon manufacturers.
UNCHAIN’s chants included “Lockheed bombs, UConn pays, how many kids did you kill today?” Some chants deviated from the Lockheed Lockout theme and focused more on responding to the climate of protesting at the school, including chanting “President Radenka, we see you, you imprison students too.”
The same group of around a dozen people stayed at Dove Tower rotating between chanting and taking water breaks for about an hour. Some of that water was being provided by a department at the Student Health and Wellness Center called Health Promotion and Community Impact.
The director for the Health Promotion and Community Impact team, Karen McComb, said the team brings water, sunscreen, Band-Aids and masks to a variety of events around campus.
“These are prominent events in our community, and we’re just here as a presence to support the health and wellness of our community when there’s action,” McComb said. “Because we are employed by the University, we are not here in support of the action.”
In a follow-up email, McComb clarified the position of the Health Promotion and Community Impact team.
“Because we are here in our employed role with the University, we are neutral about the issue which motivated the action,” McComb wrote.
After noticing a lack of engagement at Dove Tower, UNCHAIN moved their protest from Dove Tower and toward the doors of the Homer Babbidge Library on Fairfield Way. This area had more pedestrian traffic.
UNCHAIN chanted for about 10 minutes by the library, before transitioning to making speeches in Fairfield Way. “The U.S. and UConn has funded and backed every stage of this genocide since this settler-colonial project began,” the concerned UConn citizen said. “Those merchants at death, like Lockheed Martin, like RTX, like General Dynamics, who profited so much off the slaughter of hundreds of thousands, came into campus just this week to recruit students to further that cycle of murder.”
The speech was then interrupted by a counterdemonstrator.
“How about the Palestinian people that blow people up?” The counterdemonstrator said.
The person interrupting the speech declined a request for comment by The Daily Campus.
After the speech, UNCHAIN dispersed around the red circle in Fairfield Way to try and engage students in a conversation about UConn’s support of U.S. defense contractors. One member would engage passing crowds with questions about students’ awareness of UConn’s financial investments.
“Do you guys know about UConn’s connection to the war machine?” The member asked.
Jazlin Marco, a University Student Government delegate for UConn’s Intercultural Greek Council, spoke about USG voting against the divestment referendum with UNCHAIN.
“Honestly, I wasn’t surprised. A lot of the reasons it didn’t pass was because of language,” Marco said. “I don’t know, in my opinion, it’s just facts. There is a genocide happening. The UN was even saying it’s a genocide.”
An independent inquiry authored by a commission at the United Nations Human Rights Council found that Israel committed four actions that align with the five categories of genocide put forth by the Genocide Convention and Rome Statue.
First-semester English major, Claire Sharp, was surprised to learn about UConn funding weapon manufacturing from UNCHAIN.
“It’s disappointing for sure. I had no idea, which makes me feel gross,” Sharp said.
Not everyone engaged in a supportive way. A few students vocalized their relationships with Lockheed Martin and manufacturing weapons.
“Yeah, they helped me a lot,” said one intern at Lockheed Martin, who asked to remain anonymous. He said he is receiving $10,000 a semester for his work.
“We’re going to do more chanting, especially if people aren’t answering,” said an UNCHAIN member.
UNCHAIN ended up being moved from the circle outside the library on Fairfield Way to the walkway by Susan V. Herbst Hall because HuskyTHON had reserved that section of the pedestrian walkway. A separate group of students tabling adjacent to UNCHAIN was also moved.
The protest disbanded around 3 p.m. on Friday after lasting for 3 hours with a relatively unchanging group of around 10 to 15 people participating at various points throughout the day.
It’s sickening to see these students (?) supporting Hamas. No doubt, if it weren’t for their blind hatred of Israel, they wouldn’t support a regime which executes its political rivals, violently oppresses women and anyone who doesn’t believe their religious beliefs. They seem to be Unchained from reality.