The mounting tension between the WSU protestors and university administration comes one week after the University of Michigan broke up an encampment on the Ann Arbor campus and police arrested four people. Students at U-M have disrupted graduation events, held multiple rallies and repeatedly called on the university to “divest” any funds they say are helping to support Israel’s war against Hamas.
Organizers of the Wayne State protest have been asked several times to remove the encampment but have declined to do so, which is now considered trespassing, university spokesperson Matt Lockwood confirmed.
“We had good standing with the administration in the past, working on different incidences that have happened on campus so we’re willing to meet, but not on their terms,” Hassan said.
Roughly 30 tents were set up outside of State Hall on the university’s campus on Tuesday.
As of 3:30 p.m., the encampment remained.
Patrick Lindsey, vice president of government and community affairs for the university, visited the encampment Tuesday afternoon offering the organizers a meeting with Espy and Shirley Stancato, chair of the university’s board of governors.
Hassan and other organizers declined, saying they instead wanted to set up an open meeting Wednesday evening with Espy and the entire board.
Wayne State University is one of many universities across the country where students have organized similar pro-Palestinian encampments on campus. Many demonstrators were seen wearing a Keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn in the Middle East that has now become a symbol of support for Palestine.
The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, after Hamas organized surprise attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip.
