East Lansing, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The pro-Palestine encampment erected on Thursday morning continues to gather supporters on the Michigan State University campus after more than two dozen tents were set up on the campus at People’s Park.
Since the camp began on Apr. 25, there have been more than 150 students and community members that have visited the encampment made by the “April 2024 MSU Occupation Movement” group.
The group, initiated by Hurriya, is a coalition of more than 20 campus organizations that began last fall. The group stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine, according to spokeswoman Laura Sager.
“Our Occupation of MSU’s campus aims to expose Michigan State University’s failure to uphold the international rule of law, respect human rights, and respond to public demands for divestment,” Sager said to Michigan News Source in an email.
The core of the group’s occupation revolves around the demand for MSU to “divest” its funding which the group says is impacting the Palestinian people.
“MSU profits directly from the US/Israeli war-and-surveillance machine through its direct investments in Israel as well as millions of dollars in indirect investments and programs contributing to the machinery of war abroad and oppression at home,” said Sager in a statement. “The university has ignored repeated calls by campus student governments, faculty, and community organizations to divest from Israel and to end the militarization of campus.”
The Occupation Movement core beliefs.
The movement also shared its main concerns in a statement:
- Denounces MSU’s profiting in weaponry and the ongoing genocide in Gaza; and
- Denounces the US provision of military weapons, funding, and aid propping up the brutal, ongoing colonial occupation of Palestine.
The occupation group also called upon the university to:
- Divest from all businesses and projects related in any way to the State of Israel; and
- Divest from the US war-and-surveillance machine that makes the ongoing war crimes and genocide in Gaza possible.
Additionally, the occupation group called upon the university and communities to “stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, the global anti-war movement, including the Israeli anti-colonialist peace movement, and our movement.”
The group also demanded a permanent ceasefire, “immediate and sufficient humanitarian aid to meet the desperate needs of Gazans; “the right of return for Palestinians to return and rebuild their homes and communities; and “an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine.”
Encampment Norms/Expectations.
Within the encampment, “encampment norms/expectations” were provided to those staying, with estimates of more than 150 occupying the area Thursday and 30 students staying overnight.
– Practice kindness and treat others with respect.
– Pick up after yourself and keep your space clean.
– Occupations are communes: give what you can and take what you need.
– Keep alert for marshalls’ instructions. Marshalls are wearing high-vis vests and are here to keep us safe.
– Avoid interacting with police. If you see police inform a marshall.
– Refrain from drug and alcohol use.
Some students share stories, others voice support but not reasons for showing up.
Palestinian born Saba Saed, and fourth year MSU student, shared her reasons for participating as a member of the Hurriya.
“We wanted to just have this camp and occupy this space to really focus on MSU divesting, and demand a public commitment to divestment because we have tried every other route.”
Saed shared that some undergraduate and graduate students have already passed resolutions supporting their cause, as well as more than a 100 faculty, but even attending Board of Trustee meetings has not changed the university’s stance.
“This felt like the next step, and we were just joining the mass mobilization of students using this type of demonstration like encampments,” she added.
Several students denied interviews and wore masks. One student, who refused to identify herself, shared why she was abstaining from interviews.
“We’re been very protective about student identities because this is such a divisive topic on campus,” she said. “That’s why a lot of us are wearing masks because we don’t want to be doxxed, so a lot of us are not sharing our names.”
She added that her personal reason was that it wouldn’t affect her in a future “professional capacity.”
“I don’t want this to eliminate my career endeavors, but I also know how divisive this is,” she said, “I don’t want to lose any opportunity before I had the opportunity.”
Encampment group attends Breslin Graduation, continuing protest.
Roughly 30 members of the encampment attended the Breslin graduation ceremony and protested outside to “show presence.”
“It was to draw a correlation that our investments have gone to ending the school year in Gaza,” Saed said in an interview. “This was the first year that there are zero graduates from there.”
“All the universities in Gaza have been bombed and destroyed,” according to Saed, which led to the end of the school year in October.
School Officials weigh in on the ongoing protests.
Mark Bullion, MSU Media and Public Information Communication Manager, shared in an email the university’s approach to the group, after MSU was made aware of the protest “regarding the university divesting a US Treasury bond for Israeli State aid.”
“MSU police officers were called to respond to the area,” Bullion said in an email to Michigan News Source. “Officers peacefully spoke with group leaders and informed them that they were in violation of ordinance 13, which prohibits camping, unless it was approved by the university.”
Bullion shared that the Board of Trustees Office is the group charged with approving permit requests for tents and camping.
“Shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, a permit application was approved,” he said in the email to Michigan News Source. “The permit is approved through Sunday, April 28, the date the group chose on their application.”
The student protests on campus have remained peaceful as of Friday according to Bullion while MSU Police and Public Safety have “engaged in conversations with student organizers and will continue to act in ways that protect all members of the campus community.”
“Michigan State University is dedicated to freedom of speech and encourages its students to be informed and honor the exchange of free ideas and individual expression,” Bullion said in the email. “While civil and public discourse is a mainstay of our nation’s public universities, including MSU, safety is always the top priority, especially when it comes to social and political issues that are divisive and controversial.”
Encampment Members Solicit Fundraising from the Community.
At a table at one of the camp entrances, the group had QR codes to contribute to the cause, including one whose proceeds would benefit “Progressive Caucus of Mid Michigan.” The fundraiser was paid for ActBlue, a nonprofit organization that provides a “fundraising platform for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, progressive organizations, and nonprofits.”
Pro-Palestine protests persist across the United States on college campuses.
In a list provided by the Resistance News Network, there are at least 41 ongoing encampments, the overwhelming majority of them taking place on U.S. College campuses and University grounds.
In Michigan, encampments were reported at MSU and the University of Michigan (UM).
The University of Southern California (USC) announced on Thursday that it would be canceling its traditional main stage graduation ceremony over safety concerns due to similar protests.
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