DETROIT.- Police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment Thursday at Wayne State University in Detroit, two days after the school suspended in-person classes and asked staff to work remotely to avoid any problems with the protesters’ encampment.
Television footage showed campus and Detroit police in riot gear tearing down fences before removing protesters and beginning to tear down tents erected last week in a green space near the university library.
After police began clearing the camp, protesters chanted, “There are no riots here, why are you in riot gear?” Later, they began marching around campus and some of them appeared to clash with officers, WXYZ-TV reported.
In recent months, protest camps have sprung up on campuses in the United States and Europe to demand that universities stop doing business with Israel or with companies that support the war in Gaza. Organizers seek to amplify calls to end Israel’s war with Hamas, which they describe as a genocide against the Palestinians.
Wayne President Kimberly Andrews Espy said in a statement that university police asked people at the encampment around 5:30 a.m. Thursday to gather their belongings and leave, The Detroit News reported.
“The camp at Wayne State University was removed this morning,” Espy said. “After continued consultation with the Board of Governors, university leaders and community leaders, and after many good faith efforts to reach a different conclusion, this was the right time to take this necessary step.”
Espy said many people left and final cleanup was underway; she added that campus operations would remain remote on Thursday.
School spokesman Matt Lockwood said there were “public safety concerns,” especially about access to certain areas.
Wayne State has 16,000 undergraduates, but fewer during the summer term. Protesters have demanded that the school disassociate itself from weapons manufacturing companies that supply Israel, provide full disclosure of investments and suspend delegation trips to Israel.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., visited the camp to offer support to protesters.
The University of Michigan, west of Detroit, on May 21 dissolved a similar camp after 30 days.
Source: With information from AP
