Long before the first tent was pitched at Dunn Meadow, a vast green space next to Bloomington's student union complex, discontent was simmering on Indiana University's flagship campus.
At the beginning of the academic year, faculty and graduate students held a vote of no confidence in the president. The cancellation of an exhibition by a Palestinian artist and the suspension of faculty sponsorship of a pro-Palestinian student organization sparked a backlash. Some in the Jewish community said they felt increasingly unsafe.
But a year full of tensions turned into a crisis last week, when a nationwide wave of pro-Palestinian protests reached Indiana. What happened next included arrests, dueling accusations of police brutality and hate speech, and ambiguity between calls for divestment from Israel and those calling for the removal of university leaders, but the camps It was a microcosm of a campus that exemplified how thoroughly it shook up American higher education. , and how uncertain the path became.
“We should put all politics aside and get rid of this administration that has failed us all,” said Ahmad Jedini, president of the Indiana Graduate and Professional Student Government, who has friends on both sides of the protest movement. he said. “These people are incapable of providing leadership in a crisis,” he said of the university's top leaders. “In fact, they caused the crisis.”
“It’s difficult, anxious and emotional.”
Across the country, administrators at private and public universities, large and small, in conservative and liberal states, are struggling with the moral consequences of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli operations in Gaza. They are struggling to navigate the political thicket. Tens of thousands of lives.
Tensions have been high at Indiana, a highly regarded public university with more than 40,000 students, since the fall. The cordial relationship between Bloomington activists and the administration had already eroded last week when pro-Palestinian demonstrators indicated they intended to set up encampments following demonstrations at Columbia University and other universities. was.
“Over the past few days, our campus community has faced considerable challenges and grappled with complex issues,” University President Pamela Witten and President Rahul Shrivastav wrote in an email to students and staff this week. . “Simply put, the events of the past few days have been difficult, disturbing and emotional.”
As protesters prepared to pitch their tents last week at Dunn Meadow, a designated “gathering area” on campus, they had long been allowed to set up temporary structures, although not overnight. , the management suddenly changed its policy to prohibit entry into temporary structures without prior permission. . When the protesters pitched their tents anyway, Indiana State Police arrived in riot gear and arrested more than 30 people, along with campus police. Footage of a police sniper watching from a nearby rooftop alarmed many on campus.
Two days later, as protests continued, police and state troopers returned to the prairie and made more arrests. Heather Akou, associate professor of fashion design, said she was arrested Saturday, charged with misdemeanor battery and banned from campus for one year. She denied any wrongdoing on her part and appealed to Dr. Whitten to ban her from campus, she said.
“I don’t see why I would have to ask her permission to be on campus,” said Dr. Akou, who is working remotely for now. “She should apologize to me and invite me again.”
Demonstrators said the encampment was peaceful and accused police of escalating tensions and using unnecessary force in making arrests. State Police Superintendent Doug Carter claimed in a local news interview that the protesters were making hate speech and refusing to follow university rules and police instructions. Through a spokesperson, Carter declined to be interviewed for this article.
By Saturday night, 57 people had been arrested in two raids on the camp, including 37 students, four teachers, and two staff members. Still, protests continued.
“It's scary here.”
It had already been a long school year in Bloomington. Bloomington is a left-wing college town in a conservative state, with a typical Big Ten environment of bars and independent coffee shops.
The university has become more diverse in recent years, with students of color expected to make up about 30% of U.S. undergraduates by 2023, up from 11% in 2005. There is. Approximately 5% of undergraduate students are from other countries, and just over half are from other countries. Last year's freshman class was from Indiana.
Over the past year, many faculty members have come to believe that Dr. Witten, who took office in 2021, has not done enough to support academic freedom and shared governance. At the same time, the university was facing pressure from the Republican-led Indiana government over issues such as intellectual diversity, faculty tenure and funding for a sexuality research institute.
In November, after some students expressed concerns about anti-Semitism on campus, the state's Republican congressman, Jim Banks, sent a letter to Dr. Whitten asking that the university tolerate or tolerate anti-Semitism. They warned that they could lose federal funding if they are found to be.
And in December, Abdulkader Sinno, a political science professor, was given false information when trying to reserve space on campus for a lecture by an Israeli peace activist hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee. The manager claimed that the employee had provided the employee with the following information, and he was suspended from his job. A group advised by Dr. Sinno. Dr. Sinno said the punishment was unjust. University officials declined to discuss the matter in detail.
Around the same time, the University Art Museum canceled what would have been the first American retrospective of Samia Halabi, considered one of the most important living Palestinian artists. “Obviously what's at stake here is my freedom of expression,” Halaby, who earned a degree from Indiana, said at the time.
All the while, some Jewish students said they noticed a surprising change in the atmosphere on campus.
“It's scary here. This is the first year I've felt that way here,” said Amalia Sykes, a marketing student from Jerusalem.
Still, a few weeks ago it seemed like the semester might end quietly. As the new school year approaches, many students will be moving for the summer vacation.
“We lost trust.”
Earlier this week, dozens of demonstrators remained in Dunmeadow, chanting “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” but still angry at the police raid. The phrase is considered anti-Semitic by many supporters of Israel, but many Palestinians object to it as a call for freedom.
“Everything we're doing is aimed at ending the genocide in Gaza,” said sophomore Aidan Khamis, who was arrested Saturday and banned from campus for a year. Protest organizers said the demonstration was not anti-Semitic.
But Rabbi Levi Kunin, who lives across the street from Chabad House, the Jewish student center where the protests are taking place, called on the university to immediately end the demonstration. Chabad House reportedly plays loud music to drown out protest chants that Jewish students find offensive.
“What kind of violence would have to occur for them to shut it down?” Rabbi Kunin said some of the protesters' statements were hostile. “They need to shut down now.”
It's unclear when or if police will return. After his second arrest, Dr. Shrivastav met with student government and faculty leaders, and later wrote in a letter to the campus that, although no agreement had been reached, administrators would temporarily remove structures at the encampment. He seems to have suggested that it may be allowed.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of people on campus, including those who did not participate in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, called for the removal of top administrators at Monday's rally and other forums.
“There is no effective path forward other than for President Whitten to resign or be removed from office,” College Dean Colin R. Johnson said in an open letter. “I don't know if I can have confidence in this administration's ability to rebuild,” said Laurie Frederickson, president of the Indiana Memorial Union Board of Directors and a student who attended the weekend meeting with Dr. Shrivastav.
“Frankly, I think restoring trust will require major changes from the administration, the likes of which we have never seen in higher education,” Ms. Frederickson said.
Dr. Witten and Dr. Shrivastav have not indicated any intention to retire and declined repeated requests for interviews through university spokespeople. In a campus-wide email, two administrators said the encampment “attracts individuals who impose taxes, limit public safety resources, and make threats of violence.” They also said that “our commitment to free speech is, and must remain, unwavering.”
State Police Superintendent Carter praised Dr. Whitten's leadership in an interview with local news outlets. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb spoke to local reporters Friday ahead of the second raid and defended the state police's response.
“We can protest peacefully, we can express our opinions emotionally, but we are not going to violate other people's rights,” Holcomb said Friday, according to local reports. “And we're not going to prevent people from getting a good education.”
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It starts this weekend. And even though protests have continued over the past few days, most students continued their usual year-end work, studying for final exams and trying on caps and gowns.
But whether the protests will end before the school year remains an open question. Fourth-year student Malaika Khan said she will remain in Bloomington until the university complies with the protesters' divestment demands, and she plans to lead the demonstration. “Enjoying this summer is not a priority,” she said.
