A group of University of Chicago professors said Monday they risk being arrested along with their students if police officers try to break up a growing pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus Quad. Their announcements come a week after the government gave mixed signals from civil authorities about when and whether to remove protesters.
Elham Mileshgi, assistant professor at the Chicago School of Theology, said, “If the administration tries to violently remove students, as a faculty member, I will protect the safety of the students, even if that means arrest or detention.'' Stated.
The announcement by faculty and staff members standing on the steps of a campus building came after a tense weekend in which protesters braced for a police crackdown that did not materialize. University President Paul Alivisatos initially took a lenient stance toward the tents set up last week, but on Friday morning he wrote a letter saying the camp “cannot continue.”
“I have said that I will only intervene when what may have been an exercise of free expression interferes with the learning or expression of others or materially interferes with the functioning or safety of the university.” Dr. Alivisatos wrote on Friday. “We reached that point without an agreement to abolish the encampments.”
After his letter was made public, many believed police action was imminent, and on Friday a brief scuffle broke out between protesters and counter-protesters, leading to law enforcement presence has increased. However, officers did not attempt to forcefully remove the protesters from the quad, and administrators and protesters renegotiated over the weekend.
The Chicago campground, one of dozens across the country, has received increased attention because the university is home to the Chicago Statement, a free speech standard adopted in 2015. The university serves as a touchstone and guideline for universities across the United States. Professors said Monday that if the university tried to remove the encampment by force, it would violate those principles.
Dozens of colleagues attended Monday's press conference, and Jessica Darrow, who teaches in the university's School of Social Work, said the protests “exemplify the University of Chicago's values of freedom of inquiry and expression. ”. “Our students' demands are reasonable and clear. They apply what they have learned from their courses and each other to create a peaceful, welcoming, and educational space.”
Dr. Alivisatos, a chemist who took over as the university's president in 2021, said Friday that protesters vandalized buildings, blocked sidewalks and destroyed an Israeli flag installed nearby, adding that a Palestinian flag was attached to the university's flagpole. He was accused of raising the national flag. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions Monday.
Protesters told supporters late Sunday night that they believed police would soon move in, but officers made no such move. Philosophy professor Anton Ford said dozens of faculty members had come to the encampment Sunday night expecting a police raid, and most were prepared to be arrested.
“Our immediate concern is the health of our students,” Dr. Ford said. “We don’t want them getting hit just because they’re camping on the grass.”
By Monday morning, the encampment, with dozens of tents, looked much more fortified than it had been a few days earlier. The tent was surrounded by a makeshift fence, with large plywood boards erected around part of the perimeter, and bundles of helmets could be seen inside. A small number of security guards and university police officers were stationed nearby.
But away from the encampment, it was a spring Monday like any other at the university, one of the most selective private universities in the country. Students studied on benches in the park, had coffee in shops on campus, and took photos in their graduation attire.
