Current:Home > MySmall anti-war protest ruffles University of Michigan graduation ceremony -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Small anti-war protest ruffles University of Michigan graduation ceremony
View
Date:2025-04-12 16:27:15
Protesters chanted anti-war messages and waved Palestinian flags during the University of Michigan’s commencement Saturday, as student demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war collided with the annual pomp-and-circumstance of graduation ceremonies.
No arrests were reported and the protest — comprised of about 50 people, many wearing traditional Arabic kaffiyeh along with their graduation caps — didn’t seriously interrupt the nearly two-hour event at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, which was attended by tens of thousands of people.
One protest banner read: “No universities left in Gaza.”
U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro paused a few times during his remarks, saying at one point, “Ladies and gentlemen, if you can please draw your attention back to the podium.”
As he administered an oath to graduates in the armed forces, Del Toro said they would “protect the freedoms that we so cherish,” including the “right to protest peacefully.”
The university has allowed protesters to set up an encampment on campus but police assisted in breaking up a large gathering Friday night, and one person was arrested.
Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in recent weeks in a student movement unlike any other this century. Some schools have reached deals with the protesters to end the demonstrations and reduce the possibility of disrupting final exams and commencements.
Some encampments have been dismantled and protesters arrested in police crackdowns.
The Associated Press has recorded at least 61 incidents since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the U.S. More than 2,400 people have been arrested on 47 college and university campuses. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
In other developments Saturday, protesters took down an encampment at Tufts University near Boston.
The school in Medford, Massachusetts, said it was pleased with the development, which wasn’t the result of any agreement with protesters. Protest organizers said in a statement that they were “deeply angered and disappointed” that negotiations with the university had failed.
At Princeton, in New Jersey, 18 students launched a hunger strike in an effort to push the university to divest from companies tied to Israel.
Senior David Chmielewski, a hunger striker, said in an email Saturday that it started Friday morning with participants consuming water only. He said the hunger strike will continue until university administrators meet with students about their demands, which include amnesty from criminal and disciplinary charges for protesters.
Other demonstrators are participating in “solidarity fasts” lasting 24 hours, he said.
Princeton students set up a protest encampment and some held a sit-in an administrative building earlier this week, leading to about 15 arrests.
Students at other colleges, including Brown and Yale, launched similar hunger strikes earlier this year before the more recent wave of protest encampments.
The protests stem from the Israel-Hamas conflict that started on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and displaced most of Gaza’s inhabitants.
___
Marcelo reported from New York. Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit and Nick Perry in Boston contributed to this story.
veryGood! (9332)
Related
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Keke Palmer's Ex Darius Jackson Accuses Her of Physical and Verbal Abuse in Response to Restraining Order
- The best movies and TV of 2023, picked for you by NPR critics
- The UK and France reiterate that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must end in failure as US aid falters
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Apple to stop some watch sales in US over patent dispute
- Artificial intelligence can find your location in photos, worrying privacy experts
- Colorado woman gored by deer outside front door of her home
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Greek anti-terror squad investigates after a bomb was defused near riot police headquarters
Ranking
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Five children, ages 2 to 13, die in house fire along Arizona-Nevada border, police say
- Eric Montross, former UNC basketball star and NBA big man, dies at 52
- Jennifer Love Hewitt Has Honest Response to Claims She’s Unrecognizable
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- 4-year-old boy killed in 'unimaginable' road rage shooting in California, police say
- These 50 Top-Rated Amazon Gifts for Teens With Thousands of 5-Star Reviews Will Arrive By Christmas
- In 2023, the Saudis dove further into sports. They are expected to keep it up in 2024
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
'Manifestation of worst fear': They lost a child to stillbirth. No one knew what to say.
Death of 5-year-old boy prompts criticism of Chicago shelters for migrants
Georgia’s governor says the state will pay a $1,000 year-end bonus to public and school employees
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Holiday gift ideas from Techno Claus for 2023
Many kids are still skipping kindergarten. Since the pandemic, some parents don’t see the point
Did America get 'ripped off'? UFO disclosure bill derided for lack of transparency.