On Wednesday, October 25, a sit-in protest at the University of Massachusetts Amherst resulted in 57 arrests for trespassing, as per MassLive. The protest was organized by UMass students protesting against war profiteering and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Specifically, they called on the university to cut ties with weapons manufacturers like Raytheon and condemned Israeli actions in Palestine, including the Gaza blockade.
The protest initially began as a rally in support of Palestinians before morphing into a sit-in at the Whitmore Administration Building. Protesters, refusing to vacate until their demands have been addressed, occupied the area outside the office of University Chancellor, Javier Reyes MassLive reported. Police enforced arrests after 6 p.m., including a UMass employee, when the protesters declined to leave the premises.
Various student groups are to organize the protest, including the UMass Dissenters, UMass Arab Cultural Association, UMass Black Student Union, UMass Center for Education Policy and Advocacy, UMass Prison Abolition Collective, and UMass Students for Justice in Palestine. The protesters were spurred on partly by Chancellor Reyes' condemnation of Hamas attacks on Israel issued on October 10; they demanded opposing condemnation of the Israel Defense Forces' retaliation in Gaza, as per NBC Boston.
Arsema Kifle, one of the founding members of the UMass Dissenters and protest organizer, emphasized the necessity of the administration acknowledging their concerns. "Our goal is to let the school know, let the administration know and the chancellor know that we have a say in what our university is investing in," stated Kifle. "If we were satisfied, we would not be here right now," according to WBZ NewsRadio.
In response, the university released a statement affirming their commitment to free speech, albeit maintaining that "The protestors' specific demands do not align with the university’s publicly stated positions and policies," as reported by NBC Boston.
