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What are Wayne State's protesters demanding?
Another university encampment has been erected in Michigan, this time at Wayne State in Detroit. The pro-Palestine protest is hoping to raise the school's awareness of the plight while seeking concrete change in the university's relationship with Israel.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Another college encampment has opened in Michigan, this time at Wayne State University where students are standing in solidarity with Palestine and calling on the school's to join them.
That includes a divestment from weapons manufacturing companies, a full disclosure of investments, and ceasing delegation trips to Israel.
According to Ali Hassan, a sophomore and president of the school's Muslim coalition, they also want Wayne State to pubically call for a ceasefire resolution.
"Until the genocide stops, the students will continue to protest whether it’s on campus, whether it's around Michigan, whether it's anywhere in the U.S.," he said on Tuesday.
Only a week after law enforcement disbanded a similar encampment located at the diag located in the heart of the University of Michigan, the newly established protest appeared in Detroit.
Hassan fully expects law enforcement to make a similar advance on the encampment. Already, there's been an uptick in the number of police officers nearby.
"I think it’s a bunch of scare tactics to make the students and organizers here get tired," Hassan said. "Of course we have concerns it’s gonna be raided. That's absolutely gonna happen."
The school has already had dialogue with the protesters and amid concerns the encampment stirring a potential public health threat, it has transitioned operations to remote work and schooling. Both students and faculty will be working virtually until further instruction, the school said.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Wayne State urge school president to talk to them
This particular protest has been going since Thursday evening and the possibility of the police moving in to break it up is quite real.
On-campus events have also been canceled until further notice.
In a statement from the school, they said they were committed to free speech and the right to peacefully protest - and added they had scheduled time to meet with the students, who they say never showed.
"On Monday, there were calls from occupants of the encampment for President Kimberly Espy to meet directly with students. Today, in another response to those requests, President Espy, joined by Wayne State University Board of Governors Chair Shirley Stancato and Vice President of Government and Community Relations Patrick Lindsey, invited two students for an in-person meeting.
"President Espy and Governor Stancato were waiting in the Student Center, as VP Lindsey extended the invitation. The students declined to meet with President Espy."