U of M students call for release of 11 arrested divestment protesters

Dozens of University of Minnesota students rallied outside the Hennepin County jail Tuesday, demanding the release of 11 people who were arrested in an occupation of a building on campus Monday.

Students held a rally and march at the Twin Cities campus Monday afternoon, calling for the university to divest from Israel and weapons manufacturers. Several protesters went inside Morrill Hall, an administrative building, and began an occupation, blocking doors with chairs, tables and bike locks. 

Campus police officers — with support from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office — entered the building around 5:40 p.m. Eleven people were arrested. Members of the U’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society said eight of those arrested are current students, and the other three are recent graduates.

Sophomore Juliet Murphy was outside the building yesterday with Students for a Democratic Society. She told reporters outside the jail Tuesday morning that the arrests aren’t a deterrence. 

“We knew this occupation would be short,” Murphy said. “The university has been reminded yet again that we are willing to risk nights in jail to get them to honor their commitment to students and divest from Israel.”

In an email sent to students, faculty and staff Tuesday morning, University President Rebecca Cunningham said occupiers in Morrill Hall spray-painted over security cameras and broke interior windows. She also said students prevented some staff who were inside from leaving the building.

Student protest organizers denied shutting staff inside the building and said there were open entrances and exits for people to come and go.

“We have seen many peaceful protests this fall. However, what happened in Morrill Hall yesterday was not a form of legitimate protest,” Cunningham wrote.

She said the damage inside was “significant.” The building is closed Tuesday and Wednesday while staff inspect the extent of the damage. All other buildings and campus activities are scheduled to continue as normal.

The university’s Board of Regents voted in August not to divest, and to block most future student divestment campaigns. But students renewed protests at the start of the semester, demanding that the school pull money from companies doing business in Israel and from weapons manufacturers. 

Campus administration also compiled new protest guidelines, limiting protests to certain areas of campus and hours. Students who violate the policy can face suspension, arrest or bans from campus.

Murphy said students plan to keep up protests. Students planned to stay outside the jail Tuesday until arrestees were released; some others were heading back to campus for a planned afternoon protest.

“We want to continue to put pressure on the university to meet our demands,” Murphy said. “As we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, the escalations in Gaza and Lebanon and the rest of Palestine have continued, and we will continue to fight for our demands to be met.”

Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley, in a letter to university, city and county officials, urged the university to drop all charges against those arrested Monday.

“Campus activism and protest is an important part of our national and local history and has helped advance many crucial social movements,” Wonsley wrote in the letter, posted to social media platform X.

Wonsley said punishing student activists is ineffective at preventing protests, and contradicts the city’s and university’s values.

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