On March 13, at 4 p.m., around 200 people rallied outside the Whitmore Administration Building at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, demanding that the University divests from weapons manufacturers and protects students from recent deportation executive orders.
Students at universities across the country have been protesting the war that broke out between Israel and Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip in Palestine, in Oct. 2023.
The rally was held by the UMass Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP).
At 4:45 p.m., after several speeches, the protesters marched up the ramp and into Whitmore, while continuing to chant “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest!”
Once in the building, a group of about 15 people entered the chancellor’s office and talked with Chief of Staff Michelle Gonclaves. SJP leaders read a letter addressed to the UMass administration.
“We urgently call on the UMass administration and UMass elected officials to end any and all collaboration with ICE and DHS both present and future, take concrete steps to protect students from any state repression that violates our constitutional and human rights … [and] make a statement demanding the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil” the letter read.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University, was arrested by ICE agents on March 8 near his apartment in New York. Agents arrested him despite having a green card on the grounds that he is associated with Hamas. Khalil is currently in an ICE detention center in Louisiana while facing possible deportation.
According to the letter, SJP is willing to work with the UMass administration to create definitive plans to declare the UMass campus a sanctuary space, and on “prohibiting disciplinary actions against pro-Palestinian activism and speech.”
Gonclaves said she would get back to SJP and accepted the letter.
According to the UMass website, the University instructs employees to comply with lawful warrants during investigations from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including when concerning student or employee visa information. Yet, employees are barred from sharing any information that may fall under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or the Massachusetts Fair Information Practices Act (FIPA) or act before consulting the University’s Office of the General Council.
Around 5:15 p.m., Jefferey Hescock, the UMass executive director of emergency health and safety and emergency management, told protesters to leave the office. The group left without further escalation but continued protesting for another half-hour outside the building.
Before ending, speakers gave closing speeches in which they called on the University to protect students from deportations in light of recent immigration executive orders, as well as demanding that UMass take a stand against the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
SJP and FJP have protested university associations with weapons manufacturers at career and internship fairs on the Amherst campus and the Mount Ida campus this semester.
Defense contractors are frequently at job fairs at UMass, and according to the UMass website, the University was given $7.9 million to collaborate with Raytheon, BAE Systems and several other companies and colleges.
Ava Harrington, a UMass junior and SJP member, said she doesn’t think the UMass administration has worked with SJP in good faith in the past and is frustrated with the school’s actions.
“Why would I have faith in the (UMass) administration?“ Harrington asked during an interview after the rally.
“What we’re advocating for reflects the needs of the student body … I don’t think they represent the student body,” Harrington continued.
According to a UMass SJP post on Instagram, SJP and Chancellor Javier Reyes will meet to discuss plans on Monday, March 24.
Additional reporting was contributed by Alexandra Hill
