Wash U Law School Faculty and Alumni Condemn Protest Crackdown

A total of 140 Washington University School of Law faculty, students and alumni have signed an open letter condemning the university for the mass arrests and suspensions that followed Saturday’s Pro-Palestine protest.

The letter — addressed to Chancellor Andrew Martin and Vice Chancellors Anna Gonzalez, Nichol Luoma, Beverly Wendland and Robert Wild — says the university administration's characterization of events “does not align with many firsthand reports from the scene.”

In a statement following the protest, Martin said protestors behaved “aggressively” and referred to the demonstration as a “dark sad day” for the university. The law school signatories are pushing back on that. 

“Far from a ‘substantial threat’ to University operations, the demonstration, by all accounts, was calm and without incident in the moments before police moved in. Participants were sitting on the ground eating snacks,” the letter says. “Even the police had relaxed and dispersed to sit around the area.”

The demonstration was met with “a disturbing picture of heavy-handed police tactics and suppression of open and free dialogue on campus,” the letter continues. A total of 100 people were arrested on campus including 23 Wash U students and at least four employees. Police violently dragged and tackled students and community members during the arrests, and seriously injured a 65-year-old professor who was filming the scene.

“Besides the violent arrests, students on the scene reported disturbing police tactics. Some

reported being threatened with arrest simply for filming police activity,” the letter adds. “During the police action, Weil Hall was allegedly taken over by officers who ejected students from the building, preventing observation of the arrests taking place. Police photographers were also used to take photos of students and legal observers in attendance.”

The letter also condemned the administration for banning students and faculty from campus and evicting the students from campus housing.

“Washington University is not obligated to wield its legal authority to restrict free speech to the

fullest extent permissible. Universities, as institutions of higher learning, have a special

obligation to foster open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas — a commitment that Washington University claims to uphold,” the letter says. “Resorting first to heavy-handed enforcement tactics, rather than engaging in discourse, is antithetical to the core purpose of education. It erodes the foundations of a healthy democratic society.”

The signatories of the letter demand that the administration reverse the suspensions, advocate for any criminal charges to be dropped, “publicly retract their inaccurate and stigmatizing

characterizations of the protests, and commit to safeguarding students moving forward.”

U.S. Representative Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) also spoke out against the university’s response to the protests, calling it “shameful.” Bush has actively called for a ceasefire as Israel continues to attack Gaza, leaving more than 34,000 people dead, according to the Associated Press’ latest death toll.

“I am appalled by the response of Washington University to student-led protests over the past few weeks and days. The police brutality, mass arrests, suspensions, evictions, and wholesale bans on access to the St. Louis campus are inappropriate, unacceptable, and outright shameful,” Bush wrote.

The congresswoman says that Wash U’s administrators have joined a “disgraceful nationwide trend of violent, aggressive responses” to student protests.

“At a time when students should otherwise be studying for finals or preparing for graduation, they have instead chosen to stand up against the Israeli government’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians by participating in nonviolent direct action. I am proud of our students, faculty, staff, and community members who stand on the side of peace and diplomacy at Washington University,” Bush wrote.

Another demonstration is planned for tonight at the Saint Louis University Clock Tower at 6 p.m. Mayor Tishaura Jones issued a brief statement saying she has been in contact with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

“My administration and the city remain firmly supportive of the right to peaceful protest,” she writes. “After conversations with Saint Louis University’s administration and SLMPD, it is clear to me that they all share the same sentiment.”

Wash U and SLU students are calling on their respective universities to divest from Boeing, which they say abets the genocide of the Palestinian people.

Related

SIUE Professor Hospitalized After Arrest at Wash U: Steve Tamari said he was “body slammed and crushed” and then dragged across campus

Related

ACLU Blasts Wash U for Mass Arrests at Pro-Palestine Protest: By ordering the arrests of 100 people, the university “chills, curtails and restricts expression,” the ACLU of Missouri says

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Wash U Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Protest Results in 80+ Arrests [PHOTOS]

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