UMass Anti-war Encampment Dismantled

A large student anti-war protest encampment at UMass was dismantled on Tuesday morning (4/30) on the orders of UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes who declared the encampment improper and in violation of UMass land use policy. The encampment had been established the previous morning and by mid-day had attracted about 300 students who had erected over 50 tents as well as small library, first aid and supply stations, food tables, a general information table, an outdoor classroom, and a few art installations. The encampment joined a national proliferation of encampments now numbering over 120 across the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Italy, and the UK and with new campuses joining the protests daily (see also here).

According to a member of the protest press team who asked to remain anonymous, the UMass encampment had been organized by the UMass chapter of Popular Universities for Gaza, in collaboration with other UMass student groups. The aim of the encampment was to show solidarity with Palestinian people, oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the U.S. role in supporting it, support the UMass 57, a group of students who were arrested on the UMass campus last October during a protest of the war in Gaza, and demand UMass divestment from its entanglements with corporations that sustain war. 

According to observers, the protesters were peaceful and serious and engaged in a good deal of mutual teaching and learning about Palestine, militarism, student debt, and housing.  There were no reported conflicts with counter-protestors as had been the case on some other campuses. 

The dismantling of the camp apparently occurred under the direction of a sizeable law enforcement presence but without arrests and Reyes expressed appreciation that students had cooperated with the school’s demonstration response team’s request to dismantle the settlement. Reyes noted that students would be allowed to continue their protest without the tents.  Students vowed to continue the protest in other forms and planned to meet on Wednesday (5/1) to plan next steps. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported that about 50 protestors were present on the site of the former encampment on Wednesday morning (5/1) as were supportive professors.

Reyes held out hope that he might meet with student organizers in the near future though multiple requests by the students for such a meeting over the last several months have been rebuffed.  Reyes sent a statement to student groups explaining that while his administration will continue to defend free speech and the free expression of ideas, the violation of the campus property policy could not be tolerated. 

Read additional reporting on UMass protests in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, Daily Hampshire Gazette and in MassLive.

Reyes’ full statement follows.

To the UMass Community:

I am pleased to share with you that after the intervention of our campus demonstration response team, protestors who had established an unauthorized tent encampment beside the campus pond have peacefully dismantled it. We are fully in support of the right to free expression and conveyed to participants in the encampment that their protest could continue so long as their tents and structures, which are in violation of the campus land use policy, are removed.

As I said in my campus email yesterday, the land use policy ensures that spaces on campus are made available equally and fairly and that “Activities, programs or events [do] not interfere with official University functions.” In this instance, in addition to there having been no request submitted for the use of this property by those occupying it, the space had already been reserved for a university event, which we were forced to cancel. 

I am grateful to the student activists at the encampment for their cooperation this morning and am also deeply appreciative to the student government representatives (SGA and GSG) and faculty leaders with whom campus leaders and I have consulted over the past 24 hours. This type of consultation and cooperation is emblematic of the robust dialogue and respectful exchange of views that we seek to promote on our campus.

We have and will continue to defend free speech and the free exchange of ideas on this campus. In this instance, once the encampment was dismantled, students gathered and resumed their peaceful protest without incident. This is the sort of outcome we strive for as we navigate these challenging times.

Javier Reyes
Chancellor