Hamline University staff dismantle protest vigils ahead of graduation ceremonies
Campus staff at Hamline University in St. Paul cleared part of a student protest Thursday, ahead of graduation ceremonies this weekend.
Staff took apart student vigils honoring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, removing flowers and posters from outside buildings on campus. A video posted to Students for Justice Instagram account showed people taking flowers and other vigil items, while student onlookers chanted in support of divestment.
According to student organizers, school administrators asked students in a meeting Wednesday afternoon to remove the vigils by Thursday. Students refused.
Student organizer Genavieve Billiet said students have since put some posters back up, and are sitting nearby to deter anyone from taking them down again.
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Administrators also asked students to take down an encampment on Friday. Billiet says they won’t.
Hamline spokesperson Jeff Papas said staff decided to interfere ahead of commencement.
“There comes a time when, points having been made, we need to consider the rights and freedoms of others,” Papas said. “Our mall area has traditionally served as an emotional touchstone for our graduates; without courtesy and understanding on the part of protestors, that will not be the case this year.”
Hamline’s main commencement ceremonies on Saturday are off-campus, at the St. Paul RiverCentre. Other graduation events are taking place on campus.
Billiet said they were told that they could reinstate the encampment on Monday, after this weekend’s commencement ceremonies.
“Our guess is that they’re just trying to wait us out until summer, but I think now they’re getting nervous that we’re not planning on leaving any time soon,” Billiet said. “We’re not burning out, we’re not going home for the summer right now.”
Clearing the vigils and asking students to clear the encampment is a departure from Hamline administration’s earlier tactics. Last week, students said the college told them they would not interfere in the encampment unless there was a crime.
Following a meeting with students last week, President Kathleen Murray told students that about .1 percent of Hamline’s investments are in Israeli-owned companies, the campus newspaper reported.
Billiet says student organizers want the divestment process to speed up. They want the administration to put a divestment proposal to the school’s Board of Trustees, a similar process to the one underway at Macalester College down the street. So far, Billiet said, the administration has not committed to those steps.
“It’s not acceptable for us,” Billiet said. “They could definitely move things faster if they wanted to.”
Hamline students joined organizers at colleges across the country in establishing encampment protests — including at the University of Minnesota, where nine people were arrested. The students are calling on their universities to pull funding from companies with ties to the Israeli military.