Group of students called for UM to divest from Israel at commencement Saturday, but speeches continued

Ann Arbor — A group of about 50 graduating students stood and called for the University of Michigan to divest from companies with ties to Israel at the spring commencement ceremony Saturday, but the speeches continued.“Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!” students chanted early in the ceremony at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

The students then proceeded peacefully through the center aisle bearing a banner that stated, “No universities left in Gaza."

The statement referred to Palestinian news reports that Israeli attacks on Gaza have destroyed every higher education campus since Israel first began its assault after an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Hamas also abducted about 250 people. Israel says it still holds around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

The protesters assembled while U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro was addressing ROTC graduates.“It is indeed these young men and women who will protect the freedoms that we so cherish as Americans in our Constitution of the United States, which includes the right to protest peacefully,” Del Toro said of the ROTC graduates as the protesters remained gathered at the center aisle.Administrators and Michigan State Police officers stood around the protesters, moving quickly toward those that stood up from their seats bearing Palestinian flags.

The protest drew a mix of boos and cheers. The students then moved to the back of the stadium and remained there through the ceremony.

Hundreds of graduates wore keffiyehs or keffiyeh stoles with their graduation regalia. Some graduates said they chose to wear the traditional scarf associated with Palestinian heritage as an act of personal protest.“This seems like the smallest act of resistance that we can participate in right now,” said Andrea Márquez, a 24-year-old graduating with a master's degree in educational studies.

Celebrating her graduation is very meaningful for Márquez’s family, as she is a first-generation, low-income student, she said.Watching university administrators largely ignore student calls for divestment, as the International Court of Justice weighs allegations of genocide against Israel, has been immensely disappointing, Márquez said.That disappointment partially eclipsed the day’s festivities for some students, said Alana Hurd, a 24-year-old graduate in the same program.“It doesn’t feel good,” she said. “It doesn’t feel the way you’d want a graduation to feel. But that is a small, small inconvenience for us. It’s more about feeling the heaviness of the incomprehensible amount of lives that have been lost.”

Displays of solidarity with Palestinians meant a lot to Reem Hassan, the 21-year-old Palestinian American business graduate said.Hassan’s extended family in Jerusalem and the West Bank of Palestine have not been able to visit each other since the war started, a source of anxiety and pain for her family, she said.“For the last four years, my plan was to go to Palestine the summer after I graduated,” Hassan said. “Obviously that’s not possible anymore.”

Patrick Morris, 53, of Brighton, said the protesters interrupted the ceremony for him and that he couldn’t hear the speakers from his seat while they were chanting.

"I recognized it and thought it was disruptive,” said Patrick Morris, 53, of Brighton. “I think the majority of the students couldn’t embrace the moment.”

Fatiha Hamed, 49, of Troy said she was proud to see graduates peacefully standing up for what they believe in.

“We are in America, and America cares about people,” Hamed said. “For America to support genocide, it’s a very sad thing to see. This is our country, we love our country. When our country participates in anything like that, it’s unacceptable.”

Israeli officials have said they have conducted a legitimate defense of their people and not committed genocide. Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker told the United Nations' highest court in January that the country is fighting a “war it did not start and did not want" and that it is Hamas militants who are guilty of genocide.

Will Scott, 57, of South Lyon said he wasn’t bothered by the protests.

“That’s what this country has always been built on: folks being able to share their views, and for those to respect their views,” he said. “I didn’t find it very disruptive personally, but I did have people that was around me who probably did. At the end of the day, I don’t think it took away from the whole event.”

The keynote speaker, author Brad Meltzer, reflected on the challenges he faced getting started as a writer and encouraged graduates to be especially persistent in future endeavors.

“The world needs more empathy, more humility and certainly more decency,” Meltzer said. “If you want to shock the world, unleash your kindness."

Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, a graduating student, spoke of the challenges she faced pursuing her love of robotics.

Dosunmu-Ogunbi became the first Black woman to earn a UM robotics Ph.D. this year, an accomplishment she said supportive faculty and peers helped her achieve.

“Consider for a moment who supported you: Who were the giants in your life?” she said. “Though our specific struggles may have been different, we are united in overcoming our challenges."

The university aimed to honor its graduates and limit disruptions at the commencement.

Friday night, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the university's Museum of Art where a dinner was held to recognize those who are set to receive honorary degrees.

Afterward, police officers were removing barriers when the crowd pushed forward, officers pushed back, and one person not affiliated with the university was arrested, Colleen Mastony, the university's assistant vice president for public affairs said in a statement. Otherwise the campus remained peaceful, Mastony said.

More:Police use chemical spray, handcuff protesters, arrest nonstudent outside UM museum

Tickets were required and security screenings were conducted. Banners, flags and other things that obstruct sightlines were prohibited.

"Commencement ceremonies have been the site of free expression and peaceful protest for decades and will likely continue to be," UM's website said. "Our goal is to limit substantial disruption, ensure safety, and support a successful and celebratory event worthy of the achievements of our extraordinary graduates."

In March, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the university’s 101st Honors Convocation as President Santa Ono prepared to speak.

More:UM takes action after divestment activists shut down honors ceremony