On December 3rd, in the face of winds and temperatures in the low twenties, a pro-Palestine rally was held from approximately 3 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in the Harper Quadrangle near the entrance of Harold Leonard Stuart Hall at the University of Chicago. Organized by the university’s branch of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), the event drew about 30 to 40 dedicated students and faculty protestors. Many held bullhorns and homemade signs expressing pro-Palestinian sentiments and critiques of the university administration, attracting the attention of many passing students as the event unfolded.
The demonstration occurred amidst ongoing tensions between the university administration and pro-Palestine activist groups on campus. These tensions have been particularly strained since the week-long pro-Palestinian encampment in the Quadrangle back in early May. The rally aimed to express discontent with the administration’s actions and was timed to coincide with the Council of the University Senate meeting taking place in Stuart Hall.
The event commenced with performances by a musical quartet, featuring songs about Palestinian resilience and liberation in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. Following the musical performances, over half a dozen speakers from groups adjacent to FSJP addressed the crowd, including Students for Justice in Palestine and the Environmental Justice Task Force. The protestors’ primary grievance was the administration’s alleged failure to establish a “Gaza Scholars at Risk Now” program in the six months since the encampment was dismantled. This initiative would commit the university to hosting scholars affected by the violence in Gaza. Protestors claimed that the administration had promised to implement this program during negotiations surrounding the surrender of the encampment, and have not only failed to do so, but have since largely denied ever making such commitments.
Additional concerns raised included demands for greater transparency regarding the university’s investments, particularly calls to halt funding towards organizations perceived as supporting Israel. Protestors also demanded that the administration make greater public acknowledgement and condemnations of the many atrocities and injustices they perceive to be occurring in Gaza. With both administrators in attendance at the meeting, knowing they could hear them, speakers at the rally frequently criticized President Paul Alivisatos and Provost Katherine Baicker, holding them primarily accountable for the university’s behavior surrounding the conflict.
During the event, at least five police officers were observed standing by in the Harper Quadrangle and Stuart Hall. This noticeable police presence may be attributed to incidents that occurred during the recent pro-Palestine protest on October 21st, during which participants scuffled with police to forcefully shut and lock Cobb Gate, vandalized the Manhattan Project memorial site and sculpture with red paint and graffiti, and engaged in physical altercations with officers that resulted in the use of pepper spray, batons, and three arrests.
As attendees began to trickle out of Stuart Hall around 5 p.m., there were no overly antagonistic interactions between them and the protestors. The rally concluded around 5:15 p.m. after a final set of songs by the musical group, and the protestors dispersed fairly quickly and quietly. The event marks yet another chapter in the ongoing and uncertain dialogue between pro-Palestine activists and the UChicago administration, and it undoubtedly will not be the last.