UConn and Yale Urged to Drop Charges against Student Protesters

 

Professors and alumni of the University of Connecticut and Yale are calling on the presidents of their universities to drop legal charges against students arrested while opposing the war on Gaza and demanding divestment from military production.

At court cases in Vernon and New Haven on May 8, hearings were continued until June 26 for the UConn students and until July and August for the Yale students.

An outpouring of students in support of Palestinian rights have called on their academic institutions to divest endowment funds from military production being sent to Israel. The movement is reminiscent of student uprisings that led to ending apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's and to ending the war on Vietnam in the 1960's.

The students are calling for ceasefire and humanitarian aid as more than 35,000 civilians in Gaza, 40% of whom are children, have been killed and hospitals, universities, schools, mosques, churches and housing have been destroyed.

Over 1,000 letters have been sent to Yale president Peter Salovey demanding that Yale “drop the charges against its students and the community members who were arrested on April 22, April 29, and May 1 for peacefully protesting against this university’s complicity in Israel’s war on Gaza.

“By escalating violence against students exercising their right to protest, this university only stands to further ensure an unsafe environment for students—impacting their quality of life and education, and reflecting a prioritization of profits over people.”

The letters urge President Salovey to “heed their call for divestment from weapons, not penalize them for peacefully assembling and speaking out.”

Outside the courthouse in New Haven, Yale senior Craig Birkhead-Morton, who was arrested twice, said he considers it to be “deeply unfortunate that the university is taking this carceral approach to students.” The first arrests took place in the early morning hours during the encampment at Beinecke Plaza following a meeting of the Board of Trustees. The second arrest took place several days later as students marched through campus in the evening.

“We want to be able to focus on our roles as aspiring academics,” said Birkhead-Morton. “Yale is not functioning as an academic institution should.”

Letters of support for the UConn students can be sent to president Radenka Maric at: radenka.maric@uconn.edu. Letters to Yale's leadership to drop the charges can be sent at bit.ly/yaledropcharges.