Rhiannon Willow, a PhD student and research assistant in the Physics Department, speaks at TAHRIR Coalition “Call to Action”. July 1, 2024. Photo by Jon King
A coalition of student groups at the University of Michigan say Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is now looking into possible charges against students involved in pro-Palestinian protests on the Ann Arbor campus, which her office has confirmed for the Michigan Advance.
The TAHRIR Coalition, made up of more than 80 student groups, held a press conference on the grounds of the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor, where they continued to press their case that the university should divest itself, both financially and academically, from the state of Israel over its ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
“[University President Santa] Ono and the regents are materially supporting horrifying crimes against humanity, and they are doing it in the name of profit,” said Jaredo Eno of the Graduate Employees Organization, one of the coalition members. “The campus community has spoken on this over and over and over and has said time and again, we do not want to profit from mass murder.”
The efforts of the protesters have included a sit-in last November at Ono’s office, which resulted in felony charges being brought against four individuals, and an encampment that was broken up by campus police in May that led to four arrests.
While no charges were filed by Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit’s office in the encampment confrontation, Eno said the university was not deterred in seeking to “repress and silence” them, including asking Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to press charges against protesters.
U of M graduate Simrun Bose speaks at TAHRIR Coalition “Call to Action”. July 1, 2024. Photo by Jon King
“We do not know how many people they have asked for charges against or what those charges are, but we have confirmed that U of M’s police department has requested warrants for criminal charges from the state AG’s office against people who are trying to stop the university from funding genocide,” said Eno. “It’s clear that Ono and the regents will use any tool that they can grasp at to silence those who refuse to be complicit in this. This is shameful, and this is dangerous behavior from our supposed leaders.”
Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for the AG’s Office, confirmed that they are looking into the activities of students in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.
“Our department is reviewing a number of cases involving protest activity around the University of Michigan,” Wimmer told the Advance. “As has been reported in the media, protesters have engaged in similar activities in multiple southeast Michigan counties and prosecutorial venues, and our office is uniquely situated to review multijurisdictional cases in their totality.”
A request for comment was also sent to the University of Michigan, but has yet to be returned.
Protesters actions have also included coalition members appearing outside the homes of U of M’s Board of Regents, including Chair Sarah Hubbard and Regent Jordan Acker.
Acker’s office was also the target of vandalism in early June, although the coalition did not take credit for it and no suspects in that case have been identified.
Rhiannon Willow, a PhD student and research assistant in the physics department, was one of the students arrested during the clearing of the encampment, saying officers had “slammed my forehead and chin forcefully against the ground, which caused a long lasting and extremely debilitating concussion as well as injuries to my neck and jaw, which have still not fully healed.”
While no charges were filed against Willow, she was banned from campus for a year, which she says will complicate efforts at finishing her PhD dissertation. However, Willow told the Advance that she too is now concerned about state-level charges.
“I believe what’s happening is that, knowing that the Eli Savit’s office declined those charges, I think that’s why they’re going to the AG’s office,” she said. “They’re trying to make it harder for us to keep going, and it seems that the campus bans are unfortunately pretty effective because now so many of us literally can’t set foot on campus or we’ll get arrested immediately.”
Also speaking was Simrun Bose, who graduated in May, but says she was among more than two dozen students notified in mid-May that the university was pursuing disciplinary action against them for participating in either the Nov.17 sit-in.
Bose said the university “flagrantly violated their own procedures” when she alleges they forced the Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) to start disciplinary proceedings without a formal complaint having been received, and that when one was finally submitted, it was weeks after the six-month deadline.
“Weirdest of all, the university representative who submitted the complaint was not a student, staff, or faculty member, once again violating OSCR’s own procedural guidelines,” said Bose. “Instead, the complainant was a California-based consultant who does not seem to have any knowledge of the events of Nov. 17. Hiring this consultant to do the regent’s dirty work is a cowardly move to avoid responsibility, and possibly is in violation of federal privacy laws.”
Jaredo Eno of the Graduate Employees Organization speaks at TAHRIR Coalition “Call to Action”. July 1, 2024. Photo by Jon King
The coalition contends the consultant, Omar E. Torres of Grand River Solutions, was not a student, faculty, or staff member, violating the university’s own policy about who can file a formal complaint. However, they allege only after the fact was he then added to the faculty. An online check shows a listing for Omar Estrada Torres in the university’s human resources department.
A message was also sent to Torres for comment that has not been returned.
Bose says OSCR is forcing students to either “accept responsibility” or be subject to a formal hearing.
“I haven’t made my decision yet,” Bose said. “I have a lot of questions about how this consultant even got this information in the first place that I would hope to be answered before I’m able to make a decision.”
Meanwhile, Eno urged the community to show their support for the coalition’s efforts and keep up the pressure on the university to change its policies.
“We cannot endure continued support for this genocide,” he said. “So, we will keep fighting for divestment, and we will keep fighting to keep each other safe, because as you’ve heard from folks, that is exactly the type of world that we are trying to build and nurture through this coalition and its work. So, we’ll keep fighting.”
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