UChicago faculty to host rally on former encampment grounds
U of C protesters respond to campus police tearing down encampment
Demonstrators at the University of Chicago were given a final notice to leave their encampment on campus which was established to protest the war in Gaza. Police entered the encampment on the campus quad early Tuesday morning and began tearing down tents. Protesters continued to face off with police.
CHICAGO - University of Chicago faculty will host a teach-in and rally at the Hyde Park campus Main Quad where students set up a protest encampment in solidarity with Gaza earlier this month.
The University of Chicago Faculty for Justice in Palestine said the rally is meant to honor the Palestinian people on the 76th Anniversary of the Nakba, known as the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Faculty and students will discuss the history of Palestine and call for the University of Chicago to divest from Israel. Students set up an encampment for the same reasons on April 29.
The encampment was eventually torn down and students were removed from the quad a week later on May 7. Protesters called out the University for the tactics used to take down the pro-Palestinian encampment.
The UChicago president cited escalating safety concerns on campus as the reason for disbanding the encampment.
Various pro-Palestine student groups will join the faculty collective at noon on Wednesday.