Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly interrupt University of Michigan graduation ceremony

A graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan on Saturday was briefly interrupted by dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters as higher education institutions across the country holding commencements braced for more demonstrations.

As the commencement ceremony got underway at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, protesters in kaffiyeh and graduation caps unfurled Palestinian flags and posters as they walked through the aisles. They marched toward the stage chanting: "Regents, regents, you can't hide! You are funding genocide!" the New York Times reported.

One protest banner read: "No universities left in Gaza." Others were seen waving Israeli flags.

Campus police prevented the protesters from reaching the stage.

Above, a plane was spotted flying over the ceremony with a banner that said: "Divest from Israel now! Free Palestine".

Another plane had a different message: "We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter."

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro paused a few times during his remarks, saying at one point, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you can please draw your attention back to the podium."

Officials said no one was arrested, and the protest didn't seriously interrupt the nearly two-hour event, which was attended by tens of thousands of people.

University spokesperson Colleen Mastony said public safety personnel escorted demonstrators to the rear of the stadium, where they remained through the conclusion of the event.

"Peaceful protests like this have taken place at U-M commencement ceremonies for decades," she added.

Ahead of its commencement ceremony, the University of Michigan increased security measures – including screening and removal of banners and flags. Tickets would be required for a majority of events, CBS Detroit reported.

Laurie McCauley, Michigan's chief academic officer, told students and staff that the school respects free expression but "no one is entitled to disrupt university activities."

The university has allowed protesters to set up an encampment on campus but police assisted in breaking up a large gathering Friday night, and one person was arrested.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war sparked widespread – at times violent – demonstrations at colleges and universities across the country over the last few weeks.

In an attempt to fend off possible disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies, a small number of universities stuck deals with protestors. The agreements at schools including Brown, Northwestern and Rutgers stand out amid the chaotic scenes and 2,400-plus arrests on 46 campuses nationwide since April 17. Tent encampments and building takeovers have disrupted classes at some schools, including Columbia and UCLA.

Deals included commitments by universities to review their investments in Israel or hear calls to stop doing business with the longtime U.S. ally. Many protester demands have zeroed in on links to the Israeli military as the war grinds on in Gaza.

The agreements to even discuss divestment mark a major shift on an issue that has been controversial for years, with opponents of a long-running campaign to boycott Israel saying it veers into antisemitism. But while the colleges have made concessions around amnesty for protesters and funding for Middle Eastern studies, they have made no promises about changing their investments.

"I think for some universities, it might be just a delaying tactic to diffuse the protests," said Ralph Young, a history professor who studies American dissent at Temple University in Philadelphia. "The end of the semester is happening now. And maybe by the time the next semester begins, there is a cease-fire in Gaza."

Meanwhile, arrests of demonstrators continued elsewhere.

Chicago police reported that dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested Saturday afternoon for criminal trespassing at the downtown Art Institute. According to police, demonstrators set up an encampment at a garden on the Art Institute property Saturday morning and barricaded and locked the gates. The encampment was cleared by Saturday evening, police said.  

Police broke up a demonstration at the University of Virginia. Campus police called it an "unlawful assembly" in a post on the social platform X.

Photos on social media showed police in tactical gear removing protesters from an encampment on the Charlottesville campus. Authorities have not said how many people were arrested.

About a dozen protesters who refused police orders to leave an encampment at New York University were arrested early Friday, and about 30 more left voluntarily, NYU spokesperson John Beckman said. The school asked city police to intervene, he added.

NYPD officers also cleared an encampment at The New School in Greenwich Village on the request of school administrators. No arrests were announced.

Another 132 protesters were arrested when police broke up an encampment at the State University of New York at New Paltz starting late Thursday, authorities said.

And nine were arrested at the University of Tennessee, including seven students who Chancellor Donde Plowman said would also be sanctioned under the school's code of conduct.

The movement began on April 17 at Columbia, where student protesters built an encampment to call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

Over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there. Israel launched its offensive after Oct. 7, when Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.

In:
• Palestine
• Hamas
• Israel
• College
• Protests
• Gaza Strip
• Protest
• University of Michigan
• Michigan