The graduation ceremony of the University of Michigan was marked by a significant demonstration staged by supporters of Palestine.
The protestors made themselves heard, waving flags and chanting slogans such as “Israel bombs, UMich pays!”
”That’s going on all over and University of Michigan isn’t spared either,’’ said a student who witnessed the demonstration inside the campus.
The University of Michigan protest on Saturday is considered part of a larger movement at major American universities where students are staging encampments and blockades to protest the institutions’ silence on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
During the ceremony, a number of students made a statement by walking out wearing keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress, to applause from their peers.
‘During the ceremony, several students chose to exit the event donning keffiyehs which is a traditional Middle Eastern headdress,’’ said another student referring to the protest. She added that their actions were met with applause from fellow students.
In a contrasting display, a plane flew over the university with a banner reading: “We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter.”
Protests at the University of Michigan and other universities across the US reflect international concern and divided opinion about the ongoing conflict.
The students’ actions are described as an attempt to draw attention to the war and pressure their institutions to take a stand. But the contrasting messages of the protesters and the banner flying over the university highlights the complexity and divisiveness of the issue.
