On May 15, eleven pro-Palestine demonstrators were arrested on trespassing accounts outside the UT College of Law. Three of those are confirmed to be students at the university, and they will be referred to student conduct, said a statement from the university. Those unaffiliated with the university will be handled by law enforcement.
The demonstrators, under the name the People’s School for Gaza, have been gathering on UT’s campus for the past three weeks. A first round of arrests was made May 2 after nine demonstrators violated the Outdoor Facility Usage for Authorized Events policy.
Since then, UT administration has communicated with the group that they must reserve university grounds in order to continue gathering on campus.
The People’s School for Gaza has reserved space in front of the Student Union between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. The time, place and manner policies for this reservation are updated weekly by UT administration to protect the group, and the university holds that no policies have changed without clear communication.
“We did it a week at a time. Before it expired last week, we put new ones in place, but it was the same,” said Vice Chancellor of Communication Tisha Benton. “Same hours, same place — we just extended it another week. Their space is still available.”
On Wednesday evening, the group had plans to participate in a vigil for Nakba Day at the location their demonstrations began: outside the College of Law. The move back to that original space was made to reflect where the People’s School for Gaza was created, according to demonstrator Adrien Johnson.
After gathering by the steps outside the College of Law, the group was given a 10-minute dispersal warning by Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Allen Bolton, as they were on unauthorized ground.
Eleven demonstrators decided to stay in front of the College of Law to continue chanting, and shortly after, the arrests were made.
Those arrested were processed through the Knox County jail and have already been released.
The university provided The Daily Beacon with a statement Thursday morning.
“The university has repeatedly communicated about following policies, including regarding the time, place and manner for holding events, to the protest group leaders and provided signage at their reserved event space,” the statement said. “Administrators and UTPD provided personal warnings on May 15 that violation would result in trespass citation and arrest.
“Despite these clear and repeated warnings, several members chose not to vacate the area and were arrested for trespassing. Eleven group members were taken into custody, including three students and eight people not affiliated with the university. Any student arrested will also be referred to student conduct.
“The University of Tennessee respects individual’s rights to free speech and free expression and is committed to managing the campus for all. We will continue to be guided by the law and university policy, neutral of viewpoint.”
The group has plans to host an “emergency car caravan” Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. on Grand Avenue to “defend” their vigil, according to the People’s School’s Instagram page.
Required reading
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