Some fear University of Michigan proposed policy on protests could quell free speech efforts

A University of Michigan proposal aimed at deterring disruptions on its Ann Arbor campus after anti-Israel protesters interrupted an honors convocation is sparking backlash from free speech advocates.

Violations of the policy, which has yet to be implemented, could result in suspension or expulsion for students and termination for university staff.

The March 24 protest by groups calling for the school to divest from companies linked to Israel is among a number of demonstrations on college campuses across the United States in which students and organizations have taken sides — in support of Palestinians or of Israel — as Israel continues its 6-month-long war in Gaza against Hamas.

University of Michigan President Santo Ono said in a letter to the campus community that the protesters who disrupted the annual honors undergraduate graduation ceremony “brought profound disappointment to students, parents, grandparents, siblings, and other relatives and friends.”

“We all must understand that, while protest is valued and protected, disruptions are not,” Ono wrote. “One group’s right to protest does not supersede the right of others to participate in a joyous event.”

“It was painful for everyone who had gathered — and especially so for members of our Jewish community,” Ono added.

The Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas left 1,200 people, mostly civilians, dead. Militants took roughly 250 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s response to the attack has been devastating. Bombardments and ground offensives have killed more than 33,600 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded over 76,200, the Gaza Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

The war has ignited a humanitarian catastrophe. Most of the territory’s population has been displaced, and with vast swaths of Gaza’s urban landscape leveled in the fighting, many areas are uninhabitable.

Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, which calls itself a Palestinian solidarity group, posted on social media that students shut down the University of Michigan convocation to demand the school divest from Israel and “war profiteers facilitating genocide.”

The Associated Press left emails this week seeking comment from organizers of the protest.

Some University of Michigan students walked out of classes on April 4, protesting the school’s ties to Israel and the planned policy, which, among other things, would prohibit disrupting speakers or performers. Students violating the policy could face reprimand, disciplinary probation, restitution, removal from a specific course, suspension or expulsion.

Staff members violating the policy could face misconduct allegations, and the school “may institute discipline, up to and including termination.”

The policy, if enacted as is, would apply to all students, employees, contractors, volunteers and visitors who engage in disruptive activity.