'A huge slap in the face': Pro-Palestine UVM students protest commencement speaker

Over 100 University of Vermont students rallied around the front steps of Howe Library on Monday to proclaim that Linda Thomas-Greenfield – the U.S ambassador to the United Nations and the university’s 2024 commencement speaker – is not welcome on campus.

The students' qualms with Thomas-Greenfield? While representing the U.S, she vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions advocating for a complete ceasefire in Gaza three times. Organizers of Monday’s rally, UVM’s branch of Students for Justice in Palestine, say this track record makes Thomas-Greenfield a “war criminal genocidaire.”

“It’s extremely inappropriate and a huge slap in the face, especially to the university’s Palestinians students, to have a figure like that welcomed to such an important ceremony,” said UVM student Alia Bhushan minutes before the rally against Thomas-Greenfield took place.

One of the rally’s many speakers, Palestinian-American Wafic Faour, encouraged graduates to walk out of the commencement ceremony if UVM does not remove Thomas-Greenfield from the guest list.

“You have a duty as a student, you have a duty as Americans not to feed this war,” said Faour, who is a member of multiple Vermont-based pro-Palestinian groups. “This genocide is coming out of your pocket.”

UVM faculty member Helen Scott echoed Faour’s sentiments.

“The U.S keeps generously funding Israel and the ambassador blocks attempts to call for a ceasefire, which the majority of the world wants,” Scott said.

“And they call you violent,” she continued, in reference to the nationwide wave of college protests against Israel’s actions during its war with Hamas. “They call students a threat to security when you’re actually standing up for peace and for humanity. You are the ones that should be honored by the university. You should be our commencement speakers.”

UVM’s commencement ceremony is slated for May 19. Should she continue as commencement speaker, Thomas-Greenfield is also posed to receive an honorary degree from the university.

UVM protesters enter day two of campus encampment

Monday afternoon’s rally occurred just a few feet away from an encampment of roughly a dozen tents set up on the grass outside Andrew Harris Commons.

UVM students, many of whom later participated in the rally, pitched the tents Sunday at 2 p.m. to ramp up pressure on the university to cut financial ties with Israel. Scott said local students have been inspired by the many other college encampments that have cropped up across the country within the last few weeks in protest of the Israel-Hamas war.

Joining the nationwide protests is not without its risks, however. Like some other college protesters, UVM students are in violation of university policy and risk suspension and/or being trespassers for camping on campus. Some schools – most notably Columbia University – have already cracked down on protesters.

UVM third-year student Cat Jones, who acts as a liaison between the college and protesters, said UVM agreed not to suspend any students who participated in the encampment on Sunday night nor consider them trespassers, but had yet to extend amnesty beyond Monday morning.

Despite the potential consequences, UVM students – who continue to stockpile food, water, blankets and other supplies – say they are prepared to stay put until the university agrees to their five demands regarding future conduct with Israel.

One of the demands is to remove Thomas-Greenfield as commencement speaker and reverse the decision to give her an honorary degree. The four others include divulging all financial investments within the college’s $800 million endowment; cutting ties with weapon manufacturers, Israeli companies and companies aiding the occupation of Palestine; agreeing to an academic boycott of Israeli institutions; and no consequences for participation in protests.

So far, Jones said, UVM has only agreed to disclose their financial investments.

UVM acknowledged the students’ rights to freedom of speech but expressed discomfort with their chosen encampment method.

“UVM values free expression as an essential component of higher education and civic life,” said Adam White, executive director of university communications. “Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to speak up and speak out, as long as they do so within the law and university policy, which places clear and reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on all campus activities.”

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Pro-Palestinian protesters say U.N. ambassador not welcome at UVM