Students protest at University of Utah commencement ceremony
Update, 6 p.m.: Protestors met before the University of Utah’s commencement ceremony to hold a pro-Palestinian rally.
One person was arrested toward the beginning of the rally, and according to the university, charges for that person are pending and stem from Monday’s incident.
Additionally, the university said that person is not affiliated with the school.
Though the University of Utah police, Unified police, and Utah Highway Patrol were all in attendance, the university said those who chose to walk out of the commencement ceremony would not be arrested if they remained peaceful.
ORIGINAL STORY: SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A University of Utah student group is planning a walkout during Thursday night’s graduation commencement ceremony as part of the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests that started on campus earlier this week.
In an Instagram post, Mecha de U of U called on students, graduates, faculty, staff, and commencement attendees to walk out during the speech of Taylor Randall, the university’s president.
“Taylor Randall turned his back on students,” the post said. “Turn your back on Taylor Randall.”
RELATED STORY: 19 arrested, officer injured during pro-Palestine protest at University of Utah
The commencement event is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at Huntsman Center. Before this, Mecha is planning to hold a rally at the arena at 5:30 p.m. as attendees will be filing in.
In a statement, Randall said that 8,652 students will graduate from the university this week, which has so far been marked by protests on campus involving hundreds of people. Mecha is the group that organized these demonstrations.
“I ask our campus community to support our graduates by expressing views in a dignified, peaceful, and legal manner,” Randall said, referring to commencement night.
University spokesperson Chris Nelson said that while the walkout protest isn’t expected to become unruly, the university’s police force is on standby. He noted that commencement attendees are restricted in what they can bring inside Huntsman Center.
Nelson also disagreed with Mecha’s assertion that the university’s president “turned his back” on students.
“In fact, this university exists to support students,” he said. “We are on the side of students regardless of where they stand politically. We want them to have a great experience here, graduate and go into the world and be successful.”
Soledad Martinez, who graduated Thursday morning, took note of the increased security at the arena.
“I noticed so many officers,” she said, adding that at first it made her nervous. “But overall they were just there congratulating me a lot, so I was like, OK, great!”
During the first night of protest on Monday, police arrested 19 people, none of whom were part of Mecha. The following day, a student organizer was arrested, and protesters followed them to the Salt Lake City Metro Jail.
According to the university, five of the 20 people arrested this week were current students, one was a current employee, and 14 were “unaffiliated.” Per jail records, most were booked for trespassing, disorderly conduct, and failure to disperse.
In his statement, Randall said those arrested this week violated school policy by putting up tents on campus, which is against both state law and university policy.
“At the University of Utah, you have an absolute right to express your opinion,” Randall wrote. “You do not have the right to violate law or university policy.”
Like other protests at college campuses across the nation, the protesters in Utah are calling for the university to cut ties with Israel and companies that might supply weapons in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
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