Detroit college suspends in-person classes due to pro-Palestinian camp | World news

Wayne State University in Detroit suspended in-person classes on Tuesday and asked employees to work from home to avoid potential problems with a pro-Palestinian camp that sprung up last week.

“All on-campus events are cancelled until further notice. Critical infrastructure workers are expected to report to campus,” the university said in a statement around 5:30 a.m.

Matt Lockwood, spokesman for Wayne State, said there were “public safety concerns,” particularly regarding access to certain areas.

On Tuesday, two dozen tents were set up on a grassy area near the student library. Participants crowded in as police and private security guards watched nearby. Two portable toilets were full and unusable.

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“Yes, we have told the organizers several times to clear the camp, but they have refused to do so,” Lockwood said.

Wayne State has 16,000 students, but fewer in the summer semester.

Protest camps sprung up all over the USA and in Europe: Students demand that their universities initiate the stop Doing business with Israel or companies that support the country’s war in the Gaza Strip. The organizers want to amplify calls for an end to Israel’s war against Hamas, which they describe as genocide against the Palestinians.

Wayne State University President Kimberly Andrews Espy said senior officials offered to meet Tuesday if the camp was cleared by Monday evening, but the offer was declined. The school posted a video of the offer on YouTube.

“This is a joke, brother,” said an unidentified man in the camp.

Vice President Patrick Lindsey said Wayne State’s investment policy would be publicly discussed at a meeting of the university’s board of directors on June 26.

The University of Michigan disbanded a similar camp on May 21 after 30 days.