Vanderbilt students arrested, suspended at rowdy protest over anti-Israel ballot initiative
Some Vanderbilt University students protesting the administration's removal of an anti-Israel, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiative from the student ballot have been suspended and arrested following an hours-long sit-in on Tuesday, according to reports.
An amendment to the Vanderbilt Student Government Constitution, which would prevent student government funds from going to certain businesses that support Israel, was removed from the student voting ballot, prompting nearly 30 students to march into the halls of Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier’s office to hold a sit-in, The Tennessean reported. Over 30 additional students at the university in Nashville, Tenn., were on the steps outside the building protesting for hours even though they faced threats of suspension and forced removal.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Vanderbilt University confirmed that all students "left voluntarily around 6 a.m. today after forcibly entering the building [see video] shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning," even though it was closed for ongoing construction and "clearly marked as such." All protest participants who breached the building will be placed on interim suspension, the university confirmed.
Some students proceeded to physically assault a Community Service Officer to gain entrance and pushed staff members who offered to meet with them, the university said. Student Affairs staff took a "graduated approach to de-escalate the situation," by first asking students to leave.
"After the students refused to leave, staff made them aware their actions violated university policy and that they would be subject to disciplinary action," the statement continued. "After several hours, the university began issuing interim suspensions. Students on interim suspension must leave campus immediately and may not return until further notice, pending the Student Affairs review process."
The amendment followed guidelines set forth by the national BDS movement to prohibit the spending of funds on businesses deemed "complicit" in what Israel's foes believe to be an illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. BDS has been decried by critics, including the Anti-Defamation League, as antisemitic.
The amendment, which had collected over 600 signatures and qualified for the ballot, was put forth by Vanderbilt’s Divest Coalition (VDC), which consists of 20 student organizations and over 1,000 students, according to The Tennessean.
The VDC has been posting updates to its Instagram page with the most recent post claiming four students had been arrested and 16 others suspended after "harassing, assaulting, abusing them for trying to exercise their free speech rights to advocate for Palestine." Other reports state three students were arrested and then released.
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Vanderbilt clarified that free expression and civil discourse are core values at the university, allowing "for members of the Vanderbilt community to protest and demonstrate regarding issues they care deeply about."
"Dozens of peaceful demonstrations have occurred over the past several months," the statement said. "In consideration of safety and the university’s normal operations, we, as a matter of policy, define time, place and manner limitations.
"The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority," the statement added. "The university will take action when our policies are violated, the safety of our campus is jeopardized and when people intimidate or injure members of our community."
Sophomore Sam Schulman, a member of the divestment coalition, told The Tennessean Tuesday afternoon, while he and his fellow students were still in the building, that they had no plans to leave.
"They gave us an ultimatum an hour and a half ago that we had 15 minutes to leave, but we’re still here!" he said. "The Chancellor saw us this morning and immediately left… Spirits are good up here. We’re not scared, we’re not deterred. Our demands are clear — we want the right to vote."
During the protest, a Nashville Scene reporter was detained outside the building after making repeated attempts to enter several doors of the administrative building, Kirkland Hall, before he was asked to leave.
"Yesterday’s protest at Kirkland Hall was not a peaceful one," Vanderbilt's statement said. "It began with the assault of a Vanderbilt community service officer and continued with protesters physically pushing Vanderbilt staff members with the hope of entering and occupying the chancellor’s office."
"As a result, the building remained on lockdown and members of VUPD were on high alert," the statement continued. "It is in this context that the Nashville Scene reporter, after repeated attempts to enter the administration building through multiple locked doors with signs noting the building was closed and being told by officers it was off limits, was eventually detained, arrested and released without charges filed."
In a video posted to social media, the reporter said he wasn't warned about staying off campus, the Nashville Scene reported. Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk said his office "will not prosecute a reporter for peacefully doing his or her job."
"It has long been the practice of Vanderbilt University to grant access to members of the media who request and receive clearance to be on campus," Vanderbilt's statement concluded. "In yesterday’s case, though the reporter made his presence known, he did not have permission to access locked administrative buildings, which are on private property."
Other videos of protesters berating a Black officer and calling 9-1-1 due to a girl's concerns about going into "toxic shock" because her tampon was in too long have gone viral online.
Vanderbilt University told Fox News Digital that this is an evolving situation with updates to come as there are new developments.