Beverly Wendland, Provost 

Andrew Martin, Chancellor 

Anna Gonzalez, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Rob Wild, Dean of Students 

Nicole Gore, Associate Dean for Student Conduct and Community Standards

On Saturday, April 13, a coalition of students and community members led a peaceful disruption resulting in 12 arrests and 3 suspensions. The protest was in response to ignored demands from the university to divest from Boeing and for university administration to condemn the inconsolable brutality being committed by the Israeli settler state’s regime against Palestinians, which include, but are not limited to:

• Regular execution when seeking out aid at the Kuwait roundabout (CNN "Attack kills 20 and injures 155 at Gaza food aid point, as Israel denies responsibility" )
• Targeted airstrikes and bombing of RESIDENTIAL buildings, SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, and MEDICAL FACILITIES (most recently, the raid and burning of al-Shifa hospital) (United Nations, "Gaza: ‘No protection’ for civilians, aid workers, Security Council hears", United States, "Gaza war: ‘Direct hits’ on more than 200 schools since Israeli bombing began")
• Assassination of 7 foreign aid workers with the World Central Kitchen, as well as over 196 aid workers since October  (BBC "Who were the World Central Kitchen Workers Killed in Gaza?")
• Orphaning of tens of thousands of Palestinian children and the slaughter of over 12,000 more (United Nations, "Gaza: Number of children killed higher than from four years of world conflict" )
• The massacre of over 32,000 people in Gaza as of March 13, 2024 (United Nations, "Gaza: ‘No protection’ for civilians, aid workers, Security Council hears")
• The forced ethnic displacement of over 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza (United Nations Population Fund, "UNFPA Palestine Situation Report" )
• Targeted killings of medics, children, and disabled individuals (which are all considered violations under customary international law)

WashU students have long been advocating for the university to cut ties with Boeing, refusing to be complicit in the military-industrial complex and giving dollars to manufacture weapons linked to civilian killings and genocides across geopolitical hotspots. Since last semester, students have hosted multiple pro-Palestine and anti-Boeing walkouts, teach-ins, and art installations calling on the university to divest from the corrupt corporation. On March 19, WashU’s student government further passed a resolution calling on WashU to cut all ties with Boeing, passed with a 15-5 majority. Still, administrators have neglected this call to action, refusing to respond to or communicate about widespread student demands to divest.

As a result, on April 13, student and community activists shut down an admitted students day event in Graham Chapel to protest WashU’s continued ties with Boeing. The chapel was cleared and families waited outside until the event was moved to another building, while another group of students led chants. WUPD and St. Louis County police arrived, ultimately citing 12 people for trespassing and disturbance. 

A few hours later, three students received notification that, effective immediately, they are temporarily suspended from the university as their “presence on campus poses a substantial threat to the ability of faculty and other students to continue their normal University functions and activities.” They are no longer permitted on campus.

The university’s disproportionate response to discipline student protestors, partaking in no violence whatsoever, is representative of the nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestine student activists witnessed at Pomona, Columbia, and Vanderbilt. The university’s suspension of non-violent student protestors is of particular concern, especially when considering that pro-Palestine students have been harassed, while those perpetuating harm have faced little accountability. Students involved in pro-Palestine organizing have received death threats, and one student has received a targeted email threatening their future career prospects. We question why WashU is so prompt when disciplining peaceful student protestors while neglecting to address active threats to pro-Palestine students’ safety. 

There is no clear procedure on the number of days within which Student Conduct cases must be filed, heard, and decided. Efforts to delay the process could preclude students from finishing the semester. 

We are deeply disappointed by the university’s punitive treatment of students and St. Louis residents who peacefully protested, particularly as administrators have failed to respond to repeated walkouts, petitions, and resolutions. We also condemn WashU’s decision to arrest and banish St. Louis residents for protesting the university’s exploitative relationship to the city.

We thus demand that all charges against the 12 arrested protestors be dropped. We further call on the university to immediately lift the suspensions of all students involved in the events of April 13 and permit them to finish the semester.