The University of Michigan (U-Mich) claims that, “Expression of diverse points of view is of the highest importance, not only for those who espouse a cause or position and then defend it, but also for those who hear and pass judgment on that defense.” However, U-Mich has reportedly failed in their duty to protect its Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students who oppose the genocide in Gaza from hostile prejudice and bigotry. U-Mich administration refused to promote discourse and political dialogue when these students protested the universities’ investments in Israeli companies funding the genocide. Instead, university administrators have weaponized university policy and disciplinary procedure to deflect students’ peaceful acts of civil disobedience and have used law enforcement to punish student protesters, creating an utterly hostile environment for academic free speech and open inquiry.
Creation of a Racially Hostile Environment
Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students have been subjected to an utterly hostile campus, one seemingly perpetuated by the highest levels of university leadership. In October 2024, the Michigan chapter of CAIR filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) against U-Mich, due to credible concerns that the university is actively ignoring its obligations under Title VI. The complaint cites a seemingly leaked audio by a student coalition in which U-Mich President Santa Ono apparently said: “The government could call me tomorrow and say in a very unbalanced way, ‘The university is not doing enough to combat antisemitism.’ And I could say, ‘It’s not doing enough to combat Islamophobia,’ and that’s not what they want to hear. So, the whole situation is not balanced.”
The reported audio recording confirmed what had long been suspected: that there was a reported push to ignore the experiences of Muslims and Arabs on campus. For instance, the university allegedly refuses to remove hateful and derogatory anti-Palestinian posters that have been glued around campus in areas generally not permitted to hang public postings. One professor reportedly had been covering posters related to Palestine, another hijab wearing student was reportedly harassed and followed, and students who were calling for a ceasefire in Palestine were threatened. One U-Mich board member, Carin Ehrenberg, was recorded verbally harassing Muslim and Arab students and to one student, she asked, “Are you going to send one of your terrorists after us?” During the interaction, Ehrenberg is also seen attempting to confiscate the student’s phone and yelling “rapists and murderers” to students protesting nearby. A letter signed by over 100 faculty, staff members, and students and sent to Interim Dean Elizabeth Yakel called for the dismissal of Ehrenberg from the Advisory Board and the removal of her name from scholarships. Dean Yakel reportedly did not take any retaliatory actions against Ehrenberg.
The audio, if true, appears to strongly suggest that incidents of Islamophobia such as these are being actively ignored by U-Mich, which reportedly makes the university in violation not only of obligations under law but also of obligations under the Resolution Agreement that the university signed with the DOE earlier this year. Leading up to that resolution, the OCR reviewed 75 instances of alleged discrimination and harassment at U-Mich based on shared Jewish ancestry and shared Palestinian or Muslim ancestry and found “no evidence that the university complied with its Title VI requirements.” At the time, the university agreed that it would take measures to ensure that reported incidents of discrimination were reviewed and investigated. The recently leaked recording strongly suggests that the university is failing to take its obligations to protect all students from racial and ethnic discrimination seriously.
Arbitrary University Policy to Suppress Student Voices
In response to anti-genocide protests, the university has seemingly sought to silence all forms of student activism. Following a March 2024 protest in which students opposed the university’s investment in companies profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, an email sent to the campus community contained a draft of the Disruptive Activity Policy, a new policy that would reportedly “sanction students for any policy deemed disruptive to university operations or facilities.” U-Mich faculty, students, and staff objected to the policy. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan commented that the proposed policy would impair civil liberties on campus.
During a July 18, 2024, meeting, the U-Mich Board of Regents and President Santa Ono made significant changes to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities, bypassing traditional procedures for input from the campus community. These amendments were approved without discussion and centralized power within the administration, allowing the university to initiate complaints and disciplinary actions without student or external oversight. The changes also accelerated timelines for students to respond to accusations and drastically limited the appeals process by seemingly centering critical decision-making and placing control in the hands of a single administrator. Reportedly, student appeals to complaints are now reviewed exclusively by Martino Harmon, Vice President for Student Life, and not by an appeals board originally composed of a U-M student, faculty member, and administrative staff member. These seemingly deliberate policies outwardly diminish student civil rights, limit due process, and threaten student autonomy, creating a hostile environment of censorship and fear for all students.
Intimidation through Police Brutality
Beyond disciplinary procedures, U-Mich has also resorted to apparent intimidation through police violence and brutality. In May 2024, U-Mich administration authorized police brutality against anti-genocide voices who were peacefully protesting via a Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Students reported that officers used pepper spray and tear gas against protesters inside the encampment as well as made several arrests at the scene. One student protester recounted, “the police forcefully dragged me by the arm, threw me to the ground, kneed me in the lungs and handcuffed me.” She also said: “They slammed my forehead and chin forcefully against the ground, which caused a long-lasting and extremely debilitating concussion as well as injuries to my neck and jaw.” Despite the peaceful nature of student protests, the university reportedly pushed Michigan Attorney General, Dana Nessel, to charge student protesters. Sources with knowledge of the decision reportedly told The Guardian that U-Mich’s Board of Regents asked AG Nessel to take cases against student protesters, after they were “frustrated by local prosecutors’ unwillingness to crack down” on anti-genocide students.
On October 7, 2024, students held a walk-out protest at the Rackham building to demand that the U-Mich Board of Regents divest from companies profiting from Israel’s genocide of Gaza. During the protest, U-Mich officers arrested an individual who stated, “a single policeman just ran up to me and just snatched me and a bunch of other policemen followed suit. (During) this entire process, I felt I was targeted … they did not arrest anyone else doing the exact same thing.” Police officers evidently pushed aside, blocked off, and pepper sprayed U-Mich community members who did not move out of the vehicle’s path. “I want the people of this university to know that because the police arbitrarily use violence against us and they surveil us so extensively, this means that no student is safe,” the arrested student said.
