School of the Art Institute of Chicago students who set up camps at the North Garden of the Art Institute of Chicago to join the nationwide college protests in solidarity with Palestine yesterday were arrested by the Chicago Police Department.
On Saturday morning, the students announced the encampment on their Instagram page, calling it THE PEOPLE’S Art Institute.
Some of the demands of the students included “divestment from all entities and individuals financially supporting the Zionist occupation of Palestine” and “acknowledge the ongoing massacre of Palestinians in Gaza”.
Within hours of their protest, CPD showed up and after some hours, the police started arresting the students who were in the encampment area.
F Newsmagazine is still waiting for a statement from the organizers of the protest. According to an Instagram post from the organizers, several protesters have been released, though not everyone is out.
This is the first time CPD has executed this level of mass arrest since the pro-Palestine protests encampments began in Chicago. Around 2,300 people have been arrested at pro-Palestinian protests on at least 49 college campuses across the country over the last two weeks.
The Art Institute of Chicago issued the following full statement about the protests:
The Art Institute of Chicago respects a group’s right to peacefully protest without harming staff and visitors. Today, a group of individuals, including some SAIC students, began a protest in the museum’s North Garden, and as it progressed, protesters surrounded and shoved a security officer and stole their keys to the museum, blocked emergency exits, and barricaded gates. The protest also began to escalate on Michigan Avenue outside of the museum. Because our priority is the safety of our employees, our visitors, and our collection, protesters were offered an alternative location to continue their protest on campus that would be safer for all involved, and they did not accept that relocation offer. During multiple rounds of negotiations, SAIC student protesters were promised amnesty from academic sanction and trespassing charges if they agreed to relocate. The School also agreed to meet with a student group to discuss their demands. After approximately five hours, an agreement could not be reached. The Chicago Police Department ended the protest in the safest way possible, and we estimate that approximately 50 people were arrested.
This is a developing story.
