Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up at college campuses across the country and now in Sewanee.
At the University of the South, protests began early on Tuesday, April 30. On Wednesday, May 1, six students remained on top of the university’s All Saints’ Chapel.
“We are not lifting our occupation of All Saints’ Chapel until our demands are met or we’re forcibly removed,” said Xan Mihalas, a student at the University of the South.
They’re requesting that the university discloses where their $400 million endowment goes, as well as demanding the university divests in companies that manufacture weapons used against Palestinians.
A statement from the university reads, “The University of the South supports the constitutional right to assemble and to speak freely and strives to create an environment where these rights can be safely and peacefully exercised—as is happening currently. On the specific issues raised by the protestors, the University is having conversations with the group and is listening to their concerns.”
