Anti-Israel demonstrations at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) continued into their sixth consecutive day on Monday, May 6. A non-student organization calling itself the People’s School for Gaza held demonstrations at multiple locations on UTK’s campus.
The group announced a meeting at 9 a.m. ET in an initial Instagram post and moved across campus throughout the day. By 1:50 p.m. ET, demonstrators had moved to the lawn of the Student Union, according to a post later in the day.
The Tennessee Star sent a direct message to the People’s School of Gaza Instagram account inquiring what the group’s plans are for the coming days and whether it is connected to any official student organizations but received no response by press time.
Monday’s demonstrations follow a previous gathering by the People’s School of Gaza on the night of Friday, May 3, when UTK administration warned the demonstrators that camping on state property is a felony and that police would enforce the law, the school’s student newspaper The Daily Beacon reported at the time.
Despite the warning and the groups’ continued presence on campus property for another hour, no arrests resulted.
The Star sent an email to UTK’s communications office inquiring why no law enforcement arrived but did not receive a response by press time.
Demonstrations on UTK’s campus started on Wednesday, May 1 when the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held a vigil outside a campus building, The Daily Beacon reported at the time.
The group also made a series of demands of the school, including that it disclose its investments in Israeli entities, divest from all corporations it construes as supporting “occupation,” and cease the school’s Israel study abroad program, according to an Instagram post from SJP.
After SJP reportedly disbanded the event at 1:00 p.m. ET, a separate group that included non-students gathered and eventually settled outside the university’s College of Law building. This gathering saw the appearance of the People’s School for Gaza.
By press time, SJP did not answer a direct message from The Star asking whether it has been involved with any of the subsequent demonstrations.
The demonstrators stayed there through early Thursday morning when school police officers and Knox County Police showed up and dispersed the crowd after UTK administration warned students that they were violating state law, The Daily Beacon reported.
However, demonstrations apparently continued through Thursday, May 2, until nine people — seven students and two people who were not affiliated with UTK — were arrested by police in the evening after administration warned that protesters who stayed on campus property after 9 p.m. ET would be in danger of arrest, WBIR reported.
The Daily Beacon reported that the students who were arrested were soon released and would be disciplined by UTK.
A group of protesters reportedly assembled around noon the next day. The Daily Beacon reported that the school’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace held an event.
After police presence failed to materialize after warnings from the university on Friday, May 3, the crowd dispersed.
Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on X/Twitter.
Photo “Palestinian Flag” by People’s School for Gaza.