ORONO — Dozens of students rallied for Palestine at the University of Maine Friday.
The protest follows threats President Donald Trump posted on social media earlier this month to stop all federal funding for universities that allow what he called “illegal” protests.
The president said the cuts would be for colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism.
Trump’s post also stated that “agitators will be imprisoned or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested.”
On Friday, the Trump Administration pulled $400 million in grants and contracts with Columbia University in New York for allowing pro-Palestinian protests.
Friday’s protest in Orono was organized by UMaine’s Jewish Voice for Peace, and those involved said the high turnout reflects the school’s current place in the national spotlight.
“The Title IX investigation by the USDA threatens over $100 million in funding and the pulling of the Sea Grant by the NOAA pulls about $4.5 million in research funding,” said Talia Cullum, president of UMaine student chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. “The White House is targeting the University of Maine, and it’s hurting students.”
The Department of Commerce has since agreed to renegotiate funding for Maine Sea Grant.
The protest began on the steps of the Fogler Library before students marched around the campus.
Students carried signs asking the University of Maine System to financially divest from Israel.
“We’re here to call on the University of Maine System Board of trustees to divest from companies found complicit in funding the apartheid state of Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians,” said Cullum. “We are trying to get the board of trustees to fight for issues from a student perspective.”
Students previously issued six demands to the school:
- The public disclosure of all investments in the statewide holdings portfolio
- Financial divestment from all Israel-based companies and companies doing business with or in Israel
- Discontinue partnerships with companies they say are “proven to equip Israeli weapons and technology systems”
- End all academic ties with Israel
- Offer a public acknowledgment of the “magnitude of the tragedy in Palestine and adopt the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism
The list of demands was signed by 13 student organizations.
In a December letter, Board Chairperson Trish Riley addressed the students' demands.
“It is not the role of the UMS Board of Trustees to take a position on matters of foreign policy, rather it is our role to ensure Maine’s public universities provide a place for difficult conversations to respectfully occur among those with diverse viewpoints,” wrote Riley. “There was consensus among our committee that to take a position on your demands would effectively shut down opportunities for conversation — including about the horrors of the conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere — and in doing so, undermine our educational mission.”
Additionally, a UMS representative tells Spectrum News that the board has already addressed demand number one last spring by providing “detailed disclosures related to its investments to students and other interested parties,” and that Chair Riley’s letter addresses demand number five.
“We strongly condemn all forms of violence and discrimination, of course including antisemitism and Islamophobia,” wrote Riley. “We also join you in mourning the loss of life in the Middle East and in conflicts around the world, as well as the loss of access to educational opportunities because of war and prejudice.”
Additionally, several individuals voiced their support for the board’s decision not to take positions on foreign policy during a January meeting.
“It would be a serious mistake for USM to involve itself in international conflicts, as this would only create division within our local community,” Portland Rabbi Levi Wilansky said during the meeting. “A basic test for antisemitism is whether Jews are being treated differently from others. Singling out Israel, the only Jewish country in the world among all other countries that are involved in worse conflicts, is inherently antisemitic.”
Speaking to the protest itself, a UMS representative said in a statement that the school system would protect the students’ free speech.
“The University of Maine System believes in free speech. We will continue to be unequivocal in protecting and promoting that Constitutional right, which also includes the right to free expression and free assembly, provided those activities do not violate the law, threaten public safety or disrupt our universities’ ability to operate,” the statement reads. “We also believe that with that fundamental right to free speech also comes the opportunity and the obligation to listen.”
The statement goes on to say that the school is “proud” that campus protests have been peaceful.
“Even when they have been protesting actions taken by our System’s leaders, we're proud that protests at our public universities have been peaceful,” the statement reads. “And we have confidence that members of our campus communities will continue to demonstrate respect for one another and for the rule of law.”
