Amsterday 6

May 20, 2024 • 11:15 am

I arrived in Amsterdam a week from yesterday, and left yesterday, so I had six days of work+vacation, two of which were occupied by work.  It was certainly an eventful week, tooling around Amsterdam when the weather was mostly beautiful and warm, making lovely new Dutch friends, giving a talk, and being deplatformed for the first time, which I intend to write about for another venue. (Stay tuned.) I also had good Dutch food, went to a great concert by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and met Toon, a black cat who drinks by putting his head, back, and paw under running water and then licking off the drops. Today’s installment will report on my final adventures.

First, though, I want to thank my hosts—now my new Dutch friends—who put me up, fed me, took me around, made arrangements for my talks and ran interference for The Great Deplatforming. They were a great bunch! Given the Cancel Culture of Amsterdam, I won’t name them or show their photos (save for the ones with whom we re-enacted our deplatformed discussion on video), but they know who they are.

First, Toon, the only Dutch cat I know, a friendly fellow with that weird way of drinking water. Because he’s black with thick fur (he’s part Maine Coon, I’m told), he likes to keep cool by lying on this shaded chair in the garden:

Toon’s owners have a collection of old Dutch tiles. These four have a cat painted on them, and it’s not a very good likeness of a cat. Look at the horizontal whiskers, the teeth sticking out, and, above all, the human-like face.  These were probably about 200 years old, and you’d think that they would have learned to paint cats by then!

Here is a genuine pair of wooden shoes actually used by a human: one of my hosts.  I did not try them on. These, windmills, and tulips are the archetypal symbols of Holland.

Beginning spot for a walk downtown. This is the Central (railroad) Station of Amsterdam, the way to go anywhere and the terminus of many tram and bus lines as well.  There were tons of boat tours going on (tourist season in Amsterdam is now all year long), and the canals were clogged with these boats.

“Our Lord in the Attic”  (Dutch original name below ) is a hidden Catholic church constructed in the upper three stories of an Amsterdam home. It was built at a time when the city was Protestant but when Catholic services were still allowed—so long as they were not out in the open. As Wikipedia notes, the church. . .

is a 17th-century canal house, house church, and museum in the city center of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Catholic Church was built on the top three floors of the canal house during the 1660s. It is an important example of a “schuilkerk”, or “clandestine church” in which Catholics and other religious dissenters from the seventeenth century Dutch Reformed Church, unable to worship in public, held services. The church has been open as a museum since 28 April 1888, and has 85,000 visitors annually.

It apparently functioned as a church for about two hundred years. This is the sign in the entry, which also shows the church itself (better photo below):

The church is located on the top three floors on the building at the extreme right; photo was taken from the other side of the canal.  As you can see, there’s no sign of a church.

Before you climb up to the church, you go through the regular house downstairs, owned by the guy who gutted the top three floors to build the church.  There’s thus a slice of upper-class Dutch life to see as well. Here’s the kitchen stove with a cooking “burner” on top of it.

The kitchen has many of the original tiles, including skating (I think), kite-flying, and cats. Here are some examples:

I think this is skating but I’m not sure:

Is this a cat?

The owner’s “box bed”. I was told that the Dutch slept sitting up back then, fearing that lying down while sleeping could lead to death:

The toilet for the regular house. If you lift the lid there’s a hole, but I don’t know where it goes (probably down to the canal).

The interior of the church, which occupies the top three floors. It’s a complete Catholic church, with one altar room (with a Mary statue), a confessional, and a room for the priest to change clothes.

It’s not large, of course, and you can see the vertical beams and crossbeams necessary to hold the whole thing up, since gutting three floors would cause serious weakening of the structure. Hidden in the altar is also a clever fold-out lectern from which the priest could expound after the services.

The confessional. You would kneel in the right room, and talk to the priest in the left room through a wooden screen:

Two views of the church organ:

The priest’s bed, also a box bed:

On the walk home there was not one but TWO stores that sold rubber ducks. It’s very curious but they were doing big business. Here’s one of the two stores:

There were ducks representing all avocations and professions; you can see business ducks, German ducks in lederhosen, academic ducks, chef ducks, and so on.

The interior, with a myriad of quackers:

This must be a John Lennon duck, but touting geese. (BTW, we passed the old Amsterdam Hilton, when John and Yoko had their “bed-in” right after they were married in 1969, using the even to promote world piece.

There was also a “Cannabis Museum”, and I think I went into a similar one on my last visit to Amsterdam. They don’t sell weed there; for that you must go to a coffee shop. If you’re looking for the stuff in Amsterdam, I’m told that any “Coffee Shop” in which “Coffee” uses the English spelling, also has cannabis. (“Coffee” in Dutch is spelled “koffie”.)

And of course these are ubiquitous. Even if you don’t think you’d like french fries the Dutch way, served with mayonnaise, give it a try. I now like them even better that way than with catsup:

Nearby was the famous Dam Square, one of the few large open squares in the downtown. This year it was filled with protests—not only pro-Palestinian protests but Tamil protests from Sri Lanka, Falung Gong folks from China, and even vegans.  Here’s one anti-Israel display. Note the Star of David with a skull in it and the misspelled “westers imperialism”:

We stopped at a small cafe outside of town for a beer and lunch. I was told that if I wanted something really local, I should try “Bitterballen,” which Wikipedia says are actually pretty complicated to make. They are. . . .

. . . . a Dutch meat-based snack, made by making a very thick stew thickened with roux and beef stock and generously loaded with meat, refrigerating the stew until it firms, and then rolling the thick mixture into balls which then get breaded and fried. Seasonings in the base stew usually include onions, salt and pepper, parsley and nutmeg.

You dip them in mustard. The outside is crispy but beware: the inside is piping hot. Inside is a beefy mixture with the texture of mashed potatoes. They were very good, especially with a beer.

And an appropriate picture taken the day before I winged my way home. This is a beautiful Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) hanging around the cafe, perhaps hoping for a snack.

So it’s farewell to the Netherlands, though I’m sure I’ll return.  Thanks again to all my friends who took a lot of trouble to show me around and introduce me to Dutch (and Balinese) cuisine, arrange for my talks and for a video re-do of The Deplatformed Discussion, take me to hear fine music, show me signt of touristic interest, and let me meet a cat who drinks weirdly.

The University of Toronto encampment has a ceremonial fire; head of Sonoma State University in California suspended for deciding on an academic boycott of Israel

May 20, 2024 • 8:30 am

This message was sent to students at the St. George campus (the downtown branch) of the University of Toronto. The message doesn’t stand out insofar as college actions or capitulation to protestors’ demands, goes, but it does combine two of my favorite subjects: college free speech and indigenous knowledge. Only in two places—Canada and New Zealand—could you find such a mixture.

The students at St. George apparently had an encampment, and students were informed that occupying Tent City (Ville de Tentes) constituted trespassing and they were asked to leave, but the University says it’s also determined to end the encampment peacefully.  Since the students aren’t leaving, the encampment continues.

Click on the headline to read, but go to the May 16 update—the latest one. The ceremonial fire is in the forth paragraph:

Here’s the message:

Dear U of T community,

University representatives met again yesterday with students representing those at the encampment. This meeting is the latest in a series of discussions that have taken place.

The discussion was constructive and productive. Much of the focus at the meeting was on discussing the students’ demands.

The University and student representatives have worked together to mitigate the prior concerns regarding sanitation. Moreover, the ceremonial fire inside the encampment is burning under the careful supervision of experienced Indigenous Firekeepers in a manner that suits the unique conditions of the site. We continue to discuss signs and language and emphasize how important it is that they be consistent with the spirit of peaceful protest.

We aim to reconvene soon. We recognize that our entire community has a stake in this matter. Our next community update will be sent early next week, and all updates continue to be posted on the UTogether site.

Our goal remains the same: to find a peaceful and sustainable conclusion to the encampment on Front Campus as soon as possible, in line with University principles and policies.

Sincerely,

Christine Szustaczek
Vice President Communications

There’s a ceremonial fire! Well, it’s better than some acts of the entented, including violence and defacing buildings. Let’s hope the Indigenous Firekeepers are sufficiently experienced and that the tents aren’t flammable.

As of the next day, the encampment remained; here’s a news video from May 17. The encampment (on the St. George campus) appears to be surrounded by a sturdy fence, which means entry is controlled and there’s a part of campus where non-protesters aren’t allowed or welcome.

The President of the University of Toronto had previously responded to protestors’ demands, but the response was basically “no”: the U of T refused the demands to boycott and break off contacts with Israeli Universities, and also refused to divest from Israeli companies because it adheres to a Kalven-esque principle of institutional neutrality in investing:

. . . . . the University’s Policy on Social and Political Issues with Respect to University Divestment notes in its opening Preamble that “As a general matter, the University does not take positions on social or political issues apart from those directly pertinent to higher education and academic research.” Accordingly, “the University will not consider proposals for restrictions on its investments that require the institution to take sides in matters that are properly the subject of ongoing academic inquiry and debate.” It further notes, as a corollary, that the University’s response to any requests for divestment “must be governed by the fundamental place of diversity of opinion within its community. Except in those situations in which the University must settle on an answer to controversial questions about how best to achieve its academic mission, the University risks abandoning its core values if it takes sides in ongoing debates and is perceived to be advancing a specific political or social position.”

That’s an admirable policy. If only the University of Toronto had the same kind of institutional neutrality for speech and official university policy and announcements!  There are a few more points about investing, like the one below, but they’re above my pay grade.

Notwithstanding the above fundamental points, let me make clear that the investment of the University’s endowment, which is comprised of endowed gifts to the University, is managed by the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM), and does not hold any direct investments in companies. The Expendable Funds Investment Pool (EFIP), consisting of expendable gifts and working capital, holds direct investments in fixed-income products, but not in company securities.

The video above reports that the U of T is pondering creating an institute of Palestinian Studies (a form of bias that may be illegal) and creating two faculty chairs in Palestinian studies. My guess is that these demands won’t be met, though the protesters have given the University a June 30 deadline to meet their demand (or what?)

*************

Note as well that meeting protestors’ demands, including academic boycotts, can be dangerous to one’s career (and, I suspect, will give birth to many lawsuits):

The president of Sonoma State University in California was placed on an indefinite leave of absence two days after he sent an email to the university community announcing that he had acceded to campus encampment organizers’ anti-Israel demands.

Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee issued a statement on Tuesday informing SSU students, faculty, and staff that, after standing for 19 days, the anti-Israel encampment on the university’s lawn had achieved at least one of its goals: an academic boycott of Israel.

He went on to address the new academic boycott:

SSU will not pursue or engage in any study abroad programs, faculty exchanges, or other formal collaborations that are sponsored by, or represent, the Israeli state academic and research institutions. SSU also commits to immediately updating any SSU pamphlets and SSU-hosted websites that may still be circulating or searchable and to remove hosting or linking to any pamphlets, flyers, or brochures advertising the study abroad program where students are encouraged to study abroad in Israel. SSU will make it clear to any students that any such programs are terminated until further notice and not simply suspended.

. . . . California State University chancellor Mildred García, who oversees the state’s public university system, wrote in a statement on Wednesday that Lee’s decision to accede to protesters’ demands had not been approved by any entity with authority over the school.

“On Tuesday evening, Sonoma State University President Mike Lee sent a campuswide message concerning an agreement with campus protesters. That message was sent without the appropriate approvals,” García wrote. “The Board’s leadership and I are actively reviewing the matter and will provide additional details in the near future. For now, because of this insubordination and consequences it has brought upon the system, President Lee has been placed on administrative leave.”

Insubordination!

I have landed (home)!

May 20, 2024 • 7:25 am

I left Amsterdam yesterday at 11 a.m, and arrived home about an hour later, taking into account of course the different time zones (the cities are seven hours apart). The flight was uneventful, though the food and movies were even worse than usual are for United.

The only event worth remarking on is that I took a BIG FALL on the plane when they darkened it during the flight and I had to go to the restroom.  There were two lavatories, one on each side of a center cubicle behind me, and the one on my side was occupied. To get to the other one, I had to “cross over”, which mean creeping against the outsside back wall of the cubicle so as not to disturb the man who was sleeping and spread out across five seats.

Mission accomplished, I crept back but when I got to my aisle I tripped and fell face-first into the video screen and tray table of the seat on the other side of the aisle (it was the first seat behind a gap, so the table and video were protruding from the armrest.  It was a hard fall that laid me out, and people stood up gasping, thinking I had collapsed or at least injured myself badly.

But I didn’t. I scraped up my legs and wrists (somehow you can scrape your leg badly without ripping black Wranglers jeans, and my face hit on the right side, so that my upper teeth cut pretty badly into my lower lip, where I now have a huge and bloody bruise.  But no teeth were loosened, and it was just a bad tumble. The problem was that it hurt to eat, so I forewent comestibles after that.

I’m much better now after having spent much of yesterday afternoon with a bag of frozen peas on my jaw.  But, as the Aussies say, “No worries.”  I’m home now, and have things to do. Posting should be almost back to normal tomorrow, so bear with me. I do my best.

Monday: Hili dialogue

May 20, 2024 • 3:34 am

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili can see things we can’t:

A: Hili, there is nothing there.
Hili: There is an idea which requires an immediate deconstruction.
.
.
In Polish:
Ja: Hili, tam nic nie ma.
Hili: Tam jest idea, która wymaga natychmiastowej dekonstrukcji.

Sunday: Hili dialogue

May 19, 2024 • 1:44 am

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is being a literary critic:

Hili: It’s a good book.
A: How do you know?
Hili: You can’t put it down.
.
.
In Polish:
Hili: To dobra książka.
Ja: Skąd wiesz?
Hili: Nie możesz się od niej oderwać.

Amsterday 6

May 18, 2024 • 11:00 am

Sadly, I’m leaving tomorrow morning to fly back to the states, but all my work got done. Though we were deplatformed by the Betabreak group at the University of Amsterdam (now bleating that they really did it for “safety reasons”), the three of us plus a moderator managed to professionally tape our discussion on the Ideological Erosion of Science in a private and “safe” location. The discussion went well, and it should be on YouTube in about a week. My talk in Tilburg seemed to go okay, too, so the formal part of my commitment has been satisfied.

Today we went around downtown, which was crazy with tourists. It was a Saturday and a lovely day, but apparently there is no time of year now when Amsterdam isn’t overflowing with tourists: American, Asian, and European. If you come, get your tickets to the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, and Van Gogh Museum as early as you can—preferably a few months.

I took a bunch of photos today, including Palestinian protestors in the citty, a “hidden” Catholic church built when Amsterdam was largely Protestant, a rubber duck shop, some typical Dutch food, and other marginalia.  Those will be up when I get back home, so today I’ll show photos from yesterday.  Much of the day was spent creating the discussion we were supposed to have at the University of Amsterdam on the Coyne and Maroja paper.

Setting up for the videotaping (photo by David Stam, standing on left). Seated to right: Maarten Boudry, a philosopher at the University of Ghent, me, Geert Jan van’t Land, one of my hosts and the moderator, and Michael Richardson, professor of evolutionary developmental biology at the University of Leiden. Standing at right, one of Stam’s taping assistants; I don’t remember his name. Maarten was a collaborator on the only philosophy paper I’ve ever written on anything.

Below: another Stolperstein I encountered walking to an evening concert.  These, you’ll recall, are placed in front of the houses of people who lived there but were taken away by the Nazis and sent to their deaths in the concentration camps. So spare a thought for Victor Romun, taken away from his house on September 25, 1943 at age 56, sent to the holding camp at Westerbork in the Netherlands and then sent to Auschwitz, where he lived only four months, dying (or murdered) on January 31 of the next year.

Yesterday evening we went to a wonderful concert at one of the world’s great venues for classical music, the famous Concertgebouw.  As for the building, Wikipedia notes:

The Royal Concertgebouw (Dutch: het Koninklijk Concertgebouw, pronounced [ətˌkoːnɪŋkləkɔnˈsɛrtxəbʌu]) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term “concertgebouw” translates into English as “concert building”. Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston’s Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.

The acoustics truly were superb. We had great seats about 15 rows back in the middle of the floor, and it sounded as if we were surrounded by music.

The Concertgebouw is in the Museum Quarter, and here’s a panoramic photo of the area, showing not only the concert building, but the van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. You’ll have to click twice and scroll to see it properly:

The concert program, which was wonderful, with Vilde Frang, a young Norwegian violinist, doing the long Shostakovich violin solo. I loved the concert even though I’m no expert in classical music.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on stage, ready to go. It’s considered one of the world’s finest orchestras.

On the way home I saw THE WORLD’S SMALLEST CAR, or at least one that appears to be. It holds only a single person, and I suppose could be seen as a covered motorcycle:

Finally, a typical Dutch food, Hagelslag, known in America as “sprinkles,” and used to top cakes and cupcakes. In the Netherlands, however, it’s a common topping for buttered toast for breakfast. Here’s what was in front of my plate. I had heard of it, so of course I tried it.

My crude translation of the Dutch, with some expert help:

“Did you know that Hagelslag is a typical bread covering in the Netherlands, and that it is not sold in other countries? And that in Belgium Hagelslag is known as ‘mouse turds’?”

I may be a bit off here, but not by far.

My morning toast with Hagelslag. It wasn’t bad at all, though I prefer jam:

Tentifada has returned to Chicago to disrupt Alumni Weekend

May 18, 2024 • 8:00 am

As I predicted, since the encamped pro-Palestinian protestors didn’t get their way during the Encampment (no demands were met, and the tents were removed and thrown into dumpsters), they would return this weekend, which is Alumni Weekend: alums come back to relive their old days, and there are all kinds of events for them. Sure enough, the protestors returned yesterday, illegally occupying a University building, marching, and engaging in various acts of vandalism.  They say they are not members of University of Chicago United for Palestine (UCUP) or Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), both organizations of students, but are a “group of young alumni.”

This is going to look bad for the University. As normal, the University is allowing legal demonstrations of free speech, but they are not arresting protestors who trespass or engage in vandalism. This lack of punishment is a recurring theme of the pro-Palestinian protests at our school, and is going to come back and bite the University on the tuchas.  As I’ve said repeatedly, if there’s no punishment for legal violations or abrogation of University rules, this stuff will continue

Here’s the Chicago Maroon‘s report of the protestors’ occupation of the Institute of Politics (IOP) building, along with the paper’s real-time reports from yesterday. I’ve thrown in a few tweets and a photograph taken by a colleague.

From the Marroon: click to read:

Pro-Palestine protesters have occupied the Institute of Politics building on South Woodlawn Avenue. After a rally on the Midway, pro-Palestine protesters marched north and turned into the Institute of Politics building.

Protesters brought chairs into the building, locked doors, and spray painted security cameras as they entered the building.

They were followed by a line of marked and unmarked Chicago Police Department cars.

Chicago Police Officers and University of Chicago Police Officers were on site attempting to remove protesters from blocking the street.

A protester installed a tent in the backyard. Five UCPD officers arrived shortly after, taking away the tent materials. They were seen arguing with protesters in the backyard.

Protesters began chanting, “From the River to the Sea; Palestine will be free.”

An organizer with Student for Justice in Palestine (SJP) said that SJP was not involved in organizing the occupation of the IOP.

And from the Chicago Maroon real-time updates last night:

May 17, 4:54 p.m.

UCPD have entered the Institute of Politics, removing protesters from blocking the doors.

—Maroon Staff

May 17, 4:58 p.m.

More than a dozen protesters are exiting the IOP through the windows on the second floor.

Protesters were heard screaming in the backyard and alleyway.

UCPD officers appeared through the window after the last protester jumped out.

— Maroon Staff

May 17, 5:10 p.m.

Two UCPD officers with shields entered the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, which is adjacent to the IOP.

Officers are currently stationed on all sides of the IOP backyard.

Protesters are now setting up two tents in front of the building.

From the Maroon:  Protesters set up tents in front of the IOP building. (Finn Hartnett)

May 17, 5:20 p.m.

An organizer with UChicago United for Palestine said that the occupation was organized by an unaffiliated group of alumni.

UCPD officers are no longer entering the IOP. Protesters are blocking off the side entrance to the IOP using chairs from Neubauer. Two CPD officers have exited Neubauer.

— Maroon Staff

May 17, 5:40 p.m.

In their Telegram channel “Disrupt U of Chicago,” organizers messaged “Bring your sleeping bag, we’re staying” at 5:11 p.m.

Six minutes later, organizers shared a statement in the channel called “Bring the Intifada Home” from “a crew of protesters holding down the Casbah of Basel Al-Araj, formerly known as the institute of politics at the university of chicago [sic].” Bassel al-Araj was a Palestinian activist, writer, and author. In 2016, he was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and charged with planning attacks against Israel. A unit of Israel’s police force killed al-Araj during a gunfight in 2017 as they attempted to enter his house.

“We’ve liberated the Institute of Politics – a breeding grounds for politicians, bureaucrats, non-profit functionaries alike to come to learn to say the right things while meting out violence and devastation on oppressed, colonized people,” the statement said.

“We target the university of chicago for both its current complicity in the genocide of Palestinians and its past: inventing neoliberal economics and enabling the Chicago Boys to be puppet masters of bloody, authoritarian rule from Pinochet’s regime in Chile and beyond, creating the first nuclear reactor, violently displacing and policing Black communities with the nation’s largest private police force of UCPD.”

A second part of the statement is titled “Statement of Principles from the Liberated Casbeh of Basel Al-Araj” and lists six points.

“We must escalate our actions against all governments, institutions and corporations who participate in, profit off of, and enable genocide,” the first point reads.

“We have nothing to gain by working with government, cops, or the administration. We do not negotiate. We do not share information about each others’ identities. We do not seek permission to act. We lean on each other – not the state in any of its forms- for radical care, safety, and support,” another point reads.

The statement does not mention points and demands that UCUP has often mentioned during past rallies, such as that the University acknowledge the bombing of Gazan universities or that it divest from companies with Israeli ties.

— Maroon Staff

The frat boys strike back again!:

May 17, 6:20 p.m.

After the Iron Key fraternity began playing U.S.-themed music, three protesters walked towards the fraternity house and began pulling flowers from the fraternity house’s front lawn. One of the protesters carried a brick from the flower bed away with them.

A significant UCPD and CPD presence remains in the area around the IOP building.

— Maroon Staff

May 17, 6:12 p.m.

The Iron Key fraternity, formerly known as Delta Upsilon, has begun loudly playing the American national anthem from their fraternity house. The protesters are responding by loudly chanting “D.U., fuck you.”

Protesters have pitched four tents in front of the IOP.

— Maroon Staff

May 17, 6:41 p.m.

A man who declined to identify himself alleged that a pro-Palestine protester walked onto the front lawn of the Rohr Chabad Center—located across the street from the ongoing encampment—while holding a brick.

“You walk on to [a place for] Jewish life and learning with a brick? It’s intimidating,” the man said.

The man claimed the protester “pushed a girl friend of mine” before another protester called him a “racist pussy Jew” after seeing him speaking to the police. The man is currently filing a police report with UCPD.

— Maroon Staff

More vandalism:

May 17, 7 p.m.

Two UCPD officers were briefly in foot pursuit of accused perpetrators who spray-painted “ACAB,” an acronym of the slogan “All cops are bastards,” onto the front of a UCPD segway. The officers then spoke with Iron Key brothers who witnessed the act.

UCPD officers are attempting to identify the individual responsible for the spray paint.

— Maroon Staff

(From the Maroon): Protesters spray painted the front of the UCPD vehicle. (Eli Wizevich)

A photo taken by a colleague:

Demonstrators have hung an effigy of University President Paul Alivisatos depicting blood on his hands from a tree with a noose.

Protesters are gathered in front of Neubauer chanting “No justice, no peace.” Roughly 12 CPD officers are in a line on the street in front of Neubauer.

— Maroon Staff

Effigy of President Alivisatos with bloody hands; photo and caption from The Maroon:

Protesters outside the IOP hung an effigy of University President Paul Alivisatos. (Finn Hartnett)

May 17, 8:10 p.m.

Protesters later began dismantling the barrier in the back alley themselves. Some protesters threw chairs and other furniture in the direction of UCPD officers.

Protesters are chanting, “Pigs go home” and “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”

— Maroon Staff

May 17, 8:04 p.m.

UCPD officers have begun dismantling a barricade that protesters built in the back alley of the Institute of Politics.

— Maroon Staff

May 17, 9:04 p.m.

In a message in its Telegram channel, UCUP said that some demonstrators “are preparing to stay the night” at the IOP. “There are a number of people who are going to stay and continue to hold the space,” the message reads.

They reiterated that the “UCUP are not the organizers” of the IOP occupation and thus “can’t provide more information.”

According to the message, UCUP is still planning to hold the events originally planned for Alumni Weekend.

“We will see you tomorrow at the UCUP events that were sent out earlier today,” the message ended.

— Maroon Staff

Screenshot of a tweet from Shadi Bartsch, a professor of classics here and also the widow of ex-President Bob Zimmer, a President who never would have tolerated this sort of disruption. She’s very angry!

Note the demands, especially #2. I’ll explain #5 below.

 

As for point #5 above, one of my colleagues consulted Wiktionary and found this meaning:

From fuck +‎ 12, of uncertain origin. Widespread use of the phrase as an anti-police slogan grew following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Tweets don’t seem to be embedding today, so I’ll use screenshots when there isn’t a video. But in the video tweet below, a student is upset that they’ve painted red handprints around the alumni area. Click. on the link to go to tweets.

https://x.com/contratyranny/status/1791562027195842744?

Parents: love your children so they don’t grow up to be disruptive protestors:

https://x.com/ContraTyranny/status/1791649880114434126

Apparently the threat of jail brought the protestors out of the building like rodents fleeing a sinking ship.  This is how deterrence–real deterrence–works:

https://x.com/ContraTyranny/status/1791645987108159908

A statement from the protestors, which I’ve put below as well

https://x.com/RealTStevenson/status/1791636336446672963

The IOP has been renamed the “Casbah of Basel Al=Araj!! Note that “Bring the Intifada home” is an explicit call for violence, as an “infitada” is a period of violent terrorism used as resistance. Also: “we do not negotiate” and “we must escalate”. Doesn’t look good for graduation on June 1!

A tweet from one of our pro-Palestinian professors from the Divinity School, who’s been participating in the demonstrations and was one of the two faculty arrested after the admissions office sit-in last fall::

Click to read it, or click on the statement below the tweet:

Click to enlarge if you can’t read it:

Well, there are two more days left in Alumni Weekend, and they will be disturbed by the protesters.  Yes, some of the speech will be “free” and legal, but one wonders whether the protestors think they’re advancing their cause by being so aggressive this weekend. They surely won’t affect the war in Gaza, and they’re not going to bring alumni over to their side. They are performatively acting out their anger, and at the same time trying as hard as possible to avoid arrest for acts of civil disobedience.

As for their failure of the Un iversity arrest students or give them meaningful disciplinary  sanctions when violating University rules, I think it’s shameful. Will any Jewish parent send their children here?

And of course there’s graduation in about two weeks.