MAY 16 • 2024 | 23
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Auditorium to a grinding halt,
graduating Wolverines, Jewish
or not, were hoping that the
university administration would
have had a better handle on
making sure that this long-an-
ticipated commencement day
would go off without a hitch.
Weeks before graduation, a
pro-Palestinian encampment
grew on the Diag, making it dif-
ficult to traverse, especially for
those with mobility issues.
There have been reports of
extremists in the group verbally
assaulting Jewish students walk-
ing by. Though they have com-
plained and filed reports with
the university administration,
the particpants at the encamp-
ent have not been questioned of
investigated about the alledged
harassment of Jewish students.
The week leading up to gradu-
ation, protesters spray-painted
the “M” with the colors of the
Palestinian flag and also van-
dalized the sign of the Michigan
Union to read: “Michigan Kills.”
Days before graduation, the
U-M administration emailed
the entire university communi-
ty, listing guidelines and expec-
tations at graduation. The state-
ment informed visitors to cam-
pus about the presence of the
encampment on the Diag and
the school’s values of upholding
free speech and dissent.
It read: “During the ceremo-
nies, deans, directors and speak-
ers will generally be patient
if lawful and relatively minor
disruptions occur. If a program
is significantly impeded, we will
ask for your patience as we take
steps to de-escalate and address
the situation.”
The university’s commence-
ment website listed flags and
banners of any kind as prohibit-
ed items.
At the beginning of the cer-
emony, about 100 pro-Pales-
tinian students unfurled large
Palestinian flags and banners

calling for the university to
divest from Israel and “
All
empires will fall” and tried
to make their way up to the
podium. Witnesses said that
they appeared to time their
moment to begin the protest
just as Carlos Del Toro, the 78th
Secretary of the Navy, got up
to administer the swearing-in
oath to a group of ROTC Naval
cadets. At that moment, a plane
flew over the stadium carry-
ing a banner that read: “Free
Palestine. Divest from Israel.”
Witnesses said the protesters
were moved to the back rows
of where the graduates were sit-
ting. From there, they persisted
in shouting calls for intifada and
accusations that President Santa
Ono was committing genocide
throughout the two-hour cere-
mony.

PROTESTERS WERE LOUD
Benny Shevsky of West
Bloomfield, who will soon be
moving to New York City to
begin his career in investment
banking said upon entering the
stadium, all students had to go
through metal detectors — just
like any event — and they also
had to open their gowns for
security. He sat with his friends
on the field in a row about 5-10
rows from the last row of grad-
uates.
“Someone said they saw the
pro-Palestinian students had

taped their flags, folded into a
tiny square, into the inside of
their clothing so it could not be
found,” Shevsky said. “When
they all got up and began to
make their way to the stage,
they were moved to the area
where I was sitting.”
Shevsky said the pro-Hamas
protesters continually shouted
slogans like “From the River to
the Sea Palestine will be Free”
and “Long live the intifada.”
Shevsky said that broadcast
media such as CNN falsely
reported that the protesters
were removed from the stadium
but, in reality, they stayed the
entire time.
“I missed most of the key-
note speech (by novelist Brad
Meltzer) because I could not
hear him over the shouting,”

Shevsky said. “My friends and
I were upset and emotional.
Ultimately, we had to move to
hear better, but we could still
hear (the protesters) no matter
where you moved in the stadi-
um.”
Zach Goldstein, an account
buyer for a musical artist book-
ing agency from Boca Raton,
Fla., said the university had
been “terrorized” in the weeks
leading up to graduation. He
echoed the ire of many of his
other Jewish classmates. He
said something he and his fam-
ily had waited for, especially
after not having a high school
graduation, had been ruined.
He commented that the tim-
ing of the protest during the
swearing-in of Naval cadets was
“un-American.”

continued on page 24

Debbie
Goldberg of
Rochester, New
York, with her
son Samuel
Zarkowsky

Samuel
Applebaum
of New York,
center, with
friends at
graduation