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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

