University of Utah faculty pen letter criticizing protest response, ask for divestment from Israel

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SALT LAKE CITY — Over 200 faculty have signed an open letter to University of Utah President Taylor Randall a week after a pair of pro-Palestinian protests led to 20 people being arrested at the Salt Lake City campus.

Included in the faculty's many requests is a plea to halt the police presence at the protests and that the university form a committee of students, faculty and representatives from administration to examine the U.'s investment portfolio and recommend a divestment strategy from those profiting from the war in Gaza and grant amnesty to student organizers of recent protests.

"On Monday, April 29, a peaceful student-led protest on our campus was met with a violent response from police in riot gear. We vehemently object to this unprovoked and unwarranted use of force against students and community members exercising their right to free speech," the open letter states.

Last week, a day after the first protest, the university issued a statement reiterating its "support of free expression" but the open letter said some faculty are "deeply concerned about the lack of regard for the safety of our students and community."

It went on to express support for student's decisions to set up encampments on campus — pointing out how the university encouraged overnight camping for ESPN's College Gameday in October 2023, saying "encampments are permissible when the University deems them so," but was now deeply concerned about the lack of regard for the safety of our students and community.

On April 30, after the second night of protests, Randall released a statement that said, in part, "At the University of Utah, you have an absolute right to express your opinion. You do not have the right to violate law or university policy. It is unlawful to set up structures or camp overnight on university property."

"Peaceful protests met with police retaliation, or the threat thereof, creates a chilling effect that stifles free expression, which undercuts the University's mission. We reject the threats of suspension for students and termination for faculty and staff, designed to deter free expression. We urge the university administration to both accept and embrace our campus as a democratic space of peaceful protest," the letter continues.

The letter went on to encourage the university to establish a "safe and permissible" zone for encampment and requested transparency regarding the role university administration played in the police response to the protest, asking for assurance that future protests won't be met with "police violence."