(The Center Square) – University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce issued a lengthy blog post on Tuesday in response to last week’s disruptive protest that abruptly ended a Board of Regents meeting.
“As we begin another year full of learning, discovery, and service to the community, I want to reiterate the obligations we have to our community and to each other to enable that tradition to continue – especially in light of the discord and conflict we are experiencing in our nation and across the globe,” she stated in her opening.
She went on to note that “Being exposed to ideas that challenge us and our beliefs is important for our learning and growth.”
An Instagram post from UW Divest For Palestine ahead of the meeting hinted at potential chaos.
Protesters from the group interrupted speakers at the Board of Regents meeting, to the point that the chair of the board adjourned the meeting.
“They were repeatedly interrupted and even shouted down by some protestors,” Cauce noted in her blog. “The disruptive conduct continued despite multiple warnings to stop, which forced the Board to adjourn its meeting, thus disrupting important University business.”
UW Police are still investigating but confirm the arrest of one man in connection with the protest. The man has no apparent affiliation with the university.
Outgoing UW Board of Regents Chair David Zeeck and Incoming Board of Regents Chair Blaine Tamaki issued a statement on the incident.
“The Board condemns these actions as antithetical to free dialogue and disrespectful of other UW community members,” they said. “The Board and the University will always prioritize safety and the free exchange of ideas and offered support to those who were shouted down and others who were scheduled to speak.”
The tension comes as the fall quarter is about to begin on Sept. 25 and follows weeks of protests, vandalism, and a campus encampment set up by anti-Israel protesters last spring.
“Neither the university nor the regents are willing to crack down on these people,” said UW Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Cliff Mass during a Tuesday interview with The Center Square. “That was true last school year, and it appears to be continuing.”
Mass, who is Jewish, said he fears the protesters and outside activists will pick up where they left off.
“It was so disturbing what happened, including attacks on Jewish students,” said Mass, who detailed an incident involving a Jewish student.
“I talked to one student who had an Israeli flag torn out of his hands,” he said. “It was torn up and burned and they pushed him to the ground, so they are willing to cross over to violence. Hopefully, they won’t tolerate it this year, but we don’t know yet.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, the UW was able to get last spring’s encampment removed after agreeing to meet some demands of the protesters.
Cauce released a three-page agreement with leaders of the Popular University for Gaza encampment that said in part, “UW will open a Center for Scholarship of Palestine, convene a military industrial and labor task force and have representation on a divestment committee.”
UW leadership also agreed to waive tuition for 20 displaced students from Gaza.
“I don’t know if they’ve actually done it, but the fact they would say they would do it is disturbing,” Mass said. “A violent people destroying the campus, and the administration was willing to give in to that kind of violent pressure.”
Mass said what happened last spring was devastating for everyone on campus.
“It’s not just Jewish students that are impacted, it’s everyone,” he said. “When you have graffiti all over the place and loud demonstrations in buildings, it’s beyond just affecting Jewish students. It was a lot for everybody.”
Cauce’s post spelled out how the university plans to deal with any upcoming protests.
“If and when protest activities become disruptive, inciting or are accompanied by the destruction of public resources, we will first and foremost take action to protect people’s physical safety,” she wrote. “We will also take whatever action is necessary and appropriate to allow the University to continue operations and serve our teaching, research and service mission.”
Cauce announced in June that she will step down from her leadership role at the conclusion of her second five-year term in June 2025 – a transition that has been planned for several years with the UW Board of Regents – and return to her faculty position.
