A prominent sign that welcomes students to Wayne State University’s campus was splattered in red paint on Wednesday to symbolize “the blood of innocent Palestinians” after the school refused to divest from companies linked to Israel, a popular activist group said Thursday morning.
The “W” sign, which sits on the edge of campus off of Warren Avenue, was power-washed by the university on Thursday morning, a day after the university’s Board of Governors avoided pro-Palestinian activists by holding its first virtual meeting since the closures of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wayne State’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJPWSU), an activist group that is calling on universities nationwide to divest from corporations that deal with Israel, posted a photo and video of the vandalized sign on Instagram and sent the university a message.
“Whether you like it or not you will be held accountable - because the university is the PEOPLE’S university,” the group wrote Thursday morning. “BOG we see you, you have blood on your hands. The blood of Palestinians won't wash off as easy as the W. From the belly of the beast - no justice, no peace.”
“BOG” refers to the school’s Board of Governors.
The group, which did not directly take credit for the graffiti, also admonished the university for resorting to physical force to remove peaceful pro-Palestinian activists from a Board of Governors meeting in April and using heavy-handed tactics to chase activists away from an encampment on campus on May 30.
“Wayne State is stained with the blood of innocent Palestinians with their refusal to divest from genocide,” the group wrote. “The admin would rather brutalize students, community members, and faculty that are the lifeblood of the school. By having their lOF trained pigs rip off hijabs, attempting to fire faculty for speaking up, and moving its meetings online to silence us, Wayne State has made it clear it is no more than a glorified hedge fund.”
Wayne State spokesman Matt Lockwood tells Metro Times that the university removed the graffiti “first thing this morning” and that campus police hope to track down the culprits.
“WSUPD is reviewing surveillance video to try and identify who did it,” Lockwood says.
Faculty, alumni, and faith leaders have criticized the university’s handling of the protests, saying Wayne State has a diverse student body and should be a beacon of free speech rights. Some faculty and staff have also called for the resignation of WSU President Kimberly Espy.
During the encampment, university officials promised that the Board of Governors would listen to activists and consider their proposal to divest. Instead, the elected board dodged activists by moving its public meeting to virtual on Wednesday, once again drawing condemnation. The university also moved the public comment period from the beginning of the meeting to the end, making it impossible for students and others to address issues on the agenda, including the budget, before they were voted on.
In early June, pro-Palestinian activists vandalized the Southfield law firm of Jordan Acker, a Jewish member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents.
Acker condemned the graffiti as “antisemitic” because he was the only member of the Board of Regents to be targeted. The graffiti messages read “Free Palestine,” “Divest Now,” “UM Kills,” and “Fuck You Acker.” Red handprints were also left on the office’s doors.
