Demonstrators move protest off Pitt campus to Schenley Plaza

A group that includes University of Pittsburgh students began Tuesday occupying the lawn outside of the Cathedral of Learning to demand the school divest itself from war-related investment in Israel.

As the crowd grew throughout the day, the protest moved across the street to Schenley Plaza.

The students announced their action and said it is “in solidarity with students at the University of Columbia, Yale, MIT, Tufts, Emerson College, NYU, The New School, the University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, Vanderbilt University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who are advocating for Palestinian liberation.”

Pitt officials confirmed that about 25 people, including some not affiliated with Pitt, had taken up positions on the lawn Tuesday afternoon between the 42-story Cathedral and the William Pitt Student Union, across Bigelow Boulevard. The crowd grew to about 100 people by 4:30 p.m.

Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters occasionally engaged one another, but the demonstrators were peaceful. There were no arrests as of 5 p.m.

“City police and campus police in conjunction asked the protesters to move to Schenley Plaza. They agreed to do that,” said Pitt spokesman Jared Stonesifer. “They will be allowed to pitch tents there.”

Demonstrators indicated a desire to stay until Friday, and they would be allowed to do so, he said. The plaza, adjacent to Hillman Library and across Forbes Avenue, is on city property just off campus.

Protesters throughout the afternoon sat on blankets and yoga mats and wielded signs, some of which blamed the Biden administration for Palestinian civilian deaths. Another sign read: “Stop the Genocide. Free Palestine.”

“I’m here primarily to fight for the people of Gaza in any way that I can,” said Morgan Wadsworth, 21, a Pitt junior from Austin, Texas, majoring in political science and history. “I feel it’s the least I could do to show the people of Gaza that we are listening.”

In a different part of the crowd, David Wilmes, a pro-Israeli demonstrator who said he is from Squirrel Hill, addressed the protesters through a bullhorn at times. He said he wanted Pittsburgh “to be in peace.”

Pro #Israelis talks to Pro #Palestinian at site of a per-Palestinian demonstration in from of Pitt University in #Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/WWp8VQhO4c

— Massoud Hossaini (@Massoud151) April 23, 2024

The demonstration comes as pro-Palestinian protests have swept college campuses in recent days, sparking arrests at schools including Columbia University and Yale University.

The attacks by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians were followed by an Israeli military campaign including bombings inside Gaza that has killed thousands.

Tuesday’s statement by the group at Pitt accuses the university of being “complicit in the crimes of genocide, scholasticide, ecocide and land theft.

“We will not stand idly by as the University of Pittsburgh willfully neglects the plight of the Palestinian people,” it read. “Pitt students call for divestment from companies complicit in apartheid, occupation and genocide within the Consolidated Endowment Fund, a public statement by the university condemning the genocide in Gaza, and for Pitt to cut ties with Israeli Universities in the midst of the ‘Scholasticide.’ ”

The protest comes ahead of Sunday’s undergraduate commencement at Pitt and as prospective students are making decisions for fall 2024.

“Until the University of Pittsburgh and Chancellor Joan Gabel stop hiding behind bureaucracy and cut financial ties with corporations funding the genocide in Palestine, we will continue to protest. We hope this demonstration reaches all of the prospective students who are touring campus this week,” the statement read.