Alongside fellow protesters, a DePaul University senior lived in one of a sea of small tents on the quad for a little over two weeks, until police on Thursday cleared out the — the last one standing on a Chicago-area college campus. To the 22-year-old peace and conflict studies major, the campus protests against the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza and its ensuing have been inherently connected to university protest movements of the past, with echoes of student uprisings against the Vietnam War and other conflicts throughout history. “There are so many historical parallels to be drawn, from not only the strategies of organizers and the demands of organizers but also the responses of administrations,” said the DePaul student, who wanted to be identified only by his first name, Ethan, for fear of harassment or reprisal.
“I don’t think we can separate ourselves from the struggles of the past.” The of many university officials has been particularly reminiscent of widespread college leadership opposition to anti-war demonstrations during the Vietnam era, said Ethan, who described himself as an anti-Zionist Jew and a member of the DePaul student group Jews 4 Justice. A similar encampment was dismantled by police at the earlier this month.
U. of C. students and alumni also briefly occupied the university’s Friday to protest the war and demand the university divest itself of financial assets tied to Israel, but the demonstrators were removed by university police.
DePaul officia.
