By Marwa Barakat, Marijke Friedman, Sam Gauntt, Akshaj Gaur and Natalie Weger
University System of Maryland schools will only host university-sponsored events on Oct. 7, according to a university system news release on Sunday.
The announcement comes after thousands of people contacted the University of Maryland about a reservation of McKeldin Mall for an Oct. 7 event, according to a university spokesperson. This university’s Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters were scheduled to host the event.
After working with university administrations, student groups and campus communities, the university system decided to limit events held on Oct. 7 to those that “support a university-sponsored Day of Dialogue,” the news release said.
The decision comes nearly a year after Hamas killed at least 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages in an attack on Oct. 7, 2023, according to The Associated Press. Since then, Israel’s military forces have killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza, The Associated Press reported Sunday.
This university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter said in a statement to The Diamondback Sunday night that it “rebukes the actions of [this university’s] administration in canceling [its] reservation to hold a vigil on McKeldin Mall on Oct. 7.”
The organization said it planned the vigil to mourn Palestinians who have been killed, according to a statement posted on Instagram Saturday.
“We, as Students for Justice in Palestine, have every right to organize events and exercise our constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech,” the post read.
[UMD students honor people killed in Palestine with flag display]
In a statement posted on Instagram Sunday night, this university’s Jewish Student Union said the organization is “reassured” by the university system’s decision to no longer permit the planned demonstration.
“Only university-sponsored events will occur on Oct. 7,” the statement read. “While this is not an ideal situation, it ensures that our physical and psychological safety is protected on this day of grief.”
In a campus-wide email Sunday night, university president Darryll Pines said questions have been raised about student organization events scheduled for Oct. 7. Many calls have been made to cancel and restrict scheduled events, he said.
Pines requested a “routine and targeted” safety assessment for the planned events, according to his email. He also consulted with the university system, the email said.
“UMPD has assured me that there is no immediate or active threat to prompt this assessment, but the assessment is a prudent and preventive measure that will assist us to keep our safety at the forefront,” Pines wrote.
University officials spoke with impacted student groups about the decision on Sunday, according to the university spokesperson.
Pines encouraged the campus community to “mark the anniversary of Oct. 7 with remembrance and reflection.”
Any university-sponsored events on Oct. 7 will promote reflection, Pines wrote. Events that are not university-sponsored can be hosted prior to and after Oct. 7, according to the email.
[UMD increases security at annual Israel Fest and boycott]
The decision to limit Oct. 7 demonstrations to university-sponsored events across the university system comes on the heels of days of dialogue from community members.
A letter addressed to university system chancellor Jay Perman and university leaders including Pines, student affairs vice president Patty Perillo and senior vice president and provost Jennifer King Rice opposed the planned Students for Justice in Palestine event. The letter said some community members “are concerned about actions that [this university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter] has already been allowed to take this year.”
It requested the university send trained observers who can shut down the Oct. 7 event if “any mention of Israel as an apartheid state” occurs, among other actions the letter said “contribute towards a hostile environment for the Jewish community on campus.”
More than 11,000 people sent a separate letter sponsored by the Islamic Maryland Action Network urging university administrators to protect free speech rights and not “cave into attempts to silence student activism” for Palestine.
The university system said in the news release that its decision does not intend to “abridge students’ right to free expression.”
“Reserving Oct. 7 gives us a chance to continue these urgent conversations and to mark this solemn anniversary in a way that gives students — all students — the time and space to share and to be heard,” the news release said.
