University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) arrested one protester in the McNamara Alumni Center minutes after the Board of Regents approved a resolution restricting institutional speech during their Friday meeting.
Lieutenant Erik Swanson said the protester was arrested for trespassing. He did not comment on why only one protester was detained.
The adopted resolution authorizes University President Rebecca Cunningham to limit statements from groups of faculty members published on official platforms unless they address issues directly impacting the University. It was proposed in February and prompted concern and disapproval from numerous faculty members, citing the resolution as encroaching on academic freedom at the University.
Protesters filled the Board room chanting “shame” and calling the regents “cowards.” Faculty members placed blue tape on their mouths in protest, and protesters held signs.
Following the passing of the resolution, protesters began to chant, “This policy is not for us, Cunningham is not to trust.”
Multiple warnings to quiet down were given by Vice President for Student Affairs Calvin Phillips.
The resolution received mixed support from the Board, with Regents Robyn Gulley, Bo Thao-Urabe and Mary Turner voting against the resolution. The other eight regents approved the resolution.
Community members were concerned that the resolution would silence members of the University.
A Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) executive, who asked to remain anonymous, said the arrest is concerning given they were protesting how the policy limits their free speech.
“I really don’t know what to think,“ the executive said. “It’s arresting us to silence.”
Students for a Democratic Society, SJP and several other student groups planned the protest.
Max Vast, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a labor union representing public service workers in Minnesota, said their concern is that policies like this could affect the unions.
“A restriction of individual, or collective, or departmental, or group, or student or faculty speech is also a concern to us as union members,” Vast said. “Our fear is that these types of policies will also extend to the unions on campus.”
University Spokesperson Jake Ricker confirmed one individual was arrested for trespassing following multiple warnings from police but could not comment on why no other protesters were arrested.
“The University of Minnesota should be upholding the things that they teach their students about,” Vast said. “You know, activists rights and the history of this country, and the protest movement.”
JH
Mar 18, 2025 at 4:54 pm
It is incredibly disturbing to see how few people in this country actually understand the right to free speech. It is not boundless. It can be restricted by time, place and manner. Not all speech is protected.
Protesting on private property is not free speech. Supporting US designated terrorists is not free speech. Vandalizing property is not free speech. Blocking people from entering or exiting buildings is not free speech. Setting up an encampment without permission is not free speech. Harrassing and intimidating people is not free speech.
A lot of people need to go back and study civics before they go around screaming and crying about violations of their rights. While they are at it, they should also read the definitions of genocide, colonialism and apartheid because they clearly don’t know what those terms mean either.
Why is it that the most ignorant are always the loudest?
KG
Mar 18, 2025 at 9:19 am
Otto Sanchez – The point is who speaks for UMN not “free speech.” Recall that on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed a quiet border from Gaza into Israel, murdering 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 into Gaza’s tunnels. Within days, here at UMN, Israel was condemned for committing “genocide” in Gaza—a place where no Jews had lived for the past 20 years. Hamas terrorists committed mass rape, torture, mutilation, and murder in Israel, yet they were lauded as Palestinian “heroes.” Information from the fascist Gaza government was treated as “truthful,” while democratic Israel was viewed with suspicion—all under the banner of free speech.
At UMN, this “free speech” quickly devolved into intimidation and threats against Jews, including disruptions, encampments, demonstrations, shooting Hillel’s windows, disruption of UMN commencement and President Cunningham’s inauguration, and repeated interruptions of Board of Regents meetings—culminating in the Morrill Hall takeover. Now, on March 24, we are promised more of the same, this time over DEI, and inexplicably, “Palestine” (What, pray tell, does DEI have to do with “Palestine?”)
Faculty/Educators for Justice in Palestine (FJP) and their enablers are manipulating student groups like SDS and SJP to undermine the University’s mission of research and teaching. Consider how much energy and money have been diverted to the Israel-Palestine issue by students, faculty, staff, police, UMN security, and the city of Minneapolis. FJP is using “free speech” to control the agenda.
The publicly available AMCHA Initiative report (September 26, 2024) highlighted a troubling correlation between FJP’s campus presence and violence. Schools with FJP chapters were found to experience a 7.3-fold increase in the likelihood of physical assaults on Jewish students and were 3.4 times more likely to witness death threats or other violent threats compared to campuses without such chapters.
FJP-affiliated faculty were implicated in prolonging protests, with such activities lasting 2.5 times longer at schools where FJP is active. Encampments at these campuses lasted 4.7 times longer on average. Additionally, faculty on campuses with FJP groups were involved in 9.5 times more days of anti-Israel protest activities than their counterparts at schools without an FJP presence.
Otto, I urge you (and President Cunningham) to consult this report and ask yourselves whether an FJP-dominated U is what you want to see. So, yes, it’s a good thing that only the president will speak for UMN. It’s a first baby step.
Otto Sanchez
Mar 16, 2025 at 2:19 pm
I understand that a university can not take a side with a political party, religious institution, individual, country, or racial/ethnic group; it should, however, be openly active in supporting basic principles of civil and human rights. Universities should always oppose actions that prevent freedom of speech and human and civil rights violations. Universities should promote discussions of the most pressing issues affecting the university and the community. Universities should provide information explaining to the general public when there is false information accusing the universities of harmful practices. More specifically, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has been too silent defending its role in advancing research and education. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities should provide frequent and clear explanations to the community of the deleterious consequences of capping indirect costs at 15%. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities should organize seminars, symposia, and meetings with the communities to discuss the importance of freedom of speech and allowing people to express their opinions. It seems that the authorities at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities want to be silent in the hopes that the Trump administration will spare the University of Minnesota Twin Cities of the cuts to their budget. The silent approach is a submissive attitude that has never worked to defend civil and human rights. It is not the example the University of Minnesota Twin Cities should provide to its students and the community.
Angry Prof
Mar 16, 2025 at 10:24 am
Is it really unclear why this protester was arrested – they appear to be Black. And our university’s leadership and police force have often shown themselves to be racist.
KG
Mar 16, 2025 at 10:06 am
The Board of Regents’ new UMN speech policy is encouraging. We expect to see results in the removal of Gaza statements from CSCL, AIS, and GWSS platforms. There are other academic unit statements that must also be handled: Human Rights Program, March 20, 2024; RIDGS, April 29, 2024; Asian American Studies (AAS), Professor Richard Lee, May 8, 2024. This is a start, but it does feel that the Titanic has moved ever so slightly from its collision course with the iceberg. And I don’t mean Trump (Kamala would have had to act, too). What’s at stake, no matter the POTUS, is the University of Minnesota’s future as a great institution of learning.
Much more important than speech policy is to root out antisemitism at UMN. First, consider that the pernicious settler-colonialist narrative as it pertains to Israel-Palestine is being taught as “truth” in CLA classrooms. It falsely elevates “Palestine” to a moral pedestal and demonizes Jews and the people of Israel, turning them into “white” oppressors. This biased portrayal fosters rampant antisemitism at UMN. Generations of students are being indoctrinated with this oversimplified and misleading view of history—one that is easily debunked by evidence of thousands of years of continuous Jewish settlement in Israel and the return of exiled Jews to their ancestral homeland, supported by historical records, archaeology, religion, culture, and DNA.
Second, these distorted views are perpetuated by ideologically driven faculty, particularly those affiliated with Faculty for Justice in Palestine and their various collaborators. This clique prioritizes an anti-Israel agenda over genuine scholarship, shaping hiring and tenure decisions to reproduce their ideological framework at the U. As Richard Painter, a courageous voice against antisemitism, recently noted: “We’ve had retaliation against faculty who complain about antisemitism, and some of this antisemitism [has] nothing to do with Israel” (MPRNEWS, March 7).
We must confront and combat Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred in all their forms with the same dedication that we bring to fighting discrimination against African Americans and American Indians. The integrity of the University of Minnesota as a place of learning, free from bias and bigotry, depends on it.
an alumn
Mar 15, 2025 at 2:05 pm
It might surprise readers of the Daily how important UMN Regent elections are; the Regents run the show here.
Four Regents – Mayeron, Kenyanya, and Davenport, who voted in support of the resolution, and Thao-Urabe who voted no – are almost at the end of their terms and are not running for reappointment.
The U of Mn Alumni Association Regent Candidate Guide 2025 has more information as well as a list of current candidates (spoiler alert: ex-Interim President Jeffrey Ettinger is on the list). The initial interviews and candidate forum livestreams are also available in various places on Capitol YouTube channels.
If you have an opinion on who you would prefer to (not) see as UMN Regent, do as much research as you can, then contact your legislators to let them know which candidates you want them to support.
3/8
Mar 15, 2025 at 9:32 am
Thank you, Regents Robyn Gulley, Bo Thao-Urabe and Mary Turner.
TA
Mar 14, 2025 at 6:26 pm
The word protester in the headline should be replaced by “attention seeking douche bag”.
Not in the boardroom
Mar 14, 2025 at 5:05 pm
The protesters were very disrespectful. They were asked multiple times to allow the regents to speak without interruption. The protesters did not comply. The board chair had to take several unscheduled breaks to restore order. The boardroom is not the appropriate venue for this type of activity.
Margaret
Mar 14, 2025 at 2:50 pm
Some obscure CLA department does not need to issue official statements on issues that are not germane to their expertise. Dr X is free to have an opinion, but opinions that are not about their area of study do not need to be amplified through University channels.