- On Thursday, there were protests at the Hannah Administration Building, and nearly 20 people were later arrested for trespassing.
- Following Friday's Board of Trustees meeting, President Guskiewicz and Board Chair Kelly Tebay offered perspective on the protests.
- Video shows portions of Thursday's protest.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
On Thursday, there were protests at the Hannah Administration Building, and nearly 20 people were later arrested for trespassing. Just a day later, I spoke with school officials to get their perspective on managing these protests.
"When you turn our campus police on our students they are sworn to protect, you enforce a darkness," Amanda Flaim said.
Strong sentiments shared during Friday's public comment at the Board of Trustees meeting, less than 24 hours after MSU Police say they arrested 19 people for trespassing at the Hannah Administration Building.
A spokesperson for the department confirmed the news to us Thursday night, and said that the group was given verbal warnings to vacate, and those who didn't comply were the ones who were arrested.
Earlier in the day, members of the Hurriya Coalition, a student activist group, protested outside on the steps of the building, before moving inside just after 5 pm. Social media posts by the group indicate their members were the ones arrested Thursday night.
RELATED: MSU Students calling for action from the university to help international students with revoked visas
Following Friday's meeting, I spoke with President Guskiewicz and Board Chair Kelly Tebay about the arrests.
"As the students have said we have a history of activism, and we think it's very important for our students' voices to be heard," Tebay said. "But we also have rules, and those rules need to be enforced to keep everyone safe. So they are allowed to protest outside, but when a building is closed, unfortunately, we have to remove them from the building."
President Guskiewicz echoed those comments and says, prior to Thursday's protest, the board had a conversation with the group about their requests, which he says was positive.
"It was a good meeting with students, I would say, where we listened, mostly, and talked about some of their requests," Guskiewicz said. "Some of which I think we'll be able to make some progress on and report back at the appropriate time."
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
For more news about MSU, go to the MSU Campus neighborhood page on our website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
