Detroit college suspends in-person classes due to anti-Israel encampment

Wayne State University in Detroit suspended in-person classes and encouraged staff to work remotely to avoid any problems with an anti-Israel encampment that sprouted last week.

“All on-campus events are canceled until further notice. Critical infrastructure workers are expected to report to campus,” the school says in a statement around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Wayne State spokesperson Matt Lockwood says there have been “public safety concerns,” especially about access to certain areas.

There are two dozen tents on green space near the undergraduate library. Participants mill around while police and private security watch nearby. Two portable toilets are full and not usable.

Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who over the weekend spoke at a conference with speakers affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group, has been at the site to offer support.

“We have told the organizers to remove the encampment several times and they have declined to do so,” Lockwood says.

Wayne State has 16,000 undergraduate students but fewer during the summer term.