The University of Michigan has made the news quite a lot recently due to the destructive hotel room activities of several fraternities and sororities earlier this year. And now it’s happening again, with multiple arrests following a Board of Regents meeting that attracted some unwanted attention from angry protesters.
Apparently the U of M protesters were lead by a group called By Any Means Necessary (BAMN). They were protesting the university’s lack of minority enrollment. The group, who violently stormed the Regents meeting moments after it began, were heard chanting “open it up or we’ll shut it down!”
On their website, BAMN describes themselves as “building the movement to end Jim Crow.”
We are fighting to defeat budget cuts for education
“We are fighting to defend public education, to defeat budget cuts for education, to defend public jobs and public services, to win college financial aid and citizenship for undocumented immigrant students, and to make every school, college, city, municipality and state a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants.”
More than 20 protesters rose up as one from the public seating area in the back and pushed past the barriers. They forced their way towards the Regent’s table, where they were intercepted by campus police. Eight individuals were arrested. Seven of these were released the following morning pending warrant authorization from the prosecutor’s office. The eighth arrestee was a juvenile who was taken to a juvenile detention facility.
This is not the first time BAMN has disrupted a U of M Regent’s meeting. But it is the first time members of the group were arrested for their protest activities at a meeting of this nature. It is not currently known what charges the U of M protesters are likely to face. When warrants are released, we will keep you updated on that information.
The University of Michigan has a long and rather controversial history with the issue of race. Many protests have occurred on campus over the years, as far back as the 70’s, pertaining to this particular issue. In addition two separate Supreme Court cases regarding the use of race in admissions began at U of M. The current Michigan law that bans the use of race in University admissions is also the result of racial problems on U of M’s campus.