Students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) staged a class walkout on Thursday (24 October) in protest of the school’s ties to Chicago billionaires who own a large share of General Dynamics, one of the biggest defence contractors in the US that supplies arms to the Israeli military.
The Crown family, who according to Forbes own 10% of General Dynamics, have donated millions of dollars to SAIC. The student walkout on Thursday was held to to protest “SAIC’s complicity in the genocide of Palestinians”, according to a social-media post this week from the group SAIC Students for Palestinian Liberation.
“There is no freedom of speech, radical artistic expression and progressive education while a Crown family member sits on our board of trustees and holds more power than any student or faculty member,” a statement posted to social media reads. A request for comment from the student group was not immediately returned.
Posts on social media show a crowd carrying signs along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
In May, 68 protesters were arrested at the Art Institute of Chicago amid nationwide police crackdowns on student encampments. Protesters from SAIC and Columbia College Chicago had set up an encampment in the museum’s North Garden and renamed the area “Hind’s Garden” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was reportedly killed by Israeli forces in Gaza along with six members of her family and two paramedics trying to save her. Charges against protesters were later dropped.
In September, at the beginning of the new school year, SAIC updated its student handbook to state that on-campus protests can only take place in a single location, and only after applying for permission at least three business days in advance. The handbook now states that “students may not prevent or obstruct campus events or operations including class, meetings, interviews, ceremonies, on-campus activities or other SAIC business”.
A representative of SAIC said Thursday’s walkout did not violate the demonstration policy, because it took place off campus and was not disruptive to school activities.