Latest news with #VictorBalta
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
21 University of Washington students suspended for pro-Palestinian protest
SEATTLE (AP) — The University of Washington has suspended the 21 students arrested earlier this week for occupying an engineering building during a pro-Palestinian protest, the school announced Wednesday. The students who moved into the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building in Seattle on Monday evening demanding the school break ties with Boeing have also been banned from all UW campuses, according to a school statement. Thirteen people who were arrested but are not students have also been banned from the university's Seattle campus, it added. The school said the occupation resulted in 'significant damage' to the building and equipment housed in it. Multiple dumpsters were also set on fire outside the school. Boeing has donated over $100 million to UW since 1917, including $10 million for the engineering building, The Seattle Times reported. Boeing is a major supplier to the Israeli Defense Forces, and that country has received more military aid from the U.S. than any other country since World War II. The students who occupied the building unofficially renamed it after Shaban al-Dalou, a teenage engineering student who was killed along with his mother after an Israeli airstrike triggered an inferno outside of a Gaza hospital. Because of Boeing's donation, the aviation manufacturer was granted naming rights for the building's second level. The U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation Tuesday into the protest. 'The University values its long-standing partnership with the federal government," the school said. 'We will cooperate with the Task Force's review and are confident that an evaluation will find we are in compliance with federal civil rights laws.' The federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism responded to the protests with a statement saying the university needs to follow up 'with enforcement actions and policy changes that are clearly necessary to prevent these uprisings moving forward.' School spokesperson Victor Balta said Thursday that the university initiated some changes in November that included tracking incidents of bias, antisemitism and Islamophobia, but recognized the need to continually improve. Some changes include adding a Title VI coordinator position, strengthening relationships with the Jewish community, improving bias incident reporting and response processes, and consolidating anti-discrimination compliance in a new Civil Rights Compliance Office. In March, the University's Board of Regents overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to divest from companies with ties to Israel, the school's statement said.
San Francisco Chronicle
08-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
21 University of Washington students suspended for pro-Palestinian protest
SEATTLE (AP) — The University of Washington has suspended the 21 students arrested earlier this week for occupying an engineering building during a pro-Palestinian protest, the school announced Wednesday. The students who moved into the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building in Seattle on Monday evening demanding the school break ties with Boeing have also been banned from all UW campuses, according to a school statement. Thirteen people who were arrested but are not students have also been banned from the university's Seattle campus, it added. The school said the occupation resulted in 'significant damage' to the building and equipment housed in it. Multiple dumpsters were also set on fire outside the school. Boeing has donated over $100 million to UW since 1917, including $10 million for the engineering building, The Seattle Times reported. Boeing is a major supplier to the Israeli Defense Forces, and that country has received more military aid from the U.S. than any other country since World War II. The students who occupied the building unofficially renamed it after Shaban al-Dalou, a teenage engineering student who was killed along with his mother after an Israeli airstrike triggered an inferno outside of a Gaza hospital. Because of Boeing's donation, the aviation manufacturer was granted naming rights for the building's second level. The U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation Tuesday into the protest. 'The University values its long-standing partnership with the federal government," the school said. 'We will cooperate with the Task Force's review and are confident that an evaluation will find we are in compliance with federal civil rights laws.' The federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism responded to the protests with a statement saying the university needs to follow up 'with enforcement actions and policy changes that are clearly necessary to prevent these uprisings moving forward.' School spokesperson Victor Balta said Thursday that the university initiated some changes in November that included tracking incidents of bias, antisemitism and Islamophobia, but recognized the need to continually improve. Some changes include adding a Title VI coordinator position, strengthening relationships with the Jewish community, improving bias incident reporting and response processes, and consolidating anti-discrimination compliance in a new Civil Rights Compliance Office.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
21 University of Washington students suspended for pro-Palestinian protest
The has suspended the 21 students arrested earlier this week for occupying an engineering building during a pro-Palestinian protest, the school announced Wednesday. The students who moved into the in Seattle on Monday evening demanding the school break ties with have also been banned from all UW campuses, according to a school statement. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Thirteen people who were arrested but are not students have also been banned from the university's Seattle campus, it added. The school said the occupation resulted in "significant damage" to the building and equipment housed in it. Multiple dumpsters were also set on fire outside the school. Boeing has donated over $100 million to UW since 1917, including $10 million for the engineering building, The Seattle Times reported. Boeing is a major supplier to the Israeli Defense Forces, and that country has received more military aid from the US than any other country since World War II. The students who occupied the building unofficially renamed it after Shaban al-Dalou, a teenage engineering student who was killed along with his mother after an Israeli airstrike triggered an inferno outside of a hospital. Because of Boeing's donation, the aviation manufacturer was granted naming rights for the building's second level. The US Department of Education announced an investigation Tuesday into the protest. "The University values its long-standing partnership with the federal government," the school said. "We will cooperate with the Task Force's review and are confident that an evaluation will find we are in compliance with federal civil rights laws." The federal Task Force to Combat responded to the protests with a statement saying the university needs to follow up "with enforcement actions and policy changes that are clearly necessary to prevent these uprisings moving forward." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now School spokesperson Victor Balta said Thursday that the university initiated some changes in November that included tracking incidents of bias, antisemitism and Islamophobia, but recognized the need to continually improve. Some changes include adding a Title VI coordinator position, strengthening relationships with the Jewish community, improving bias incident reporting and response processes, and consolidating anti-discrimination compliance in a new Civil Rights Compliance Office. In March, the University's Board of Regents overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to divest from companies with ties to Israel, the school's statement said.
Boston Globe
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after occupying University of Washington building
Boeing has donated over $100 million to UW since 1917, including $10 million for the engineering building, The Seattle Times reported. Because of Boeing's donation, the aviation manufacturer was granted naming rights for the building's second level. Advertisement Boeing is a key supplier to the Israeli Defense Forces, and the country has received more military aid from the U.S. than any other country since World War II. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We're hoping to remove the influence of Boeing and other manufacturing companies from our educational space, period, and we're hoping to expose the repressive tactics of the university,' Super UW spokesperson Eric Horford told KOMO News. People dressed in black blocked the front of the building with furniture and used dumpsters to block a nearby road, university officials said. UW police worked with Seattle police to clear the building at around 10:30 p.m., UW spokesperson Victor Balta said in a statement. The people were taken into custody on charges of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct, he said. Their cases have been referred to the King County prosecutors. Advertisement Any students identified will be referred to the Student Conduct Office, Balta said. The U.S. Department of Education said in a statement Tuesday that the incident will be investigated. 'The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism appreciates the university's strong statement condemning last night's violence and applauds the quick action by law enforcement officers to remove violent criminals from the university campus,' the statement said. 'While these are good first steps, the university must do more to deter future violence and guarantee that Jewish students have a safe and productive learning environment.' The Trump administration has argued universities have allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza and has opened investigations at colleges, frozen federal funding and detained and deported several foreign students with ties to pro-Palestinian protests. Additionally, Israel's government on Monday approved plans to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel's operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Israel says 59 captives remain in Gaza. Twenty-one of them are still believed to be alive. Israel's ensuing offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who don't distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Protesters occupy University of Washington building
Pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a building at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle on Monday, according to a student newspaper. The Daily, a UW student newspaper, reported Monday that the school's Interdisciplinary Engineering Building had been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters over financial links between Boeing and the university. The group Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return claimed in a post Monday on Medium that it was 'taking this building amidst the current and renewed wave of the student Intifada.' 'The University of Washington is a direct partner in the genocide of the Palestinian people through its allegiance to its partnership with Boeing. Boeing manufactures the F-15 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, Hellfire missiles, and 500 pound bombs which [I]srael uses to murder entire Palestinian families and destroy Palestinian homes, schools, hospitals, and mosques,' the group's Medium post read. Boeing has a historically strong presence in the Seattle area, with two major factories north and south of downtown in Everett and Renton employing many in the communities around Puget Sound. UW spokesperson Victor Balta said in a statement that later Monday 'a number of individuals temporarily occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building and created a dangerous environment in and around the building.' The school also said that close to 30 people were arrested and that it will refer 'charges of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit all three' to the local prosecutor's office. 'Police worked with law enforcement partners to contain the situation and began clearing the area outside the building around 10:30 p.m. before moving into the building to clear it at 11 p.m.,' UW said in its statement. The Hill has reached out to UW and Boeing for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
