We, the Department of History, condemn the inflammatory police action and mass arrest of over 135 members of our UMass Amherst community on May 7 and 8. The arrestees included three of our own faculty and multiple history graduate students, who were exercising their constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech and assembly. We protest the damaging treatment of the arrestees, including our department members, who were present to support peaceful protest by UMass Amherst undergraduates, graduate students and other faculty. We condemn the recourse to law enforcement, not dialogue, at the behest of our administration and under the leadership of our Chancellor, Javier Reyes, and we challenge the chancellor’s claim that bringing in police was an action of “last resort.”
Members of our department, some of whom have been here for over 20 years, assert that the use of police against peaceful protestors is highly unusual in UMass Amherst’s history. We call for our administration to model civility, patience, and peaceful dialogue, especially in the face of powerful disagreements. Bringing in the police was unjustifiable. It was deeply harmful to our students’ learning and well-being, and damaging for our entire departmental and campus community. We urge the UMass Amherst administration to reconsider its approach. We also strongly believe that all charges against students and campus community members must be dropped immediately.
The UMass Amherst Department of History adopted this statement in the Faculty Meeting of May 10, 2024.
This statement is based on the most current information we have, including video recordings, news reporting, and eyewitness accounts from members of our department.