Protesters began camping in Dunn Meadow on April 25, 2024.
(Aubrey Wright, WFIU/WTIU)
It’s been one year since Indiana University students put up tents in Dunn Meadow and armed Indiana State Police struck them down.
About 50 people gathered Friday afternoon to commemorate the protests and speak out against the war in Gaza and the university's administration. Last year, protesters camped out in Dunn Meadow for 100 days, staying on campus after dozens were arrested.
Ann Campbell, an IU graduate student, said Friday’s protest shows the fight is still on.
“There is definitely some ceremony and nostalgia here, and realizing how strong we are fighting together,” Campbell said. “But also a lot of disappointment in realizing that one year later, this occupation, this genocide, is still going on. And IU is still funding this, supporting this, and keeping us complicit in that.”
The war in Gaza continues, PBS reported in April, with more than 420,000 people displaced in March alone as Israel blocks food, water and humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, Israel demands Hamas disarm and release hostages, with 24 of 59 people believed to still be alive.
Protesters camped in Dunn Meadow until Indiana University enacted a new expressive activity policy ahead of the fall 2024 semester. (Ethan Sandweiss/WTIU)
University spokespeople did not provide a comment on Friday’s rally. In addition to IU police, Benjamin Hunter, associate vice president for IU Public Safety, watched the rally.
On April 25, 2024, demonstrators with the IU Divestment Coalition, the Palestine Solidarity Committee and other groups took to Dunn Meadow to show support for Palestine and protest IU’s ties to Israel. They also wanted IU to end its partnerships with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane.
Hours before the encampment went up, IU administrators changed a 55-year-old policy in an ad hoc committee, prohibiting tents and other structures in anticipation of the protest. IU leaders brought in the state police, whose officers arrested 55 protesters on April 25 and April 27. IU administrators cited safety and security concerns.
“They are scared of us, that our efforts are working, that we are making a difference,” a speaker said over a megaphone Friday. “We go to university that instills fear in pro-Palestinian students.”
Monroe County prosecutors dropped the charges due to “the constitutionally dubious process by which the University passed and enforced its new policy regarding structures in Dunn Meadow.”
The arrests strengthened calls for President Pamela Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty to resign. After viral social media posts showed ISP officers in sniper positions above Dunn Meadow, Whitten and university leaders came under more criticism.
Similar to last summer’s demonstrations, the protesters chants included “Free, free Palestine,” “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
A demonstrator reads a banner asking "What does a free Palestine mean to you?" at a protest on April 25, 2025. (Aubrey Wright, WTIU)
They built a “martyrs memorial,” which IUPD officers took down shortly after the rally ended. Protesters also created a banner, adding their responses to the question “What does a free Palestine mean to you?” Campbell said these crafts are meant to touch on the encampment’s projects last year.
“Our garden, the library, which was just such a great co-educational space, the art making that we did together,” Campbell said. “These are things that we really put ourselves, put our talent, and our desire, and our thought behind.”
Today, Campbell said protesters have built relationships across campus to compile demands for IU.
“We know that there are 2,000-plus who have signed on to this together for our demands of disclosure, divestment, resignation and restoration for the community,” Campbell said. “This is not just a small movement. We really mean this, and we've got some momentum behind us.”
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her ataubmwrig@iu.eduor follow her on X@aubreymwright.
