A group of four intoxicated males yelled profanities at the members of the encampment.

They yelled numerous expletives such as “suck my balls.”

“You’re f—— up their graduation,” one of the individuals said as they walked laps around the encampment. “People are trying to take their graduation photos, and they worked so hard and you’re f—— it up.”

One of the individuals also yelled at the encampment to “work for the American Dream instead of living on the (Main) Quad.”

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One of two individuals on the east side of the Main Quad by Foellinger Auditorium yelled at the members of the encampment, “f—— Nazis” and other expletives.

According to two female members of the encampment who were targeted, they were called “b—-” and other vulgarities.

At the time, the encampment was holding a screening of “Farha” (2021), a film about a Palestinian girl’s coming-of-age story amidst the 1948 Nakba, to which the individual yelled, “You’re watching a replay of World War II.”

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Organizers began a teach-in on the historic decolonial solidarity between Africa and Palestine stretching back decades.

The teach-in started by outlining the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and how, according to the organizers, Zionism is a political tool used to enact white supremacy.

In the 1960s, revolutionaries such as the Black Panthers showed strong support for Palestinian decolonial efforts against their shared oppressor: white Europeans.

An archived talk by civil rights leader and Pan-Africanist Kwame Ture started off with “Imperialism: the highest stage of capitalism,” referencing the book of that title by Vladimir Lenin. 

“Zionism is certainly not a liberation movement,” Ture said. “Zionism is the baby-child of imperialism in the Middle East.”

According to Ture, if our tax dollars no longer went to Israel, the state would sink tomorrow.

The excerpt ended with, “The Palestinian state belongs to the Palestinian people — this is a fact.”

Organizers called for people of all races to join together and “challenge the systems that seek to divide us.”

The event then opened the floor to discussion, to which one member of the encampment said, “We are all one people, this is all one struggle.” 

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Starting at approximately 5:20 p.m. today, demonstrators gathered in the center of the encampment for a rally celebrating May Day, a day designated for the global commemoration of labor movements and airing political grievances.

Protest chants included “U of I you can’t hide, you are funding genocide” and “When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back.”

Recognizing occupation around the world, the crowd also chanted, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied” and “Occupation is a crime, from C-U to Palestine.”

A speaker for American Muslims for Palestine Chicago extended support to Illinois student protestors.

“We have all of you and our strength on our side and God willingly, we will be victorious,” the speaker said.

The rally detailed the history of May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. 

May Day takes place yearly on May 1 in memory of the 1886 Haymarket Affair. 

Originally a peaceful protest to shorten the workday, the event at Haymarket Square resulted in a confrontation between protestors and the police. 

The event ended in the death of a protester and injury of several others. The following day, a bomb thrown by protestors killed seven officers and injured 60 attendees. 

The police retaliated by punishing eight men, many of whom were not present at the square on May 4. This event inflamed emerging left-wing movements of the time.

The rally speaker drew a parallel of militarized police abuse between the Haymarket Affair and the stand-off with protestors last Friday, calling them “the same struggle.”

“We stand here today because the struggle of the Palestinians is the struggle of the worker everywhere,” one speaker said. “Freedom from the occupation in the case of the Palestinian is freedom from the capitalist in the case of the worker.” 

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Campus tour routes have been changed to avoid the presence of the encampment on the Main Quad and today’s demonstration of Jewish pride at the Alma Mater. 

Upon reaching out to Cristina McNamara, coordinator of campus visits, The Daily Illini received a statement on Apr. 29 from Robin Kaler, Associate Chancellor for Strategic Communication:

“We respect the rights of freedom of speech and expression and remain committed to providing a safe environment for all members of our community. We hosted hundreds of admitted students and their families today, and the encampments have not impacted those visits.”

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According to SJP, they began to do so, but the authorities were dissatisfied with the rate the protestors were dismantling the structures. As a protester attempted to engage in a respectful exchange with the authorities, an officer responded saying raising questions was not within their protected First Amendment rights. 

“It was clear that the course of action that followed was made before any conversation with protestors,” wrote SJP.

Police pushed through the encampment tents, those of which housed protestors’ personal items. In the process of this, a protester was arrested.

Due to the heavy rain, protests began rebuilding the tents for their belongings. This led to police pushing through the encampment again, causing protestors to form a human chain linking arms to prevent the encampment from being dismantled again. As a result, four other police departments outside of the Urbana Police Department were called for reinforcements, referred to SJP as an “inflation.”

“The conditions of the stand-off were inhumane,” stated SJP, as a result of restricted access to food and water, the threat of pepper spray, tasers, batons and police in riot gear with loaded weapons. The poor weather caused the clothing and belongings of protestors to become soaking wet.

SJP claims the police stand-off was with the intent of “the poor conditions causing our support to waver, yet we remained strong.” 

At 7:16 p.m., SJP and the University administration began negotiating, with SJP representatives “realizing this was merely a facade” to maintain appearances by Chancellor Jones and President Killeen. 

The protestors were faced with an ultimatum: “Make a decision or face mass arrest.” This was in reference to choosing to dismantle the encampment or having the police do so. According to SJP, protest representatives were only given five minutes before police were allowed to begin arrests, causing the leadership to prioritize protestor safety by moving the encampment to Spurlock Museum. 

However, the previously agreed-upon location of the Spurlock Museum was changed to the south side of the Main Quad in front of Foellinger Auditorium.

In this statement, SJP restated their demands: 

“Divest from Zionist weapon manufacturers and institutions; Disclose all financial assets, including investments, endowments, and other holdings; Seize all ties with genocidal corporations; Grant amnesty to all student protestors.”

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On March 6, six Illinois students left for Sierra Leone under the supervision of professors Charles “Stretch” Ledford and Alison Davis. Partnered with students from Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the group set out to document the cultural taboos surrounding menstrual cycles and local efforts to make information and period products accessible. Journalism students Piper Pascarella, Faith Lee, Stephanie Wayda, Elena Cleary, Maggie Knutte and Nour Longi were involved in the trip.

The documentary was an invite-only project for JOUR 460: Special Topics, led by Davis and Ledford. 

Due to cultural taboos surrounding periods and the lack of menstrual infrastructure in Sierra Leone, many girls do not know what to do when they experience their first menses. Many girls are forced to skip school during their cycles, creating a barrier to quality education and life from a young age.

“From Shame to Celebration: Sierra Leonean Women Reframe the Culture of Menstruation” documents a collection of lived experiences and hardships that make monthly cycles difficult to manage with everyday life. Because of the high inflation in the country, families often have to decide between putting food on the table and buying period products. 

Grassroots group Uman Tok has dedicated its work to leading school workshops and educating girls on sexual health to address the large gap in accessibility. Uman Tok translates to “woman talk,” and its goal of making sexual health a more open topic in Sierra Leone is at the center of the documentary. 

Uman Tok distributes feminine health kits, called “Days for Girls Kits,” made up of reusable pads, accompanying waterproof shields, panty liners, a washcloth and soap. The kit is also complete with an instructions sheet. During its workshops in schools, the organization demonstrates the proper usage of these kits to students.

“It’s a woman’s story, a chance to showcase women who otherwise might not get the opportunity to get their stories shown,” said Stephanie Wayda, senior in Media and director of photography of the project. 

Elena Cleary, junior in ACES, underscored the commitment the documentary required, describing it as “extremely immersive” and “not for everybody.”

For cultural competency on the topic, professor Sophie King-Hill from the United Kingdom’s University of Birmingham taught lectures to the University students as a specialist in sexual behaviors and assessment in young people. Additionally, she conducted one-on-one interviews to gain better insight into students’ individual trajectories in the project and to answer any questions. 

Given the sensitive nature of the topic, King-Hill assisted students in coping with the many difficult conversations they had with the Sierra Leonean women. 

“(It’s) very heartbreaking,” Wayda said. “There has been a lot of tragedy in Sierra Leone.”

However, it was not all tragedy. African countries are often portrayed to be in a state of perpetual devastation, but “From Shame to Celebration” is a story of hope. 

“It was empowering,” said Cleary when recounting the experience. 

Among the most striking takeaways for the Illinois students was the overwhelming sense of community.

“(The community is) paramount in Sierra Leone, the way people interact with one another is not individualistic like here in the U.S.,” Wayda said. 

The University students received warm welcomes from the organization they were documenting. 

“They sang a song for us, thanking us for the care we had for their stories,” said Piper Pascarella, sophomore in Media.

Afterward, the students were given Sierra Leonean names that they were referred to for the rest of the trip. 

“For me personally, I felt like seeing the way these people lived was completely different from anything I had ever known,” Pascarella said. “I grew up with things being handed to me. The children are dancing in the streets, they’re dancing and singing and playing. You can see the humanity in them that is also here, if not more.”

By the end of the trip, the Fourah Bay students were the hardest goodbyes for the University students. For Wayda, being able to see how young journalists overcome adversity was extraordinary.

Cleary recounts the Fourah Bay students only knowing basic media software and the Illinois team training them to use a professional camera.

“They never felt like they were unlucky even though they were living a completely different life,” Cleary said.

“From Shame to Celebration” is not intended to be a story of despair, but one of hope. The documentarians emphasize that Sierra Leone’s culture is one that deserves to be celebrated in its own right, not just as part of a monolith that erases the uniqueness of cultures across Africa. 

Currently, the group is in the process of submitting “From Shame to Celebration” to premiere at various film festivals. On April 25, they will present the trailer at the Illini Union Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Across the world, even in wealthy countries such as the United States, period poverty remains an issue for menstruators who lack the financial means to acquire products. This documentary is only part of a larger story, showcasing the humanity in all peoples of all different walks of life.

“It was very striking to me how life is really the same everywhere, you’re just in a different place,” Wayda said.

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The Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles visited the University on Tuesday evening to host his talk “Abortion is not Healthcare.” Knowles was under the invitation of Young Americans for Freedom at the University, a conservative advocacy group on campus. 

The Illini Union ballroom had a metal detector at the door, and no bags or signs were allowed in the venue as a safety precaution. Knowles was previously physically attacked while speaking at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

YAF opened the talk with its group mission of “promoting core traditional values.” According to YAF, there were efforts to take down posters around campus promoting the event.

Red and blue lights flashed and rock instrumental played as Knowles took the stage. 

His opening statement was about the current state of partisan abortion politics. Some conservative politicians have, according to Knowles, taken on a pro-choice stance to appeal more to moderates and “prudents.”

Because many pro-choice advocates refer to abortion — what Knowles considers murder — as a personal right, he equated this to saying rape and burglary are a personal right for men. He argued that abortion is a state matter that must be outlawed. 

Doubling down on former President Donald Trump’s stance on abortion to endorse him for the presidency, Knowles argued that conservatives have grown soft on the issue of abortion despite their recent track record of “racking up wins,” namely with the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case which ruled abortion is not a constitutional right.

According to Knowles, conservatives should persist in a hardline stance against reproductive rights because appealing to other demographics would be sacrificing core party values. However, he acknowledged former President Ronald Reagan’s original support for abortion rights.

Knowles critiqued fellow conservative Kari Lake, the front-runner for the Arizona Republican Senate primary, saying her opposition against federal abortion bans was “morally indefensible” and put together by her “brain-dead” campaign managers.

“I like Kari a lot,” Knowles said. “I hope her campaign changes course.”

Knowles further argued the support for gay marriage was a “top-down operation” by Democrats to continue pushing the margins. Although gay marriage was extremely controversial at the time, Democrats got what they wanted; it didn’t matter how unpopular it was, he said.

According to Knowles, the liberation movements advocated for by liberals and leftists are unnatural because the world has always strictly adhered to a constant, unchanging law. Meanwhile, conservatives who seek to conserve the natural state of being for humans are more rational and true to natural law by preventing change, an unnatural force.

“Our views are much more reasonable,” Knowles said. “We believe what most people have believed in for most of history.”

Knowles moved to the topic of “trans-ing” kids or supporting gender-reaffirming measures for minors under 18 — something he views as morally abhorrent for President Joe Biden to endorse. 

Knowles also mocked the presence of tampons in a male bathroom in the Union as another frivolous, unnatural right advocated by “the libs.”

“Without constantly pushing that boundary of liberation, the liberals have no reason to exist,” Knowles said.

Half an hour into the discussion, the floor opened up to a Q&A session. 

A recent graduate of the University displeased with recent decisions by the U.S. military, such as pulling out of Afghanistan, asked Knowles to ask whether or not he should enlist. Watching every single episode of Knowles’s show had rekindled the former student’s connection to faith and emboldened him to defend his nation.

Knowles acknowledged his hesitancy toward the military because it had “gone totally woke” but admired the decision to wear a uniform and “kill the bad guys.”

In a later question, Knowles doubled down on his stance that the 2020 election was rigged and denied accusations he expected on being tied to the insurrection at the Capitol. In the past, he said Jan. 6, 2021 was not violent and not an insurrection. 

“The libs shut down the whole country,” Knowles said. “They rigged the whole thing and changed all the voting rules.”

Candace Owens has made recent headlines with her severing ties with Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire, the media company hosting The Michael Knowles Show, due to tensions on her position on Israel.

In a question on his feelings on the matter, Knowles said he tried to stay out of it and extended his support to Owens. As a close friend of Owens and Shapiro, Knowles said, “the charitable, right thing to do to all my friends here is basically keep my trap shut.”

When asked what he thought about the popular argument of adhering to anti-war and anti-death-penalty stances which protect the sanctity of life, Knowles responded that he didn’t think about it. As a Catholic, he cited various figures in his faith who justified a morally gray area in the topics of wars and capital punishment.

“If we are to have rights to anything at all, such as purple hair or tampons in the men’s bathroom, we must necessarily have the right to life,” Knowles said.

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The University’s Non-Tenured Faculty Coalition (NTFC) has been negotiating improved rights since December and is set to continue in two weeks.

The NTFC is seeking a procedure protecting applicant rights during this promotion process, such as the right to appeal, and pre-promotion reviews that give an ample amount of time for preparation.

Since the minimum pay was raised from $35k to $45k in 2017, it has not been raised since to account for the rising cost of living. Non-tenured professors are often subject to more work for less pay, a main concern of the NTFC. Sometimes, this includes taking on additional work outside of the original hired position.

The NTFC’s goal is to allow for specialized faculty to file grievances through the union; according to their website, this ensures “the faculty voices can be heard without fear of retaliation.”

This lack of structure translates into the specialized faculty promotion process. Typically, assistant professors are promoted into associate professors and then into full. However, there is little support provided in this process. Some applicants were given little time to send their documents for a pre-promotion or promotion review and did not receive useful feedback. Additionally, there is no way to appeal denials that likely resulted from this process.

The University Statutes defines faculty as those teaching with tenure. Non-tenured employees are designated as other academics, or specialized faculty who focus on either research or teaching at the University.

A tenured track is highly sought after due to its assured job security. Professors would be able to research any topic without the threat of job loss or pushback from the University. If a tenured professor were to be let go, it would be due to extenuating circumstances.

As of March 15, the Union has signed off on tentative agreements on four articles: grievance, personnel files, unauthorized work stoppage and nondiscrimination. For the next session, negotiations will include providing gender-affirming care as part of the insurance package.

The coming eighth day of negotiation has been moved from April 12 to April 26, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Illini Union Ballroom.

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“As the Democratic nominee … I look forward to highlighting the strong record of results I’ve been able to achieve, and the bipartisan approach I’ve taken to get things done for the people I serve,” Budzinski said in a press release. “In the critical election ahead, I hope to earn the support of our voters once again.”

Budzinski began her career working for labor unions, first with the Laborers’ International Union of North America and then the International Association of Fire Fighters and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. 

Budzinski was elected in 2022 as the Illinois representative for the 13th District and took office in January of 2023. In 2019, she was appointed senior advisor to Gov. JB Pritzker at the start of his term and resigned in 2020. 

Loyd, a West Point graduate, is from Carbondale, Illinois, and has worked with trades and volunteer organizations. He won against University law student Thomas Clatterbuck in the primary. 

According to his website, some issues Loyd hopes to focus on include agriculture, Second Amendment rights, government spending and defense. 

More information about voting in Illinois can be found here. 

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