U of C faculty hold 'teach-in' about Israel-Hamas War as local schools adopt new protest policies

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The demands for peace in the Middle East are continuing across college campuses in Chicago.

Faculty at the University of Chicago led a teach-in on campus on Friday, hoping to continue to inform students of the realities endured in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

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"Just because it's a new year, we're not going anywhere. This is still the topic our community cares about," said Eman Abdelhadi, an assistant professor at UChicago.

Students and faculty led the event with poetry, chanting and discussion while also trying to send a message about the university's funding to Israel.

The continued protests come as UChicago and other local schools announced new policies for protesting after encampments took over campuses last spring.

"We have to be brave and be strong in our convictions, and we have to understand this isn't about us," said Josh Stadner, a Jewish student who supports the protests at UChicago.

UChicago issued a statement on its new protest guidelines, saying, in part, "The changes include an explicit ban on staying overnight in outdoor structures on campus or in non-residential campus buildings."

That is the same policy that has been adopted at other local universities, such as Northwestern, Loyola and DePaul, among others.

DePaul University leadership issued a statement on its new guidelines as well, saying, in part, "The revisions clarify existing guidelines and include convenient links to associated policies and practices. The core principles behind the demonstration guidelines have not changed."

The universities also advised their communities that free speech that threatens the safety of others on campus will not be allowed.

As many local universities in Chicago have implemented new policies on protests to begin this school year, students and faculty at UChicago said it is not going to stop them from sending a message.

"The moment we put these kind of free speech regulations on campus, you're going to see it affect all sorts of issues," said Callie Maidhof, an associate professor at UChicago.

Maidhof is a Jewish professor who teaches a class on free speech while also organizing protests across campus.

"A large number of people who organize in these circles like myself are Jewish, so the idea that one is either Zionist or antisemitic, if that is the choice, it is not just nonsense. It's extremely dangerous," Maidhof said.