Student Movement for Palestine: Adapting Tactics Against Campus Repression
Student organizers within the University System of Maryland (USM) have shifted their strategy from campus-level protests to targeting the USM Board of Regents to force divestment from weapons manufacturers. This coalition, comprising students from the University of Maryland College Park, UMBC, and Towson University, seeks to redirect a $2 billion pooled endowment away from companies linked to Palestinian human rights violations.
The movement marks a transition from the high-visibility encampments of 2024 to a structured, institutional campaign. By targeting the Board of Regents—a body of 21 governor-appointed individuals who hold final authority over the system’s finances—students aim to bypass university presidents who claim they lack the power to divest individual school funds.
The Shift to System-Level Financial Pressure
For years, student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) focused on individual campus administrations. According to Mohammad, a student at the University of Maryland College Park, administrators frequently deflected divestment requests by stating they had no control over the USM’s $2 billion endowment. This realization led to the formation of the USM Divestment Coalition.
The coalition identifies a specific conflict of interest within the governing body. Linda Gooden, the chair of the Board of Regents, is a retired vice president of Lockheed Martin, a primary defense contractor. Students argue that this relationship, combined with the fact that many regents are business professionals rather than academics, creates a structural bias toward maintaining ties with the military-industrial complex.
Campus Repression and the ‘Time, Place, and Manner’ Strategy
University administrations have responded to the movement by implementing restrictive “time, place, and manner” policies. At the University of Maryland College Park, Mohammad reports that amplified sound is banned during the week, and gatherings of more than 10 students now require formal reservations. He alleges these rules are selectively enforced, noting that pro-Palestine stickers are tracked via surveillance while other political stickers are ignored.
Zyad, a member of the coalition, reports that students have been doxed via sites like Canary Mission after passing BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) resolutions. In one instance, the University of Maryland College Park canceled a peaceful vigil for Gaza after receiving threats against the university president, and subsequently declared a “blackout date” where no student organization was permitted to hold any event.
The UMDSJP later sued the university over this restriction, resulting in a $100,000 settlement, the majority of which was donated to Gaza.
Academic Complicity and Institutional Partnerships
The movement’s demands extend beyond financial divestment to what organizers call “academic complicity.” At UMBC, students are campaigning to end a research partnership with Israel’s Minister of Agriculture. Additionally, they have called for the removal of professor Eli Lieberman, alleging his courses are biased against Palestinian self-determination.
While students were threatened with disciplinary action for a “die-in” shortly after October 7, 2023, an unregistered ex-IDF soldier was permitted to set up a table on campus with a private security detail, an act students described as intimidating to Arab students.
Broader Implications for the Maryland Economy and Infrastructure
The coalition argues that the Board of Regents’ priorities reflect a broader pattern of gentrification and militarization within Baltimore. Khadeeja, a founding member of the coalition, points to a $300 million development proposal to turn the area surrounding the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) into a “college town.” She links this to Steven Sabell, a Board of Regents member and partner at Caves Valley Partners, identified as a major gentrifier in the city.
The coalition also opposes a proposal to spend over $300 million on a police training facility at Coppin University, an HBCU, which they argue increases the criminalization of marginalized communities in Baltimore. This intersection of campus activism and urban development suggests that the divestment movement is evolving into a wider critique of how public land and funds are used in Maryland.
To track these developments and the legal precedents being set by student lawsuits, readers can monitor official filings via the Maryland Judiciary or updates from the ACLU regarding campus free speech.
The Long-Term Strategy: Institutionalizing the Struggle
The USM Divestment Coalition is now focused on “institutionalizing” its research to prevent the loss of momentum when students graduate. By archiving data on the Common Trust Fund and the USM Foundation, they aim to create a permanent resource for future organizers.
Their goals have expanded to include the dissolution of the Board of Regents in favor of a popularly elected body. They argue that the current system—where a few unelected individuals manage billions of dollars—is fundamentally incompatible with the mission of a public university.
The struggle has moved from the tents of 2024 to the boardrooms of 2026. Whether these students can force a material shift in a $2 billion endowment remains uncertain, but they have successfully mapped the architecture of power within the state’s highest educational body.