Editor’s Note: A source in this story has been granted anonymity for reasons of personal safety and the ability to travel to Palestine.
The University of Minnesota administration has verbally committed to sponsoring tuition for three Gazan students for the spring 2025 semester, according to an Instagram post by the UMN Divest Coalition on Oct. 7.
The UMN Divest Coalition said Provosts Harvey Charles and Raj Singh are fully committed to covering the cost of full tuition, but students will have to apply for separate grants and scholarships to cover their travel costs, living expenses, and room and board.
The decision came on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel where the Israeli government estimated 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 hostages were taken. Since Oct. 7, Israeli defense forces have killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in its war in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians homeless and injured.
University spokesperson Jake Ricker said the University already has an existing program administered through the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.
Originally created by the University’s Board of Regents as early as 1941, the program provides financial aid support in the form of a tuition waiver to international students experiencing significant hardships, according to Ricker.
“This program has offered resources to students from many countries affected by conflict in the past,” Ricker said. “Like all international students, those who qualify for this program must also apply and be accepted academically to the U of M and apply for a student visa from the U.S. government.”
The three prospective international students have applied to the University and can receive support through the program if they are eligible for admission, according to Ricker.
Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) Vice President of Media said the UMN Divest Coalition originally asked for 14 students to be sponsored, including full tuition and board. He said he was disappointed but excited with the progress being made.
“This is our first kind of hope for the future in the University of Minnesota sponsoring dozens of students and supporting the Palestinian students on their campus,” he said.
In a Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) meeting on Oct. 19, 2023, Provost Rachel Croson allowed Israeli students planning to serve in the Israeli military to take a leave of absence and receive reimbursement for tuition, which pro-Palestinian organizations were unaware of until recently, according to the SJP Vice President of Media.
According to FCC meeting minutes written by Amber Bathke, “Students who want to return home to the affected region to serve in the military will be able to receive a tuition refund, and students who are struggling to focus on their academic work can reach out for flexibility in changing to S/N grading or dropping classes late.”
The SJP Vice President of Media said he was frustrated by this decision.
“It’s quite shocking to see that they’re able to so easily fund these students,” he said. “So we ask for at least a matching of the amount of students that went and fought for the IDF or more than what was already implemented.”
The UMN Divest Coalition groups, which includes Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and SJP, continued protests the week of Oct. 7 and on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. SJP called its week of action in an Oct. 3 Instagram post.
On Oct. 7, a group of around 20 student protesters gathered outside of Minnesota Hillel, a center for Jewish students at the University to commemorate Oct. 7.
The UMN Divest Coalition planned a “One Year of Genocide” walkout and protested in front of Coffman Union, protesting for six hours on Oct. 7.
The SJP Vice President of Media said the UMN Divest Coalition will keep fighting for the University to admit and sponsor more Gazan students.
“We’re gonna keep pushing for more and more students to at least try and counteract the complete destruction of the four main universities in Gaza,” he said.