Protesters interrupt President Struppa’s State of The University address

Photo by Samantha Rosinski, Staff Photographer

President Daniele C. Struppa proudly presented Chapman’s accomplishments at the annual State of The University Address; however, interjections from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protestors denouncing the university’s spending left the room charged with emotion. 

Launching quickly into the university’s mid-year update, Struppa shared that Chapman’s endowment and net assets have both grown by $60 million in the past year and they have eliminated the deficit.

The university’s most recent and ongoing fundraiser, Inspire: The Campaign for Chapman University, is largely responsible for this growth.

“The reason these numbers are important is because they are the reason we have been able to face challenges,” Struppa said.

Donors of the Inspire campaign have helped relieve Chapman financial stress that universities nationwide are facing after Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) delays.

Just as Struppa was about to move into the university’s annual application rate, an audience member rose to their feet.

“Our endowment is funding genocide!” shouted the audience member. “How many more have to die?” 

After the protestor willingly left the auditorium at the request of Dean of Students Jerry Price, across the room, another person stood up. 

“Israeli bombed, Chapman paid, how many kids have you killed today?” said the second protestor.

After university officials and campus safety dismissed these audience members, Struppa attempted to carry on his speech.

“I used to be a big protestor myself, so I do not take this personally,” Struppa said. “I think this disruption is payback from my youth.”

Photo by Samantha Rosinski, Staff Photographer

One of the protesters, Duran Aziz, a second-year film studies graduate student, said that the goal of the protest was to remind everyone in the room what their money is supporting.  

“Chapman is investing in companies that profit off of the genocide in Gaza, and that they are celebrating that today with all of the investors in the room,” said Aziz. 

As Struppa moved into acknowledging the faculty who have joined Chapman within the past year and those leaving after the current academic year, tensions seemed to have eased. But it was at that point that another protester arose from the stands. 

“Daniele Struppa, I charge you with genocide,” said the protestor. “You have blood on your hands of all the Palestinian students who have lost family in Palestine.”

Courtesy of Chapman Students in Justice for Palestine (@SJPCHAPMAN)

Once again, Struppa attempted to reign the conversation back in.

“Blood on your hands is an interesting image, especially to a mathematician,” Struppa said, returning the audience’s attention back to him.

When the final protestor revealed themself, the crowd began to voice their annoyance at the continuous disruptions. A series of “Oh, not this again” and “Sit down” could be heard within the auditorium. One spectator even attempted to shout over the protester. 

“I don’t believe an institution of learning should have any stake in the military or any world conflict,” Michael Daniels, a senior creative writing major who was among those protesting, told The Panther after the address. “It should be focused on education. That's just a basic thing that I think most people can agree on.” 

In the end, Struppa turned the mic over to Chapman’s next president, Matt Parlow, who was able to continue with his part of the presentation uninterrupted, preaching the accomplishments of Struppa in his 19 years with the university. 

Parlow also shared a brief look into his goals as president, including that of the free speech initiative.

“Free speech has been a cornerstone of Chapman,” Parlow said. “With the Or Initiative, we plan to build on the values of civil discourse.”

However, Aziz thinks Chapman’s freedom of speech initiative is falling short of expectations. 

“Chapman is consistently rated very low in terms of free speech metrics,” said Aziz. “Which is very ironic because freedom of speech is supposed to be a core tenant.” 

Although causing commotion during the address, after Price or other university authority directed the protesters to leave the auditorium, they continued chanting, but walked out without further escalation.