Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.
Protestors have entered Morrill Hall on the East Bank, causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building. If you are currently in Morrill Hall and able to safely exit the building, please do so immediately. Others are advised to avoid this area until further notice.
SAFE-U is the University of Minnesota's emergency mass-notification system, distributing alerts via SMS, email, the UMN emergency website, and the GopherAlert app; issued at approximately 4:40 PM CDT on October 21, 2024
Morrill Hall is the University of Minnesota's central administration building on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus, housing the president's and provost's offices; it was the site of a historic 1969 student occupation protesting the Vietnam War
The alert was issued after protesters marched from a rally at Coffman Union to Morrill Hall and began spraying paint on interior surfaces and covering security camera lenses
UPDATESMS+30 min
Approximate reconstruction·373 chars
[SAFE-U advised that Coffman Union, Weisman Museum, Hasselmo Hall, Ford Hall, Vincent Murphy Hall, Tate Lab, Northrop Auditorium, Johnston Hall, Walter Library, Smith Hall, and Kolthoff Hall were all locked until further notice because of protest activity. Those in the buildings were directed to shelter in place; those outside were advised not to enter these facilities.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
The 11 locked buildings span a large section of the UMN East Bank campus, reflecting the administration's concern that protest activity could spread beyond Morrill Hall; the lockdown was lifted after UMPD cleared the building approximately two hours later
The buildings locked included several major academic facilities -- Walter Library, Northrop Auditorium, and Coffman Union -- effectively disrupting afternoon and early-evening activities across a substantial portion of campus
The use of SAFE-U for a building-occupation event, rather than a traditional crime or weather emergency, illustrates the system's role as a general campus public-safety platform beyond its original Clery Act emergency-notification function
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction·331 chars
[SAFE-U announced that law enforcement had cleared Morrill Hall and that the building lockdowns in the surrounding East Bank area had been lifted. Eleven individuals had been arrested on charges of property damage, trespassing, and rioting. The East Bank campus was safe and open. Normal operations would resume the following day.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
UMPD officers, along with the Minneapolis Police Department and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, forcibly entered Morrill Hall through connecting tunnels using a battering ram to break through interior barricades protesters had constructed
Eight of the 11 people arrested were University of Minnesota students; all eight received indefinite interim suspension orders barring them from classes, dormitories, dining facilities, and campus employment
University President Rebecca Cunningham stated the 'takeover endangered safety' and that the university 'could not allow individuals to occupy and destroy university property'
Context
Background
The October 21, 2024 occupation of Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota was the most dramatic campus-building occupation in the Twin Cities since the 1969 Vietnam War protests in the same building. Organized by the University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, protesters marched from a rally at Coffman Union and entered Morrill Hall around 4:00 PM CDT, demanding that the university divest from defense contractors that supply Israel. Inside, protesters spray-painted slogans, covered the lenses of interior security cameras, broke interior windows, and barricaded the building's entrance and exit points. They renamed the building 'Halimy Hall,' after 19-year-old Medo Halimy, a university student in Gaza who had documented daily life in wartime and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in August 2024. Shortly after 5:00 PM, SAFE-U issued an alert identifying the property damage and restriction of building access, followed by a second alert locking 11 nearby East Bank buildings. Two hours into the occupation, UMPD officers used a battering ram to break through interior barricades and removed the protesters. Eleven were arrested -- eight students and three alumni. The eight students received indefinite interim suspensions that barred them from all campus functions. President Rebecca Cunningham stated the takeover 'endangered safety' and could not be permitted.