A group of University of Chicago students that are part of the #CareNotCops group say they won’t leave the “occupation” area they staged outside the provost’s home until the school meets their demands, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
The student group has blocked the streets and sidewalks outside of Ka Yee Lee’s home. They have spray painted expletive-laden messages near the provost’s home. And the outlet reports they are staying put until the university agrees to get rid of campus police, create cultural centers and form a "Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Department." The new department, the group writes, would teach "revolutionary histories, abolish all academic penalties… [and] redistribute resources to students and communities of color."
According to the Free Beacon, the students’ limited interactions with law enforcement has been aggressive.
Chicago Maroon, the university’s newspaper, reported that protesters screamed "good night, good evening, we're not f—king leaving" at the provost’s house on Monday night.
In addition to cursing expletives, they also spray-painted vulgar messages in the street outside Lee’s home. Written in Chinese characters was, "Don't you care about your reputation" and "F—k your mother."
When police arrived, protesters blocked the streets reciting, “Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!" the newspaper reports.
Students have accused the #CareNotCops of anti-Asian racism and harassment on social media. Provost Ka Yee Lee was born in Hong Kong and has been a professor at the University of Chicago since 1998.
The university issued an official statement about the protests on Tuesday. Provost Lee wrote that student activists have gone "beyond any civil bounds," as they have "harassed and directed personal attacks and vulgar language at [her] family members and [herself], verbally and in writing."
She said the university agreed to meet with the group since they held a sit-in earlier this summer. In June, the group held an after-hours sit-in at the University of Chicago Police Department Headquarters. Protesters used "children's diapers" because the bathrooms were locked.
The provost added that “the University has no intention of disbanding the UCPD."
In response, protesters zip-tied themselves to a canopy set up in the street on Wednesday night, the Free Beacon reports.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.