Notre Dame student speaks out on May protest arrest

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - For Connor Marrott, a senior at the University of Notre Dame, a peaceful pro-Palestinian protest on May 2 turned into one of the scarier scenes he’s experienced.

“When the police started to arrive after administrators left, we quietly linked arms and sat on the ground,” the Notre Dame senior said. “Two officers approached me, picked me up, threw me to the ground and actually chipped my tooth from the force. One officer had both of his knees on my legs, one had his knees on my back.”

The encampment that night saw the arrest of 17 protestors for misdemeanor criminal trespassing after the university says protestors failed to get permission to hold the rally past a certain time.

To Marrott, the university’s position is what disappointed him the most.

“Even up until the moment of being arrested, I thought Notre Dame would do this differently,” Marrott said. “I thought they would handle this better than administrators at other colleges, but the university didn’t. It wasn’t special in how it reacted.”

Even with the disappointment, Marrott is proud of his actions and the actions of his fellow student protestors for having their voices heard for one simple cause.

“On its face, the fact is over 40,000 people have died between now and October 7th,” Marrott said. “To me, that’s a clear degradation of humanity.”

Marrott’s charge is still pending with a court case coming up in September after he has returned to campus.

He hopes to inspire those to speak up for what they believe in, no matter the backlash.

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