It was a lively edition of “Ask the Governor” on Friday at UMass Boston’s University Hall, with audience members confronting Gov. Maura Healey with questions about student protests and collective bargaining for UMass staff members.
Not even 10 minutes into Healey’s appearance, protesters used the opportunity to confront the governor about the war in Gaza.
An audience member named Meg approached the mic, stating they had a question about childcare and education. Instead, they launched into a critique of Healey’s comments about students protesting the Israel-Hamas war, saying Healey has made “false accusations of antisemitism to silence protest.”
Protestors lining the staircase and hallways yelled and cheered in the background. Boston Public Radio host Jim Braude admonished the questioner for misleading staff about the content of the question.
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At first, Healey used the opportunity to highlight her administration’s work to support childcare and families. She noted money in the 2023 and 2024 budgets to increase salaries for childcare providers, and a proposal to make universal pre-K available to all 4-year-olds in the state by 2026.
Braude pushed the governor to respond to Meg’s question about protestors, arrests and the war in Gaza.
Healey sympathized with those who have been killed in the conflict, and said she’s committed to “fighting antisemitism, to fighting Islamophobia, to fighting racism, hatred, bigotry in all forms.”
She also said she supports the right to protest on college campuses, but drew a line between peaceful and violent actions.
“There’s a difference between protest and violence, and threats of violence, and disruption of students’ access to safe education,” said Healey.
The governor added that she values civil discourse.
“That's who we are, as Americans. It's also the case that some of what we're witnessing does not represent that, does not reflect that,” she said.
Last week, more than 100 protestors in an Emerson College pro-Palestinian encampment were arrested by Boston police, and another 100 people were detained after police cleared a similar encampment at Northeastern University.
“Are you comfortable with how the police were used at Northeastern and Emerson?” Braude asked.
“Yes,” said Healey. The audience protestors yelled and booed in response.
The final audience question came from Alexa McPherson, the president of the classified staff union at UMass Boston, who asked how the governor would support livable wage increases.
Healey plugged her housing bond bill, and said bringing down housing costs will help increase affordability for union members. Healey said the state would continue to “bargain in good faith” with unions, but noted a decline in revenue would factor into agreements.
“It's never going to be enough, or fast enough, but know that we're committed to trying to do all we can to support our public employees,” Healey said.
