April 26, 2024
Chris Compendio/PhillyVoice
A group of University of Pennsylvania students opposed to the war in Gaza have set up an encampment on College Green, joining a movement taking place on campuses throughout the U.S.
A group of college students have set up an encampment at the University of Pennsylvania to protest the war in Gaza, joining the movement taking place at college campuses throughout the United States.
The protesters, who led marches in support of Palestine at City Hall, Temple University and University City on Thursday, are demanding Penn divest from corporations that profit from the war and end any academic ties to Israeli institutions. They also are calling on Penn to provide greater transparency about its investments and more protections to its Palestinian students.
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On Friday morning about 30 tents, set up by the protesters the day before remained on Penn's College Green, a grassy area in front of College Hall at 3450 Woodland Walk. Banners and signs expressing solidarity for Palestine and calling for a ceasefire and Penn's divestment hang throughout the area.
At one point, a keffiyeh scarf and a Palestinian flag were draped on the Benjamin Franklin statue on the green, but police later ordered all signs, personal items and writing be removed from the statue, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported.
At least one tent was full of supplies, including sleeping bags and blankets, and organizers were serving Dunkin' coffee and snacks.
Eliana, an organizer who spoke on the condition that only her first name be used because of privacy concerns, characterized the movement with perseverance and hope, saying the protesters want Gaza to be "on the forefront of all our minds."
Students at other colleges in United States have set up similar scenes to protest the war in Gaza, following the lead of the demonstration at Columbia University in New York City, where more than 100 students were arrested last week after that college's president had police to clear out the encampment.
Pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Pennsylvania hang a keffiyeh scarf and a Palestinian flag on the Benjamin Franklin Statue near their encampment.
Other protests in the region are taking place at Swarthmore College and Haverford College in Delaware County. At some schools, law enforcement has been used to break up demonstrations. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent state troopers to clear out protesters at the University of Texas at Austin, prompting a mix of criticism and praise.
At Penn, volunteers from Up Against the Law – an organization based in Philadelphia that helps activists know their legal rights, were on at the encampment speaking to protesters and police officers on Friday morning. Demonstrators huddled in smaller groups to discuss de-escalation techniques and safety and bleeding control methods.
"We're hoping for the best and preparing for the worst," said Taja, an organizer who spoke on the condition that only her first name be used because of privacy concerns. Regarding any hostility from outside the encampment, Taja said community solidarity would outweigh the negativity.
The Pro-Palestine protesters at the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania have hung banners throughout College Green, including the one above.
Hilah Kohen, a Ph.D student and organizer, said anything that happens to the protesters "pales in comparison" to what the people of Palestine have been experiencing.
Kohen praised those participating in the protest, saying that the world has a lot to learn from the Palestinian people. "Everyone is bringing in their own skills," they said. "It's a great lesson for the public at large."
In a statement released Friday morning, Penn said, "We respect and support the rights of our community members to protest peacefully and in keeping with University policy by which we all agree to abide.
"However, the right to free expression and to protest on our campus is not and can never be absolute," the statement continued. "We will not permit protest and speech when it devolves into words and actions that violate Penn's policies, disrupt University business, or contribute to an intimidating, hostile, or violent environment on our campus."
University officials said there had not been any reports of threatening or violent behavior from the protesters As of 5 p.m. Thursday.
A student protests the war in Gaza by climbing a tree at the University of Pennsylvania's College Green on Friday.
Penn has been a focal point for tensions over antisemitism and the war on Gaza since last fall.
Last week, Penn banned the student group Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine, saying it failed "to comply with policies that govern student organizations at Penn."
PAO called the action part of a "punitive and extreme campaign of repression" by Penn administrators to "eliminate voices of dissent and criticism of Israel in total violation of academic freedom and the First Amendment." The protesters at the encampment are calling for the group to be reinstated.
In the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel, Penn faced increased criticism for being slow to condemn the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, a pro-Palestine event that ex-President Liz Magill later said included speakers with a history of antisemitism.
Magill resigned in December after she was criticized for her testimony at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. So did Scott Bok, the chair of Penn's board of trustees. Magill was replaced by interim President J. Larry Jameson. In March, pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted Jameson's first public address to the school's board of trustees.
Later that month, a pro-Palestine faculty group sued Penn for complying with a U.S. House Committee's investigation into antisemitism on Penn's campus. In the suit, the Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine claimed the university's compliance with a documents request threatened the "privacy, safety, careers and academic freedom of professors," liking it to a modern-day form of McCarthyism.
