Northwestern students set up a protest camp on Deering Meadow on Thursday morning.
Dozens of Northwestern University students set up an encampment Thursday morning on Deering Meadow on the university’s campus in Evanston in protest of the Israel-Hamas war.
A news release from NU Educators for Justice in Palestine, Student Liberation Union and Jewish Voice for Peace said the camp is meant to be “a safe space for those who want to show their support of the Palestinian people.”
“The ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide of the people of Gaza has made Palestinians victims of what is one of the most brutal war crimes in modern history,” the statement said. “Because of this, Northwestern students, faculty, and staff are putting their bodies, education, and jobs on the line to stand with the Palestinian people.
“Northwestern students report the administration is curtailing free speech. The school is intimidating both students and educators who speak out against Israeli apartheid and occupation. The student liberation encampment will create a safe space for those who want to show their support of the Palestinian people.”
About 75 protesters were on the meadow around 9:20 a.m. Around 8:30 a.m., police made a final announcement calling for tents to be taken down before arrests and citations would be issued.
Students and faculty formed a human chain and police started pushing to get through. Police were able to get to some of the tents by going around the edges but Sun-Times reporters on scene said no arrests have been made.
Protesters were seen chanting and drumming. They’re using a red, yellow and green system — red meaning the protesters are willing to risk arrest, yellow meaning they won’t risk arrest or suspension and green meaning they’re staying on the edges.
One faculty member was shouting “you will not touch our students.”
Students are shouting “the more you try to silence us the louder we will get.”
Cops were on the scene within about five minutes of when they started setting up at 7, a protester named Sully said.
They were told they couldn’t be there because they hadn’t reserved the space. The big problem at first was the tents and they were told to take them down. They were later told arrests and citations would be issued for trespassing if they didn’t remove the tents.
Similar protests have sprung up at campuses across the nation in recent day.
Some U.S. universities have called in police to break up demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests Thursday, as the final days of the semester ticked down and graduation ceremonies loomed.
At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested at an encampment overnight and four police officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Boston police said. Those arrested were expected to appear Thursday in Boston Municipal Court.
Another 93 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said. There were no reports of injuries.
While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few weeks. Columbia continued to negotiate with students after several failed attempts — and more than 100 arrests — to clear the encampment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Northwestern students set up a protest camp on Deering Meadow on Thursday morning.
Northwestern students protesting the Israel-Hamas war.
Students set up a protest camp on Deering Meadow on the Northwestern University campus on Thursday morning.
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