Swarmore Israel protests lead to the suspension of students for the Palestine Group

Andrew Guckes | Staff author

In mid -February, the Swarthmore College Chapter of Student for Justice in Palestine and external demonstrators organized a seat on campus that violated the university directive and leads to a punishment that contains the immediate suspension of Swarthemore SJP and an impending punishment of individual students, as is evident from a statement by the university president Val Smith.

“I have repeatedly confirmed the faith of college and the support of the rights of the individual for peaceful protest and dissent,” she said. “I was also clear that these rights did not expand so far, to violate the ability of other students, faculties and employees, to fully participate in the life of the campus, and that they do not give a license for demonstrators to disturb the essential operations of college.”

According to the reporting of the independent newspaper of the Swarthhor College The Phoenix, the protests took place on February 19, largely before the interim decree of the students and the Senior Associate Dean of Student Life Nathan Miller in Parrish Hall. Despite the public security officers of college, the attempted to enter demonstrators on the building, the students rose through a bathroom window on the first floor to access the area where the protest took place.

On the inside, she continued to start measures that Smith violated the rules that she agreed as students when registering.

“Your measures include repeated slump into office doors and the walls of the corridor, the break -in into several employees, the destruction of an OneCard reader who is used to access an office, and the use of a bull horn indoors and other suspected behavior that clearly violates the code of conduct for students,” she said in the end of February.

There were only limited physical confrontations in the protest, but there was a video that had attracted some attention on social media. In it, an employee or official from the university tried to keep the door closed when students tried to open it in masks. There are some pressing and pushing, but nobody seemed to be injured in the video.

There were also claims from some that the school alerted the FBI or other law enforcement authorities of the federal government during the protests, an indictment that Smith denied. The Swarthemore administration confirmed to Phoenix that the FBI contacted the school in relation to the events of the 19th of the 19th.

“The measures of the group also prompted the law enforcement authorities to contact college directly, including the FBI, to draw our attention to Swarthhoren via the increased social media activities,” said Smith. “To be clear, and contrary to the wrong claims that SJP and others continue to circulate, the college did not contact the FBI or another federal law in response to the protest or the associated activities.”

In an explanation published on Instagram, Swarmore's Chapter of SJP said that because the college refuses to fall disciplinary cases against students who have taken part in the protests of last year against Israel [them]The same to stop the disciplinary process. “
In this statement, the SJP claims that the confrontation was escalated by the “violent college”.

SJP said that the university “enclosed students inside” by strengthening and drilling the windows.

Smith said that the school instructed the students to leave Parish Hall verbally and in writing and that the actions of the school were not described as SJP.

“Demonstrators escalated the situation, including the ignored civil servants of public security, who tried to keep the building safe, and by opening outdoor doors several times to enable additional demonstrators inside,” said Smith.

SJP said that in this statement she did not mention how the college reacted.

The student group claims that Swarthhoren attempted to “starve [the protestors] Out ”by causing food, water or medication during the patient situation that lasted about 11 hours into the building.

Smith said that the SJP in Swarmore is immediately suspended for an indefinite period in which you cannot use Swarthore aids, execute events on campus or access other resources that the university offers to its student organizations.

The SIT-in ended when Swarthhor sent a letter to the SJP by email, which says that students who had not left the Parish Hall until 11 p.m. would be exposed to preliminary suspensions that would bring the loss of all academic privileges and access to campus services such as food and apartments.

As soon as this letter has been distributed to the SJP, the group cleared the area before the prescribed time.

“While we maintain and promote the important role of peaceful protest and dissent, I hope that we will do this in a way that will rather lead to a meaningful, productive dialogue than too deeper divisions,” said Smith.

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