Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take over the Massachusetts Institute’s camp and take over a Rhode Island School of Design facility

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were given until Monday to vacate their encampment. Despite this, many demonstrators were still present, and the site was later reclaimed by the demonstrators. Meanwhile, protesters at the Rhode Island School of Design started to take over a building as part of an ongoing movement against the Israel-Hamas war.

Protesters at MIT were given an afternoon deadline to depart the demonstration location voluntarily or risk being suspended. An MIT representative said that following the entrance of protestors from outside the institution, several protestors departed by breaching fences.

After a pizza supper break on Monday night, hundreds of protestors stayed at the campsite in a more subdued environment, yelling and listening to speakers.

MIT Jews for a Ceasefire has been in the camp for the last two weeks, according to Sam Ihns, a doctoral student studying mechanical engineering at MIT. He said the group’s goal is to put a stop to the slaughter in Gaza.

He said, “We are specifically protesting MIT’s direct research ties to the Israeli Ministry of Defense through our encampment.”

Professor of medical anthropology and urban studies at MIT, Erica Caple James, joined the demonstrations earlier in the day as an advisor to the Alliance of Concerned Faculty and as a faculty observer.

“I pray that no one gets hurt, that there is no physical violence, and that there is time to resume talks between the administration and MIT’s concerned faculty, staff, and students about the university’s influence around the world,” she added.

The MIT spokeswoman said that as of Monday night, no arrests had been made.

Students at the Rhode Island School of Design began taking over a building on Monday. According to a spokeswoman, the school supports all members of the community and upholds students’ rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. According to the spokeswoman, the provost and president of RISD were engaging with the protestors on the spot.

The protest movement started roughly three weeks ago at Columbia University, where there had been unrest on campus. The major event was postponed until Monday, but officials said that kids would still be allowed to celebrate at a number of smaller, school-based festivities this week and next.

The choice was made when colleges all around the nation debated how to handle commencements for seniors whose 2020 high school diplomas were marred by COVID-19.

Emory University, another institution rocked by demonstrations, said on Monday that it will relocate its graduation from its Atlanta campus to a suburban venue. Some universities have managed ceremonies with few interruptions, such as Northeastern, Indiana University, and the University of Michigan.

Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, will not have to give a graduation speech in the same area of campus where police broke up a protest camp last week thanks to the university’s decision to postpone its major festivities, which were originally slated for May 15. Upper Manhattan’s Ivy League school said that it has decided after consulting with students.

Columbia had canceled its in-person courses previously. In recent weeks, almost 200 pro-Palestinian protestors who had set up camp on Columbia’s green or taken over an academic building were taken into custody.

Other institutions also wrestled with where to draw the line between enabling free speech and ensuring inclusive, safe campuses, leading to the emergence of similar encampments.

The primary graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California was canceled earlier. Following an arrest threat and being besieged by police, students at USC left their camp on Sunday.

Increased security has been used for graduation celebrations at several colleges. Chanting broke out a couple times at the University of Michigan commencement on Saturday.

President Gregory Fenves said in an open letter that the May 13 festivities at Emory would take place almost 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the university’s Atlanta campus.

Fenves stated, “Please know that this decision was not taken lightly.” “The Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies were closely consulted in the decision-making process, and they all recommended against hosting commencement ceremonies on our campuses.”

The crisis that began on October 7 when Hamas terrorists assaulted southern Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people, largely civilians, and seizing around 250 hostages, has led to frequent rallies at universities with 16,000 students.

Protesting students are urging their institutions to withdraw from businesses that support the war effort or do business with Israel.

According to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled region, Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, which it said would destroy Hamas, has killed around 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children. The enclave has been destroyed by Israeli attacks, forcing the majority of its residents to flee.

On Monday, Hamas said that it would accept a cease-fire proposal from Egypt and Qatar. However, Israel insisted that the agreement did not satisfy its “fundamental demands” and that it would continue with its attack on Rafah, a town in southern Gaza.

Selina Al-Shihabi, a student at Georgetown University, said that “cease-fires are temporary” as she participated in a demonstration at George Washington. “The US government will continue to equip the Israeli military even in the event of a cease-fire. We intend to stay here until they pull us out or the institution divests.

Police at the University of California, San Diego, broke up a campsite and took over 64 people into custody, 40 of whom were students.

The deconstruction of an encampment last week, which led to 44 reported arrests, caused persistent disturbances at the University of California, Los Angeles, to the point that all courses were transferred online for the duration of the week.

Chancellor Gene Block said on Monday night that the recently hired chief safety officer at UCLA would head an inquiry to find and bring charges against the “group of instigators” responsible for the April 30 violent assault on pro-Palestinian protestors. According to Block, the university has requested help from the FBI, the district attorney’s office, and the Los Angeles police.

To persuade demonstrators to disperse from encampments or relocate to other parts of campus, schools are using a variety of strategies, such as appeasement and threats of disciplinary punishment.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago said that many protestors departed willingly and that they were given “amnesty from academic sanction and trespassing charges” if they relocated.

The school reported, “Those that remained were arrested.”

Academics and staff at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have petitioned the administration to grant student demonstrators who were recently suspended and arrested a pardon. In a media alert, UNC Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine said that it will present a letter on behalf of over 500 faculty members who support the student activists.

Interim Harvard University President Alan Garber issued a warning to students involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment in Harvard Yard, threatening them with “involuntary leave.” According to Garber, this would include their exclusion from school, the loss of their student housing, and even suspension from tests.