At noon on Friday, November 10, the day after the Bi-Co shutdown for Palestine occurred, members of SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) were called to meet with members of Bryn Mawr administration, with just hours of warning, to discuss the material components of the previous day’s demonstrations that had been put up around campus.
In attendance from administration was Dean of the Undergraduate College Karlene Burrell-Mcrae and Dean of Student Life Tomiko Jenkins. Many student organizers from SJP were also in attendance, including MK, a Jewish organizer who has been a force behind many other demonstrations for Palestine on campus including the October 26 walkout.
The meeting itself was a continuation of a series meetings already in progress between Bi-Co administration and SJP leaders concerning the genocide in Palestine, with this one specifically focusing on the aftermath of yesterday’s demonstrations. Administration took a hard line toward the paint, chalk, posters and sticker name tags that adorned the space in and around Taylor Drive — a prominent spot on campus — calling what was put up vandalism.
Dean Jenkins stated that this vandalism could be considered a crime, and that it exacerbates labor for facilities workers. Dean Burrell-Mcrae then clarified that administration was not trying to prevent protest on campus, stating directly that she is in direct support of on-campus protest and understands a protest’s disruptive nature. However, Burrell-Mcrae stated that someone from outside the so-called “campus bubble” could have called the authorities and pressed charges for yesterday’s vandalism, thus taking the issue out of Bryn Mawr’s hands. Burrell-Mcrae stated that she was coming from a place of wanting to protect potential protesters by educating them on the potential legal consequences of their actions, yet also said that now that SJP was aware of these potential consequences, they could no longer claim ignorance if faced with charges for future vandalism.
At this time, MK from SJP spoke up, saying that SJP didn’t have full control over the actions of the protesters on campus because there were so many of them. In response to administration suggesting the idea that SJP protest every day until they graduate provided they stay within the honor code, MK retorted that she does not want to protest every day, pointing out the ridiculousness of so much discussion over postering policies while there is an ongoing genocide. In return, Burrell-Mcrae stated that students do have a right to protest, there are just certain rules they have to follow while doing so. She also stated that these rules could be harsher, as many people on and off-campus have advocated for the banning of statements other than “from the river to the sea,” which has faced considerable backlash and contention. At this, SJP expressed their gratitude for administration being so accommodating, as they are aware of the view that some have on campus that they are terrorists.
It was then that another SJP member spoke up, reminding administration of “Hell Week,” a time when students act similarly (e.g. putting up decorations around Taylor Drive), yet did not receive any of the consequences SJP is facing now. This member spoke of the double standard that may exist around hell week, as there is a clear difference in political contention between a blown-up picture of a teammate and a bloody handprint on the side of Pembroke Arch. This student pointed out that under the Honor Code, both could be punished under the same rules regarding vandalism, yet only one (the contentious one) has faced any serious discussion.
Another member of SJP, KA, then spoke up about the pro-Israel bias he has seen on Haverford campus, reiterating that anti-Zionism is not an antisemitic act and calling the decision to label the yesterday’s material protest destructive an overstatement.
It was here that the conversation shifted to be centered more around administration’s response to the pro-Palestinian protests as a whole, with both deans bringing up productive past conversations they had with SJP. The deans stated that they felt SJP hadn’t given them enough time to get back to them after hearing their demands, saying that the distrust of administration from the side of SJP actually went both ways. KA spoke up again here, reminding administration that time is of the essence, especially while death tolls in Gaza continue to rise.
KA also accused administration of equalizing the issue, speaking of the inherent unfairness in silencing those who speak out against the Palestinian genocide in order to protect those pro-Israel people who may be uncomfortable. Administration spoke back by saying they did not have enough time to make good on SJP’s requests, reminding SJP of the productive conversation previously had about increasing education on the genocide for the Bi-Co community.
MK spoke up then, saying that education is important, but that there is not enough time for education to be the primary mode of resisting the genocide on campus. She once again called for administration’s official acknowledgement of the genocide, something that has yet to happen in the Bi-Co, stating that by doing so, administration could stop all the material protest being done on campus. To this, administration responded that they will not be doing any more acknowledgement of the Palestinian genocide other than the emails that have already gone out, even though those mostly centered Jewish trauma, thus neglecting that of the Palestinians. The deans also admitted to having removed some of the stickers themselves, stating that those stickers threatened the structural integrity of the infrastructure they had been placed upon.
KA then inquired into what sort of punishment protesters might face for this vandalism, voicing his own fear of collective punishment for protesters due to one act of dissent even if organizers do educate their peers on the dangers of vandalism. To this, administration responded that if this happens again, they will clean it up once again, and that the vandalism would no longer be strictly an honor code issue but an issue with the law at large.
In the closing minutes of the meeting, SJP expressed their frustration with having to have so many conversations about rules and regulations during what they called “an ongoing genocide,” something on which administration agreed. Both deans expressed their personal frustration with their position in the situation, describing how they felt like sellouts due to having to juxtapose their Black identity and taking a hard line against certain types of protest. They described how the importance of protest was not lost on them and how rules and regulations talk prevented them from doing the work as well. MK responded, saying that “no one likes to be a prison warden”.
As for suggestions of next steps, both deans agreed that there needs to be more education about how to protest on campus without breaching the honor code, suggesting that students reach out to facilities if they want to put on material demonstrations so what they do is not labeled as vandalism. Moreover, the deans suggested running the named of all those killed in the genocide at the bottom of TVs around Bryn Mawr campus as an alternative to the stickers placed around Pembroke Arch on November 9th.
For their final comments, SJP reminded administration how people in power such as themselves have leveraged rules to silence movements such as the one for justice in Palestine, and also expressed a commitment to minimize acts of vandalism at future protests. SJP also expressed plans to meet with administration again moving forward, in hopes that they will make good on their promise to collaborate with and enable protest on campus.
It remains to be seen whether administration will make good on these demands.
1 comment
Excellent article Ms. Raymond. Thank you!