BRYN MAWR— The pro-Palestinian encampment on Merion Green, referred to by organizers as the “People’s College for the Liberation of Palestine,” enters its fifth consecutive day as protesters and administration continue to negotiate the terms set forward by organizers .
Faculty, students, and outside community members have come to the encampment both in support and in opposition to the protests. There were multiple visits from both campus safety and outside agitators at the encampment throughout the day, though students continue to stand firmly with their demands for divestment and public call for ceasefire from the college. President Kimberly Cassidy has canceled the celebratory picnic honoring her retirement in response to the protests.
The Bi-Co News reached out to the President’s Office concerning this cancellation. Millie B. Bond, Bryn Mawr College’s Chief of Staff and Secretary of the College, told the paper “with the many things happening on campus, the decision was made to reschedule the event. A new date has yet to be set.”
At noon, organizers began teaching the protesters a chant in Arabic that translated to “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” alongside the English chants such as “fund for jobs and education, not for war and occupation” and “divestment is our demand, no peace on stolen land.” Student protesters also began gathering in the middle of Merion Green to paint signs.
Soon after the rally, at around 12:23 p.m., six men were spotted filming protesters outside of Taylor Hall. They identified themselves as Haverford Upper School students and claimed that they worked for the Haverford School Index, the student newspaper of the Haverford School. Three of them did not give names to the Bi-Co. The other three identified themselves as Holden Smith, Franklin Quicksilver, and Daniel Bartolso. The Bi-Co News later verified through the Haverford School that neither Franklin Quicksilver nor Daniel Bartolso are students who attend the Upper School. Holden Smith was confirmed to be a Haverford School senior. According to the paper’s masthead, none of the Haverford School students seen at the encampment are affiliated with the newspaper. Protest participants later alleged that the high school students hurled anti-Muslim slurs at protesters.
At 12:35 p.m, organizers became concerned about the possible presence of police within the encampment. They instructed student protesters to link arms in accordance with encampment arrest protocol. Students also wrote the phone number of the Up Against the Law on their arms. In addition to this, students wrote “From the river to the sea” and “Intifada” on their bodies. Reportedly, Executive Director of Bi-Co Campus Safety, Lillian Burroughs, gave protestors 30 minute to take down signs with the words “intifada” and “from the river to the sea” before they would be taken down by campus safety.
The Bi-Co News later received confirmation from multiple sources within the administration and campus safety, all of whom spoke to the paper on the condition of anonymity, that no contact was made with the Lower Merion police that day. One source from campus safety told the paper that there was no foreseeable plan to call the police against the protesters, and that the only contact which was made with Lower Merion police officials thus far was in response to a threatening phone call from an outside agitator from the previous day.
At 12:47, organizers gave one final speech as the action died down. They calmed fears from student protesters, shutting down rumors of police on campus and clarifying that they had only been exercising precaution. Much of the speech was repetition of safety precautions organizers had given earlier, followed up by the statement: “We keep us safe.” Another organizer said that student protesters could “consider this [rally] a victory.”.
Professor Daniel Torday, the Chair of Bryn Mawr’s Creative Writing Department, came to the encampment and began taking videos of student protestors and speaking with other campus staff. When a Bi-Co News reporter approached him for comment, he declined, put his hand the reporters face and told them to “walk away”.
Sharon Ullman, a professor in the history department at Bryn Mawr College, was also briefly present at the encampment. In a comment to the Bi-Co News, Ullman stated she “support students’ right to protest as an absolute right.” Ullman added, “I’m Jewish and I do not believe that critiquing Israel’s war on Gaza is antisemitic.” Literatures in English professor Kate Thomas, also spoke out “in support of the passion and dedication of the students.”
At around 1:00 p.m., Bi-Co campus safety director Lillian Burroughs, along with Tomiko Jenkins, the undergraduate Dean of Student Life, Gerald Fayette, the Associate Director of campus safety, and ViAnna Bernard, the Assistant Dean for Residential Life at Bryn Mawr, approached the encampment. According to multiple students who were present, Burroughs told the protesters she was there to have a “peaceful” and “positive” confrontation with those participating in the encampment. Burroughs claimed that chants “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Long live the Intifada” violate the Bryn Mawr College Honor Code. In a letter published on April 26, the ACLU specified that student protest chants and slogans across the ideological must be protected in the interest of preserving free speech, “even if many listeners find these messages deeply offensive.”
Bi-Co reporters at the confrontation witnessed Burroughs threaten students who participated in the chants with a Dean’s Panel as a result of the alleged Honor Code violation. Students asked that Borroughs cite the section of the Honor Code they were being a accused of breaking, before breaking into chanting “cite the honor code”. Boroughs walked off following the chants. Fayette was seen filming the interaction.
Burroughs, Jenkins, Fayette, and Bernard all denied a request for comment from the Bi-Co News.
Chants with the term “intifada,” such as “globalize the intifada,” and the chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” have become topics of controversy as the pro-Palestinian movement spreads to college campuses across the nation. Some say that the chants incite violence and promote antisemitism, while others claim that they are calls for a peaceful and democratic one state solution, without religious ties. Directly translated, intifada is an Arabic saying meaning to “shake off.” However, the term has developed more political connotations following two major Palestinian protests against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank in the 1980s and the early 2000s. Some of the protests were violent, while others utilized non-violent tactics of civil disobedience, such as bus boycotts, to protest the Israeli state. During the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, around 1,000 Israelis and 3,200 Palestinians were killed.
A student participant in the encampment who requested to remain anonymous due to fear of dean retaliation explained their intention behind the use of the term intifada. They told the paper “globalizing the intifada refers to advocating for global awareness and activism in support of Palestine.”
When asked if the term was used violently by protestors, the student replied by saying “no, its not [intended to be used that way].” They continued by saying that “this activism is in support of the Palestinian freedom from occupation, there is nothing violent about it. It is only related to freedom.”
Another student, who spoke to the paper on the condition of anonymity for fear of social ostracization, expressed their dislike of the chants. The student described the people participating in the encampment as “claiming to be peace protesters [while] chanting things that call for the genocide of my people.” The student added that they feel “unsafe and unwelcome and isolated” on campus.
At 2:00 p.m. a Bi-Co News reporter witnessed Fayette use what appeared to be a box-cutting knife to take down one of the posters in the outskirts of the encampment while Burroughs filmed him. The sign, which said “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free,” was quickly replaced by students.
Throughout the day, Mainline community members who are not affiliated with the Bi-Co were gathered around the encampment and taking photos and videos of protestors. Though some were there in support of the protestors, numerous people were there in opposition. A community member, who was not a student or member of the College, agreed to give comments to the Bi-Co news and stated “[the protestors] are wrecking May Day.” She stated she “doesn’t really know if they will change the world”. When asked to comment on the potential escalations involving police on campus she said “I think that’s a good idea”. Before leaving campus, she was seen taking photos and videos of protestors.
At 7 PM, organizers and protestors gathered in a circle to conduct the daily Gen-Bod meeting which began with organizers thanking protestors and stating that the movement has been an “amazing show to admin of what people power looks like”. There were over 200 attendees at the meeting, reflecting the turnout at the encampment throughout the day. An organizer gave a “Gaza news update”, which has been a daily fixture of the encampment, and read out a quote by Angela Davis from her book “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”. At 7:22 PM, a man was seen standing on the outskirts of Merion Green and watching the meeting. He was reported by organizers to have claimed that he was a “ harmless observer”. Organizers also spoke to protestors about reorganizing leadership structures within the encampment.
Towards the end of the meeting, organizers shared an email sent to them by President Kimberly Cassidy, which shared updates regarding the College’s approach to student protest demands. In the email, Cassidy maintained that the Israeli companies that Bryn Mawr invests in are not related to the Israeli defense apparatus. She claimed that the companies are “early stage, venture backed … startups”. She went on to add “these companies cannot be profiting from war. They aren’t profiting from anything.”
