Several George Washington University students were suspended Friday after school officials threatened to discipline those who refused to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment protesting the Israel-Gaza war on the downtown Washington campus.
As demonstrations at the campus entered their second day, the private university took a hard line, saying students could face temporary suspension or be administratively barred for refusing requests to relocate after a deadline to clear the area by 7 p.m. Thursday. The deadline went by without police action.
“The individuals who remain on University Yard and any who attempt to join them are trespassing on private property and violating university regulations,” the statement issued Friday morning said. “We will pursue disciplinary actions against the GW students involved in these unauthorized demonstrations that continue to disrupt university operations.”
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Encampment organizers posted on social media Friday night that seven student leaders were placed on interim suspension.
Early Friday morning, D.C. police rejected pleas from university officials to clear the encampment, according to two city officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive police operations, adding they had no immediate plans to clear the area known as University Yard along H Street between 20th and 21st streets NW if the situation remained static.
Police said in a statement that the university has asked for their support and that police “will continue to monitor the situation.”
D.C. police said that as of Friday morning, no arrests have been made. They said in a statement that the university has asked for their support and that police “will continue to monitor the situation.”
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The new statements came a day after demonstrators took over University Yard on the Foggy Bottom campus, five blocks from the White House. About 30 tents remained Friday. Police put metal barricades around the demonstration, not allowing anyone else to join. The university said people who are not students joined the group, and they worked to restrict access.
Student organizers called for more supporters to head to the encampment Friday in the face of threatened disciplinary action.
“Students in the encampment are at risk for becoming houseless, losing all class credits from the semester, and being arrested,” organizers wrote on social media. “We will not falter nor give into to their threats which come from their weak position.”
Selina Al-Shihabi, a 20-year-old Georgetown University sophom*ore and member of the protest group, said that as of Friday afternoon, there were about 35 demonstrators in the cordoned-off area. She said those who remain have shelter and food, including a donation from a local Palestinian restaurant, that can easily be passed over a very loose barricade. But some students are running low on medication, and the only available bathroom is a bucket that is getting full.
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But Al-Shihabi, who is from the Palestinian territories, said those in the encampment were in high spirits despite the fear of possible consequences from authorities.
The demonstration at GWU — organized by the DMV coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine — has remained largely peaceful. Many expressed anger over Israel’s war in Gaza, called for the school to cut ties with Israel and demanded a cease-fire. Some chants called for the state of Israel to be abolished.
Many similar demonstrations at college campuses across the country, such as at Columbia University in New York, have resulted in confrontations with police and ended with arrests. Some student groups expressed anger when Columbia called in the New York Police Department to clear an encampment, while some Republicans are critical that campuses and law enforcement have not moved fast enough.
D.C. police and GWU police kept a low profile as the demonstration grew over the course of the day Thursday, reaching a peak of about 500 at one point. Demonstrators joined from Georgetown University.
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The numbers had diminished considerably by Friday morning. Around 100 people remained, chanting, “Free, free Palestine” and “Zionism will fall” as police from GWU and D.C. looked on.
A statue of George Washington at the center of the encampment was draped in a Palestinian flag, and demonstrators handed additional supplies to people behind the barricade.
But they also appeared to be preparing for police action. The student newspaper, the GW Hatchet, wrote that demonstrators had sorted themselves by their willingness to stay despite police. Pink and green groups have left the encampment. Only the red group, those willing to stay until the end, remain.
Ellie Silverman and Emily Davies contributed to this report.
