The live updates on day eight of the sit-in have concluded. Follow live updates of day nine here. See previous coverage of days one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.
This story is breaking and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Today marks a week since pro-Palestine protesters first began a sit-in in McCosh courtyard, citing an array of demands, including that the University divest its endowment from companies with ties to Israel. Fifteen students — two on April 25, when tents were briefly set up in McCosh courtyard, and 13 on Monday during a short occupation of Clio Hall — have been arrested and barred from campus. The University has since condemned the Clio Hall occupation and publicly reiterated its position on time, place, and manner restrictions on student speech, but has not commented on the demands since the sit-in’s beginning.
Since Monday, conflicting accounts have emerged of interactions between protesters and staff in Clio. Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun called the treatment of staff “abusive” in a campus message on Tuesday, while Prof. Ruha Benjamin, who was present in the building as a faculty observer, said that students were calm and polite. Students also continued to react to these events, with over a number of cultural and affinity groups signing on to a letter speaking out against the University’s response to the sit-in.
On Wednesday, protesters on Cannon Green were briefly joined by a May Day march led by Resistencia en Acción NJ, a local migrant justice organization. The night ended with a film screening.
While encampments at Columbia and Yale —and Brown dismantling theirs —, protests at other campuses have continued to escalate. Police in riot gear arrested 90 people at Dartmouth on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, including two student reporters from The Dartmouth. The situation at the University of California-Los Angeles continues to develop after police breached a pro-Palestine encampment early Thursday morning.
Quiet daybreak — May 3, 5:35 a.m.
As dawn breaks, there is a calm energy on Cannon Green. Blankets, tarps, posters, and artwork occupy the space. Lights and origami swan garlands, made from lists of Palestinians killed in the Gaza since October, hang between trees. The number of protesters dwindle into the single digits, a marked decrease from previous days.
Morrison Hall, Clio Hall, and Whig Hall remain locked, leaving East Pyne as the only nearby academic building open. P-SAFE officers stand stationed at the entrances of both Whig and Clio.
More statements from student groups with varying stances — May 2, 11:44 p.m.
Computer screens and twinkling rainbow string lights now illuminate Cannon Green, as protesters settle in for night eight of the sit-in. Earlier in the evening, Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Chair of the Near Eastern Studies department, made an appearance, reading an excerpt from his book, “Remembering Akbar: Inside the Iranian Revolution.”
Aside from chatter and occasional announcements about keeping the lawn tidy, it’s been a quiet night at the sit-in. Email listservs and other online forums have been comparatively noisy, following the sit-in at Clio Hall on Monday.
At 10:47 p.m., the Asian American Students Association (AASA) sent a statement to listservs in solidarity with student protesters, writing, “AASA has a longstanding history of acting through non-violent protest to undo injustices and bring about much-needed changes to outdated policies that do not reflect the current needs of students, in particular students from marginalized communities.”
They noted in the statement that the establishment of an Asian American Studies Program, the Carl A. Fields Center, and AASA itself came out of two 1971 sit-ins at Nassau Hall and Firestone Library.
“It is not necessary to fully understand or even agree with the messaging being promoted by current protesting students to recognize the importance of protecting free speech and student safety on this campus,” they wrote.
B’Artzeinu, a Zionist student group, which was formed in late March, also released a statement via listservs at 10:49 p.m. in support of students who oppose activism surrounding the ongoing sit-in, which they described as “the recent activities of a loud but small minority on campus.”
Breaking from many other statements from student organizations this week, B’Artzeinu’s board condemned the occupation of Clio Hall by pro-Palestinan protesters and praised the University’s response.
“The University must uphold its duties under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus,” they wrote. “It did so with its quick response on Monday, and it must continue to do so by keeping banned students and others off campus and continuing to ensure that protesters’ odious but protected hateful rhetoric does not devolve into unprotected conduct targeting Jewish and Zionist students.”
Indigenous activists and academics speak as Rutgers decamps after accepting deal— May 2, 6:30 p.m.
Nine speakers who were on campus for a three-day workshop — organized by the Program on Science and Global Security and Nuclear Princeton, and co-sponsored by the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative and Natives at Princeton — addressed a smaller group of protesters in the center of Cannon Green.
Zia Mian, a Senior Research Scholar in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) and co-director of the Program in Science and Global Security, introduced the speakers.
The speakers shared messages of support for the protesters and remarked on their experiences in participating in or teaching about activism.
Jessica Lambert ’22 is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation and a current co-leader of Native Alumni of Princeton (NAP). To the sit-in participants, she said, “people like you are what makes me proud to be a Princetonian.”
Lambert praised protesters for “standing up to an administration that has been really aggressive towards [them].”
Keith Richotte Jr., Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, echoed this statement, explaining that “every day requires resistance.”
Mian reminded students of their reasons for protesting. “There are people in Palestine who are also struggling, they’re not just victims. There are also people in Israel who are fighting against their government and their government’s war machine.”
Elsewhere in New Jersey, the encampment at Rutgers University was given until 4 p.m. today to disperse or face trespassing and removal by the police.
Protesters at Rutgers accepted a deal with the Chancellor’s Office, agreeing to eight out of ten of the encampment’s demands in exchange for agreeing to disperse the camp. Rutgers did not agree to divestment, but agreed to a meeting between protesters and decision makers on university investments.
Across the country, more than 2,000 people have been arrested at university protests and encampments.
Protesters march to Firestone Plaza to protest an event hosted by VP Calhoun’s office — May 2, 3:57 p.m.
At 3:05 p.m., protesters began a march to Firestone Plaza to protest an event held by the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun. While Calhoun was not present at the event, the protesters called for her resignation, citing the arrests of non-violent student protesters.
While the ‘Prince’ could not confirm that an event was ongoing, several onlookers were waiting in line near a Rita's Italian Ice truck on Firestone Plaza.
“The University community cannot accept the criminalization, gross mischaracterization, and harassment of nonviolent student protesters,” an organizer said. “We echo the call of nearly 100 faculty and researchers at Princeton in demanding full amnesty for the students who were arrested and evicted for exercising their right to protest, and using civil disobedience that is with precedent at Princeton.”
The group reiterated their demands and denounced the University for arresting over a quarter of the graduating class of the African American Studies (AAS) department.
“[In Calhoun’s] leadership we, and over 100 faculty and researchers have lost all faith following her untruthful and deliberately misleading representation of student protesters that has proven to be the real threat to the Princeton University community.”
An organizer leading the march also claimed that a Black Muslim student was forced to pray while handcuffed in zip-ties directly outside of the Graduate School’s Office of Access, Diversity, and Inclusion in Clio Hall, prompting cries of “Shame!” from the crowd.
“The University is concerned with safety and order, but this is hardly believable when the [Vice President for Campus Life] of this University is playing into stereotypes that paint non-white students as dangerous and hostile,” an organizer told the crowd.
In an email to the University community, Calhoun referred to the conduct of the protesters as “egregious” and “unacceptable,” stating that they created a “dangerous environment” in Clio Hall during the occupation.
After eight minutes, the group walked back through the East Pyne courtyard to rejoin the encampment on Cannon Green.
Statement from arrested students released — May 2, 3:14 p.m.
A statement, signed by all 13 arrested individuals, was posted on the Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest (PIAD) X account on Thursday, May 2. The statement addressed the “peaceful sit-in” and stated that the University “left us no choice but to take our demands directly to the administration.”
The statement also drew upon the history of activism on Princeton’s campus. It reads, “Our actions on Monday were informed and inspired by generations of brave student activists, such as those who rallied for divestment from apartheid South Africa in the 70s and 80s, the Black Justice League students who staged a sit-in in 2015, as well as the growing Palestinian solidarity movement currently sweeping the country.”
The arrested students are: Aditi Rao GS; Andres Blanco Bonilla ’24; Ariel Munczek Edelman MPA ’25; Brooklyn Northcross ’24; Christian Bischoff ’19 GS; Christian Silva, MTS, Princeton Theological Seminary (affiliate student at Princeton University); Hellen Wainaina GS; Jacob Neis GS; Khari Franklin ’24; Kristal H. Grant ’24; Samuel A. Nastase, Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer, Princeton Neuroscience Institute; Sara Ryave ’24; and Sofia Menemenlis, GS. Northcross, Franklin, Grant and Ryave are all seniors in the Department of African American Studies (AAS).
At 3:00 p.m., a marshal announced that they would be “marching to Firestone Plaza” soon, though they emphasized that they needed individuals to remain at the sit-in site on Cannon Green.
Princeton College Democrats release statement, Jim Keady speaks — May 2, 2:36 p.m.
At 1:14 p.m., Princeton College Democrats released a statement that “strongly condemns Vice President Rochelle Calhoun’s inflammatory statements regarding the peaceful sit-in at Clio Hall on April 29.”
The statement read, “We unequivocally denounce any form of antisemitism or Islamophobia that arises as a product of protest. We also denounce the racism that the Black community at Princeton has faced as a result of rhetoric used by the University.” The letter cited Black students being doxxed on social media for sharing their opinions and participating in the protest.
Meanwhile, at the sit-in, Jim Keady, a former NCAA Division 1 soccer coach for St. John’s University who, after publicly denouncing the university’s deal with Nike for its use of sweatshops, was forced to resign, spoke to the sit-in at 1:00 p.m. Keady is now a public speaker and activist.
“The work that's being done to demonize you, this is organizing 101 on the part of power. Right? They want to deflect from what is happening in Gaza, hit you as a target, get everybody talking about UCLA and Columbia,” he said.
“I've done this a long time. I know how these dynamics work … They want to focus on this because it takes the news cycle away from focusing on the fact that there is a man made famine, and we're going to see thousands of children die in the coming weeks,” Keady added.
Faculty letter calling for VP Calhoun’s resignation circulates — 2:19 p.m.
A letter signed by an increasing number of faculty members demanding that the University cease the “criminalization, gross mischaracterization, and harassment of non-violent student protesters,” drop all charges against arrested students, and enter into dialogue with students immediately has been circulating among faculty. It also demands the immediate resignation of Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun following her April 30th message to the University, which the letter describes as “untruthful and deliberately misleading.”
At time of publication, the letter has 82 signatories.
The letter claims that the University has refused to consider student demands since efforts to engage in dialogue with the University began in Fall 2023, leading to the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” and the eventual occupation of Clio Hall.
The letter cites the extensive precedent of academic building occupations during protests against apartheid in South Africa and US wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
The letter links to Professor Ruha Benjamin’s account of what occurred in Clio Hall, which disputes Calhoun’s previous claims that the protesters were abusive to staff inside. No student journalists were permitted inside Clio Hall after it was occupied.
“This attempt to scare student protesters through stereotyping and the threat of arrest and criminal punishment constitutes an authoritarian assault on democratic principles,” the letter read.
The letter claims that University’s invocation of “time, place, and manner” restrictions to free speech shows a bias against the viewpoint espoused by the student protesters.
The letter also condemns the “police heavy handedness” used on students, claiming one Black Muslim student had to pray while restrained with zip-ties.
“Your turn to authoritarian threats of violence against your own students peacefully protesting a just cause has little to do with an ostensible concern for public order and safety, and everything to do with the desire to quash a movement critical of a particular modern nation state and of the possible implication of Princeton University’s financial portfolio in a horrific genocide being currently conducted by that nation state,” the letter read.
The letter also rejects the notion that student protesters are antisemitic, calling it offensive towards Jewish students taking a leading role in the sit-in. The letter condemns the removal of prox access to Morrison Hall, which houses the Department of African American Studies and the Effron Center for the Study of America.
Dorobucci cancels its show, email sent to listservs calls for sit-in participation — May 2, 12:53 p.m.
Dorobucci, an African student dance company, has canceled its spring show scheduled for May 3 and 4 to “stand in solidarity with Palestinian liberation and the student protests on campus,” according to a post on their Instagram.
The post shared that two members of the dance company, Khari Franklin ’24 and Brooklyn Northcross ’24, were among those arrested during Monday’s Clio Hall occupation. The group called on the University to “drop all criminal and disciplinary charges against the students who were arrested.”
“We understand that freedom in Palestine is intertwined with freedom in Congo, Sudan, Haiti, and many other African and Caribbean nations,” the post read.
Earlier this morning, an email was sent to residential college student listservs with the display name “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” encouraging students to join sit-in.
“We understand that it may be daunting to possibly put yourself at risk, especially if you are on financial aid or are not a citizen,” the email read before encouraging students to take part in activities with “no associated risk” such as teach-ins, speakers, and or simply studying and enjoying the weather.
Temperatures have reached 77 degrees and are expected to reach 84 degrees later this afternoon.
More statements released by affinity groups — May 2, 9:48 a.m.
Around 20 protesters are chanting with drums after a brief meeting discussing the day’s agenda.
At 9:22 a.m., the Natives at Princeton (NAP) Executive board released a statement condemning the administration’s reactions to the occupation of Clio Hall and the arrests of various protesters. “Previous sit-ins at Nassau Hall in 1995 and 2015 resulted in neither academic nor legal charges,” they wrote.
They also brought up the continued lockdown of Morrison Hall. “By eliminating one of the few safe spaces on campus for people of color, Princeton has affirmed that minority students do not deserve to be here,” they wrote.
NAP criticized Eisgruber’s statement and wrote, “It is clear that this statement does not apply to students of color because the university is actively disrupting our ability to conduct our studies, our University business, by not allowing students regular entrance into Morrison Hall.”
At 9:01 a.m., Latines En Medicina (LEM) released an open letter expressing solidarity with the student protesters, and specifically criticized the "student health violations committed by the University as they criminalize and endanger students in their vulnerable moments."
"A growing sense of anxiety, fear, and uneasiness looming over the Princeton campus facilitated by administrations’ disinterest in speaking and understanding student leaders has augmented the demanding academic responsibilities prominent during the reading period week, dean’s date, final examinations, and all-around end-of-semester deadlines," they wrote.
Misty morning marks one week of sit-in — May 2, 7:19 a.m.
Fog hangs low over the encampment, shrouding East Pyne and Nassau Hall. Today is supposed to be warm, with a high of 84 degrees. Temperatures will dip again on Friday and over the weekend, forecasted to be in the mid-60s.
Morrison Hall and Clio Hall remain locked amidst mounting criticism from graduate and undergraduate student groups.
Correction: This piece previously stated that speakers were on campus for a panel on Indigenous politics. They were on campus for a different workshop.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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