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Students at MIT, Emerson, Tufts set up pro-Palestine encampments after Columbia arrests

Harvard University preemptively closed the Yard ahead of planned encampments. Last week, more than 100 Columbia University students were arrested when NYPD cleared tents off the campus.

By Molly Farrar and Emily Spatz

April 22, 2024

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Pro-Palestinian students at several prominent Boston-area schools spent Sunday night in tents after more than 100 Columbia University students were arrested for participating in a similar demonstration last week. 

As of Monday night, dozens of protesters at MIT, Tufts University, and Emerson College are occupying outdoor spaces on or near campuses to demand the schools cut ties with Israeli companies and military and call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. 

More than 100 students were arrested at Columbia University Thursday when the administration called in New York police to empty about 50 tents that had been set up earlier in the week. Hundreds of Columbia professors and faculty members walked out on Monday to protest the arrests, and classes at the school were moved online amid rising tensions. 

On Friday, students at Boston University, MIT, and Harvard University participated in walk-outs and protests in support of the arrested Columbia students.

The demonstrations at Boston schools are part of a wave of protests across college campuses nationwide sparked by the arrests. Some 50 students were arrested at Yale Monday, and police were called to the scene at a New York University encampment.

Students want MIT to divest from Israel

Dozens of MIT students took to tents Sunday night to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza and to stand with Columbia students, organizers said. About a dozen tents and a large Palestinian flag were set up on the lawn Monday evening for chants, speeches, and prayer. 

Hannah Didehbani, an organizer with the MIT Coalition for Palestine said 30 to 40 people slept on the university’s Kresge Lawn near Massachusetts Avenue Sunday night. Members of the encampment, which they’re calling the Scientists Against Genocide encampment, plan to be out on the lawn “for a while.”

“We are following in the footsteps of Colombia in doing this encampment,” Didehbani said. “We saw them face very harsh repression from both the university leadership and the NYPD, which is insane.”

The Scientists Against Genocide listed their demands on a sign propped up against a tent, writing that “We refuse to give our labor to genocide. We refuse to give space on this campus for genocide. We remain in steadfast solidarity with Palestine. We will not rest until MIT cuts ties with the IOF (Israel)”

The encampment at MIT is specifically protesting the $11 million in research funding the school receives from Israel, which creates underwater surveillance and robotic technology, the group said. 

“At MIT, we’re really focusing on the direct research ties we have with the Ministry of Defense of Israel,” Didehbani said. “MIT being a tech school is that we’re in a very unique position where there are projects that are directly going to harm families in Palestine in many ways.”

Didehbani said while the police were stationed all night, there were no aggressive interactions between students and officers. On Monday night, at least eight police officers circled the lawn, which was partially bordered with metal barricades.

In a statement, the university said police will continue to be present.

“MIT officials are aware of the tents, and are determining next steps with a focus on ensuring campus is physically safe and fully functioning,” a spokesperson said.

MIT Jews for Ceasefire were represented at the tents, the group said on X. MIT reportedly moved the location of Seder for MIT students celebrating Passover from nearby Hillel to an undisclosed location, but Jews for Ceasefire is hosting a Seder at the encampment.

Emerson students occupy Boylston Place alley

Emerson students set up tents in the Boylston Place alley on campus Sunday evening. The alley was lively Monday afternoon as protesters chanted “Free Palestine” and stood at the entrance of the street with signs protesting the war. 

“We’re here as concerned students seeing what’s been happening — not just on our campus, but schools nationwide,” said Leila, a student protester who asked that her last name not be used due to fear of retaliation. 

Some 100 students gathered Sunday night to kick off the encampment and about 50 stayed overnight, said Ana Feder, a school staff member who said she supports the demonstration.

Emerson said in a statement Sunday that the group organizing the encampment — Emerson Students for Justice in Palestine — is not affiliated with the university, and that administrators are working with the Boston Police Department to “monitor the situation.”

“Boylston Place Alley is not solely owned by Emerson College, has a public right-of-way requirement to access non-Emerson buildings, including the State Transportation Center, and is a fire alley that is under the jurisdiction of the Boston Police Department,” said university president Jay Bernhardt in Sunday’s message to the Emerson community.

Boston Police Department spokesperson John Boyle said police are monitoring the protest and that no arrests had been made as of Monday night. 

Leila said Emerson protesters’ demands align with those of other pro-Palestine student groups setting up encampments, including demanding that Emerson cut “all financial ties with Israel,” call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and drop disciplinary action against students. 

Feder, head of film exhibitions and festival programs at Emerson and a member of the school’s chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, said she, along with about a dozen more faculty and staff, joined the demonstration in the alley. Feder stayed there Sunday night and plans to stay Monday night as well, when there is a higher threat of arrests, she said. 

“The message loud and clear from the administration was that they had been holding back the police from arresting students [Sunday] night, but, that they couldn’t do that indefinitely,” Feder said.

Last month, 13 Emerson College students were arrested while protesting the school’s “silence” on the Israel-Hamas war outside of Bernhardt’s inauguration. One student who was at last month’s demonstration and identified himself as Cole at the encampment said protests have continued because the school has “not met demands.”

Leila said she is not worried about consequences from the school or police, “as long as we have the power of the people.”

Bernhardt said that while the school encourages peaceful protests, it “will not tolerate actions threatening safety, operations, or educational access.”

Tufts tents number about a half dozen, school says

Tufts students also joined in on Sunday night, setting up camp on the Academic Quad on the Green in Medford. According to a post on Instagram, the group is calling for their university to divest their financial interests from Israel and drop any charges against students protesting, and for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Patrick Collins, a spokesperson for Tufts, said Monday night that there were about six tents and protesters, and that the protest has not disrupted any classes. He said the school is continuing to monitor the “small number of tents on a section of the academic quad.”

“While students are permitted to express their views, including demonstrating on campus, we will hold accountable any community members who engage in conduct that violates university policy,” Collins said. “Regarding the students’ demands, our position on this has been clear and consistent for several years: We do not support the BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] movement.”

Harvard looks to stop encampments before they form

Though no student encampments had been set up at Harvard as of Monday night, the college has restricted access to Harvard Yard until Friday in anticipation of student protests, the Harvard Crimson reported. Over 200 protesters gathered in the Yard on Friday in response to the arrests of students at Columbia. 

Harvard also suspended its Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee Monday and said members could face expulsion if events organized by the group were not canceled for the rest of the semester, the Crimson reported. The school cited the failure of the group to officially register Friday’s demonstration as a reason for the suspension.

Harvard did not respond to a request for comment about student protests and the closure of Harvard Yard.