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Protesters reclaim their camp at MIT as the university threatens suspension

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Protesters on the MIT campus demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and the university’s withdrawal from Israel have retaken their camp despite threats from the school’s president to suspend them.

On Monday afternoon around 1:30 p.m., MIT President Sally Kornbluth sent a message to the campus community calling on protesters to evacuate the encampment on Kresge Lawn, where a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups have been camping for more than two weeks , or to face them stricter discipline.

“This continued use of the MIT campus as a site for unauthorized protests, particularly on an issue on which there is such strong disagreement, is no longer safely sustainable,” she wrote.

Protesters received pamphlets with the same information by 2:30 p.m.

Harvard’s president sent a similar message to students on Monday, but gave no deadline for protesters to dismantle their camp.

The two schools are the last in the immediate Boston area with active camps of students protesting the war in Gaza. At Emerson and Northeastern, more than 100 people were arrested on each campus, causing the encampments to break up and Tufts protesters to break up their camp on Friday.

MIT students protesting the war in Gaza gather outside the camp on Monday afternoon. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
MIT students protesting the war in Gaza gather outside the camp on Monday afternoon before demonstrators tore down the fencing. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

On MIT’s Kresge Lawn on Monday afternoon, only a small group of tents remained within a ring of metal barricades. There was a passageway to the camp, and officials said they would swipe students’ MIT ID cards to determine who was in the camp.

Officials told students that those who left the camp before 2:30 p.m. and were not involved in organizing the camp would receive a written disciplinary warning. Anyone who stayed past the deadline was suspended from campus at least until the start of the course and expelled for possible further disciplinary action. The suspension would continue to prevent students from participating in academic activities, including taking final exams, conducting research or attending graduation.

Following the government’s announcement, a few hundred protesters gathered near Kresge Lawn in support of the remaining pro-Palestinian camp. Many chanted phrases such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” and “free Palestine.”

Sam Ihns, an MIT graduate student and member of MIT Jews for Ceasefire, criticized MIT leadership for the move to end the protest and accused them of allowing outside agitators into the camp area.

“While MIT maintains that this latest move is for our own safety, they themselves created the conditions that led to a less secure camp,” Ihns told WBUR.

When the deadline expired, there were still a handful of tents on the lawn. MIT officials said five students remained in the fenced area as of late afternoon.

About a dozen counter-protesters gathered near the student center, some waving American or Israeli flags.

University police officers and members of the Cambridge Police Department were seen on the sidelines of the demonstrations in the afternoon. State troopers were also present later that evening. At times police officers stood between the demonstrators and counter-demonstrators.

A group of students, including local high school students, blocked Massachusetts Avenue in front of MIT on Monday evening. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A group of students, including local high school students, blocked Massachusetts Avenue in front of MIT on Monday evening. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Student protesters block Massachusetts Avenue in support of the pro-Palestinian camp at Kresge Oval. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Student protesters block Massachusetts Avenue in support of the pro-Palestinian camp at Kresge Oval. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

After 4 p.m., another group of pro-Palestinian protesters spilled onto the street on the steps of the MIT University building across Massachusetts Avenue, blocking traffic during the evening commute. Students from surrounding high schools and residents appeared to join the blockade, forcing Cambridge police to do so Close the dimensions. Ave. between Vassar Street and Memorial Drive for hours.

Around 6 p.m., some pro-Palestinian protesters jumped over the barricades, keeping them away from the remaining camp, while others banded together to completely tear down the fencing. Protesters brought snacks and signs. They formed a human chain to protect the area.

Protesters push over the fence surrounding the MIT camp on Monday evening. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Protesters push over the fence surrounding the MIT camp on Monday evening. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A protester waves a Palestinian flag after demonstrators reoccupied the camp on MIT's Kresge Lawn. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A protester waves a Palestinian flag after demonstrators reoccupied the camp on MIT’s Kresge Lawn. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Protesters at MIT retook the camp site on Kresge Lawn Monday night despite the university's threat of suspension. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Protesters at MIT retook the camp site on Kresge Lawn Monday night despite the university’s threat of suspension. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Protesters remained on Kresge Lawn throughout the evening, reorganizing the space.

In a statement released Monday evening, MIT officials said there were no arrests on campus.

Harvard University leadership issued a similar message earlier Monday.

“Those who participate in or perpetuate the continued existence of the camp will be referred for involuntary leave of absence,” Interim President Alan M. Garber wrote in a letter to the Harvard community.

According to Garber’s letter, school officials began issuing disciplinary notices last week to students who were involved in what the school calls “unauthorized, disruptive activities” at Harvard Yard. However, Monday’s letter included any student who tried to continue the protest.

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The students held a rally in Harvard Yard and a march to the president’s home Monday evening.

Both university presidents defend their actions by saying that it is in the interest of campus security.

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