Arrested Stanford students face suspensions after injuring police officer

Stanford University plans to suspend students effective immediately. They are among 13 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested on Wednesday morning after a brief occupation of the president’s office. During the occupation, a police officer was injured and “significant damage” was caused to the buildings in the historic courtyard, according to university officials.

Before 6 a.m. on the last day of the spring semester, a small group of students and alumni entered President Richard Saller’s office in the main courtyard and vowed they would not leave until the administration met their demands for divestment from Israel.

After barricading themselves in the building, they named it “Dr. Adnan’s Office” in honor of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, a leading Palestinian surgeon who died in an Israeli prison camp in April.

The occupation lasted less than two hours. At around 7:30 a.m. – while protesters outside chanted “Free, free Palestine” – police officers broke down a door with a crowbar and entered the building.

By 8 a.m., officers from the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office and Stanford University’s Dept. of Public Safety had cleared the building of protesters. Stanford University announced that 13 students were arrested, the building was cleared, and a public safety officer was injured by protesters who pushed him with a transport vehicle.

A statement from the university said the activists had “illegally entered the building” which houses the offices of the president and rector.

“We are appalled that our students have chosen to take this action and will work with law enforcement to ensure they face all consequences under the law,” said university spokesperson Dee Mostofi.

“All students arrested will be suspended immediately, and if any of them are in their final year, they will be denied graduation,” Mostofi added. “We have consistently stressed the importance of constructive engagement and peaceful protest when there is disagreement. This was not a peaceful protest, and actions like those that took place this morning have no place at Stanford.”

At the same time, Liberate Stanford, an autonomous group of Stanford University students that organized the occupation, accused police of “violently assaulting a peaceful student protester” as officers prepared to enter the building. On Instagram, the group posted a video showing a deputy in helmet and tactical gear pushing a student back with a baton.

After the students occupied the president’s office, about 50 students – most of them dressed in black and with their faces covered in keffiyeh – surrounded the building among the poor in solidarity with the occupation of the building.

Some held up a banner that read: “While Gaza bleeds, Stanford hesitates. Divestment. Disclosure. Amnesty.”

“We love you,” the protesters shouted, cheering the arrested activists as they were escorted out of the building by police with their hands handcuffed behind their backs.

“We see you! We love you!” they chanted. “We will be here to free you!”

“STUDENT INT1FADA IS GROWING,” Liberate Stanford wrote in a statement on Instagram early Friday morning as the building was occupied. “We refuse to leave until the Stanford administration and board of directors meet our demands and take action to address their role in enabling and profiting from the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

The protesters – who describe themselves as an autonomous group of students not affiliated with any official student group – called on Stanford to bring the divestment bill put forward by Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine to the next Board of Trustees meeting, with Saller recommending that they support the bill, disclose finances beginning in fiscal year 2022, and drop all disciplinary and criminal charges against pro-Palestinian students.

“If these demands are met, we will leave your office, President Saller,” said an activist wearing sunglasses, a mask and a keffiyeh, sitting at a wooden desk in the building, in a video posted on Instagram by Liberate Stanford.

“I want you to think about your legacy,” she added. “No one will remember your historical research or your eight months as president. What they will remember is your silence and your complicity in this genocide.”

Divisions quickly emerged among protesters after the university’s historic main courtyard was spray-painted and defaced with slogans such as “DE@TH 2 ISR@HELL,” “Kill Cops,” and “PIGS TASTE BEST DEAD.”

In a statement, Liberate Stanford condemned activists who it claimed “took it upon themselves to spray paint or damage the exteriors of these buildings.”

“These are not the principles we hold, and these actions are disrespectful to the souls of Palestinians who have lost their lives in their just struggle,” Liberate Stanford wrote. “The intention of this movement is not to create unnecessary labor for service workers, and we refuse to let our uprising be hijacked by unknown agitators.”

The occupation came after months of protests and negotiations between Stanford officials and pro-Palestinian activists. Last year, protesters set up a sprawling encampment on White Plaza dubbed the “Sit-in to Stop Genocide,” which became the longest sit-in in Stanford’s history until the administration issued a camping ban in February “out of concern for the health and safety of our students.”

In April, activists set up another camp in White Plaza. On May 20, a small group of protesters attempted to occupy a mechanical engineering building, blocking the entrances with barricades and furniture. Saller told the Faculty Senate that students involved in that occupation faced “immediate suspension and inability to attend graduation” and possible criminal charges.